how do you do that voodoo that you do do

[Nickeris86]

I am currently writing an urban fantasy novel where magic users are broken up into five main groups that can manipulate the seven primal energies of existence.

types of energy
Life: the power of creation, flows strongly through anything that is effected by time.

Death: the power of destruction and change, everything must end at some point.

Water Earth Fire and Air: the building blocks of creation, everything is comprised of these to some degree

Time: the thread that binds all things together for better or worse.

the Four Types of magic users:

Wizards: have great power but need a focus in order to direct it. (staff, wand, book, cellphone what have you), can manipulate all seven energies equally.

Sorcerers: can call up their power by sheer force of will (they make the big booms) however their power is controlled by their emotions so most go under a great deal of training in order to learn control, that is if they don't explode at a young age. are strongest in the four elements

Witches/Warlocks: evil little bastards whose power comes from making a deal with a demon. they make the denarions look like girl scouts. they channel their masters evil will into our world so they can manipulate any of the energies without a use of a focus.

True Necromancers: the rarest of the magic users, most don't think they exist, their power is entirely centered on the passage of time from life to death and thus have strong influence in only those three powers in that regard. they are not evil

White Magus: the exact opposite of True Necromancers they can only use life energy. they are not always good guys.

basically i am asking if this works for you or if you have any suggestions on what i have so far.

[The Corvidian]

The "magic-users" sound too D&D/rpg-ish. The sources of magic sound fine, but they should not be so ridgid.

[Nickeris86]

well my thought for the source of power is that you mix and match them to get the crazy magic's.


any suggestion's on how to make it less dndish.

[The Corvidian]

Here are some definitions:

Warlock sounds fine, as the old definition meant "liar" or "oath breaker". They could be the ones who have corrupted the ways of doing magic for evil purposes. They would be both men and women.

Sorcery, and Necromancy are types of divination/fortune telling. Sorcery is done by drawing lots, and Neromancers divine via the dead. Perhaps they use crutches, as a sorceror might have a set of runes or ogham tiles to do their magic; a necromancer might hang out in graveyards, or work in mortuaries, and draw their energy from the dead.

[Nickeris86]

yeah i had looked up necromancers and found that out, my main character is a necromancer who throws bones and calls on shades to do divination concerning, though the rules concerning undead are little different in my world.

i did not know that about sorcerers though that could be interesting.

also any gender can be any kind of magi, and non magic users can become warlocks so long as they are willing to serve a dark master. magus can be good or evil, but warlocks are the only group that is always evil.

[The Corvidian]

yeah i had looked up necromancers and found that out, my main character is a necromancer who throws bones and calls on shades to do divination concerning, though the rules concerning undead are little different in my world.

i did not know that about sorcerers though that could be interesting.

also any gender can be any kind of magi, and non magic users can become warlocks so long as they are willing to serve a dark master. magus can be good or evil, but warlocks are the only group that is always evil.

The runes and orgham have been used by authors in the past.


Mages were fire priests from Zoroastrianism and related religions. They tended fire pits.

[Nickeris86]

more research is needed to the internets