Dear Friends,
Magic is a cornerstone of the fantasy genre—arguably the defining element—and it can take as many forms as there are stories. It may involve hidden forces of the cosmos, sheer willpower, blood sacrifice, or invocation of gods and spirits.
But if not handled carefully, it can easily break a story. It can shatter suspension of disbelief, undermine tension, or create incoherent worlds.
That’s why I made a deliberate choice: Son of the Borderlands is not a magic-centered world.
Here’s why:
1. Why are magic users both all-powerful and persecuted? I see this even in series I love. If one could incinerate a hundred men with a finger snap, why would they live in hiding? Why would they not rule? Human nature is consistent across time and culture—those with power use it to gain wealth, command, or even mates. The idea that mages, and only mages, would liberate themselves from human desires, or face persecution by those much weaker, contradicts human nature.
2. Magic should never replace storytelling. When magic becomes a tool to hand-wave problems or resolve conflict without cost, it strips the story of tension. It becomes a deus ex machine. I focus on agency, resourcefulness, and consequence—characters must think, act, and struggle. If magic always swoops in to save the day, those themes collapse.
3. Magic must have a cost. If casting spells is effortless, why not use It for every inconvenience? It needs to have a consequence. It may demand decades of study, the loss of one’s health or sanity, or devotion to a higher power that demands its due. Without a cost, it cheapens everything else.
One of the most important lessons my coach taught me is that every scene must have a cause and effect, and move the story forward. I extended that principle to the world itself. Magic follows rules. It moves the story forward but never overshadows it.
In this world, magic is a trade—slow to learn, harder to master. The most accessible magic is the “spell of binding,” which tethers magical effects to object. “Seeing stones” and “speaking stones” allow for communication across distances, or the preservation of voice and memory. They are practical. Magic in this world is usually a tool, not a spectacle.
Potent magic may come from the gods, but their gifts are never free. Each deity blesses adherents in line with their own nature. No god can give that which they do not possess. They require devotion and sacrifice in return. Some individuals, the Chosen, receive powerful blessings of the god’s volition and not their own, but they are rare and still must sacrifice to keep their god’s favor. In a world built on layers of power—nothing is granted without a reckoning.
It is rare that magic can unleash terrible power. During the Siege of Tercera, for example, Agni commands his mages to draw on the element of nether—the equivalent, in modern terms, of calling on Hell itself. The threat of it results in victory—but also the spiritual corruption of a hundred great mages, their souls condemned in this life and the next. Agni had power, but not wisdom. He counted the cost. In future books, we will see the true perils of nether.
In summary, magic, like everything else in Son of the Borderlands, serves the story. And in this world, no power comes without cost.