Just think about it... anything is possible.

That is effectively the maxim of this cobha. Intense concentration can produce any effect. Any at all.
The trouble is most of don't realize how distracted we are all the time. We are thinking about a million things at once. That is how it is that not everyone runs around pulling off miracles in the Yellow and Orange worlds... (more neighbors to my Red World. Purple might also become a thought-based cobha, world, I don't know).
What happens when two thought wizards duel, though?
I am so glad I asked. Well, first off, they try to kill each other. Create fire, move rocks, throw stuff... cast shields, dodge, incinerate projectiles, you name it. The trouble is that there is yet another attack... the telepathic attack.
Wizard A tries to keep shield around himself for protection. He is concentrating on holding the shield there. Wizard B sends him a little thought, "They are all watching you..." If for even a moment Wizard A starts thinking about the people around him his shield is gone, and Wizard B will strike.
So it is all about controlling your mind. Don't let others implant ideas. Pay no attention to anything but the opponent and yourself.
The trouble is that your environment matters, too. Don't trip on a root because you are so absorbed in keeping up that shield. Don't let his attacks bother you as long as your shield is up... but just one wrong thought and...
you might just go up in flames

What do ya'll think?

Wow. That sounds really, really cool.

I wish I had thought of it.

I like it! One of the really badly defined and thought-out magic systems I have for a story is primarily thought-based. It focuses on the telepathic sort of attacks, though.


I really like the whole concentration aspect. If a couple of wizards are very focused on each other and fighting, would a normal fighter be able to sneak up next to one of them and stab him? Or do they have a way to defend themselves against physical weapons while they fight with magic?

That is one of the problems with the concentration... unless you are also protecting yourself from more physical harm (which would cause you to spread out your thinking), you would be super vulnerable. However, the warrior could probably only knock off one of them because once he did all the other wizards would notice the absence of that guy's magic. Then they'd either destroy him or protect themselves.
Here's an interesting side I didn't mention before. What do we all do when we concentrate? Close our eyes. Some wizards do that, but it is very dangerous for the above reason... you never see anything coming if it isn't magic.

Oh...It just hit me...

Isn't this a similar concept as to what's in 'Race to Witch Mountain'?

Never read/watched it, so I can still claim originality. Besides, once I put my own take on it, with its own emphases, it will have to be unique.
There is nothing new under the sun... not even on Holy Worlds

It's a movie. But yes, I agree.

Anyways, in that movie the aliens can control things with their mind in a very magical-like way because they learned how to control their mind more accurately than humans.

In the Inheritance Cycle, they have a very similar concept about attacking mentally before trying to resort to spells. No. I'm NOT attacking your originality, I'm just saying that I've read similar ideas before

Like in Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time".

My brother read A Wrinkle in Time but reviewed it so poorly that I never did. It sounded... very strange.

When I was little it was my favorite book. It has a lot of positive elements. Although some of L'Engle's later books border on New Age or Existential worldview stuff. She was a fairly liberal Episcopalian, so yeah, not theologically grounded books at all.

Sounds great, Reiyen! (had to try four times to spell your name correctly)

Despite similarities to other books and concepts, I think this could be very original. Mental concentration is a popular element in fantasy and scifi, but that doesn't mean it's overdone. Yet.

I can't wait to see how you use this. Looking forward to hearing more!

I think it's an interesting take on telepathy. My mind immediately leaps to Riddlemaster, but it wasn't exactly the same. Nothing is ever exactly the same, just as nothing is ever completely original. Imagining that kind of concentration is giving me a headache about now though. So good idea!

I'm not good at concentrating on a single thing. Even when I'm doing math or something, my mind is on several subjects at once. (This is a big problem when I'm in church, you might imagine.) So this cobha definitely would not be too easy of a thing.

Most wizards of this kind begin their training as children, when the mind is relatively uncluttered and the user wouldn't be afraid of being in front of lots of people at once. In one instance it has been said that two people managed to work this sort of magic together, linking their minds. But that is another story...

A very interesting premise. I think you could use it to add a lot of interest to your books, especially because the cobha limits itself. (Concentration takes... well, concentration. And when you're concentrating on something, you're not concentrating on anything else.) I also think you could use it to illustrate some principles about will-power, self-control, focus, narrow-mindedness, and so forth.

Question. What limits someone from doing things that only God should be able to do? I don't know what the spirituality of your world looks like, but if people can, in theory, obtain anything by concentrating, what stops a few devotees from becoming like God?

The limitations of human minds. Maybe they could manage to pull off one miracle like water into wine or leprosy healing after concentrating hard enough for long enough, but God could do an infinite number of equal tasks instantly.
Also, God as we know Him does not touch my worlds. He leaves them alone, in the care of the angel who quasi-created them. He knows everything is under control. That's the beauty of my worlds... men's actions really really matter because they might decide the fate of the world. But for more on that look into my sub-forum, where I intend to soon make a post explaining this and other such topics.

That makes sense. Thanks!