There are countless forms of magic powers that have been depicted in literature, movies, and myths throughout history. These powers often hold a sense of wonder and intrigue, capturing the imagination of people from all walks of life. Here is a list of some popular and fascinating magic powers: 1. Telekinesis: The ability to move objects with the power of the mind. 2. Invisibility: The power to become unseen or transparent, allowing the individual to move undetected.
INTELLIGENCE – The following are abilities that have to do with intelligence.
Intelligence – Being a genius, sometimes having the ability to learn new things quickly.
Linguist, polyglot – The ability to understand any language.
Probability – The ability to predict future possibilities, or to alter or change future outcomes.
The most common way they do this is by drawing on themselves or someone else and making the message or picture transfer from their skin to someone else s. Advanced Telekinesis an enhanced form of telekinesis , which allows the user to move multiple objects all at once, cause rooms to violently shake and the ability can also extend to allow users to generate telekinetic energy to various degrees.
Invisibility: The power to become unseen or transparent, allowing the individual to move undetected. 3. Teleportation: The capability to instantaneously transport from one location to another.
(Some of) The Coolest Magical Abilities in Fiction!
Last post, I talked about some of my favourite magic systems; this time around, I want to showcase some of my favourite magical/supernatural abilities. The difference? A magic system is a magic system; a magical ability is more like a superpower. The latter is a lot more limited in scope; a character with a magical ability can do one thing, rather than casting spells that could potentially do just about anything.
I guess it’s a fairly thin line separating the two, but that line’s enough to justify two separate posts, and that’s all I need!
(Although now I wish I’d saved the Water Giver trilogy for this post, where it probably fits a little better. Oh well!)
Introduced in Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle and featured in the sequel Dreamer trilogy are Dreamers – people who can take things out of their dreams and bring them into the real world. As you might imagine, some of those things are incredibly strange – some beautiful, some terrible, some both – but without question, it makes for one of the most incredible, and potentially dangerous, abilities on this list. After all, would you want to manifest your nightmares?
A secondary character who spends almost no time on the page, and yet is central to the second book of KD Edward’s Tarot Sequence, is Layne – a teenage necromancer. This isn’t your typical necromancy, though; Layne isn’t messing about with corpses or raising the dead, and though he* does draw power from death, he’s not sacrificing babies or neighbourhood cats. His form of necromancy is more properly called immolation magic – practitioners keep themselves infected with different illnesses, and when they need power, they kill the bacteria and harvest power from the deaths of those illnesses. It’s a really unique and clever twist on necromancy, and I for one absolutely adore it!
*Layne is referred to using he/him in Hanged Man, but it’s been revealed that Layne’s pronouns going forward in the series will be they/them.
Orogeny is an ability some people in Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy are blessed – or cursed – with; the power to sense, manipulate, and trigger energy – especially or primarily seismic energy. Because individuals who can create earthquakes even as infants are obviously very dangerous individuals, most people hate them; orogenes are victims of terrible prejudice and abuse, with people even suspected of having orogeny being beaten to death, especially in more rural areas. Whereas the Fulcrum, a kind of government body, raises, trains, and even breeds orogenes – because of course, although they might be dangerous, orogenes are also incredibly useful, especially in the world of the Stillness, where climatic cataclysms are a constant threat.
The full scope of orogeny is explored in fantastic detail over the course of the trilogy, and I don’t want to ruin it for new readers by going into spoiler territory. So I’ll just say that it’s ridiculously cool, and very definitely one of my favourite superpowers!
Heart of the Circle is special not so much for the magical ability possessed by the main character – empathy – so much as how it’s utilised. Landsman delves into the potential uses of being able to not just read, but manipulate the emotions of others – and it’s pretty damn incredible. Empaths work in marketing and publishing to infuse images and stories with real emotion, walk on the outside of protest marches to keep a look-out for violence before it starts – and are absolutely terrifying in combat. At one point in the book, the main character (an empath himself) reminisces about his time in the military, and one particular training exercise – when twenty or so other magic-users complained of being outnumbered when pit against a single empath and seer. That’s how scary empaths are. It’s really cool to me, because usually empathy is presented as a soft, gentle superpower, and here in Heart of the Circle, it’s the complete opposite.
The cassandra sangue of the Others series are not-quite-human, but aren’t Others (supernatural creatures like animal shapeshifters, vampires, and elementals) either. Their in-between state is explored later in the Others series, when it’s speculated that they might have evolved as mediators between humans and others (a concept I absolutely adore), but their primary power is in their skin. When a blood prophet’s skin is cut, she (cassandra sangue are always female) sees visions. Between that and their naive, naturally sweet natures (a generalisation, but a valid one) they’re inevitably taken advantage of and misused by those who want to profit from their prophecies. The series starts when one blood prophet escapes the compound she was born and raised in, and she and the found-family that forms around her explore the full extent – and danger – of her ability, step by step and book by book. The ramifications are enormous, and make for really interesting reading.
The God Eaters is one of my favourite books of all time, and one so few people seem to have heard of. Happily, it was just featured on Tor.com in a post by TJ Klune just this past week. It’s an incredible queer fantasy, not least because of its fantastic characters. One of which is Kieran, a Native American with a magical gift I’ve never seen before (or since) – he can will people to die. It’s a power that wouldn’t work in the hands of a lesser writer – Kieran would either be too strong to be interesting (how much fun do you have with super-superpowered characters, who are never in danger and can brush off any obstacle?) or for hand-wavey reasons wouldn’t be using his gift when it might interfere with the plot. But Hajicek makes it work, and work brilliantly, and I love, love, love the secret behind the source of that power, when it’s eventually revealed. It’s a unique magical power utilised expertly by a master storyteller, and you absolutely need to check it out.
(You can grab an e-copy over at Lulu.com – no affiliate link, I just want everyone to be able to read this book!)
Margerit, a young woman who receives an unexpected inheritance that will alter the course of her life, is special even before she becomes an heiress – she can see magic.
Of course, that’s not what she, or anyone else calls it – in Jones’ regency setting, what I call magic is considered the manifestations of saints and angels, something that’s only lightly questioned later in the series by less religious characters. But the point remains that Margerit sees beautiful colours and glowing lights during rituals – and can use that sight to tell when a ritual has gone wrong. She even utilises her ability to build entirely new rituals, ones with real and powerful effects. It’s a wonderful power, and it’s just as wonderful to read about as Margerit goes from considering it a small and unimportant thing, to embracing her power and making it the focus of her life.
In Reverie, people’s dreams and fantasies keep manifesting into reality – sweeping up everyone nearby into the dreamer’s story. A rare few are immune, able to remember who they are even when caught in someone else’s ‘reverie’ – said dreams – and who can help the plot of the dream reach its conclusion without anyone getting hurt. This is made easier by the fact that everyone who can stay awake through a reverie seems to get superpowers – like super-strength – but it’s the staying-awake-and-aware ability that earns Reverie a spot on this list.
The reveries themselves are a really cool concept, as is the idea of people whose magic is being immune to magic – at least this one specific kind of magic, anyway!
The clue’s in the name: inklings, as they’re known, are people who can manipulate holy ink. The most common way they do this is by drawing on themselves – or someone else – and making the message or picture transfer from their skin to someone else’s. The church ’employs’ (a better word might be ‘enslaves’) inklings to pass on divine messages to parishioners – the inkling considers the message, draws an image that embodies that message, and then sends it from their own skin to the intended recipient, who will bear it as a permanent tattoo for the rest of their lives.
The main characters, Celia and Anya, find a new way to utilise their power – one that gives them a way out of the church’s oppression and a way in to a new and brilliant new life. I’m not going to tell you what it is, because spoilers, but it’s fabulously clever. And the inklings’ power definitely counts as a unique one!
So those are some of my faves – what about yours? What are some of the coolest magical abilities you’ve read about? And what power, if you could pick, would you choose for yourself?
And don’t forget to check out my sequel post, (Some More Of) The Coolest Magical Abilities in Fiction!
One response to “ (Some of) The Coolest Magical Abilities in Fiction! ”
[…] I don’t know about anyone else but I’m excited to dive in! Also I see there’s a Coolest Magical Abilities post and a (more of the) Coolest Magical Abilities post so I’ve got my afternoon reading booked up […]
Introduced in Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle and featured in the sequel Dreamer trilogy are Dreamers – people who can take things out of their dreams and bring them into the real world. As you might imagine, some of those things are incredibly strange – some beautiful, some terrible, some both – but without question, it makes for one of the most incredible, and potentially dangerous, abilities on this list. After all, would you want to manifest your nightmares?
4. Shape-shifting: The power to change one's physical form, often taking the shape of other creatures or objects. 5. Elemental control: The ability to manipulate and control natural elements such as fire, water, air, and earth. 6. Healing: The power to restore health and vitality to oneself or others. 7. Mind reading: The capacity to read the thoughts and intentions of others. 8. Time manipulation: The ability to control or alter the flow of time. 9. Flight: The power to defy gravity and fly through the air. 10. Energy projection: The capability to release and control various forms of energy, such as fire, electricity, or beams of light. 11. Immortality: The power to live forever and possess eternal youth. 12. Precognition: The ability to see or predict future events. 13. Mind control: The power to influence or control the thoughts and actions of others. 14. Necromancy: The practice of communicating with and controlling the dead. 15. Superhuman strength: Possessing strength beyond normal human capabilities. 16. Animal communication: The power to understand and communicate with animals. 17. Astral projection: The ability to separate one's spirit or consciousness from the physical body and travel to other realms or dimensions. 18. Memory manipulation: The power to alter or erase memories. 19. Weather control: The capability to manipulate and control weather patterns. 20. Reality warping: The power to alter or change the fabric of reality itself. These are just a few examples of the vast array of magic powers that have captured our collective imagination. Each power carries its own unique appeal and potential for storytelling, creating a sense of awe and fascination for those who encounter them..
Reviews for "The Art of Enchantment: Magical Powers of Charms and Talismans"
1. Sarah - Rating: 2/5 - I found the "List of magic powers" to be quite underwhelming. The descriptions of the powers lacked depth and creativity, and it seemed like a random collection of generic abilities. I was hoping for a more detailed exploration of different magical abilities and how they could be used creatively, but this list fell short in that regard. Overall, I was disappointed with the lackluster content and uninspired descriptions of magical powers.
2. Robert - Rating: 1/5 - The "List of magic powers" was a complete letdown for me. The descriptions were vague and overly simplistic, leaving a lot to be desired in terms of imagination and creativity. I was expecting to discover unique and intriguing powers, but instead, I found myself reading a mundane list of abilities that I've seen countless times before. It lacked the magic and charm that I was hoping for, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting and innovative exploration of magical abilities.
3. Emily - Rating: 2/5 - Unfortunately, I was not impressed with the "List of magic powers." The descriptions were brief and lacked the necessary details to truly bring these powers to life. It felt more like a hasty compilation rather than a well-thought-out collection of magical abilities. I was hoping for a more comprehensive and imaginative list that could spark my creativity, but this fell short of my expectations. Overall, I found it to be a lackluster resource for anyone seeking inspiration for magical elements in their writing or role-playing adventures.
4. Michael - Rating: 2/5 - The "List of magic powers" didn't meet my expectations. The descriptions were too basic and lacked the depth necessary to make these powers truly interesting. It felt like a shallow list without any real substance or unique ideas. I was hoping to discover new and intriguing magical abilities, but I found myself disappointed by the lack of originality and imagination. Overall, it was a mediocre resource that failed to captivate my interest in the world of magic.