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Help me find a balance of magic usage

@icariaswings forum 23 comments schedule
@icariaswings

Hey! I have a fantasy world but it's relatively low fantasy with minimal magic involved, rather, it happens in a medieval-like world, and possibly a little bit of deity interaction. I do have a bit of fantastical ideas within, oaths once made can't be broken, trying to go against your promise results in pain- growing the more you resist the pull to obey. I may add more than that but not sure yet. I am having a problem though, I'm trying to find a more realistic way to miraculously heal someone from a fatal injury. they aren't quite dead yet, but would be without this thing I haven't decided on yet. Anybody have any ideas on how they could be saved with limited magic involved.

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verified_user Mod

Medicines and herbs are a great way to go for this idea. A medicine made of an herb with magical properties, that a person can then add their limited magic to, will become an easy way to heal. Tolkien used this idea with athelas/Kingsfoil in The Return of the King. The plant was a healing plant. The Kings of Gondor had what they called "healing hands", and when they would use athelas on a wound, it would heal quicker. They could also use it to cure spirit/psychological/magic wounds. You could go this route.

If you have a deity, you could also have healing be an extension of a religious thing, like a prayer or a sacrifice has to be offered, and then the person will heal.
Just some thoughts :)

@icariaswings

ooh I like this! Thanks :) I like the herb with magical properties idea, maybe a rare tree with fruit blessed by gods?

emoji_events
verified_user Mod

There you go, kinda like the Heart-shaped Herb in Black Panther. That works 🙂 you could also go more towards healing having a cost. For instance, to heal a wound, they use wood from a tree that will grow literally anywhere. They cover the wound in the bark, and the bark grows over the arm, sealing the wound. Except, now the person has wooden skin. Or, to set a broken bone, they use a splint made of wood from the same tree, and the splint helps the bone set but also becomes part of the arm. Again, healing plant idea, but with a little more of a cost to use. Maybe the herbs can only be harvested at a specific time and place, so they're very rare and expensive, or have to fought for or something.
Again, just thoughts 🙂

@icariaswings

yea I love those ideas! I definitely want the plant or herb to have some rarity and I think as far cost/punishment for the use of it isn't from the plant itself, but the events surrounding why it was used and if it should have been used in the first place. These are great! so glad to have a second opinion, this part had me stuck :)

emoji_events
verified_user Mod

thumbs up :)

@icariaswings

:)

emoji_events
verified_user Mod

Anything else you want help brainstorming, I'm down :)

@icariaswings

Amazing, Thanks! busy week so i have to put down my work for a bit but once i can start up again I'll definitely be coming to you. Same goes for you :)

emoji_events
verified_user Mod

Thanks much, and you got this!

@icariaswings

Thanks :) means a lot lol. Writing isn't easy

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verified_user Mod

Agreed! And balance is the hard part. For me, my problem is wanting everything to have extensive lore, so I spend way too much time developing backstory for things

@icariaswings

Yea fair. My problem is I have all these ideas, and I write those down and develop a really rough draft, and then realize that I need to connect them all. I'm a bit to ambitious to. Ideally the one I'm mostly working on would be 3 book, and I just have a bunch of pieces from each "book"

emoji_events
verified_user Mod

Tough spot to be in. Plot is the hardest

@icariaswings

lol yea. You working on anything?

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verified_user Mod

ok, story time.
10 years ago I wrote a bunch of scenes I had in my head. I hit 50K words without realizing it.
I was going through a lot and that small novel sized scratchpad is SUPER angsty and plotless.
So I'm rewriting it now, with plot and better and characters and cooler concepts and less angst XD

@icariaswings

Wow thats so cool! and 10 years old too!? that's amazing. Though we do love angst

emoji_events
verified_user Mod

Thanks :D It is indeed 10y old. And yes, a level of angst is good, but it has to resolve somehow. This angst never did XD

@icariaswings

lmao fair. unfortunately for whoever reads my things will end up with their heart shredded, i rarely write a happy ending

emoji_events
verified_user Mod

I never finished it, so there's that too. Wanna put a cap on the thing

@icariaswings

ah yea I get it. there's satisfaction in finishing something

emoji_events
verified_user Mod

Indeed. Although with all the worldbuilding, I'm no closer now XD

@icariaswings

Yay! good for you :D