Everyone loves a good Death Battle. I mean, just look at how popular the YouTube series is of the same name. There’s just something so addicting about taking two powerful characters and speculating about who would win if they ever came to blows.
This, for me, is the most fun part about having powerful magic systems in your story. There is an endless amount of joy you can gain from debating these things with your friends, or even some random person in a forum. You can’t have these interactions when discussing characters from a fictional universe where the magic can be described as ‘Soft’. Gandalf versus Dumbledore is far less satisfying to debate than Sasuke versus Hiei. One set of characters here has a list of detailed abilities that can be compared and dissected; the other just shoot pretty lights at people every now and then. Now, this isn’t me disrespecting Gandy or Dumbledore. I love both of them. But there is a true beauty to detailed magic that both of their narrative works are lacking; Harry Potter less so, but it’s still quite basic when it comes to the combat. Even though both book series are great (Lord of the Rings is the single greatest novel ever written), they are fairly light in the death battle department. There isn’t much to work with.
I personally choose to write characters that can be speculated about endlessly. I grew up imagining what anime characters would win in made-up duels. A big one for me growing up was Sasuke versus Neji. For anyone who isn’t a fan of Naruto, those are two characters who never ended up fighting in the story. I always wanted to see them go at it. I still discuss the possibilities to this day. That just goes to show you how important and long-lasting that kind of magic system can be. (Also, I must add for the Naruto fans, I’m talking about pre-timeskip Sasuke and Neji. If we’re talking Shippuden then Sasuke completely wipes the floor with Neji. The author unfortunately forgot about Neji and just left his character to rot away in the background. But I digress).
I’ve noticed western fantasy taking a harder approach to their magic in the past decade or so. Stormlight Archive and Kingkiller Chronicle are the first two examples that come to mind. I’m honestly over the moon to see this becoming more popular. Hell, there are book series out there now that read almost exactly like an anime would. The Cradle series by Will Wight is a notable one. It’s just awesome and I can consume books like that for the rest of my life. I know I’m not the only one to fall victim to this addiction, too. We are legion.
There are entire spreadsheets one can create listing off the abilities of some of the characters from these stories. You can then compile examples and theorize fights between subjects. I’m telling you, that kind of content is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s a style of content I have loved for years, and it’s a style of content I fully intend to write for years. I promise you there will be no end to the epic fights in my books, nor the unique abilities they put on display. I’ve become addicted to writing it, and I hope one day there are enough people who say they are addicted to reading it.
Now, of course, I don’t just write epic fights with fancy magic. I am a fan of many different genres and many different narrative tropes. But if I had to pick the one that brings the brightest smile to my face . . . it would be some overpowered characters with complicated but understandable capabilities. That’s the good stuff.
Tyler Robert Preston was born and raised in Mississauga Canada. He is passionate about music, martial arts, history, science, and storytelling in all its forms.
His ultimate goal is to live in a cottage in northern Ontario, where he will write peacefully until the end of his days.
CONNECT WITH T.R.
About Wenworld: The World Inside the Crystal (Wenworld #1)
Ika Ivory and Chandi MorrowHill are two teenagers from a small town. They are the closest of friends; nearly inseparable. As wonderful as their bond is, it was forged due to tragic circumstances. Both of them are victims of dreadful childhood traumas. It is through their grief that they grew closer and learned to take on the world together.
Wenworld is a strange and wondrous place, and they have vowed to chase two particular men to the ends of it and back for revenge. Ika seeks a man named Kirga, who is known more commonly as ‘The Hellcat’. He is responsible for taking the life of Ika’s elder sister, a memory that Ika cannot escape from. Chandi wishes to one day find a man named Wriliara, who mercilessly took both parents from her.
As they grew older, Ika and Chandi spent most of their time researching these men. Through their shared research, the duo one day discovered that these men work together; though the incidents the children suffered through took place at separate times. Once they found this out, Ika and Chandi made a promise to each other that they would hunt them to the far reaches of the world to get their revenge. Together, as they did all things.
In order to get the revenge they seek, however, they must first be trained in the complex ways of Wenworld magic. Kirga and Wriliara are far more powerful than the average criminal. Ika and Chandi will need to close a mighty gap in time for that showdown. Good thing they have a competent master, who just happens to be a talking rabbit. What could go wrong?
Fans of Terry Pratchett’s DISCWORLD or Will Wight’s CRADLE series will be right at home in Wenworld. The World Inside the Crystal is the first installment of a four-book series, and Wenworld itself is only the first piece of a vast fictional universe filled with magic and adventure.
