Today we’re going to talk about elves, and specifically their magic since it’s the very heart of this proud and powerful race.
To begin with, when I started thinking of the various magic systems I would need for the Magiford world, I wanted to make magic feel vastly different between the various species. Holy hills, did I sweat over the elves.
Firstly, I knew I needed my elves to be powerful, but I also knew from the get-go that I wanted them to believe that wizards were magic’s favorite, so I had to shape two distinctly different magics that both had huge possibilities while making it seem like human magic isn’t as flashy/cool as even fae magic.
Additionally, I knew I needed elf magic to have what they would view as a great weakness—which would explain why they coveted human magic so much.
I settled on making elven magic song/sound based instead of sensation based like it is for all our wizard/human heroines, and having their strength be greatly affected by their personal emotions. Sadness would put magic out of their reach, making it impossible to use, while anger would make magic almost uncontrollable and dangerous to the wielder.
This would be plenty to make the arrogant elves upset. First of all, because it meant they weren’t infallible and even the most powerful of elves could fall, and second of all because—as arrogant as they were—they would never like admitting they had feelings.
I also decided that elves would also be the only race that would have different types of magic, specifically the elven royal family specialties, like the Auron family’s tattoos/summoning, and the Mors’ ability to use super-powered artifacts like Destruction.
Believe it or not, the hardest part about the magical weapons was keeping them amazing and cool. I had to work desperately hard to keep any weapon transformations from being something closer to a Japanese anime magic girl transformation—a Japanese trope in which a high school aged girl has an object of some sort that makes her transform from her regular street clothes to a fantastical outfit that is basically her superhero identity. (I don’t know if time freezes or what during these transformations, or why no one recognizes the magic girl when she finishes the transformation even though 90% of the time she looks the same and is just wearing different clothes, that’s just part of the trope.)
We’re going to explore elven magic in future Magiford trilogies, but Noctus is a model example as he’s one of the very few powerful elves who isn’t also a raging ego-maniac, which means he’s an example of the best they can be. (Well…when he’s not wearing the silly magic restraints the Paragon insists he wear, that is.)
Noctus’s story also hints at the vast difference between the modern elves living in Calor Villa, and the historical elves that the rest of the supernatural community declared war against. While elves in history had highly specialized magic and considered themselves the rulers of Earth, Noctus’s elves are much more interested in living peacefully with the humans and avoiding supernaturals as much as possible.
Most of them don’t have the prejudices against Chloe being a shadow that the elves of yore would have, and while they’re inherently awed of their stoic ruler, they do care for him on a very personal basis. (Mostly because they’re very aware that without him to power the barriers of the city they’d be toast, but in general they’re aware of everything Noctus has done for the sake of magic.)
Noctus’s elves—as we will see in the future—are very different from their remaining brethren. But that’s because they rallied around Noctus, who chose to fight his family because he knew their plans were arrogant, greedy, and would cause destruction on a massive scale. Any of the elves who are more ruthless–like the elf who sent a spy to watch Noctus in book 1–didn’t choose to follow Noctus.
Even among the elves of Calor Villa, however, you can still see shadows of what they were–particularly in elves like Oleander, who has adapted to living with humans but is able to snap back to her training as a Mors soldier in an instant.
So far we’ve seen the best of elves, but in future trilogies we’re going to see the tragedy of their hubris and arrogance and how it has affected those who haven’t sided with Noctus. Which, wow, that sounds like a real downer, doesn’t it? But it is me, so I’ll tackle their issues with the same kind of humor and antics I face everything with! Besides, everyone now knows that Shiloh is the elf princess the Paragon is searching for, so we all also know it’s no accident that Noctus lives across the street from her…which might make you wonder how “accidental” it is that the uncles hang out on their porch and chat with her all the time live there, too…
Thanks for reading, Champions! Until next time, have a delightful day!
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