Vespers

Okay. So. I'm worldbuilding currently. The thing that's throwing me is the system of magic... i want something original., this seems hard. perhaps i read too much so all my ideas i have something to campare it to... oh well.

currently. it needs a bit of background to explain.

Three realms... The mortal world itself, Dream, and of course Nightmare (haven't yet decided whether this is sperate or the backwaters of Dream). I haven't got around to the mythology as to why they exist yet but i'll get around to it.

The denizens of Dream and to a smaller extent Nightmare are a replacement for the elves and fae in my original, D&D-esque stories. However they also supply all the many horrible and beautiful creatures from people's dreams. Which sometimes get into the mortal world. it happens. some of them normalize, become mortalish, unchanging. Some can't because, well, it's hard when you have sexuality or reproduction.

The more human-ish creatures of Dream come out more often. They aren't always nice. They have magic.

Humans got kinda pissed off by this and realized they needed magic. so they either created or found (dunno yet, came up with this system, uh, last night) a third realm called Trance (until I get a better name) based on the observed ability of dreams to interact with mortals

Which is what wizards use. essentially, they have to cast thier mind into that world and pull things out, it being possible to create from nothing in Trance

The first hard part is being able to do so without being sucked in bodily. there's a lot of mental and theoretical training required before prentices can actually use magic. the second is getting to be able to do it and *anything* else at the same time.... beginners sometimes stop breathing while casting, much less be aware of the world around them

Hmmmm. Okay, if I scratch the extra realm 'trance' and have wizards draw straight from dream/nightmare, any thoughts?

thanks Anke. i shoulda thought of that.

Random ideas/thinking points...

Would there be two separate 'schools' of magic, one drawing from Dream and one from Nightmare?

Maybe which realm they tap into depends on the mindset of the wizard. But, if so, permanent or temporary? Could their mood affect it?

Might drawing from Nightmare be illegal or otherwise discouraged?

Do Dream creatures cast magic by tapping into the mortal world?

Can Dream creatures 'summon' humans to their world? Bind them? Use them as servants? Change them?

Does time flow differently? Faster? More slowly? Backwards? In a circle? (Recurring dreams!)

Do Nightmare and Dream get along together? What are the politics?

Does it get easier to tap into the other realms with practice? What if it got more difficult?

Does casting attract Dream creatures' attention? Does it drain energy or resources from their world? Do they mind about that?