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Patricia Reding
a book bubble about
Oathtaker
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author Insight
Senses and Magic
In contemplating ideas for different magical powers various Oathtakers might possess, it occurred to me how often magic amounts to the exaggeration of something we already have that is used for another purpose. For example, we all breathe, but we can't breathe underwater. Imagine having that power and what that could mean and the worlds it could open. Likewise, we all feel heat, but imagine if fire could not harm you. We all see and smell, but what if we could see like an eagle or smell like a wolf. Coming back to this scene that I introduced in a previous BookBubble, we find Mara trying to make sense of her ability to smell color, determining that this attendant magic is allowing for her to "sense" potential danger. In many ways that is one of the main functions our senses serve. We see, hear, or smell danger before it arrives, and so forth. Is there an exaggerated sense you wish you had?
Book Excerpt
Oathtaker
She looked toward the door, then back to her companion. “Remember that woman sitting at the table near us at dinner?”
“Yeeesss.”
“She was wearing purple and yellow. The others with her were dressed in blue.”
“Yeeesss.”
“I smell blue as well.”
Nina’s eyes opened wide. “Mara—”
“Look, I’m not making this up. The blue tastes like . . . I don’t know. Fresh air?”
Nina burst into quiet laughter. “I could have guessed that. Gosh, Mara, what do you think ‘brown’ tastes like? Dirt? Or perhaps—”
“Don’t say it,” Mara warned.
Nina giggled.
In spite of her frustration, the Oathtaker grinned. “I was hoping maybe—chocolate.”
Nina laughed.
“And there’s something else. It’s a delicate scent. It’s not a color.”
“Maybe it is chocolate. Or ‘brown,’ I mean.”
“Stop it. I’m serious. You know that woman at dinner? She kept looking at me. That’s why I suggested we rush.”
“But people do not smell color. And they don’t taste it either.”
“Well maybe Oathtakers do!” Mara growled in response.
Nina looked deeply into her eyes. “You really are serious.”
“Of course I am.”
“All right. So what does it mean?”
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