Last week I looked at Brandon Mull’s use of five, primarily in the Fablehaven Universe and The Five Kingdoms. I made some connections between the series and how we can use them to connect the “concrete nouns” of the Mull-tiverse (characters, settings and objects). This week I’ll focus more on what this teaches us thematically about the five uses of magic. I hope to solidify what was introduced last week to better understand the real purpose that the Mull-tiverse theory has taken on: bringing more light into the world. In doing so, I also hope to weave in another piece that I introduced last week: the five Wizardborne races of Lyrian from Beyonders.
I’ll start off by saying, this was a lot more challenging
than I thought it would be. Between
brainstorming and drafting, I had a few false starts and started to wonder if I
was going down the wrong path. But all
it took was remembering two things that I have already mentioned in previous
posts: 1: this is a fan-theory and can easily be disproven, but that is not the
point—the point is to learn something from it and 2: (I’ve already said this in
this post) This specific theory is to explore how we can bring more
light into the world.
So let’s start with light: in the Mull-tiverse, light comes
from the Source. I toyed with
identifying one type as Source Magic, but it’s all in the name: Source. It isn’t magic itself, it’s the source of
magic. There are a few instances where
we see how weirdly similar the Source and the Void are, too: Cole notices the
similarities between being in the slipstream and being in the terminal void;
Seth reflects on the feelings of being encompassed by darkness and being
encompassed by light; both can prevent, or at least slow death: the Source can
grant immortality while the Void makes one undead.
The five methods of magic exist between the Source
and the Void and can be influenced by one or the other. For the rest of this post, I will be using
the names given to the types of magic in the Outskirts to label the different
types of magic. The justification here
is that the creators of the Outskirts did so from the Echolands, which means it
is highly likely that they existed in other realms first (again, we could
theorize on just that one point in a post on its own—that’s coming, too). We won’t worry about that today because today
is about what the magic does and what that teaches us.
Shaping
Raw Shaping is what magic is called in the Echolands itself,
and Shaping is what magic is called in Sambria because, as Dandalus explains it,
it was closest to how Shaping worked in the Echolands. Shaping is what created the Outskirts as a
tangible place where Dandalus and the other creators of the Outskirts could
“live again.” That is what Shaping
does—it creates, and brings life to things where you didn’t expect to see
life. Last week, I also associated this
magic with healing. This still felt like
a bit of a stretch at first. I made the
argument that it is about safety and sanctuary last week. I still hold to that, but an even more
compelling argument is that Cole, who has what they call “raw shaping” ability
can rejuvenate people and items who have lost their magical ability.
Shaping almost always relies on the Source for its power, so
we often associate it with “good” magic.
Originally, I was tempted to call this form of magic Source magic
because of this. It is the magic
associated with fairies in Fablehaven and Dragonwatch; it the magic Mira uses
in the Outskirts, and Cole has Raw Shaping power. Dandalus, the first High Shaper is also
called the “Warden of the Light.”
But then there’s Brady’s Wilderness, which was a form of
Shaping that nearly killed Cole, and, of course, there was Carnag, which was
the manifestation of Mira’s power when she was separated from it. Carnag, along with the other manifestations
of powers separated from their hosts in the Outskirts (which we will explore
today) is evidence that Shaping can be used by tapping into the Void as
well. However, I will still say that
this is likely the magic that is closest to the Source.
What does it teach us?
What theme does the magic called Shaping reveal in the
Mull-tiverse? Well, it teaches us that
there are still miracles out there (yes, I am aware that this is a little on
the nose since the princess with Shaping ability’s full name is Miracle), but
this is truly what this kind of magic teaches us in the Mull-tiverse. We learn that we can be healed of emotional
or physical wounds. We learn that we can
“reshape” our lives through our choices and we learn that healing and giving
life give us more power that harming or taking life. Cole is healed in the slipstream; Seth is
healed in the aether, Kendra is constantly helping others, and the races or Eldrin
in Lyrian represent new life and fresh starts as well.
I mentioned last week that I felt like the connections of
the five Wizardborn races would be different because they were a product of
magic rather than users of magic.
Eldrin, one of the ancient wizards from Lyrian created two races and one
of them, in particular, is a great representation of this kind of magic. I am speaking, of course, of the Amar Kabal,
or the seedfolk. Drake, in particular,
illustrates the miracle of second (and in his case many more) chances. The seedfolk live multiple lives: when they
die, their Amar (the seed on the back of their neck) is removed, planted, and
the are born again from the amar. Drake
squandered so many lives, but when his Amar grew back defective, he had the
ultimate change of heart with his “last chance” by joining the cause against
evil. With Drake this goes even further
to show that that wasn’t even his last chance, as he thought it
was. We see him in the Five Kingdoms in
the Echolands, where he once again helps the heroes with their quest.
Enchanting
This is the magic associated with Eloweer, and in the
Outskirts, it’s not a whole lot different than Shaping, but it is used with
completely different purposes in mind.
The difference between Shaping and Enchanting in Eloweer is that the creations
in Eloweer are not tangible. They are
only illusions. Much of the time these
illusions use literal light. However,
there is definitely darkness and secrecy in it.
Confidence lounges are a big deal in Eloweer, and when you go into a
Confidence lounge, you don’t want anyone knowing who you actually are. They use the “light” of their Enchanting to
hide rather than to reveal. These
secrets are ultimately used to support the power structure of Eloweer. It is a very “dog eat dog” world, or a
“knight kill knight” world to be more literal.
Of course, there are good characters from Eloweer. In fact, I feel like Five Kingdoms does a
great job of illustrating the good that can be done with any type of magic if
you lean toward the Source rather than the Void. However, this magic is used to influence
power. It is the kind of magic I
associated with demons in earlier posts.
Demons are all about contracts and agreements that help their own
self-interest. They use information to
gain power for themselves and want to dominate.
Another connection between enchanting and demons is that no demons start
off as demons. It is a choice they make,
which ultimately changes their entire nature, including their appearance.
The object I connected with this magic was the Oculus—the
device that allowed you to see everything at once. The original connection was because of the
craving this kind of magic gives one for knowledge. But think of how overwhelming this is. Kendra can’t handle it for very long when she
touches the Oculus—she doesn’t know what to do with that vast amount of
information.
Often times, throughout the Mull-tiverse when magic is used
to assert power, it teaches us the dangers of doing so. Very often, I would argue that those who use
it rely more on the Void than the Source.
However, what is the flip side?
Information is good, right?
Knowledge is power, but it doesn’t have to be corrupt power. This is used to teach us what we can do
with that ability.
The other thing this power can do is allow you to change yourself. Cole and his friends use masks that change
them into animals. Even that comes with
a warning and a cost—it’s hard to change back.
We see that Cole and Dalton both struggle to even want to take
off their masks because of the power they feel.
Humbuggle teaches us that no demon starts as a demon; they change into
demons based on the magic they commit to.
My theory suggests that this is Enchanting that leans toward the
Void. So it becomes about what you do
with that power. It’s about honor (for
my Five Kingdoms fans out there, yes: I did it again. The princess with enchanting ability is Honor—it’s
almost like he did it on purpose).
The message comes mostly as a warning with this magic: be
careful what you do with the power you are given. Lean toward the Void and it will corrupt you
as it literally corrupted the demons.
Lean toward the Source, and you can change yourself in remarkably
powerful and honorable ways.
One last piece on Enchanting: for the Wizardborn races of
Lyrian, the one I see this in the most is the giants. This is because of the literal change they
undergo from day to night: they are dwarves in the day and giants at night. The creatures they are at night are monsters;
the creatures they are during the day, not so much. The giant (technically half-giant) that we
become most familiar with is Aram, and listen to this conversation between him
and his mother in “Seeds of Rebellion”:
“’When a government becomes unjust, honor is often found
among the lawless. Over the years, you
have developed many talents that may now prove useful to an honorable cause.’
“Aram shook his head. ‘Where’s the honor in suicide?’
“More honor than attends a life of indifference, idling away
your years quashing brawls in a tavern.” (116-117).
Honor is what helps him to make a decision on which
side to join rather than remaining indifferent.
Tinkering
When I first started
thinking about this in the larger context of the Mull-tiverse, I wondered if I
should come up with a different way of describing it. But as I allowed it to bounce around in my
brain, the more it still made sense in that way.
In Five Kingdoms, this is the magic associated with
Zeropolis—the kingdom that is most like Earth, but with more advanced
technology. It is also the magic that I
associated with dragons and with the translocator. The reason for the connection between dragons
and Zeropolis is because of their connection to elements (breath powers and
crystals) and the reason for the connection between Zeropolis and the translocator
was because of Zeropolis’s use of thruports to connect with Earth’s
internet. Of any of the types of magic,
this is the loosest connection between the place, creature and object, but that
is because this is the most diverse types of magic.
This is more of an elemental magic: Tinkering in Zeropolis
uses crystals to make further advancements in Artificial Intelligence and other
forms of technology. This is more of a
stretch, but the translocator can take you wherever you want to be… as long as
you’ve already been there before, so it depends on the environment(s) you know. Dragons are incredible creatures—some of, if
not the most powerful magical creatures on Earth. But they depend on their natural abilities to
become that—their breath powers (which appear as unusual weather to the
untrained eye), their wings, their indestructible scales. In other words, it is the being itself
that is magic—the physical characteristics.
In fact, not to be too gruesome, but they’re even valuable when they’re
dead; Tanu was thrilled to have the opportunity to harvest dragon parts from a
fresh dragon corpse. This also reminds
us that creation of potions and other consumables is part of this magic.
So, what is this supposed to teach us thematically? Well, let’s take a look at what else happens
as a result of using this type of magic.
This, more than anything, teaches us about balance. Dragons are supposed to be solitary
creatures, but what happens when they join forces? Chaos.
When artificial intelligence gets too out of control? Chaos.
But when everything is balanced, it’s all hunky dory. Unfortunately, it is very rarely in
balance. We are in a constant state of
change. Noticing a theme here? Yep, all the forms of magic deal with
change. Change through healing, change
through decisions, change due to imbalances in our environment. This magic teaches us that the only thing
constant in life is change and that as these changes happen, the best thing to
do is to remain constant. If you know
the Five kingdoms, you should’ve seen this one coming. Princess Constance’s magic is strongest in
Zeropolis.
It is leanings towards the Void or the Source that create
this imbalance, even with this magic, and it takes a tremendous amount of
control to achieve it. There are plenty
of direct themes to nature through this magic as well. Yes, the fairies are often associated with
nature, but, really, in the Fablehaven universe, it pretty much all is: there
are protections that prevent mortals from seeing magical creatures for what
they truly are; boundaries set up to protect nature and the creatures in it;
all are battling to either keep or sway the balance. In Zeropolis its control of information and
technological advancement that keep the kingdom running smoothly, and when one
AI (Roxie) tips those controls in her favor, everything goes haywire.
This was also the more difficult component to make a
connection to with the Wizardborn races of Lyrian. I went back and forth between the Drinlings
because they can eat raw material, but not manufactured, and the Treefolk,
which we know very little of—just that they are super intelligent gibbons or
humans covered in shrubbery (made from elements). Ultimately, since the concept with Wizardborn
races is that they are a product of the magic, I went with the Treefolk
since they are made from the elements.
Unfortunately, since we know so little of them, that’s about all there
is to go on.
Weaving
Call me crazy, but this next one, although it is the
creepiest, is also my favorite. It is my
favorite because of what it represents, though.
Just as Shaping is the closest to the Source, Weaving is closest to the
Void. At least, that is much more often
how it is portrayed. Some common
exercises in Weaving are summoning and binding.
In Necronum, Weavers summon Echoes.
In Fablehaven and Dragonwatch, the undead are summoned to do the bidding
of Shadow Charmers. This magic is used
to bind people with magical oaths, which basically take away their will. There are very few examples of this type of
magic being used for good—it is magic that prevents progress.
This was associated with the undead because it prevents
progress to another realm after death, thus creating the undead. They are left with nothing but longings and
cravings. It was associated with the
font of immortality because even those who use this magic actively are trying
to cheat death, but in doing so, they are restricting themselves in some way or
another.
Either a feature or a side effect of this type of magic is
that it sucks life out of its subjects or victims. It is the antithesis of Shaping, which gives
life. We see this in several instances:
The Underking is just a pile of bones with a crown; the inhabitants of Blackwell
suck the life out of everything when they are freed, even the rats in their permitted
areas. The evil Echoes do everything
they can to prevent Cole from returning to his body.
What is the lesson here?
Well, there’s a few different ways you could put it: it illustrates the
contrast of being acted upon or acting.
A more common contrast used in literature (and you really should see
this one coming at this point) is a contrast between fate and destiny (If you
still need the reminders at this point, Destiny is the name of the princess whose
powers are strongest in Necronum). Fate
is something out of your control—someone or something else is entirely
responsible for the outcome of your life, and it doesn’t matter what you do—you
can’t escape it. Destiny, on the other
hand, is more of a promise than a curse, and it is something we can take more
control of. Still wild, still something
outside of ourselves, but a support more than an obstacle. Just think of Thunder—the horse that is the
embodiment of Destiny’s power. It goes
where it wants, but allows riders, and it guides people to the places that are going
to help them the most.
Princess Destiny is able to see the future; but she is still
able to act how she wishes—it is more out of trust of her ability that
leads to those decisions (acting) rather than compulsion in seeing the future
(being acted upon). We see this in
Kendra, too, when she is at the gateway to the Void. She doesn’t know that’s where she is at the
time, but in the presence of the Underking she sees the future (or at
least a version of it) in which she possesses both the crown of light and the
crown of darkness. She sees the power
she would have, but she chooses not to take that advantage. It is strange that in the presence of the
Void, she is able to see the future, but it fits with the Weaving method of
magic. Additionally, when Seth is
stabbed by the Unforgiving Blade, he can sense his future and his path to
becoming undead. For a while, he accepts
that as his fate, but then he learns that he still has a choice in the
matter and takes action.
With this in mind, I find it interesting that in Lyrian,
which is just a dark place to begin with, the Wizardborn race that I feel was
created as a product of this magic are the drinlings. Drinlings have a lifespan of about two years—the
shortest lifespan of any of the Wizardborn races. It would be so easy for them to just moan
their time away, longing for a longer life.
But their lives are so full! They
are constantly learning, they are built to endure some hefty beatings, and they
are so willing to act on the right cause because they don’t see their two-year
lifespan as their fate, but as their destiny. They don’t see a two-year lifespan as an
obstacle preventing from living a fuller life, but rather an opportunity to
make the most out of it.
Even though its affiliation with the Void is much more
common, remember that none of these forms of magic are the Void or the Source
themselves. At its darkest (which is
usually what we see), Weaving prevents progress. But at its lightest, it can act more as a
guide that still offers us a choice.
Choice is a huge theme throughout all of Brandon Mull’s writing—the
heroes are those who chose to act. Weaving
represents the temptation to just take things as they come, or the feeling of
being unable to act, or that we are not in control of our own lives. It’s dark and scary to feel acted upon. But not impossible to escape.
Wayminding
Last, but certainly not least, we have Wayminding, the magic
of Creon. This magic has the ability to
extend life as well, but it has some incredibly unique features. It’s no wonder this is a magic set apart from
the rest. In Creon, this magic is used
to block memories outside its borders, open portals to other places within the
Outskirts, and to other worlds, and travel through time itself! The giants (and Humbuggle) use it to perform similar
feats at a smaller scale.
On the darker side of this magic it is used to accomplish
the same goal as Weaving, but with a different strategy: time manipulation
rather than barriers to other realms. Others
have attempted to use it in order to be in more than one place at a time, or to
exist in all of time at once. The Perennials
Serpent, which is the embodiment of Princess Elegance’s Wayminding ability, is
a creature that ends up existing long before Elegance herself was born.
At its best, it is used to get people where they need to be,
when they need to be there. Again,
similar to fate vs. destiny, but in a more tangible way in actual space and
time.
The displacers of Lyrain are the closest connection to this
kind of magic: their bodies are able to separate due to cross-dimensional
connection. Ferrin’s hand even makes it
to Earth and still survives, so they are able to separate quite a bit and be in
multiple places at once. Maldor uses the
displacers as his spies, and they are great at it—it’s what they were made to
be. Yet they can still act on their own,
and make their own decisions. Otherwise
Ferrin wouldn’t have defected.
Ferrin is also a fantastic example of what this type of
magic is intended to represent. For most
of the Beyonders series, Ferrin doesn’t know what he is going to end up
doing. He keeps his options open. He is devoted to Jason as a friend, but is
also willing to abandon the cause against Maldor at any moment. He is, therefore, residing in two places at
once. He sees multiple outcomes
simultaneously, rather than just one single option. He is even skeptical of the prophecy because
he is able to see so many different outcomes.
So many people try to live this way, and it tears them apart. But Ferrin, who can literally be torn apart
and still survive, manages to hold himself together. He walks the line between two realities
within the same world. It is very…
elegant… to be able to do so. But
ultimately, he has to choose. As we all
must do at some time or another.
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