connection to a familiar, human concept i.e. scientific law, universal physics, sacrifice, secrets, etc. Kvothe learns in The Name of the Wind, that magic can let you, “impose your will on the world,” (Rothfuss, 78), giving us a glimpse into magic as a tool of agency. Wizard Harry Dresden of Jim Butcher’s Storm Front, defines magic as “tap(ping) into the fundamental energies of creation and life itself,” (Butcher, 18), and that it, “comes from inside of you,” (Butcher, 20), showing us its form as a point of origin. The Unicorn of Peter S. Beagle’s novel, The Last Unicorn, says to a malicious witch, “Real magic can never be made by offering up someone else’s liver. You must tear out your own and not expect to get it back,” (Beagle, 32), depicting sacrifice. C.S. Lewis, through the voice of Queen Jadis in The Magician’s Nephew claims that the most powerful magic can be called, “the secret of secrets,” (Lewis, 70), offering magic as a truth. And in N. K. Jemisin’s novel, The Kingdom of Gods, her protagonist Sieh says magic is a, “call to reality, and reality responds . . . we and existence are one and the same,” (Jemisin, 135), the ultimate connection between self and reality. Magic exists as both a signifier of the genre and a device in which to explore real world concepts. Authors are able to introduce contemporary concerns and truths of reality, by breaking through the border of worlds and exposing certain aspects of reality through the device of magic. The majority of authors within the mode of fantasy utilize their magic and their story, as a means to ground their fantasy narrative with a real world influence, in order to glimpse the inside of this reality. This thesis will present how fantasy authors, depending upon the context of narratives, utilize the break in reality their magic creates in different ways. For authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis, who write in secondary world narratives, utilize the device of magic to bring real world agendas – the introduction of Christianity, the horrors of fascism - to a
yearning to be heard. Candle stared up at his soon to be killer, and knew that this would be it. This would be his death. Knowing he was to die, as the beast took another step towards him, bringing itself right over Candle, Candle closed his eyes, and listened to the sweet, roaring storm of language. If he were to die, it would be with the words of Faerie in his mind, so he might die a full fae, and not the half-breed abomination he had always been called. He let the voice of Faerie wash over him, in a language that tasted like the sun. In his mind, he saw flashes of stars, of palaces and kingdoms lost to time, and those who once ruled, with the power of the heavens at their command. And he saw the flame. He saw a fire of red and white and gold, and it knew him. Someone shouted his name, and he heard it as though far away. He opened his eyes to see who called for him. Looking up, he saw the creature had stopped above him; panic lined its bestial face. It tried to back away, and Candle instinctively lifted an arm in defense. In doing so, a lance of light arced from his fingertips, and struck the creature, which burst into flames, flesh but a fond memory as the wind swept its ashes away. “Holy shit, kid!” Candle looked around and saw Storm staring at him, her mouth agape. “You’re lit up like a gods damn bonfire!” Staring down at himself, Candle saw that he was encased in a shimmering field, of red and gold and white. It swept over him in waves, mere inches from his flesh. It was warm, this cocoon of magic. Candle breathed deep, and saw the field contract, and then release as he
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