The Magic Doesn't Go Away...

[sinanju]

...but it does change in Barbara Hambly's novels Sisters of the Raven and Circle of the Moon.

 

For all of recorded history, men alone have had the ability to work magic. Not all men, certainly--only a minority. But men alone. There is in fact no word for "a woman who works magic." The novel centers on the Yellow City, the capital city of a very large, very old kingdom in a desert environment on the edge of a vast lake. For more than six hundred years the Sun Mages have worked spells each spring to bring the rains that replenish the lake and make life possible in this barren land.

 

But their magic is failing. Each year fewer and fewer of the mages can work even the simplest spells. Calling the rain has become more difficult every year. What once took a few hours now takes days...or weeks. If it works at all. The mages can no longer heal injuries or illness with a laying on of hands. Spells of protection from disease or bad luck, spells to repel rats, mosquitos and other pests aren't working either. The mages can no longer scry for the minds of mages in faraway lands to share knowledge...or even just to learn whether this is a local phenomenon or as universal as they fear. The magical desert-dwelling djinnis have not been seen in years and no one knows why.

 

Worst of all, in the minds of many, women have begun to show the ability to work magic. Alas, even for those open-minded enough to accept this change, none of the women has ever been trained in magic, and their magic doesn't work the way men's magic does. It's uncertain and unreliable since NO ONE knows how it works.

 

Well, maybe that's not the worst thing. The worst thing is probably that spells which have been in effect (and effective) for so long that no one even remembers when they were cast or how (or even that they exist) are also failing. And the threats they corralled--in tombs, in the depths of the lakes, in the desert--are stirring again.

 

They're interesting novels and it's an interesting premise. Barbara Hambly is a historian by training, and her ancient cultures are very realistic. The mages in these novels are very similar to the mages in most of her fantasy--she has a very consistent view of mages. In Champion terms, mages would have:

 

Dark Vision (they can see in pitch darkness)

Bonuses to perception rolls (supernaturally keen senses)

Clairvoyance/clairaudience (they can do it innately over short distances, over vast distances if they scry using a mirror, bowl of water or ink or other reflective surface)

Mindscan & Telepathy (using the scrying objects, they can contact other mages and communicate with them)

Invisibility to Clairvoyance (while you can "call" to another mage and communicate with him/her, you cannot spy on a mage with clairvoyance...or see people, places or things around them)

Sense Magic (at short range, mostly by touch)

 

Spells tend to involve lots of limitations (limited by time of day/month/year, foci, concentration, gestures & incantations, etc.).

[L. Marcus]

Re: The Magic Doesn't Go Away...

 

Sounds like an interesting read! I'll have to look into those books.

[Beetle]

Re: The Magic Doesn't Go Away...

 

I've always liked Hambly's magic system since first bumping into it in The Time of the Dark. It's very well thought out and easily translates to gaming. In fact it's been the basis for the magic system in all my FH campaigns, and I can't count how many of my characters (including Champions mentalists) have ripped off the "cloaking" spell (the mage doesn't go invisible, he just sends off "don't look at me" vibes).

 

I'm curious, has any fantasy author done as many different worlds while keeping the same magic system (Darwath Trilogy world, Silicon Mage world, Sun Wolf world and the "Sisters" world)?

[sinanju]

Re: The Magic Doesn't Go Away...

 

I've always liked Hambly's magic system since first bumping into it in The Time of the Dark. It's very well thought out and easily translates to gaming. In fact it's been the basis for the magic system in all my FH campaigns, and I can't count how many of my characters (including Champions mentalists) have ripped off the "cloaking" spell (the mage doesn't go invisible, he just sends off "don't look at me" vibes).

 

I'm curious, has any fantasy author done as many different worlds while keeping the same magic system (Darwath Trilogy world, Silicon Mage world, Sun Wolf world and the "Sisters" world)?

 

Not that I can think of, though Tim Powers tends to be consistent--in that his magical "systems" are invariably really, really wierd and grotesque.