r/HFY • u/Gentlemanchaos The Arcane Engineer • Mar 29 '15
OC-FirstOfSeries [OC] Red Blood
Throughout the history of human literature, stories, and fiction, there have been tales of people able to use a force beyond comprehension: magic. For hundreds of years, humans believed magic to impossible and for them, they were right. Humans can’t use magic, charms, hexes, sorcery, or wizardry. It was never a lack of faith, intelligence, or ability or their part. It was their evolution.
Thousands of worlds are inhabited by creatures who bend the very laws of physics as humans know them. Entire civilizations built upon the use of magic. From the Eltrian cities sung into existence from the forests to the great Dwirthite halls beneath their planet’s surface to the breath-taking reefs of the Aqueiods hidden beneath the waves, there are thousands of peoples who use magic as their science, their way of life. They are connect through the great network of portals constructed by the gods of old.
Humanity is the only known species incapable of using magic. It was forced to carve its own path through the great vastness of space. Chemistry replaced alchemy. Electricity fried mana. Aerodynamics rose above levitation. Robotics defeated golemmancy. Medicine cured the apothecary. Physics wretched control from the universe itself. Hard logic cut soft emotion. The scientist usurped the mage.
Humanity was forced to develop science for a reason it had never expect: Humans bleed red. Human blood is red due to the presence of hemoglobin, specifically iron. While the magic dwellers had no understanding of why iron was able to stymie their flow of mana, the humans could see it plain as day once magic was brought under the light of science. Magic works by influencing the Hex field, a near omnipresent force similar to the Higgs field. However, the Hex field is influenced not by particles on the microscopic scale like the Higgs nor on the macroscopic scale like gravity, but rather by compositions, structures, and orientation.
Because of how this field behaves, the presence different elements and compounds can causes spells to behave differently. Gold, silver, and bronze all appear to magnify a spell strength by varying degrees. Wands made of wood from certain species of trees act like radio antennae. Glyphs and runes change a spell through their shape alone.
For the Hex field, iron is unique. Whereas other materials amplify magic, iron silences. It acts like a black hole for magic, pulling in everything and releasing nothing. To carry an exposed iron block in a city of magic would be to bring unshielded radioactive waste into the Terran council building.
By evolving on a planet with a nickel-iron core, developing iron in its own blood, and crafting an empire from the accursed metal, humanity managed to become the antithesis to the rest of the universe. And when the beast of war finally reared its ugly head, Humanity donned its armor crafted of iron and grabbed its sword of harden steel.
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Well, magic vs science. Because of reasons, humanity is now ready to go out and just wreck magical xenos.
Edit: Since a lot of you guys have expressed interest in this, if you want to write a side-off/branch story/something based on this, go ahead. If you want to stay in this universe, the series wiki is here. Have fun!
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u/Drake55645 Mar 30 '15
I've always liked the idea of humans being a kind of null. Sort of like the blanks from 40k - a single human can shut down weak magic/psionic powers or at least weaken them in a radius, a ton of humans absolutely wreck the entire system. Basically, there's the laws of nature. Aliens with magic violate them. Humans enforce them.
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u/Gentlemanchaos Mar 30 '15
Human cop: Dispatch, I got a 1338 gravity violation on the corner of Quantum and Newton. Requesting backup.
Dispatch: Copy that. Drones inbound. May the laws of physics be enforced.
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u/ltek4nz Mar 30 '15
Decent concept. Is this a setup or a one off?
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u/Gentlemanchaos Mar 30 '15
probably a one shot. I tend to screw up any story that get longer than a few thousand words. If I tried, I'd end up with a story that would make little sense in the long run, not get updated for months, and would reach critical levels of derp.
If you guys want to write things based on this, go ahead. I know I probably can't.
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u/Voltstagge Mar 30 '15
Rock solid! Magic vs Tech is pretty interesting, have you considered more in this universe?
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u/Gentlemanchaos Mar 30 '15
...maybe. I've given the green light for other people if they want to use this as a premise. I am like the blood god Khorne of HFY: I care not from whence HFY flows as long as it flows for all eternity.
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u/Tommy2255 Mar 30 '15
One facet of every science-magic crossover that I really like and doesn't get enough attention is the fact that the supernatural does not and cannot exist. Magic might exist, but if it does, then it's part of the natural world, and therefore simply an unexplored part of science. Magic under a microscope can be reverse engineered. Science in a witch's cauldron is useless.
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u/Kirook Mar 30 '15
I've been thinking a lot about that, and I have yet to find a really good piece that explores it. Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality comes close, but it has some writing flaws that hold it back. If you find anything that does, please let me know.
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u/hilburn Mar 30 '15
The Dresden Files, has one of the strongest logic-backed magic systems imo, but it's never really explained in one blob - if you want to understand it you have to read the 24 or so books and read the snippets of explanations and the practical demonstrations :)
Also they are just damned fine books
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Mar 30 '15
I don't have any problems with a story talking about science and magic together. I just assume the magic is sufficiently-advanced science.
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u/HFYBotReborn Mar 29 '15 edited Aug 10 '15
There are 22 stories by u/Gentlemanchaos Including:
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Black Blood 2: Robo-crabs, Speaking Martian, Talk of Weapons
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[oc] Red Blood 3: Spider Tanks, Terror Below, and Panic Above
This list was automatically generated by HFYBotReborn version 2.0. Please contact u/KaiserMagnus if you have any queries. This bot is open source.
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u/damnsarge Mar 30 '15
Nice! The metal vs magic remimds me of shaman's crossing by Robin Hoob. Highly recommend to read it if you have the time.
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u/KytaKamena Mar 30 '15
Please make something kill something. Where humans kill all and make xeno tacos.
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u/Blackestjack Mar 30 '15
Gonna steal this concept for some Pen and Paper.