Magician (fantasy) - Traits of Magicians

Traits of Magicians

A common motif in fictional magic is that the ability to use it is innate and often rare. In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, it was limited to non-humans (wizards were actually powerful spirits, the Maiar, sent by the gods, the Valar, to assist the good races of Middle-earth) — even Aragorn, whose hands heal, has some elven blood — but in many writers' works, it is reserved for a select group of humans, as in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, Katherine Kurtz's Deryni novels, or Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy universe. Magicians are often a secretive or persecuted group. In these settings, non-magician characters, no matter how learned, cannot cast spells. In such instances, magic is either inherited, is a random ability appearing in some people, or is the result of some other unique effect or situation. Inherited powers may be a simple genetic trait — such as a sex-linked trait in Katherine Kurtz's Deryni novels — or appear at random in various bloodlines, as in Patricia A. McKillip's The Riddle Master trilogy, where the shapeshifting Earthmasters attempt to get their blood into the royal houses, but fail because although one succeeds in getting the king's wife pregnant, the child's descendants rarely have the powers.

In worlds where Alchemy exists as a form of working magic, Alchemists are more likely than most magicians to have their powers be the result of study. For them, and most other practitioners of magic that is not innate, the study is long and hard. This can produce a lack of magicians even in worlds where anyone could in theory learn the art.

Magical practitioners on the Disc (of the Discworld series) are rare, and often innate (with exceptions - the eighth son of an eighth son must become a wizard, even if the son is a daughter), and do require some form of training (again, with exceptions - see Sourcery). Also, magical practitioners on the Disc treat the use of magic not unlike the use of nuclear weaponry; it is acceptable for people to know that you possess such powers, but everyone will be in trouble if it is utilised.

In David Eddings' Elenium and Tamuli series, spells must be performed in the language of the Styric people. The Styrics are highly secretive and distrustful of outsiders, and only a few non-Styrics, such as the Church Knights, are permitted to be trained in magic. Theoretically, any person who knew the spell, correctly pronounced the Styric language and performed the gestures correctly could work magic (as demonstrated by Stragen in The Hidden City) so it is not exclusive by being an innate ability but rather a cultural phenomenon. However, most people in the worlds of Eosia and Daresia cannot speak the Styric language.