Vivi from FF9
The awkward subject of ‘Forbidden Magic’ turns up from time to time in Legends of Windemere. So far these spells have turned up by accident with the effect ranging from devastating to mild. At least for the casters behind the enchantments. Nyx and Trinity have each been pushed to their limits and lashed out with one of these banned spells, which have very good reasons for being sealed by the gods. What are the most common reasons?
This isn’t an uncommon thing with fantasy stories. Some worlds even have all of magic listed as a forbidden art. The idea of taboo goes hand-in-hand with magic pretty easily since it’s not something we find in our world. Banned spells can be seen as a piece of reality in fantasy since they’re too wicked or unbelievable for that world. Many times they’ll be the center of an adventure because the villain wants to unleash it or the heroes need it to save the day. For example, FFX involves gathering summoned monsters to gain the strength for an ancient spell that will defeat an approaching evil. One thing that always stays consistent is that there is an impact on the story and/or history of the fictional world.
Now, Windemere is a very magical world, so there are fewer off-limits enchantments. The system that keeps them locked up is fairly simple too. Gola the Magic Goddess has created global enchantments that activate if someone attempts a forbidden spell. There isn’t a flash of light or anything violent. The caster merely makes a mistake or has second thoughts. It has happened enough that all of these spells have fallen into legend. This also prevents the spells from being reinvented by someone who is unaware of their existence. One would think this goes against the Law of Influence, but it falls into a neutral area for the sake of Windemere.
It’s really a delicate subject to work with because you need to think of the spell from various angles. Not only the effect it will have and the reason it’s needed, but where it fits into the world’s history. Why did this spell get sealed? What major events lead to its creation? Let me use the GENOCIDE spell from Prodigy of Rainbow Tower as a simple example:
Some forbidden spells are more complicated than this, but I hope this gets the point across. These are no joke and will appear from time to time in all of the Windemere series due to the world’s chaotic history. In fact, The Spirit Well (aiming to be out in December) may have a few juicy banned spells turning up. Though the first release of next year, Ritual of the Lost Lamb, will definitely have this. Guess we’re getting into the big guns as we race to the grand finale.
I’ve been posting every day for a while, so it feels weird to let things be quiet. The blog needs some activity, especially since many of us are either running late, showing up insanely early, realizing the clock in the car is off by half a day, or any number of tragic comedies.
Simple interaction for a few moments of amusement:
What song defines your mood at this moment?
Here I am due to various events both real and fictional.
Professor Farnsworth
That title can be taken so many ways and I’ll get one out of the way quickly. This insane, incessant, inane, intrusive election will be done within a few days. I managed to avoid getting involved in a lot of this for a while, but the sense of inevitable doom drew me to the news channels and discussions. Then I stopped and stuck with the funny stuff when my IBS started rearing its head. Nothing says ‘no more politics for me’ than an intestine trying to turn itself into a balloon poodle. I’ll admit that I brought this on myself by not staying strong and avoiding it. At least I only have a few days to avoid the topic and enough DVD’s to survive.
Speaking of Purge Day, the son will be home and that means no writing for me then. He will also be home on Friday and I won’t have parental backup. So really no writing for me unless it rains and he does a movie marathon. Angry Birds, Lego Movie, Inside Out, and both Hotel Transylvania movies are in the rotation. So much better than nonstop Frozen or Inside Out. I really wish there was a video game arcade around that I could take him to and have some fun. There is a small one, but it’s all tickets and he isn’t allowed near skee-ball since he hurls the things. Not on purpose, but he releases too high and doesn’t always have his arm straight. He’s just excited about playing, so his mind locks in the ‘YAY!’ moment.
This is going to be a rambling post since the week was a blur. I’m exhausted and the stomach issues haven’t helped with sleeping. Finally got some medicine on Thursday, but I didn’t need it until last night. Is it all the election and chorus of people screaming ‘The End Is Coming!’ no matter who wins? No because I began writing . . . come to think of it, I have no idea what I was doing Monday. Oh, that was Halloween! My son had his costume parade at school and then 2.5 hours of trick-or-treating. I did errands that day and found that a few stores already had rows of Christmas stuff, which is ridiculous. The Jack O’Lanterns haven’t even started to rot and the turkeys we’re going to eat in a few weeks are still alive. Nobody needs this much time to prepare for a holiday.
I veered off course again. I started . . . anybody see the Wonder Woman trailer? Yeah, I’m stretching on that one. You see I wrote the first 3-ish chapters of Legends of Windemere: Warlord of the Forgotten Age. Not as easy as I thought for multiple reasons. It isn’t really that it’s the last time I’ll write about most of these characters that’s getting to me. They start this off so broken because of what happened in The Spirit Well and Ritual of the Lost Lamb. There’s no calm before the storm, so much as tears and tension. This goes until Chapter 5 and I really wish I could explain this better, but it could reveal several points. Let’s just say that the champions have suffered a blow that has damaged most of their relationships, but they still have to walk into the final battle. How do you fight when you aren’t fully trusting each other or even talking?
Besides the heavy emotions from myself and the characters, my mind is having trouble focusing on the task at hand. This boils down to two issues. One is that I don’t write if I make myself believe that I don’t have time or simply not in the mood. This happened last night with 3 hours to spare, but I just couldn’t get the mojo going. The other is that my brain is running several chapters ahead of my progress. It really wants to get to that big battle, but I need to work up to it. You can’t just start the fight in Chapter 1 and keeping it going for 15-18 other chapters. Not like I’m writing the final book of Percy Jackson here, which was entertaining. This is another thing that is bringing the finality to it all and I think this series will hit me harder than any others. I’ve spent too long with them to say good-bye easily, especially since some are on the chopping block. This final battle will be brutal and bloody. Even if the Baron wins in the end, he won’t be getting out clean and in one piece.
I’m hoping to get a little done this weekend and next week, but two days with the kid and a busy Monday will make that difficult. Maybe I’ll get 2 chapters done and I’ll have to use my nights if I muster the energy. The goal is to finish this book before my son’s break in late December and try to finish the year editing Chasing Bedlam. January has a plan too now. Outlining the next series War of Nytfall, which is a series title that I’m still working on. It involves the rise of the Dawn Fangs and the vampire civil war that happens because of them. Not really a war, but a band of anarchists led by Clyde spending a couple years carefully eroding the old world vampires’ power structure. Basically, Clyde is happy to be patient and only attack when he see sit will really hurt his enemies. I think he has a few bios around the blog and I have him as part of a conversation in December. January might see the set up of another Ichabod Brooks story that will go live in the summer and I’ll see if I can get anywhere with the next Raven entry. 2017 is going to be weird and I’ll be a little lost. 2018 will be even more of a haze.
Goals for the week?
The Obvious Answer
Being an author can be thankless at times. You toil over your book, fatigue over edits, stress over publishing, and go nuts over promoting. All for even one sale or a review that will make you happy. Just something to make it all worthwhile. Now, we’ve all heard that buying the book, sharing the book, and reviewing the book can make an author smile. What about the lesser known pick me ups, especially if you know the author personally?
