Magic That Leaves a Mess: Consequences in Fantasy Worlds

This topic is really important to me. You know when you fantasy books and they have this epic fight or battle or magic style, and the consequences don't even seem to be mentioned?

I'll give you a few examples that come to my mind first:

1. A giant magical battle that's meant to be the be-all-and-end-all moment for our plucky protagonists and ALL OF THE CONTINENT. But then ... what happens after? Earth has been ripped up, forests scorched, whole towns decimated. No one talks about the clean up? The impact afterwards? Did the giant concentration of magic not impact whether it's okay to live there afterwards or not?
   

2. On a smaller scale: is there a consequence to your characters using magic? There's always a cost ... Surely? There should be, but people miss it often.
   

3. And now I'm thinking about how the characters use elemental bending in ATLA, and as much as I STILL adore it, I can't get this outta my head: 'Toph, where did the earth you moved come from?' Is it ripple effecting? If she moves this bit, will it displace this bit? Cause an earthquake somewhere else? Landslides? I know it's a kids' show, but people genuinely write magic like this in adult books too.

I'm not going to say I write magic perfectly. I'm still thinking on this too. Rather, right now this is just where my brain is currently, with a current WIP I'm working on (The Bone Warden, which I'm hoping to submit to trade) as I want to get the magic systems thought of.

Even in my Dynasty Codes series, though, the whole concept is meant to be the aftermath of magic.

Magical fallout.

I wanted books to discuss magical fallout and consequences more, so book 3 of Dynasty Codes (Noble blood, upcoming) is the core climax of the series where the concept I've been working towards finally clicks into place.

With great magical events comes great magical consequences.

And what does life look like after the fallout?

It fascinates me to no end, thinking about the other side of magic. Weirdly, magic is cool. But the shadow of it is cooler to me.

Thinking about the ripple effects gives so many incredible what-if moments that get the brain going, which then only spurs on more stories.

Take The Bone Warden, for example. Part of it is that the MC suddenly unlocks magical abilities after a near-death experience. Unfortunately for her, it's what the society deems as 'dark magic'. Not her fault. She's not a bad guy. But the government deems her 'civically unsuitable' and exiles her.

(Not sure about you, but that's the origin of a villain story if there ever was one. They're basically creating reasons for people to turn to dark magic as a revenge method.)

Anyway. On top of that, TBW discusses mixed up summonings, how to use dark magic ... for good? ... nullification of magic, impacts and after effects of magic even if used with good intentions, how rating people's magic can ruin them, and all these lovely things that go with all that without spoiling too much.

In Dynasty Codes, we have Yoshiko's curse turning her more and more into a dragon the more she uses her magic, until she can no longer turn human again. And an agreement with the Sea Witch leads someone who was probably a decent human at the start into a really horrible future. (Don't bargain with neutral powers ...) (That should be a lesson of its own.)

I can go on for ages about upcoming works too but then this is more than just a quick update.

Magic's amazing, isn't it. There's so much to think about and so many ways to make it work. And I think it's in these shadows and consequences that we can really expand on the worlds we make in fantasy. I really want to start reading books by authors who play with these rules and magical ruination to build something terrifying and raw and primal and wonderful all at once.

Because magic, as great as it is, should be frightening. It doesn't play to human rules. Nature is wicked. Unrelenting. And the arcane powers are a part of that.

Let your magic leave a giant terrifying mess. And then talk about how people handle that after.

Can they live in an area after a major magical event, or is the fallout too much?

How does magic impact people's brains if someone cast a spell on them, even if it was to heal or help them?

More than nosebleeds. Go all out. Because the real world is messy, flawed, terrifying, and fantasy worlds can be an incredible extension of that where you have room to play with even greater consequences.

And if you have book recs that work with this, get commenting. We all gotta help share our favs. Of course, I'll add my books with these themes to the list too. Dynasty Codes is out now, Iron Angels is too, and The Bone Warden will hopefully be on trade lists one day. Keep your fingers crossed for me!