In the center of the table sat a black bowl supported on a horned stand. Its reflective surface mirrored the torchlight, creating a fiery illusion. A clear liquid slowly churned within, as if possessing a life of its own. Regulus held his closed right hand over the bowl and chanted an inaudible phrase in a guttural voice. On and on he chanted, increasing the rhythm and volume with every verse. His out stretched hand began to tremble. The liquid in the bowl pulsed and radiated an orange glow. Regulus opened his hand. A black powder dropped into the bowl. Instantly a dense cloud of ashen smoke erupted from the liquid. Regulus stopped chanting. The cloud grew until it reached the ceiling, hand-like wisps curling around its edges. A dark silhouette took shape within the cloud. As if turning to face Regulus, the shadow stirred, and moved closer.

“Master,” Regulus said in a delicate tone.

In my worlds there are two kinds of power. The good kind, (Divinely granted gifts) and the bad kind, (demonic fueled magic).

In my world, magic is simply a built-in part of nature. Sort of like Eragon, there is one language that can be used to harness this element, and the more direct and concise you are with your wording the more likely you are to get the result you wanted. Does that make sense? And do you think that a magic inherent in nature should be usable by good and evil alike?

In my world, only Drochspior (my Satan-character) uses magic. The 'magic' that the other creatures use was given to them by Ri, so their 'magic' is really just abilities.

Note: Please don't take this is a critique; I'm trying to be helpful but I fear I come off a bit rude.

Technically, if Drochspior's magic isn't natural ability, then it is implied that he is practicing magic from another source, which would necessarily be higher than himself (since the abilities aren't naturally his) and he is no longer a "type" of Satan since he is not the deepest in the practice of evil. If Satan practices magic which is outside of his angelic abilities then there must be another source of power which is also corrupt but more powerful than Satan; some kind of mystical evil.

We see this sort of thing a lot in secular fantasy, but as I've said elsewhere, evil as a force doesn't work because evil is merely the lack of good.

Sorry if that seems random or silly, I'm sick and it's after ten PM so my thoughts may be incoherent to people who aren't thinking the same thoughts.

*thinks* I have a question for ye learned writers and readers. I have read a few topics, and an quite new here, but I have been impressed with forum-ers keeping the Bible/God totally involved in these tough topics, such as "are dragons evil, or good, or neither?" or this thread about "magic". I would voice a question, do we ever[i][/i] see magic used in a godly way in the Bible? I say we do not, but.....my point is more than that, why are we so eager, to Christianize magic? Now, I whole realize you folks have put alotof thought into this, and I hate to dredge it up again, but, why are we so eager to bleach and bring magic in. I believe the topic of magic to be wholly different than the topic of dragons in the sense that magic is blatantly wrong in the Bible. So i ask......why "must" we, or why are we "so eager"(I am guilty as well) of trying to fit magic into our stories?

Greetings, I hope this was not too terrible of a first post for yall to put up with

Marcher Lord: If tis not magic, let us not call it magic, or "magiks"

When we say that "magic" is a natural part of our world, or a gift given by God, it's not really magic in that world. I believe that one of Jay's brothers named it Cobha. Cobha's something that is natural in that world, but not in our world. (Tell me if I messed that up, Jay!)

So, basically, if something is a natural, God-given ability, then it isn't evil (or even "magic", really).

I think perhaps I have not made meself clear lol. But alas, I shall shut me mouth....For now

The fantasy dilemma:

When it comes to writing your faith, fantasy is one of the hardest genres. Fantasy is all about magic, how it influences the world and the people who use it. We all know that there are fantasy books out there that are fine and others you want to steer clear of. If you are a Christian and you write fantasy, there are fine lines that shouldn’t be crossed. If you’re like me and fantasy is your niche, and you’re wondering, how do you keep it in a faith basted standard, here is what I discovered.

Magic: The Big M – What is it about this little word when it comes to Christianity? Well first of all, in Exodus 22:18 God tells the Israelites, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” (Sorceress/er in other translations.) Umm, if God said that I’m guessing it’s bad. He goes on to say, “Do not practice divination or sorcery” (Leviticus 19:26), “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:31), “I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people” (Leviticus 20:6). God ends with saying, all mediums and spiritists must be put to death by stoning, “their blood will be on their own heads.”

Second, where do these people get their power? They’re not called spiritists for nothing. From spirits, aka demons, aka Satan.

This is the reason why I am against books/movie such as Harry Potter. The good guys are witches when God is very clear that witches ARE NOT GOOD!

Now, there are different kinds of “magic”. There is the fairy tale magic that is purely mythical. There are miracles, (but we all know they’re not magic.) Then there is real magic, and that is altogether evil.

My Solution: When I decided to write a fantasy my first decision was, I was NOT going to use magic, of any kind. Well… I discovered how hard a thing that really was. So this is what I did. I have sorcery in my fantasy novels, but it is ONLY USED BY THE VILLIANS. I DO NOT portray it as a GOOD THING. I show it for what it really is EVIL. (Plus it makes for an awesomely creepy villain.)

In one of my stories and its sequel, I've always referred to magic as God-given (a rare gift). When one is given the ability to use magic when he/she does nothing to receive it, and has to discover it and learn how to control it properly and in the right way. It's usually things such as controlling water, fire, and so on (I've used levitation once, though).

On the other hand, there's the kind that people make themselves to learn, to acquire through dark means (which just isn't healthy, anyway). They try to force magic upon them, when it's something God hasn't chosen to give them.

Could there also be "neutral" magic? Magic that isn't good or bad? It's just.... there?

There are three types of magic in the end.

Good- from God
Neutral- part of nature
Evil- Demonic

It's pretty much up to the author which one they want to use. All three are possible. That's pretty much what Tolkien did.

I think it answers my question. When I had asked, a certain part of a story I wrote was in my mind then, but after reading your comment, Griffin, I think what I thought to be neutral is probably the good kind. I'm gonna have to think about that more...