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Posted By: Khael Oct 03, 2001 - 03:00 pm

I hate making a new topic for a simple question but here it goes.....
In the project i'm working on there are Entergists. Baiscly somone skilled in using Entergy. Entergy is my own magic alternative. Basicly its "Self energy". Its a completely non-religous, non-mystic energy skill. But it still has the same arcane-ish feel to it that magic has. My problem is this. I need a word to replace "spell". It would basicly mean "Entergy Skill" Example: The sentance "The crafty Entergist lashed out with his Arc of Drevain Spell..." would be replaced with "The crafty Entergist lashed out with his Arc of Drevain (new word for spell)" I'm open to any suggestions!! Please let me know any thoughts you have becasue alot of times i will play with the silliest idea until it works! I know i can trust you guys to help. Thanks!

P.S Has anyone else ever tried to redo the magic system so typical to fantasy stories? Have you ever disinvolved magic altogether? What did you do to replace it?

Posted By: Bmat Oct 03, 2001 - 03:57 pm

factor?

cycle?

crux?

correlation?

conjugation?

theorem?

corollary?

argot?

conjury?

or even a made up word.

Posted By: Krastakin Oct 03, 2001 - 04:25 pm

I don't know if I tried to redo the magic system in my story...but I did try to make it clear. In most of the books I've read, magic was just something you pulled out of the air, was floating around you, and that the only energy expended was that which you used to harness the magic.

In my story, I tried to make it so that Magic was a force that controlled, and was controlled by life. My magicians (for the most part) can't tap the energy of the world around them, they have to use energy in their minds. That's what seperated them from the normal person, was that they had energy in their minds.

I don't know how different that is...but aw well

Posted By: wafricansavage Oct 03, 2001 - 04:48 pm

well i assume u are looking for a one sylable word to replace it with, otherwise it would be bothersome. i can come up wit a few but none sound to good. sorry. as far as magic is concerned, i use something which might not be considered magic as much as...oh well it would take too long to explain. simply put, the way i have it is to have the 'magic' be an actual sentient being wherebuy it has a mind of it's own and can makes decision, not simply to be used by someone who has practiced a lot but rather as an entity whose only reason for allowing itself(magic) to be used is because it has it's own agenda in mind, whic most of the time does not fit with it host. sorry if this has been more confusing than it's worth.

Posted By: goddess Oct 29, 2001 - 01:44 pm

I have come up with my own idea of what magic is for my new project. I define it as a person's spirit communicating with a world spirit of some sort to achieve a goal, i.e.: move something from one place to another, create a force like a push used in combat, make lightening stike a certain place, etc. Enchantments and spells are possible too, but it is mostly a spiritual thing. Any person can do it, they just have to practice. A person gets more powerful by learning to control and be more in-touch with their spirit. It sounds a little like eastern religion stuff I guess and it is very nature-based. Meditation and things of that sort are used in training. I do not have it all mapped out yet, but that is my theory for now. What are your thoughts on that?

Posted By: Krastakin Oct 30, 2001 - 08:28 pm

Good idea goddess. I guess everyone has their own idea about what magic is. In my story, I define it a bit clearer than that, something that a select few are born with, but still something that can be worked out by the "normal" human to a certain degree. And that magic can be used for good or evil depending on the person that wields it. My main char is one of those wielding the magic for "goodish" purposes. It mostly comes from inside the characters, through their thoughts . But some people can tap the broader magic in the world.

I'm rambling, and I know it...oh well

Posted By: Gablety Nov 01, 2001 - 10:49 pm

To the origional poster, even if it's a month ago: just call it "energy." (You could also call the act "spell" but Bmat also suggested some very good words.) There are hundreds of different types of magic, so just because yours is based on a personal sort of energy from the user's mind doesn't make it so different. Orson Scott Cards says something like, "If kheer means bread, say bread! If kheer appeared to be bread to the protagonists, but was later found to have the mind altering drugs that let the people of your planet see ghosts, then you are perfectly entitles to make up a new word for it. But otherwise, whenever possible, use a word that you didn't have to make up."

Goddess, I love that idea! (I already made a conversation for types of magic, and there probably are several others, but no matter.) With your way, instead of there being a sort of fluid that the user manipulates, there's just a sort of principle, an act, which is the same for all sorts of basic-to-intermediate magic. I love the fluid sort of magic, and I love the type of magic that yours would translate to in this world, but with that same principle that would here for the most part just make someone so much calmer and able to think about something more clearly, there would be direct, tangible results; as soon as your wonderful meditation is done, lightning strikes, or whichever object moves, or whatever; I love that system!

Posted By: Krastakin Nov 02, 2001 - 01:41 pm

Doesn't simple meditation make it a bit too easy to ascertain magic? I mean, sure clarity of thought would have to be a part of it...but still...it seems...ya know, like it isn't special?

Posted By: goddess Nov 02, 2001 - 05:47 pm

Not everyone can do magic as well as some people can. Some can't focus well enough. The meditation is training to help a person control their thoughts and quiet their minds, but not everyone can do it well. The people who are revered as great make magic look easy when it really is not. It is true that almost everyone can do some magic, but to be able to use it well takes alot of skill. Something easy would be moving a glass across a table, but some people have problems with even that. Something hard would be making a tree grow or moving big objects and doing something like making it rain would be really hard.
The ability to do magic well is special. It is a highly revered skill. It is like any other thing: anyone can do the easy stuff, but to be really good at it is hard and takes skill and practice.

Posted By: Krastakin Nov 02, 2001 - 09:54 pm

I suppose. It still seems that the magic of magic is gone. But each to his/her own!

Posted By: iamume Sep 26, 2003 - 04:29 pm

Simply replacing the words magic and spells with others wouldnt satisfy what you seem to be attempting.The skills you describe would have more in common with meditation or awareness exersizes than a reading from a dusty tome or wand waving.Learning a differnt cognitave system would be crucial and not at all easy.Lets say someones training began to open up telepathy and they were confronted with a cacophany of voices both near and far.Both useless and disconcerting.This person would have to learn how to filter and develop mental discipline so as not to project their own thoughts on to others thus deluding themselves.The ability to discern the source would be essential.As this student progresses they would also be able to plant a thought on the unaware.Rather than defy physics this system could create a greater understanding of such.Flight could become a matter of directing ones awareness illustrating how refined will is a powerfull force traditional physics ignores.Yes discipline would be crucial in such training,along with ethics.

Posted By: thegreentick Sep 27, 2003 - 12:39 pm

perhaps you could call it a burn. A person could build up enough energy within themselved and then release it in a burn or something like that. Maybe chose a word for expending energy or fuel or something like that.

ie. The crafy Entergist lashed out with his Arc of Drevain burn