Category: Magic
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Building a Magic System: No-Eyes’ Necromancy
Recently, I started work on a new short story that deals with necromancy. It’s the first time in a while that I’ve had to flesh out the details of a magic system, and I wanted to share the thought process that went into it. Narrative & Inspirations First, I want to talk about the story,…
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New Essay in Clarkesworld Magazine: “Frodo is Dead: Worldbuilding and The Science of Magic”
I’ve said this before: magic should not be science. Magic can be systematic and internally consistent, but it shouldn’t be reduced to a human tool, like astronomy or chemistry. A lot of writers and worldbuilders don’t seem to understand the difference–didn’t Arthur C. Clarke famously say that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic?” But there is a…
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Five Years Worth of Sketches: Ritual Magic, Death Masks, and Helmets
This weekend I finally started digging into about 5 years worth of sketches and thumbnails doodled in the margins of my school notes. The majority of the sketches are for helmets, masks, and faces, but there are some symbols and ritual magic designs. Most of the helmets on the left are meant for Redcaps, which are elves…
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THE OCCULT READING LIST VOL. 3: Three Body Problem, Language as Magic, and New Retro Wave
This is Vol. 3 of the Occult Reading list, where I collect all the interesting stories and strange pieces of trivia I’ve picked up over the past week from books, articles, and webpages. Also included are the songs that have been on repeat for me this week. Guaranteed to make you more interesting at parties. Disclaimer: There’s…
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ERGODICA, Part 2: Interdimensional Necromantic Blues
New, from Chris Mahon’s Occult Triangle Lab: interconnections between Kierkegaard’s existentialism, Buddhism, immortality, Kabbalah, fractals, Godel’s Incompleteness theorem, and a piece of experimental literature about an interdimensional necromancer trapped between two infinities.
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The Crownless King
Headless gods, self-surgery, and living forever: an excerpt and some sketches on a necromantic theme, ‘the crownless king.’
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Narcomancy: Morphine, Lucid Dreaming, and Binaural Beats
Serial Experiments Lain meets Neuromancer and Inception.