I'm having trouble creating a magic system and the logic behind it, as a result, I was curious about what other people did to create and flesh out their magic system.
Uhhhhhhhhhhh…….
This is a fraction of a stories magic system from a year ago…
There are three fundamental substances that constitute all things: the Aether, Void, and Quintessence. A long time ago the three substances were separated yet created a whole. The Aether was above the Void and Quintessence, like a shell. It wanted to condense into a ball, but was restrained by the Quintessence. The Void was the core, it continually tried to expand, yet, it too was restrained. Quintessence was in the center inert in its movement. It bound the Aether and Void to itself while keeping them separated from each other. The Void continually tried to expand, and the Aether tried to condense. This caused the Quintessence to experience immense pressure, which caused the Quintessence to merge with itself, creating Souls. The Souls, like bacteria, could and would move freely within the Quintessence. They first reached the Void, when the Souls tried to move into it they were slowly dissipated into Quintessence. Next the Souls reached the Aether. When they moved into it the Souls began to crystallize, unable to move themselves. Gradually the Souls began to avoid the Void and Aether. Even so, eventually the crystallized Souls created a wall that was impassible to the other Souls. The souls began to bind to and absorb each other. This caused them to mutate randomly. Eventually, a crystallized Soul was brought to the Void. Catalyzed by the meeting of Void and Aether, the crystallized soul began to transform.
Aether:
Condense
Crystallize
Void:
Expand
Dissipates
Quintessence:
Bind
Inert
Transform
Soul:
Bind
Perceive
Move
Transfer
Store
Mutate
Living
Basic Ritual for the creation of a coerced contract and seal for astral and ethereal entities.
Required:
The name of the form of the target written on paper. (i.e. an Ice Spirit of a frost plane.) The more specific the better.
Knowledge on how to strip/infuse your soul into objects.
Shaping material (Materials like string, clay, wire, etc.)
A sensory organ of a living creature (Eye, tongue, whiskers, etc.)
A jar of your blood, or yellow bile. The jar must be able to contain the sensory organ as well.
An object representing the body/Æther, like salt.
An object representing the soul/quintessence, like mercury.
An object representing the mind/void, like sulfur.
A piece of quartz or quartzite with a weight of ~2 pounds, or 1 kilogram. This will represent earth.
A lit kerosene lamp with an exposed flame.
Copper wire or filament.
Scissors (optional)
A brush (optional)
Blindfold (optional)
Soak the sensory organ in the jar of blood or bile for a lunar month. Make sure that the blood/bile stays liquid throughout the soaking process.
Before the ritual, mark the quartz/quartzite with the alchemical symbol of earth using your blood.
Before the ritual, mark the kerosene lamp with the alchemical symbol of fire using your blood.
Before the ritual make sure that the copper wire is touching the flame of the kerosene lamp, and that the flame is green.
Ritual:
- Strip/infuse a piece of your soul into a malleable object like string.
- Use the object to create a perimeter. This perimeter will be used to encompass all ritual materials, the entrapment area, and the target for contract. Make sure that these can fit in your perimeter and that there are no gaps. For the basic alchemical rituals we will use either a triangle or a circle for the outer perimeter in this ritual. Triangles are very sturdy, but they are inefficient for the purpose of maximizing area and minimizing perimeter. The circle however is the best at maximizing area and minimizing perimeter, but it has the least stability making it easier to destroy by the target entity.
- Enclose a perimeter inside the original one, there can be no gaps. The perimeter must be large enough to contain the target. If the outer perimeter is a triangle use a circle and vice versa, this is to ensure stability. (There are cases in intermediate and advanced rituals that will use two or more triangles, but remember never to use circles concurrently in containment rituals.) If you are attempting to contract a planer will, or something similar, this ritual will not work for you unless you can contain the entire said plane inside the area. Make sure that the sides of both perimeters touch and are connected. If you are using string, or something similar, make sure to tie the places of contact together. This will allow the striped/infused soul in the strings to transfer the energies of the ritual materials, as well as supporting and unifying the two containment perimeters due to the sympathetic principle.
- There should now be three independent areas in between the outer and inner perimeter. You should place your Aether, Void, and Quintessence materials in these sections.
- Then enclose them with a square using your soul split/infused materials. If needed, use that material to create a line connected to the outer perimeter, if needed tie the material to the perimeter.
- Place the quartz/quartzite and kerosene lamp with the attached copper wire/filament in the center of the inner perimeter.
- Enclose the two objects in a circle/square, depending on the shape of the inner perimeter, using the split/infused material and use a line to connect them. The center of the inner perimeter must be the center of that line, with an error of margin of 6 millimeters.
- Encase/wrap the sensory organ in the split/infused material and use that material to connect both you and the outer perimeter. (I.E. a string tied to your finger is tied and knotted to an eyeball, that you can hold in your hand, and tied and knotted to the outer perimeter)
- Place the written description of the target on the flame of the kerosene lamp. Making sure not to disturb the placement of anything.
- Exit the inner and outer perimeter before the written description burns.
- The flame of the kerosene lamp should change color, and the target should appear above the flame of the kerosene lamp.
- You should be able to feel connected to the target and the ritual objects.
- Use the sensory organ to perceive the true name/form of the target.
- Say/describe that name/form and threaten to give that name/form to one of the target's enemies, a god of death, or something more generally frightening, if the target does not swear on their true name/form to agree to a contract to you.
- If the target agrees, create an oral contract and the target will repeat after you and swear to follow that contract by their true name/form. The target will then be tethered to the quartz/quartzite. You can crush it to return the target early. When the contract is completed the quartz/quartzite will naturally break and the target will return back to where it came from.
- If they refuse, connect the target to the Void material. The material should light with green ethereal flames. The void essence in that material will begin to attempt to dissolve the target. Call out to the target and attempt to repeat step 14 & 15.
- If this doesn’t work, connect to the Aether material and repeat step 16.
- If this doesn’t work connect to the Quintessence material and repeat step 16.
- If this doesn’t work, disconnect yourself from the outer perimeter. If you used string as your split/infused material use scissors to cut it. Make sure however not to disturb the outer perimeter. The quartz/quartzite will break and the target will return.
- If the target escapes confinement, destroy the sensory organ or be prepared to confront the target in a battle for your body. If you fail they will posses your body, and your soul will probably die.
Planes
A plane is a space created by the balancing of Aether, quintessence, and void. They have a planer shell primarily made of Aether. An internal space primarily made of void, and worlds primarily made of quintessence. All of this is tied together by planar energy.
Ghosts and spirits
Ghosts and spirits are formed when people & animals die. Unlike normal souls that are dissipated by planar radiation, these creatures find a way to avoid it. There are two typical ways ghosts and spirits do this.
- They attach to an object/land and use it as a substitute for a body.
- The person's soul was strong enough to resist planar radiation until they could find an area shielded from it.
Objects possessed by a ghost and/or spirit will each have their own unique properties. These properties are decided by the environment, the strength of the soul(s), the amount of souls, how the object relates to the dead, the properties of the object, how the object was formed, any potential magic rituals or ceremonies performed with and/or on the object, and the regrets/wishes of the possessing soul(s).
I have more in the very last link in my signature, as well in different stories.