This and other inspirations of mine are gathered in the Spark Directory for you to explore.
Find more mystic content in my Magic Directory.
In Part 1 of this series, I started developing a flexible in-world taxonomy for the magic system of the Known World. Part of the system involves ether magic, which manipulates space-time in various ways.
Ether magic allows for portals and teleportation, and there are a few spells that adjust the density of space, which impacts travel times through affected areas. I'd like to eventually update the Magic Codex with some ether magics that have to do with gravity, but it's been slow going. Part of the holdup is that I want to reflect a new paradigm of thought about gravity itself.
Check out this Author's Manifesto for more of my inspirations!
The current schema of physics tells us that wherever mass exists in space, gravity exists. It's presented like a property of matter -- the more matter in one place, the stronger its gravity. And this model works for our equations and our general understanding of the universe.
But, my understanding of the quantum field indicates that at a subatomic level, matter is constantly popping in and out of existence. These particles fly about according to their own laws of physics, and predictions about their speed and location can only be given as probabilities. At this level, gravity is a non-factor. But if gravity is a hard-and-fast property of matter, shouldn't it make an impact, even here in this tiniest realm of physics?
And when you get into concepts of space-time, things start to get even more twisty. Where gravity exists, space-time folds in on itself, causing a sort of gravity well that draws in more matter.
So is gravity a property of matter, existing wherever matter is and warping space-time as more matter draws together? Or is gravity a property of space-time, caused by its wrinkles and folds, and causing matter to accumulate there? As we all know, gravity only exists where matter exists... But, as it turns out, not always.
The concept of dark matter came from real observations of gravitational effects, in places where no matter can be observed. Before I can incorporate gravity magic into my Tales of the Known World saga, I need to reach some clarity about this phenomenon and the impact it could have on my magic system.
That's it for this post! Up Next: Dark matter may not be matter at all...
Download the Author's Manifesto here, or start your adventure below.
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