Does Magic Need to Balance?
The concept of balance is not a new one in fantasy. The need for dark and light to coexist (or for life and death, etc.) is a common theme you can find in many stories. It is in the imbalance of these things that story conflict often arises.
That said, you do not always need to have your magic ‘balance’ in its ultimate, perfected form. Darkness can simply be the absence of light. Balance also does not have to mean literally equalizing a life for a death, or light with darkness. Sometimes merely the existence of those counterpoints is balance in and of itself.
Balance is, ultimately, not about equal portions of opposing types of magic. It’s about the whole picture, and everything that affects magic use in your world.
Worldbuilding Exercises:
- Does your world and/or magic system require magical balance? What does that balance look like?
- How might magic become unbalanced? What are the signs that might show up in the usage of magic, or in the world itself?
- What would be required to restore magical balance?
View 2019 A-Z Participant list here.
Rebekah Loper began creating epic worlds and stories as a child and never stopped. She is the author of The A-Zs of Worldbuilding series, and has a fantasy novella published in Beatitudes and Woes: A Speculative Fiction Anthology.
She lives in Tulsa, OK with her husband, dog, two formerly feral cats, a small flock of feathered dragons (…ok, ok, they’re chickens), and an extensive tea collection. When she is not writing, she can be found battling the elements in an effort to create a productive, permaculture urban homestead.
