Story where magic is like fuel you ingest?

June 27, 2022 1:32 PM

This is a vague memory and unfortunately it's also second-hand; someone told me about a book? (I think? Might have been a series or manga or something, they consume a LOT of media that I never see) -- where 'magic' is like this essence or fuel or liquid or something, so magicians have to 'fuel up' by drinking/sucking/absorbing raw magic in order to cast spells. Ring any bells?
posted by The otter lady to Media & Arts (16 answers total)

There's allomancy from the Mistborn novels:

"In the Mistborn series, Allomancy is a predominantly genetic ability that allows a person to metabolize ("burn") metals, ingested by the Allomancer, for magical powers that can enhance physical and mental capacities.[19] There are 16 metals that such Allomancers can use, with each metal granting a specific ability."
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 1:45 PM on June 27, 2022 [5 favorites]

This sounds like Mana, which is a common concept in fantasy media.
posted by ToddBurson at 1:55 PM on June 27, 2022 [2 favorites]

Not necessarily magic, but the concept of "steam" in Stephen King's Dr. Sleep worked similarly to this.
posted by Fuego at 2:28 PM on June 27, 2022

The Lightbringer series of novels has color based magic -- magic casters must be exposed to their color to do magic.

Also The Stormlight Archive involves magic requiring consuming energy from storms (that can be stored in gems and consumed).
posted by so fucking future at 2:48 PM on June 27, 2022

Well, Christopher Paolini's Inheritance 4 Books series the life force of the environment around the warrior can be used to replenish the power lost in battle. Indeed, if a spell is used that would require more energy than is available nearby, you will die. An interesting loop hole is that intricacy does not require more energy, so a spell that just produces an intricate result would not normally be dangerous.
posted by forthright at 2:55 PM on June 27, 2022

This is a very common thing in fantasy novels so you'll need more detail than that to identify the story.

One series I really like that uses this concept is the Magister trilogy.
posted by randomnity at 3:19 PM on June 27, 2022

What Good Is A Glass Dagger? by Larry Niven is the earliest story that I recall that treats mana a non-renewable resource. The Magic Goes Away is a novel-length treatment of the idea.
posted by SPrintF at 3:43 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I think the main thing that caught my attention was that magic wasn't some vague metaphysical energy thing but like literally fuel, like alcohol. You could touch it, it was liquid. You could drink it out of magic creatures like blood, or buy it already distilled from fairy blood or whatever.

So I think there was a sort of 'im a good wizard, I don't kill magic creatures!' but of course you're supporting an industry that does.
posted by The otter lady at 4:07 PM on June 27, 2022

In the comic/graphic novel series Monstress, Arcanics (basically magical creatures/beings) have a substance called lilium in their bodies that can be extracted from their bones, or more gruesomely, from their living bodies. There is an order of human women who basically exist to study and extract lilium and use it to power weapons and their own magic.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 4:31 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

Naomi Novik's Scholomance books have an interesting variation on this. A lot of time is spent in the books trying to cobble together enough power to cast big spells. There are two sources of power for spells, where one is generated with effort and work and the other is taken from living things. The use of the latter is actively damaging to magic wielders but can be habit-forming. More info here.
posted by potrzebie at 5:02 PM on June 27, 2022 [4 favorites]

This is also the main thread of Disney’s Gummi Bears
posted by advicepig at 5:34 PM on June 27, 2022 [4 favorites]

Makes me think of The Dark Crystal.
posted by tiny frying pan at 5:59 PM on June 27, 2022 [2 favorites]

How about spinach? ("I fights to the finach', 'cause I eats me spinach! I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!")
posted by SPrintF at 8:13 PM on June 27, 2022

The Fullmetal Alchemist manga (and anime) builds its magic/alchemy system around the ‘law of equivalent exchange’, which essentially boils down to the idea of you can make X (fire, stone pillar, etc), but to do so you have to draw the equivalent of X from somewhere else, which Is then lost (and can be costly).

However, it is a prominent plot element that there is a liquid (sometimes solid) substance, often seen in bottles, that seemingly allows one to circumvent that law. I won’t describe it in detail for plot spoiler reasons, but there is a LOT of focus on magicians (aka alchemists) getting their hands on this substance. Here’s a little picture of the substance.

Honestly can’t recommend this series enough.
posted by ordinary_magnet at 8:31 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

In the TV version of The Magicians , there's a bit of time where people have to use stored magic like powders and potions to do magic. I don't know if the books have that or not.
posted by fiercekitten at 10:31 PM on June 27, 2022

The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green? In which smoke from demons is harvested and it gets people high or with more magic skills or something I can't remember?
posted by Snowishberlin at 12:12 PM on June 28, 2022