Okay, so "apocalypse" might be a strong term. I am working on a story, set in the modern world, where magic and magical creatures from mythology once existed, but no longer do. Magic was once a force in the world which emanated from the Other (think realms of faerie). Relatively small numbers of humans have the ability to sense it or interact with it. The connections between our world and the Other were sealed off, which blocked off the flow of magic and the influx of magical creatures, consigning them eventually to legend. But they never forgot that they once ran free and ruled here, and have finally found a way to reopen those portals. When this happens, the real world begins to flood with magic again, reactivating latent magical abilities in those humans who have them and leading to increasing conflict between humanity and the various paranormal creatures who invade. So here's the question: What does this look like to you, having read this description? I have several ideas for how this takes place, what effects it has, etc. but I am looking for other suggestions to help flesh this out and make it as multi-layered as I can.
Tons of potential and mountains of wonderful material in public domain. Beware of echoing Tolkien, or Pratchett's witch stories, or Anthony's Xanth stories. You can, of course, giving respectful nods, or else putting a new twist on a familiar theme. Beware, too, of the Disney Factor: mythology and folklore have been extensively and indiscriminately mined for mass entertainment, and sometimes badly damaged in the process. It's going to be a challenge, depicting magic, and mythical creatures, in a fresh light.
I'm really not much interested in Tolkien's take on things. It's nice for his books, but really has diddly squat to do with the story I'm creating. I've only read one of Anthony's Xanth books and didn't care for it, so any similarities will DEFINITELY be coincidental. Pratchett's going to be tougher, because I love his Discworld books, and his "Lords and Ladies" actually is along the same lines. On the other hand, he was writing fantasy satire, and I'm writing from a quite serious, urban paranormal/post-apocalyptic standpoint. Disney annoys the crap out of me with the way they mangle perfectly good fairy tales I've loved since forever in their original form. Don't even get me started on "The Little Mermaid" having a happy ending. *gag* I would expect to see a lot of parallels with Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid, and will have to work hard at keeping it from crossing the line from similar to plagiaristic. I actually intend to do a great deal of research into the original myths and legends of various areas around the world, and have those areas being invaded specifically by those creatures who appear in those local mythologies. For example, the southwestern United States would be invaded by beings from Native American legend such as skinwalkers, the Middle East by djinn, and the British Isles by the Sidhe and such. NOT, let me reiterate, Tolkien elves.
These magical creatures will be faced with technology. An ogre might be pretty impressive, but even a grizzly bear isn't immune to a high-powered rifle. A tank and machine gun could rival the power mustered by many magical creatures of legend. It would certainly tear apart some fabrics of society, especially as some individuals emerge with magical abilities...what those are, and the extent of the power can make a difference. It also depends on the magical creatures' numbers...and certainly the would not be a monolithic force working in unity. Expect chaos and a breakdown of society...what would happen if a band of the creatures destroyed the electrical grid in NY City, for example? What political/military alliances might be forged, and ultimately betrayed? Just a few random thoughts.
I expect both sides to have advantages and disadvantages. It is a war, after all, and what fun would it be if either side found it too easy? An ogre would be much harder to kill than a grizzly bear, for example; and while I don't want magic to simply cancel all technology out, I suspect that its returned presence on Earth will cause some havoc with various things. That is also something that you all might like to brainstorm with me: what sort of interference will a renewed magical field in the world cause? Communications disruptions, like radio and cell phone signals, would be obvious, but what else? I have a feeling that humanity might find out down the road that this IS more of a unified force than initially thought, that perhaps this breaking of the old barriers and invading has been planned by the most powerful forces of the Other. Although that leaves room for those forces to be playing their own games, even against each other, doesn't it? Oooh, the plotting possibilities there. To be continued . . .
The laws of physics probably would have been changed. In truth, the possibilities are endless. A wizard for example, could spark off the ammunition in a rifle. That would be a problem. Biological and chemical warfare might be difficult for magic to counter. While not to the extent you're proposing, I explored some of this in my First Civilization's Legacy Series. One of the things you probably already have done and/or are in the process of doing (such as with this post) is defining how and why magic works. What its limitations, cost, cause and effect are, etc. While this may not necessarily be shared directly with the reader, having it will provide a solid framework for the story, adding depth and a sense of realism for the reader.
I think if a story uses magic, it is unavoidable that the rules of magic will have to be discoverable. The reader's ultimately not going to understand the risks and difficulties posed in the plot if they have no understanding of what's at stake. And, of course, this story is about modern humans coming into contact with magic they thought was just a fairy tale, which means the reader is going to be watching THEM figure out those rules and limitations. I'm thinking that, just as they are discovering the variety of creatures talked about in legends are now real, so they will also discover that the variety of magical abilities talked about in legend are also real. Some will find themselves able to affect the elements, which will obviously be very difficult and dangerous. Some will find themselves with mental abilities like telepathy or premonition. The only limitation on THIS is my own imagination. And naturally, all of these abilities will require time and practice to master. I think on the night the seals break and the magic floods in, there will be quite a few of these latent magic users who simply die when their abilities kick in, and widespread panic. Brand-new pyromancers engulfing themselves and their homes in flames, people being rushed to emergency rooms by frantic relatives with seizures and so forth. Ah, the havoc. As for a technology, I would think it would be the rising technological abilities of humans that allowed them to seal off the Other in the first place. After all, cold iron has long been known to be anathema to faery creatures. While the invaders will be looking to mitigate humanity's ability to use technology, science will be frantically looking for ways to correct for magical interference and fight back, always keeping in mind the possible backlash some technology, like nukes for example, might cause to the humans themselves. So these are the things I've come here to brainstorm. HOW would an influx of magic change the laws of physics, if it does? Part of my concern is that I want to make magic's effects on the world believable. I don't need science geeks around the country spamming my e-mail with angry complaints that "it wouldn't work that way!" simply because I forgot to consider something. Also, where would the portals open? I think there are certain places in the world that have always been viewed as inherently more magical and mystical than others. The portal in the southwestern US, where I live, would be in Sedona, Arizona, which is already famous for its vortexes and popular among certain people for energy healing. You just KNOW in my book world, Sedona would be a place of concentrated magic and a portal location. I'd say Stonehenge is an obvious one, as well. What else?
Oh, also, I was going to say before my husband insisted that I change computers that magical creatures probably don't proliferate quickly or in great numbers. Most would be longer-lived than humans, and so Nature would keep them from overpopulating by pairing that with a much slower rate of procreation. And many of them, of course, are made, not born. Humanity's ability to breed like jackrabbits and out-populate them probably played a big role in the initial banishment of the magical creatures to the Other.
The premise of old magic coming back reminds me of Clarke's "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" and I really like that sort of story. That book was set in the early 19th century and wouldn't have to deal with our kind of technology though, but they had the roads between the fairy lands and our world hidden behind the mirrors of England, which started to crack when the roads opened up again after 300 years. I thought that was traditional and at the same time really, really neat. If you don't wanna go with only the old magical places of the world like Stonehenge, you could have the mythical creatures come through the places where they disappeared, places that were maybe once magical, but now there's all kinds of mundane stuff built on it, like shopping malls and golf courses. It was just a thought I had when I read your post. I love "Lords and Ladies", by the way. The best of luck with your story, it definitely sounds like a really fun and interesting writing project.
I think New Orleans would definitely be a mystical place where a portal might open, and can you imagine the havoc THAT would cause? I'll admit to having trouble coming up with other mystically-associated places outside my own country, though. Most of my familiarity is with the United States and Western Europe.
New Orleans would be awesome! And yes, it can be hard to find mystical places that will work, depending on how far back in history you were planning to go for your magic. But lists, like this one, can maybe give you some ideas.
Shadowrun. Basically, you're describing what happened there. Rifts the RPG is another good one. It generally goes one of two ways: magic and tech have no effect on each other (most urban fantasy), or magic overrides tech (Harry Dresden). It really depends on how you want the world (and your plot) to work - if it's the latter, widespread magic use (and the appearance of the portals) would have a devastating effect on the world as we know it. If it's the former, "normals" would have a fighting chance against the Others. Maybe humans can create Faraday cages that protect against magic, too. The possibilities are endless. I'll point you toward the X-Men for this. The TV show The Gifted explores the conflict between mutants and "normals" (and does a really good job of it, IMO); world governments would be quick to establish groups to curtail/control/eliminate people with magical abilities. War would change practically overnight. Humans are nothing if not adaptable. Someone, somewhere, will find a way to merge science and magic. This largely depends on how long ago the "apocalypse" was, but it could be a good plot, too - someone's trying to make a new weapon that uses magical power.
