Would like feedback for my magic system and any problems or loopholes you find.
So I created a power system for my novel, and this is what I am working with.
Terminology for context-
~Etching — The name of the magic system, also the practice of drawing a spell.
~Scribe — A person who practices the art of Etching.
~Mana — Magical energy
~Schema — A magical array through which the mana is sent to activate a spell
~Runes — sigils inside a schema
~Dominant mana — Mana with the concentration of a single element
~Medium — The object on which the schema is drawn. It could be air, water, rock, etc.
The power system works like this. A schema is drawn on a medium. Every schema has three components - an input rune, the whole set of transformation runes, and one or multiple output runes. Mana enters the schema through the input, is transformed by the runes, and is sent into the output. For example, a mana passes through an input rune, then passes through a water rune to become water natured(Output now would just have water with no force), then it can be sent through multiple fire runes to transform it into warm water, boiling water, and water vapor. And then it can be transferred through a cold conversion rune (Meaning the mana changes properties of temperature without affecting anything else) for a mist, and finally through an electricity induction rune to turn the nature of the mana to an electrically charged mist. The output rune gives out exactly that.
But there are variables, for example, as the transformation is cumulative, adding a single more water rune at the start would just dilute everything downstream. But a water natured dominant mana would need more fire runes as it would empower the water rune while minimizing the effects of the fire rune.
Medium is also a factor in casting; etching in air is fast and requires no pre-prepared schemas drawn on paper or other surfaces. But it is highly unstable and consumes a lot more mana.
Whereas drawing on a hard surface like the ground or on a tree trunk would have an extremely stable spell.
Dominant types can be classified into two: born types and acquired types. Born types are the dominant types of mana that a person is born with. And any person can change their own or others' type with the use of a schema. Although even the slightest mishaps can cause serious problems or even death, since it operates on a person's core.
This power system has already been implemented in my novel, Blasphemy of the Angels. But there can be sensible changes since it has just started.
These are the dominant types.-
Born Types
Fire —
Mutual oppositions: Water, Wood.
One-directional: Fire struggles through Space.
Water —
Mutual oppositions: Fire.
One-directional: Water struggles through Wood, Earth.
Earth —
Mutual oppositions: Wind, Time.
One-directional: None. Space and Water struggle through Earth.
Wind —
Mutual oppositions: Earth.
One-directional: Perception and Flesh struggle through Wind.
Wood —
Mutual oppositions: Fire.
One-directional: Water, Shadow struggle through Wood.
Space —
Mutual oppositions: Time, Sound.
One-directional: Space struggles through Flesh, Earth. Light and Perception struggle through Space.
Time —
Mutual oppositions: Earth, Space.
One-directional: Time struggles through Flesh.
Acquired Types
Blood —
Mutual oppositions: Mind.
One-directional: Blood struggles through Shadow, Light.
Shadow —
Mutual oppositions: Light, Perception, Sound.
One-directional: Shadow struggles through Wood. Blood and Mind struggle through Shadow.
Light —
Mutual oppositions: Shadow.
One-directional: Light struggles through Flesh, Space.
Mind —
Mutual oppositions: Blood, Flesh.
One-directional: Mind struggles through Shadow, Sound.
Flesh —
Mutual oppositions: Mind.
One-directional: Flesh struggles through Wind. Space, Light, Time struggle through Flesh.
Perception —
Mutual oppositions: Shadow.
One-directional: Perception struggles through Wind, Space.
Sound —
Mutual oppositions: Space, Shadow.
One-directional: Sound struggles through Earth. Mind struggles through Sound.
Sky — No oppositions. No type degrades through Sky runes. Sky mana degrades through no rune.