Magic in the series involves tapping power from inside the mage, taking power from spirits, or most commonly using the power of a Warren or Hold. The effects created varies depending on where the magic is taken from, how it is combined, and the intent of the mage. Warrens are themselves complete realms or worlds containing sentient and non-sentient creatures, geography and a ruling creature, usually a god. The power of warrens are theorized to come from dragons, each of whom have an aspect the same as the warren. Most races have a racial Warren that exhibits particular effects or properties; humans generally tap Warrens based on an innate preference that produce limited or specific effects. The books have stated that Warrens are best described as closed doors in the mage's mind. Accessing the power behind it requires careful, and deliberate opening to unleash and shape the power within. Controlling an open Warren is a draining process, and to open the door too far is to invite madness, physical harm, or death upon the mage. Racial Warrens are Elder, unavailable to humans in most cases, and significantly more powerful, in addition to being immune to the magic-deadening effects of otataral.
Read more about this topic: Invading Races From The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series
Famous quotes containing the word magic:
“To play safe, I prefer to accept only one type of power: the power of art over trash, the triumph of magic over the brute.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“Self-esteem is the real magic wand that can form a child’s future. A child’s self-esteem affects every area of her existence, from friends she chooses, to how well she does academically in school, to what kind of job she gets, to even the person she chooses to marry.”
—Stephanie Martson (20th century)
“Oh, what a catastrophe for man when he cut himself off from the rhythm of the year, from his unison with the sun and the earth. Oh, what a catastrophe, what a maiming of love when it was a personal, merely personal feeling, taken away from the rising and the setting of the sun, and cut off from the magic connection of the solstice and the equinox!”
—D.H. (David Herbert)