Cover by Alison Hunt
Why Can’t a Caster Fix It?
Because then it wouldn’t be much of a story, would it? Okay, that isn’t a real answer, but it’s what I have to get out of my system.
In Legends of Windemere, I have the character, Nyx, who is a powerful caster. I lost count of the number of times people asked me why she didn’t just blow up *insert obstacle*. This gets frustrating because the question ignores that some challenges are clearly for other characters, so Nyx wouldn’t get involved to that extent. It ignores her personality and the basics of group dynamics. She’s aware her friends will be angry if she blasts away their rivals and obstacles. Not to mention it means she’d reach the final battle against a superior enemy alongside a band of weak allies.
This question also treats magic like a cure-all for every situation, which isn’t how it should be, even in worlds where it’s plentiful. Readers may miss the nuances of this, so this question will exist for as long as people write fantasy stories. As authors, we should be more aware of this and have an explanation as to why the caster doesn’t do it by themselves.
Do I blame readers for asking this question? Not really because it’s a legitimate point in several cases. The audience might not realize the reasons behind magic not being used to solve everything because the author doesn’t make it clear. That isn’t to say it’s the author’s fault. Many factors fall into the use of magic in stories, as long as it isn’t being thrown around without consequence. If that’s the case then there’s fewer reasons for casters to solve every problem with a spell, which brings us to a truth about writing.
We depend a lot on readers catching the nuances of characters, worlds, and situations in order to avoid spelling everything out for them. Doing so can make a story boring and offend people who think they’re being looked at as simple-minded. So, an author has to work off established rules and themes without bringing blunt attention to their existence. A rampaging monster not being stopped by the powerful caster can be seen by a reader as a mistake while the author is hoping for them to see the limitations of the world’s magic. Just another reason why some people go for low and limited magic since the more of it that’s around, the louder the question.
The real question that should be asked at this point is:
Why CAN’T a caster fix it?
Legends of Windemere 
The question reminds me of the one usually asked about The Lord of the Rings: Why didn’t the eagles take the ring to Mordor? As you mentioned in the first line, there wouldn’t be much of a story if they did. (I think that is a good answer, by the way!)
I love the check and balance of magic limitations. The limitations show the cost. It’s not like having a credit card with supposedly unlimited resources. And, as you mentioned, having Nyx do everything leaves everyone else weak.
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Yup. All about stories. Also, I think it’s similar to asking ‘why don’t we use nukes’ when talking about real world wars. Going for that level of power every time could have negative consequences.
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I can’t help thinking of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and the Seven Days of Fire that represented nuclear war and the terrible cost of “just using nukes.”
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Been a long time since I saw Nausicaa. Forgot that meaning.
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An excellent question and the idea that power magic is not the be all and end all is a great lesson here.
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Thanks. 😊
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For me, it depends on what the mage’s skill set is, and whether it suits the problem. Like, if the problem is that your boat is leaking, blasting it with fire would not exactly help!
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Unless the explosion launches you back to shore. 😁
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Great post. It worked in Potter because the main characters were in school. They hadn’t learned everything, and even then there were elder characters still experimenting and trying to come up with new things. The limitation was there and didn’t require tons of explanation.
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I have seen people ask why Dumbledor didn’t do things. Best answer was that he was a terrible headmaster.
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He wasn’t the main character, kind of like Gandalf wasn’t.
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Or the eagles. 😁
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