Magic in Middle-earth

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Magic in Middle-earth
Topic Started: Nov 6 2009, 09:42 PM (37 Views)
heatherbee.	Nov 6 2009, 09:42 PM Post #1
Andrea's Grasshopper Posts: 632 Group: Admin Member #2 Joined: Apr 6 2009 Time Zone (GMT +/-) GMT -5 Realm of Arda Blog http://tinyurl.com/ydhajbt Thread Tracker http://tinyurl.com/ya6dcce Fiction Tracker http://tinyurl.com/yc2oed2	Magic in Middle-earth We love magic on Realm of Arda when it is logically and moderately used. Why logically and moderately? The people who influenced so much of the magic in the history of Middle-earth are gone—either dead or in Valinor. With the number of those individuals decreasing, the amount of magic will naturally decline. Still, if you want your character to possess some magical qualities, there are a few ways for that to happen. Magical Possession Firstly, the character has a magical possession. Ancient relics are not too hard to come by in Middle-earth¹, if you’re creative with your character’s history. These items can be as subtle as a stone or lavish as jewels. Typically, these items have one or two magical properties. They do not give the bearer infinite power. Even the One Ring had a weakness or two.² Nature Secondly, the magic can come from Middle-earth itself. There are certain parts of Middle-earth with extraordinary properties. Tolkien was a famous environmentalist, and the Ents are often cited as the evidence. There is another more subtle example, however. Athelas has the amazing ability to cure the Black Breath.³ The Ringwraiths (who spread the Black Breath) are anything but natural, yet this simple weed—something overlooked and even despised—negates their powerfully strong effect. Even the most powerful being in Middle-earth, Sauron, is unable to fight nature in this case. He cannot rid the entire world of athelas seeds. A weed trumps a Maiar spirit. As far as profound power goes, Nature takes the cake. Maiar Blessing (or Curse) Thirdly, the magic can come from one of the Maiar who lived in Middle-earth. This can go hand-in-hand in the first suggestion or entirely on its own. The Maia could have given some of their power directly to the character through some magical ritual. This also will have minimal effect, because it is unlikely (probably impossible) for a Maia to give all his or her power to anyone not Ainur. Any Maiar doing this is probably one of the Fallen. Canon does not mention any pure Maiar considering this. They kept their abilities contained within themselves, but used them for the greater good. However, Sauron was a fan of this method. His Rings of Power are the most infamous example. Admin Note: This method is restricted to a certain number of characters. Get approval prior to writing your application. Innate Quality Lastly, the character has innate abilities. Each race has them, but doesn’t consider them magical. Sometimes these are harder to distinguish. Nevertheless, Tolkien described many of these abilities.⁴ As long as your character is from that race, they can possess any and all “magical” qualities. ______ ¹ According to Gandalf, Fellowship of the Ring ² It obscured vision. The bearer wasn’t totally invisible in direct light. They could still cast shadows. ³ Fellowship of the Ring ⁴ As much as I would love to describe them all, there are too many, and I would undoubtedly miss some. Reading a description of your character’s race in one of the online Encyclopedias will probably address all the magical qualities they might have.
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