So, in a world where everyone has the ability to do some kind of magic, if they so choose, would it make sense for there to be some people denying the existence of magic? Like, one tenth of the people they know would be able to create a spark simply by snapping their fingers, so I’m thinking it would be hard to ignore.
They could know magic exists, they could just be like "Whoopdeedoo big deal move on."
They could know magic exists, they could just be like "Whoopdeedoo big deal move on."
Haha, that made me laugh! I can just imagine that kind of character. Totally unimpressed.
There could be a whole group of people with this radical idea that magic doesn't exist and its almost like a cult because their leader has somehow convinced them that magic isn't a thing and he preaches it to them himself and they all believe him because it makes them feel better about their lack of magic and secretly the leader wants to find a way to take away magic from people so he can give it to their followers and be like a kind of god to them but that's just a whole other thing
Sorry if that was really unhelpful, but I hope the suggestion helps. Happy writing!
That was an interesting idea!
@barabara Wow, I hadn't considered that angle. At the moment in-story there are laws against magic since the ruler sees it as only destructive, but that's a good way to explain why some (very few) don’t believe magic exists at all.
There would probably be many people who believe that there is a rational, scientific explanation to magic (maybe they conduct illegal research about the causes/physics of their own magic).
You guys all have really good ideas!
dude all of this sounds so rad
I would read a book with this magic denial stuff
So, in a world where everyone has the ability to do some kind of magic, if they so choose, would it make sense for there to be some people denying the existence of magic? Like, one tenth of the people they know would be able to create a spark simply by snapping their fingers, so I’m thinking it would be hard to ignore.
It's like flat earthers: there's more than enough evidence, but they are just so hung up on denying it and creating a huge conspiracy about it that there's absolutely no way you could convince them even if you were able to personally take them into space and show them that the Earth is round, not flat.
Maybe you could throw in some conspiracies with these non-believers? People are nuts, and when the nuts get ideas in their heads, they expand and just go with it and make up some of the craziest stuff….
Maybe you could throw in some conspiracies with these non-believers? People are nuts, and when the nuts get ideas in their heads, they expand and just go with it and make up some of the craziest stuff….
It's definitely going to be a fringe group, due to the sheer amount of evidence available at their very fingertips. But thank you for that parallel with the flat-earth theories, it's given me some ideas!
To paraphrase a D&D story I saw a while back, you could have a denier who does magic and a non-magic user talking about something "unknown in origin" (despite it CLEARLY being magical) and then the non-magic person saying "But you do magic!" "I prefer unexplained application of yet-unknown forces," or something like that.
To paraphrase a D&D story I saw a while back, you could have a denier who does magic and a non-magic user talking about something "unknown in origin" (despite it CLEARLY being magical) and then the non-magic person saying "But you do magic!" "I prefer unexplained application of yet-unknown forces," or something like that.
I am definitely planning to have this kind of group in my world. :) Most people tie the existence of magic and its related abilities to their religious beliefs, whether all magic was made by one god, or each type was made by a different god, or it's the spirits of the trees/animals/wind currents that enable magic, etc. But there are those who see it as an entirely non-spiritual, not-fully-understood natural sort of thing.
Thing is, you could totally provide a scientific explanation for some things, like casting a lightning bolt provides giving a massive boost to the natural electrical charge found in the body, or necromancy giving a sort of jumpstart to corpses to the point that physical movement is possible.
ALSO, SOMEONE COULD KNOW OF THE MAGIC, BUT CLAIM IT WAS JUST A TALENT
LIKE
SuperAwesomeMagicWitchLadyBossKweenGirl reads someone's mind
Person: "Meh. Nice talent ya got there, Martha."
CoolTrendyHotButNotReallySkaterDude floods city with bare hands
Person: "Nice. Where'd ya learn that? A talent camp?
They totally know it's magic, but they're still in denial like someone denying a character death in their favorite show.
They totally know it's magic, but they're still in denial like someone denying a character death in their favorite show.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like when some of Elvis's biggest fans claim he's still alive even though they know better, or some fans still claim they've seen Tupac walking around. They know better, but that doesn't change anything.