A Look Into a World #2: How Magic Came to the World (The Lady Annabelle Mystery Series)

                                                   Click here to read the first post in the series. 

                                                                       Happy Holidays everyone!

This particular post is for the world of the Lady Annabelle Mystery series. These posts have helped me so far to know the world better. Also, in case anyone is confused and wondering why the gods from All Is Not Lost For All Will Begin Again are involved in something from the Lady Annabelle mystery series, that is because I ended up moving the gods (except the Creator Goddess, who will be modified) to that world, due to the setting change in All Is Not Lost For All Will Begin Again. The gods seemed a bit out of place, so I moved them to a series that seemed very in keeping with their nature.  

Along with the world-building series on my blog, I will also be occasionally posting articles on World Anvil  about this world. So sometimes when a Look Into a World post is published I will also post a World Anvil article that is related to it. I have an article that goes along with this post called "The Festival of Magic," which I will be linking on the world-building page on this blog. (You will see it under the "World Anvil" section of the page) and I will update you about it in a blog post. 

Anyway, on to this post: 

        How Magic from the Gods Came to the World- 

Nisis (left) and (young) Karleon (right) 

Two trickster gods were involved in bringing to the world magic that is not inherited at birth. Their names were Nisis/Nyro and Karleon. These two trickster gods were very fed up with the fact that the King and Queen of the gods were hoarding all the magic and were unwilling to teach the mortals any. 

So, Nisis/Nyro and Karleon came together and formed a plan to get the magic and give it to the mortals. Karleon played a role in distracting the god who protected the magic, while Nisis/Nyro took the magic down to the world and gave it to the mortals. The mortals were really happy about this; the king and queen of the gods were not. 

While Karleon escaped punishment, Nisis/Nyro did not. Karleon told the king and queen of the gods that he completely misunderstood the plan that Nisis/Nyro had "told him" and didn't think the magic of the gods would come into the world of the mortals. In contrast, Nisis/Nyro got banished to the world of the mortals for a few years so they would learn from their "mistake." Though there are variations on this myth (some where both the gods get punished, and some where Karleon is the one who gets punished instead of Nisis/Nyro), all end with Karleon and Nisis/Nyro not being on good terms. In the version of the myth I'm following, Nisis/Nyro got banished because the other gods worried they would take on the form of their loved ones (since Nisis/Nyro has no clear form other than that) to escape punishment. So this was the reason for their unfair punishment of Nisis/Nyro. 

After Karleon and Nisis/Nyro released magic into the world, the king and the queen of the gods decided to put restrictions on how much magic the mortals could have at once. This is because it turned out the other gods were very unwilling to take their magic back. Hence they created rules for becoming a devotee to a god or a goddess. This made it so that the gods whose magic was in the world was limited and had to be taught. The king and queen did this because they believed the other gods would be too vain or not feel that the mortals were worth their time. However this backfired, because the gods whose magic was given to the mortals spent a lot of their time teaching them the craft. 

And out of this event came the Festival of Magic. It is celebrated biannually given that there are two different assumed dates for when it happened.  These two dates are in the middle of spring and the beginning of winter. 

                                  Magic given at birth- 

The species who have this are fairies, elves, and some other creatures. According to the religion that is predominant in Dragon's Province, the gods created them to have these powers and gave a little bit of their magic to those creatures. 

For the fairies, the gods decided to give them the ability to make themselves "invisible" (though in reality they go to another dimension). This is a power that every fairy has, and the gods gave it to them so they could protect themselves if they were in grave danger (to hide from their attackers or from wild monsters). 

For the elves, they were given better eyesight and hearing than humans, as well as a better connection to the gods. While they may not be able to turn "invisible,"  elves can spot a god within a crowd of mortals or see a god when a human couldn't. This also links them to the major religion in Dragon's Province, where the gods teach mortals magic. 

                                   Enchanted Objects- 

An enchanted mirror

There are many different kinds of enchanted objects: one being enchanted crystals and jewels. If one believes the legends, then out of spite Karleon made all the jewels have different powers. (Some versions written by Elven scribes who don't have to mine in cold and damp mines say this is a  "blessing;" most others call it a "curse.") Karleon thought it would cause confusion for mortals (dwarves in particular) and that it would be fun to watch. To this day, no one is quite sure what the powers of enchanted jewels and crystals are, and in mining them people have to be careful or they could be cursed by them. 

There are also objects that are less dangerous and unambiguously blessed by the gods. These are considered sacred and can grant certain powers. Some are even said to be given to certain heroes on their journeys. 

One notable magic object is a magic mirror, which can have different abilities. Usually they can used as a way to look at different areas of the world or see the true nature of a person.  Fairy dust is also commonly described as being an "enchanted object," because it can be used in many ways: as a dye, as a way to find fingerprints, and for other uses. 

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What magic exists in your Fantasy world? And which way would you like to get magic? 

-Quinley 

A Look Into a World #1: Medical Magic (The Lady Annabelle Mystery series)

                       This series was inspired by Meri Greenleaf's awesome world-building posts . 

This is the beginning of a new blog series on the novels I am writing. 

I'm still writing the Mystery of the Body Thief. My goal in the first draft was lay out the story. The second draft is going to be a little more centered on character development and world-building.

This blog series will also show you more of the worlds of other Fantasy stories I am writing (All is Not Lost for All Will Begin Again and Eyes in the Night). I will be featuring the religions, the magic, the history, and the different species of the worlds I create, and maybe some of the world's scientific discoveries. 

Medical Magic in The Mystery of the Body Thief 

                                                 The song that inspired this: 

If one is to be a nurse or a doctor in Annabelle's world, it is much more time consuming for the student than in our world. This is because not only do you have to learn how the different parts of the body react to different magics and medicines, but you have to learn to devote yourself to one of the various nature gods and then learn nature magic, which also doubles as healing magic. The various gods that you may devote yourself to are the fire god, the air god, the earth god, or the water god. All have different ways of healing someone through magic that the student will have to master.

Because of this, nurses and doctors are kind of druid and witch like, and sometimes even someone you might turn to for spiritual help. People believe they can heal their body and soul. It is common that two doctors of different elements will work together, because they can heal the patient more thoroughly if the two elements are combined: like earth and water, or air and earth, or air and water, but never fire and water, because they would cancel each other out.

A lot of the training involves prayer to the god or goddess whom you have chosen to learn magic from, and looking through different spell books and delivering the sacred words.

                                                         Earth's healing abilities: 

                       The Goddess of the earth.                            

 Earth is very centered on grounding the body if the owner of the body doesn't feel like they have their feet firmly planted on the ground. The goddess also wants the person to feel the healing power of the woods and creeks. Another healing thing Earth does, is to help the patient realize they are part of the cycle of the world, and that they are not separate from the cycle. They can be one with animals and plants of the world.

Spell to invoke the goddess: I call upon the goddess of the earth, to give me strength and ground myself, tell me the secrets hidden deep in the ground, open my eyes to what I may have overlooked, 
allow me to care for all the creatures of earth that you do, allow me to harm none. Give me knowledge to heal the wounded and the sick, goddess breathe life into the dying! 

                                                            Fire's healing abilities: 

The Fire god

Fire tends to do something very acupuncture like. The person who has the magic related to it, will touch the patient's body and temporarily heal them of the pain they have been feeling in that area. It only lasts twenty four hours or a little more, but it helps ease the pain of the patients.

Spell to invoke the fire god: Oh, ever changing fire god, I call upon you. Let your warmth heal the sick and those who feel cold, like those who are in pain feel energetic like your flickering flames, 
let the body feel worth, let the injured be able to move again, let them feel energy flowing again! 

                                                           Air's healing abilities: 

The Air God 

 Air wants to help get the body to its higher (or divine) self. This also helps on the spiritual level of having the patient get more spirituality connected to the gods and the universe.

Spell to invoke the air god: Ever high up air god, let others reach your height. Let the injured and the sick feel your presense, breathe healing wind in their direction and send not the sickening winds, but the healing winds with (Nurse or doctor chanting this adds in what they want the god to send), give me your knowledge and wisdom, let me heal the sick, and let your winds come close to us! 

                                                            Water's healing abilities: 

The Water Goddess

Water makes the body feel more fluid and in the moment. If the patient is feeling like they are overwhelmed the water elemental has powers that will help them feel more like they can affect the world in positive ways.

Spell to invoke the goddess: I call upon the ever flowing water goddess, help me heal, help me heal others with your enchanting gaze, let knowledge of healing trickle onto my fingers, let it flow onto the sick and the injured, let the stuck flow like a running river, like them feel whole instead of empty! 

Because of this, the religion of the world and the magic are intertwined, and while you don't always need to be a priest or a priestess to have magic, you do at least need to be devoted to a god or a goddess in your practice of it. And if you aren't you are frowned down upon by society. 
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Which god or goddess is your favorite of the ones I created? If you had a choice what element would you have the powers of? 

-Quinley