I think the reason why Darkstalker doesn't just go all out is because he still sees himself as the good guy and wants others to see him that way as well authentically therefore killing all ice wings immediately would automatically deem him as a villain and it is the same reason why turtle was not killed. He still cares for his soul not being tainted after everything as shown with the final book
I like your points, and I do tend to prefer magic systems with more defined rules. However, I do like how Wings of Fire does it, because from the beginning, every character is practically clueless as to the extent of what is possible with the magic. Coral wouldn't want to push Anemone for fear it would cause her harm for example. The fact that much later it's found out that it's actually practically limitless is something we know, but the characters themselves would still be mostly hesitant to use it (specially with the rumor that it takes your soul). As for Darkstalker, he did say that he didn't want a 'mind controlled' tribe (of nightwings). I imagine he would feel empty if he took the easy way out and just Thanos snapped all the Icewings. So he plays on a 'harder difficulty' as to say? (But yea, some of that is headcannon of mine tbh because with stuff like the 'animus sensing' spell Darkstalker had it wasn't really explained. Would've been cool if the characters suddenly realised Darkstalker doesn't actually take them seriously enough and handicaps himself on purpose) end of essay
@@kaliido_scope I’m actually really enjoying Arc 3 the most due to it doing so many things right (assuming Book 15 pulls through), like Tui had fully learned from her mistakes of its predecessors. The brand new settings is a breath of fresh air, all the protagonists are fantastic and preserve their character development, none of the antagonists overstay their welcome, every new romance is genuine, the plot is executed phenomenally, the story keeps a very steady pace throughout without getting too slow or too fast, there’s a perfect balance of dark and goofy moments, and there isn’t an overpowered magic system that piles up plot holes.
@@TrickyTalon23 ehhhhh yeah I really don’t agree with that lmao. Arc 3 is imo the worst of the arcs. Mainly through it’s mishandling of an oppression story. Instead of rightfully putting blame on Hivewings who ARE racist outside of Wasp’s control, the narrative pushes that it’s the fault of Wasp entirely, and even than can’t commit to that, since because the BOE is put in, now the racist dictator gets framed as the lesser of two evils, and the nearly wiped out race is put to blame for the dictator’s power. Sundew and the leafwings are rightfully furious, they shouldn’t have to be told “not all Hivewings”. The Silkwings suffer too. The majority of them and Blue, who is our Silkwing protagonist so he’s our representative of the tribe, are utterly pathetic, and react in ways that are not at all how marginalized people react. The Chrysalis is framed not as an actual force of Silkwings who are angry, but as a joke revolution of like 30 members who seem to really not care that much about being oppressed. It’s only a select few that are actually angry, and even then the Chrysalis seems agonizingly small for a race who’s been treated like second class citizens for generations. And then there’s all the other little problems. For one the worldbuilding is pretty lacking. There’s so little about Pantala and the Hives that we’re actually told about. (Can you name a single thing about I don’t know, Vinegaroon Hive?) The new setting is very underwhelming. There’s a lot more comic relief and bad jokes made, with all the Swordtail and babies we have to deal with, and a lot less violence. With book 15 added this arc has only seen 3 deaths and none of them are impactful. Blue is again, pathetic, Cricket is eh, at least Sundew and Snowfall are good protagonists. Also, Blicket is definitely one of the most forced, disingenuous ships I have ever read about. It adds nothing, they don’t affect each other in meaningful ways, and if they were friends nothing would change. And no, The Hive Queen is complete filler, with only two important events happening, the same can also be said for like a half of The Lost Continent. The Poison Jungle moves the story along further than those two combined. And honestly in my opinion, Wasp should’ve been the main antagonist the whole way through. The BOE is a cool concept don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t lend itself well to an oppression story.
@@kaliido_scope I mean, if someone had the power to take over your mind at any instant completely against your will, wouldn’t you feel compelled to follow their rule considering the amount of power they hold? Plus, the supposed word of Pantala’s future-seeing goddess definitely had a strong influence over everyone’s judgment. I honestly consider the HiveWings to be more trapped and imprisoned than the SilkWings. If a SilkWing disobeys the rules, they get paralyzed for a few hours. If a HiveWing disobeys the rules, Queen Wasp takes control of their mind and can have them do whatever she wants, including self-harm. And I don’t remember anyone pitying Queen Wasp for being imprisoned by The Othermind. Just that she isn’t the source of the mind-control problem. She’s not getting any justification from what I see. Also, the Chrysalis is a lot bigger in other hives than the one the group initially visited. And even so, even that small branch of it managed to break Wasp’s hated prisoner out of jail without even raising an alarm. Blue is the best way to introduce readers to this new world, to learn with them that the rules are unjust and need to be revolted. I don’t know why you think Cricket’s book is just filler. It gives readers more depth on the hives, reveals Wasp’s mind-control trick, gives insight on the Chrysalis, spreads the truth to citizens about Clearsight’s book, and sparks an attack on an entire hive that reveals the LeafWing’s survival.
I'm glad that you covered this! Animus magic has been one of my favorite parts of Wings of Fire, but it was also a big pet peeve of mine about the series. The rules weren't set well and could have been done a lot differently to make it more developed. Also, thanks for featuring my fanart!
I think a way to make it better is to just make it so the power is secret and feared and taboo. Imagine this: the kingdom's are at war for who the SandWing queen will be. You are just going about your normal life when you discover there is a power that could literally make you win the war with no death or fighting, and dragon who lives next door to has this power but hasn't lifted a claw. Instead of having animus magic to admire, have it as something to be feared. Not just for the soul taking, but for how much power it gives. Other than bring dragons back from the dead, you can do *anything* you want, and no one can stop you.
I don't personally think the decisions everyone made is too far fetched. The majority of the cast is made up of kids. Of course they won't think of the most straitforward answer. They'll think of conventional means because that's most clear ways they can think. Darkstalker doesn't outright kill the icewings because he wants them to suffer first. It would have worked if there wasn't a replication bowl to create more animus magic objects with. It's finding clever loopholes like that which makes animus seem more interesting. The biggest thing holding back these kids from doing whatever is the social and moral dillemas they pose. Is it right to change people? Is it right restrict thier movements? Is it right relying on it for your problems or better to solve it yourself? That's what i like about it. Because they're not free of the consequences of thier actions when it effects others. Not to mention that the harm it does to thier soul is a massive risk/reward system that's dangerous since the harm isn't obvious.
Doubly so considering the soul-destroying property of animus magic is a consequence of dragon psychology rather than a supernatural soul erosion (or at least VERY heavily implied so). Animus magic is Incredibly OP, and that was the point. It only needed to be neutered for arc 3 because Quibli had solved the 'magic for evil' problem and the new threat could be defeated laughably easily with animus power.
This Just this comment here I can understand why people would think something like Animus Magic would be op, but in all honesty, I think it's handled quite well in WoF. I mean, if you were given the power to do literally anything in the world, would you really immediately think of the "right thing" to do with such a morally questionable and incomprehensible power?
Animus magic and how the characters learn about it throughout the books has always been interesting to me. I can understand your point of it being overpowered, but I think that's the point of it. Animus magic to me has always been a sort of literal interpretation of "absolute power" and how said power can corrupt the holder absolutely. Darkstalker is a clear cut case of this, having both animus magic as well as both NightWing powers, coupled with his arrogance and always thinking he's right. He was overall selfish with his power and abused it to get his way. Albatross is sort of another example too, but he was sour from the moment he was introduced. He was treated awfully by his sisters, and learned that with the magic he had, he could basically do anything to anyone. His own morals and guilt likely stopped him from using it to harm anyone after Sapphire, but when Lagoon blatantly told him over and over that he was useless now that she had Fathom, that's what made him 'go mad'. He was angry at both Lagoon and Fathom and felt as though he had nothing left to lose. The whole losing your soul thing was an in-universe misconception, I think. The truth is pieced together by Indigo in Legends: Darkstalker, but it seems like they never shared that information with anyone because 2,000 years later, dragons are still believing that it eats away at your soul and (iirc) it was re-discovered in like Talons of Power or something. Anyway that's just my two cents lol, Love your videos! Editing to add on: The word Albatross can also be used as a metaphor to mean a psychological burden that feels like a curse.
That was my question too. Another one is why Diamond didn't have more dragonets and why Arctic was her only one. If she had more dragonets dragons begin with, the chances of another animus would have been much higher in later generations.
@@zay4401 whiteout did not have animus. However, she passed the animus *gene* onto the Nightwing tribe because clearly Darkstalker didn’t. It’s a gene that carries throughout a bloodline relatively consistently (if it was rare or a random mutation we’d be seeing a lot more animus dragons - or none at all ) So that’s not a good enough reason for them to lose all animus dragons.
Additionally it DOES have a limit. Basically your imagination. A lot of Animus dragons we've seen are mentally kids or teens, so uh they could just be mentally dumb dumb. An obvious sulition to one person is not obvious to another. It might seem like it but it may not be.
Yeah, Tui Sutherland maybe put over the window the Animus Magic at book 14, most for the best at my opinion, but with the clever idea to made the thing with a compromise. Because she made that Jerboa III/Boa spell work only on current animus dragons alive, to retire their powers in order to prevent new furure spells. But that don't work at all for the already and previous spells made before, who continue to exist. She also said and put anything about the genetic transmission of Animus Magic, so new future animus dragons will appears one day, but not before a long time.
What I don't understand is, when Darkstalker saw how much trouble the Qibli earrings would give him, why didn't he sent a bunch of beetles to rip them off of whoever wearing them? HE HAD NO PROBLEM DOING THAT TO HIS FATHERS PROTECTION EARRING!
This is overall a good video. I agree that animus magic is too over powered. Anyone who wields it is a literal god. And the story could have ended with a spell or two. Now…here is how I would fix animus magic by adding new rules. 1. IT TAKES AWAY YOUR LIFE FORCE Each time you use animus magic, it temporarily takes away some of your life force. Which is what keeps you alive. Depending on how big the spell is, the more life force you use. But it is always recovered only after not using your magic for a while. You will feel weak after casting a spell, or may even pass out. If you create a spell that is to big, or use it to often at once/not how many spell you do in your life, just how often you do it at once. You will possibly die. 2. YOU CAN NOT MANIPULATE TIME You won’t be able to control time in any way shape or form. Meaning you can not undo what you did in the past. You can’t go back to the past or the future. 3. YOU CAN NOT ENCHANT DRAGONS ANIMALS OR HUMANS You won’t be able to enchant a dragon human or animal. At least not directly. If you want to cast a spell on them, you will have to do it on an inanimate object or plant. Yes, plants are the only living things you can enchant with this new rule. And you can’t enchant part of a body either. There are no loopholes to go around this. 4. YOU CAN NOT USE ANIMUS MAGIC TO GIVE YOURSELF OR OTHERS IMMORTALITY You will have to face growing old and dying one day. And will not be able to find any loopholes to it. 5. YOU CAN’T USE LOOPHOLES TO BRING BACK THE DEAD You will not be able to make a carbon copy of a dead individual/species does not matter. And can not give someone else their memories. There is no way shape or form that you can bring back the dead. Once they are gone, they are gone. 6. YOU CAN NOT GIVE OR TAKE AWAY ANIMUS POWERS OR WILLFULLY GIVE THEM UP You can not make anyone else an animus, or take away their powers. And you can not willfully give them up either. And will have to live with it forever. 7. YOU HAVE TO TOUCH THE OBJECT YOU ARE ENCHANTING AT ALL TIMES TO DO A SPELL Yes, I know you already said that idea but I like the new rule. If they let go of the object halfway while doing a spell, it won’t work. 8. YOU CAN’T USE YOUR MIND TO CAST A SPELL With this rule, it means it will be harder to cast spells, since the only way to cast a spell is to speak. But there is no limit of how loud or quiet you have to speak. You can scream or speak normally. And to be more secretive, even whisper. If the user can not speak, they can still write instead to cast a spell. And since aquatic is a language, I decided to let this slide and allow it to be used to cast spells. You can also speak scavenger/human to use magic. Well that’s it. You can leave your replies so I know your opinions. Please do, because when I ask for it no one replies to me :(
I get how it doesn’t really make sense in terms of worldbuilding, but I like that animus magic is so OP; it feels like that’s the point in terms of story. When you can do literally almost ANYTHING, it’s not the magic that’s ruining your soul, it’s your loss of sympathy and seeing other dragons as people that are ruining your soul. Dragons like Darkstalker, Jerboa, and Albatross are all warnings about how that lack of sympathy and respect for others boundaries is what really ruins them.
Its my head cannon that using animus magic more and more makes you exhausted short term. Also it somewhat works in the series because of the contrants placed on Turtle in book 9. A simple modification to book 10 makes Anemone unable to cast spells OR talk, and is found later than before. Its not perfect, but again, I also loved book 9 because the characters were interesting. In some ways its kinda like Harry Potter, magic is pretty much unexplained, and the focus is characters.
I made of a fan made arc about my fan made continent and how I did fix the Animus problem was I made a villain that can defeat darkstalker and made it every time a spell is made he gets stronger whitch is why one of the storylines in is the characters looking for old enchanted items to used on him
The problem with animus magic is that it is limitless. This means the setting will absolutely end with an animus destroying the world or something far worse. A single magic user could simply enslave the entire world with absolute ease. Only possible limit on this is if losing the soul kills the character. A simple limitation of requiring the enchanted object to be in contact with anything it would change, and perhaps a vague power level limit (cannot destroy the entire planet) would work to make animus magic feel more reasonable. I like the idea of the no enchanting dragons directly but even the simple limitation of making the object need to be in contact with anything it changes to at least feel grounded. Being able to pick up a rock, say “I enchanted this rock so that I cannot be physically harmed and everyone must obey me” is just too overpowered. Also, sidenote, enchanting an object to make everyone like you is evil, enchanting yourself to be more likeable when wearing an object is not. (I mean, its not exactly good, but its not a violation of others minds in the same way.) One infringes in others free will and the other is manipulative but only directly changing yourself.
As someone who is making a magic system let me just say that Animus magic fundamentally breaks wings of fire, and I can give 3 reasons why 1) the rules are flimsy and can be worked around For the soul cost it you could make a necklace that when worn prevents your soul from being lost, enchant some food that when eaten restores your soul, or even enchant another dragon so that when you use a spell it will cost their soul instead of yours. For the rule of can't bring back the dead you could bypass this rule with just 2 spells To start let's use the dead body of a mud wing named Steve first spell: enchant the dead body of Steve so that it turns into stone causing it to no longer be a dead but instead an inanimate object second spell: enchant another object to fuse with the stone to transform it into Steve the mud wing 2) Kids are smart, imaginative, and can be blunt With animus magic like many things, kids will be curious of it and what it can do, and they will realize the few limits, that can end horribly for others and for themselves. Another thing is that kids have quite the imagination and with something like animus magic it would get really strange in the world. Along with these kids tend to be more strait forward in what they want to do. 3) It has a lack of (Internal Realism) or in simplest terms does it make sense in the world of the story You know the one thing I don't get is despite animus magic being around for at least a few thousand years, not one dragon has tried figuring out what animus magic can and can't do. Furthermore, if you were to take into consideration on what animus magic and what spells that already exist would do too the world building, in simplest terms everything about the world would be different. First off, animus dragons are practically gods in mortal form being able to warp the very fabric of reality itself at the cost of only a bit of soul, this fact alone would lead to more religious societies. Additionally, objects such as turtle's duplication bowl would cause all-out war due to its ability to pretty much create matter for duplication, seriously the power of the duplication bowl would cause unimaginable havoc. you could give rules to the magic system but and that would normally work but with this system you would have to both change the world building and the story itself for it to work. (I'm thinking of making a possible rework though it will require changes that will take time to fully workout along with changes it would cause)
2:49 actually someone could do that it would be quite simple Carve a stone to look like the dragon you want then enchant it to have the memories of the dragon touch need and make it come to life (animate objects can come to life because Fanthom did so to blob)
Also Tui didn't even solve her B's magick system problem. Snowfall literally does nothing for plot other than to kick start the plot and she does so by using Animus powers, even if she herself is not an Animus she still used Animus enchanted to things to get the plot going, and even gives stuff to the main characters that Animus enchanted. So no, Tui did not learn her lesson and still relies on Animus magick to do anything.
there are many counter arguments that could be made to your alternative darkstalker methods but ill just point out what i think is the obvious one (imo) the reason he didn't just "simply kill turtle" was because he promised moon he wouldn't hurt her friends, and im pretty sure that counts as hurting them, i guarantee she would DEFINITELY find out about something like that also on the topic of animus magic, am i the only one who is wondering... who or what gave dragons animus magic in the first place? don't know about you, but i think it could make for a pretty interesting story arc trying to find out the origin of animus magic
It's one of the most broken magic systems I've ever heard, No rules, limitations, or borders. Its literally magic run amok, this has seriously affected the 1st and 2nd Arcs in devastating negative effects, it's like the magic makes things go too fast or makes things too simple. It's very likely Tui Bull****ed animus magic because in like 3 seconds, Boom! Arc 3 over where's the God***m plot? The fact that she had to do that literally states how stupid this was. At this point, if I ever decide to add magic to my fanfic Wof books, they are going to be smart and careful.
Hey there charcoal it's me again I was just thinking about something and that is how you got and finished up reading wings of fire book 15 The flames of Hope and if so what did you think of it did you like it
Wouldn’t these rules still make darkstalker god? Atleast compared to other normal dragons since he’d still have his scales and could probably become immortal still, since I don’t remember the exact wording ever being stated
I partially cope with the wild incompetence of the animus magicians on a basis of just assuming that dragons are just not actually all that smart as a species. Like, how in warrior cats while the characters can have all the clan drama and interpersonal dialogues they want they're still not going to be building a house. Ergo dragon could be the same with the cleverest of them lying somewhere in the space between 13-14 year old humans still with added dragon inclinations towards beastly instincts on top of it. Mad scientist Mastermind's great claim to fame was being able to perform calculus after all.
ok All of these points would be on point if not for one thing, all the dragons that we see that have this power have some level of morality and even those who didn't really still cared about other dragons enough to not want to just straight up brain wash them (Darkstalker) or in the cause of albatross wanted other dragons to see them as something important and using magic to fix this would mean it's not actually them saying "Good Job, your amazing, etc." No matter how hard they tried or how many spells they cast they would still feel empty. Which is one of the reasons I like the magic system in these books is because it goes to show that even if you were unlimited in your power you are still but human (dragon) and need other people (dragons) to make your life complete, something power and magic, health and wealth, can't get you.
It wasnt complete terrible luck that the icewings never had an animus, its because both the other icewings with animus blood - snowfox and snowflake - were lesbian and never had eggs (as far as we know)
OBJECTION! Clearsight foretold that Snowfox would have a daughter That lesbian thing wouldn't mean shit to the IceWings because A, She was the last heir to the throne, so she would need to make more heirs to keep the royal bloodline going and B, If being in love with someone was enough for them to not set you up with someone else, Runaways wouldn't have happened
I see your points, but at the same time I understand that it depends on the character, the context, and the risk involved. At least the pl For example Darkstalker COULD have killed all the Icewings in one fell swoop with a single spell if he wanted to (I remember he joked about that in his own book, but Clearsight talked him out of it), but he didn't want it to be too obvious that it was in fact a spell, especially to Moon. After Qibli figured it out he said it was for "plausible deniability." Animus magic is only limited to the user's imagination, so even if you can imagine something after the fact, doesn't mean it's what they thought of at the moment.
Darkstalker could have just wiped everyone’s memory of the icewings in general with the exception of hybrids. He mud have know he could do that. And regardless, if a villain doesn’t do something as the result of a character trait, especially in a book meant for 12 year olds, it needs to be made obvious. And it’s simply not in wings of fire. It’s a plot hole no matter how you look at it.
Since technically the only thing an animus can’t do is bring a dead dragon back, wouldn’t they be able to: 1) bypass the dead rule by enchanting like a stick to take the exact form of a dead dragon and take their personality? (It’s not technically bringing them back from the dead) 2) blow up the planet 3) blow up a star 4) time-travel 5) control every living being 6) alter space-time 7) pull a Thanos 8) create an alternate universe 9) literally play god 10) and more Animus magic needs a nerf :/
Arc 3 is my favourite mainly because of blicket haha- but I like the fact that it still had animas enchanted objects but there weren’t active animuses (animi??) making everything easier. Plus just an opinion but I liked how the scorching finally had a relevant part to play >:D
I hate to say it, but we’re far overdue for another massacre. A bigger one this time, killing characters we actually care about to emphasize it’s importance. We’ve got too many animus characters at this point, and it would partially solve the overpowered problem, as it would cause enough fear to stop them from constantly using spels
I think the reason why Darkstalker doesn't just go all out is because he still sees himself as the good guy and wants others to see him that way as well authentically therefore killing all ice wings immediately would automatically deem him as a villain and it is the same reason why turtle was not killed. He still cares for his soul not being tainted after everything as shown with the final book
He promised moon he wouldn’t hurt her friends, that’s why he didn’t kill turtle
@@jadedesigns6171 he threw a boulder at him during the IceWings vs NightWings war tho
@@pepperwaffles4228after Moon called him out from what I remember.
I like your points, and I do tend to prefer magic systems with more defined rules. However, I do like how Wings of Fire does it, because from the beginning, every character is practically clueless as to the extent of what is possible with the magic. Coral wouldn't want to push Anemone for fear it would cause her harm for example. The fact that much later it's found out that it's actually practically limitless is something we know, but the characters themselves would still be mostly hesitant to use it (specially with the rumor that it takes your soul). As for Darkstalker, he did say that he didn't want a 'mind controlled' tribe (of nightwings). I imagine he would feel empty if he took the easy way out and just Thanos snapped all the Icewings. So he plays on a 'harder difficulty' as to say? (But yea, some of that is headcannon of mine tbh because with stuff like the 'animus sensing' spell Darkstalker had it wasn't really explained. Would've been cool if the characters suddenly realised Darkstalker doesn't actually take them seriously enough and handicaps himself on purpose)
end of essay
Hi
@꧂BluLemons The RainSea꧁ you hear a whisper behind you... _hi_
hello Pyralis I totally read your entire essay.
Litteraly what I was thinking
Darkstalker didn’t kill turtle because he promised moon he wouldn’t kill her friends
Wings Of Fire animus magic is the most broken magic system I’ve ever read in fantasy books, and part of the reason why Arc 3 is my favorite lol
yeah well atleast you can blame anything on an animus tho. Need feathered wings? Blame it on an animus curse? or gift I guess...
Arc 3 is your favourite? Ouch
@@kaliido_scope I’m actually really enjoying Arc 3 the most due to it doing so many things right (assuming Book 15 pulls through), like Tui had fully learned from her mistakes of its predecessors. The brand new settings is a breath of fresh air, all the protagonists are fantastic and preserve their character development, none of the antagonists overstay their welcome, every new romance is genuine, the plot is executed phenomenally, the story keeps a very steady pace throughout without getting too slow or too fast, there’s a perfect balance of dark and goofy moments, and there isn’t an overpowered magic system that piles up plot holes.
@@TrickyTalon23 ehhhhh yeah I really don’t agree with that lmao. Arc 3 is imo the worst of the arcs. Mainly through it’s mishandling of an oppression story. Instead of rightfully putting blame on Hivewings who ARE racist outside of Wasp’s control, the narrative pushes that it’s the fault of Wasp entirely, and even than can’t commit to that, since because the BOE is put in, now the racist dictator gets framed as the lesser of two evils, and the nearly wiped out race is put to blame for the dictator’s power. Sundew and the leafwings are rightfully furious, they shouldn’t have to be told “not all Hivewings”. The Silkwings suffer too. The majority of them and Blue, who is our Silkwing protagonist so he’s our representative of the tribe, are utterly pathetic, and react in ways that are not at all how marginalized people react. The Chrysalis is framed not as an actual force of Silkwings who are angry, but as a joke revolution of like 30 members who seem to really not care that much about being oppressed. It’s only a select few that are actually angry, and even then the Chrysalis seems agonizingly small for a race who’s been treated like second class citizens for generations. And then there’s all the other little problems. For one the worldbuilding is pretty lacking. There’s so little about Pantala and the Hives that we’re actually told about. (Can you name a single thing about I don’t know, Vinegaroon Hive?) The new setting is very underwhelming. There’s a lot more comic relief and bad jokes made, with all the Swordtail and babies we have to deal with, and a lot less violence. With book 15 added this arc has only seen 3 deaths and none of them are impactful. Blue is again, pathetic, Cricket is eh, at least Sundew and Snowfall are good protagonists. Also, Blicket is definitely one of the most forced, disingenuous ships I have ever read about. It adds nothing, they don’t affect each other in meaningful ways, and if they were friends nothing would change. And no, The Hive Queen is complete filler, with only two important events happening, the same can also be said for like a half of The Lost Continent. The Poison Jungle moves the story along further than those two combined. And honestly in my opinion, Wasp should’ve been the main antagonist the whole way through. The BOE is a cool concept don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t lend itself well to an oppression story.
@@kaliido_scope I mean, if someone had the power to take over your mind at any instant completely against your will, wouldn’t you feel compelled to follow their rule considering the amount of power they hold? Plus, the supposed word of Pantala’s future-seeing goddess definitely had a strong influence over everyone’s judgment. I honestly consider the HiveWings to be more trapped and imprisoned than the SilkWings. If a SilkWing disobeys the rules, they get paralyzed for a few hours. If a HiveWing disobeys the rules, Queen Wasp takes control of their mind and can have them do whatever she wants, including self-harm. And I don’t remember anyone pitying Queen Wasp for being imprisoned by The Othermind. Just that she isn’t the source of the mind-control problem. She’s not getting any justification from what I see. Also, the Chrysalis is a lot bigger in other hives than the one the group initially visited. And even so, even that small branch of it managed to break Wasp’s hated prisoner out of jail without even raising an alarm. Blue is the best way to introduce readers to this new world, to learn with them that the rules are unjust and need to be revolted. I don’t know why you think Cricket’s book is just filler. It gives readers more depth on the hives, reveals Wasp’s mind-control trick, gives insight on the Chrysalis, spreads the truth to citizens about Clearsight’s book, and sparks an attack on an entire hive that reveals the LeafWing’s survival.
I'm glad that you covered this! Animus magic has been one of my favorite parts of Wings of Fire, but it was also a big pet peeve of mine about the series. The rules weren't set well and could have been done a lot differently to make it more developed. Also, thanks for featuring my fanart!
I think a way to make it better is to just make it so the power is secret and feared and taboo. Imagine this: the kingdom's are at war for who the SandWing queen will be. You are just going about your normal life when you discover there is a power that could literally make you win the war with no death or fighting, and dragon who lives next door to has this power but hasn't lifted a claw.
Instead of having animus magic to admire, have it as something to be feared. Not just for the soul taking, but for how much power it gives. Other than bring dragons back from the dead, you can do *anything* you want, and no one can stop you.
I don't personally think the decisions everyone made is too far fetched. The majority of the cast is made up of kids. Of course they won't think of the most straitforward answer. They'll think of conventional means because that's most clear ways they can think. Darkstalker doesn't outright kill the icewings because he wants them to suffer first. It would have worked if there wasn't a replication bowl to create more animus magic objects with. It's finding clever loopholes like that which makes animus seem more interesting. The biggest thing holding back these kids from doing whatever is the social and moral dillemas they pose. Is it right to change people? Is it right restrict thier movements? Is it right relying on it for your problems or better to solve it yourself? That's what i like about it. Because they're not free of the consequences of thier actions when it effects others. Not to mention that the harm it does to thier soul is a massive risk/reward system that's dangerous since the harm isn't obvious.
Doubly so considering the soul-destroying property of animus magic is a consequence of dragon psychology rather than a supernatural soul erosion (or at least VERY heavily implied so). Animus magic is Incredibly OP, and that was the point. It only needed to be neutered for arc 3 because Quibli had solved the 'magic for evil' problem and the new threat could be defeated laughably easily with animus power.
This
Just this comment here
I can understand why people would think something like Animus Magic would be op, but in all honesty, I think it's handled quite well in WoF. I mean, if you were given the power to do literally anything in the world, would you really immediately think of the "right thing" to do with such a morally questionable and incomprehensible power?
Animus magic and how the characters learn about it throughout the books has always been interesting to me. I can understand your point of it being overpowered, but I think that's the point of it. Animus magic to me has always been a sort of literal interpretation of "absolute power" and how said power can corrupt the holder absolutely. Darkstalker is a clear cut case of this, having both animus magic as well as both NightWing powers, coupled with his arrogance and always thinking he's right. He was overall selfish with his power and abused it to get his way. Albatross is sort of another example too, but he was sour from the moment he was introduced. He was treated awfully by his sisters, and learned that with the magic he had, he could basically do anything to anyone. His own morals and guilt likely stopped him from using it to harm anyone after Sapphire, but when Lagoon blatantly told him over and over that he was useless now that she had Fathom, that's what made him 'go mad'. He was angry at both Lagoon and Fathom and felt as though he had nothing left to lose.
The whole losing your soul thing was an in-universe misconception, I think. The truth is pieced together by Indigo in Legends: Darkstalker, but it seems like they never shared that information with anyone because 2,000 years later, dragons are still believing that it eats away at your soul and (iirc) it was re-discovered in like Talons of Power or something.
Anyway that's just my two cents lol, Love your videos!
Editing to add on: The word Albatross can also be used as a metaphor to mean a psychological burden that feels like a curse.
The queen at the time wasn't Coral, it's Lagoon. Evrything else seems accurate to me.
@@theresachacon1122 ye I get the two mixed up sometimes lmao
Thanks for letting me know, I'll fix it
@@AvesKori No problem
I always wondered why the IceWings didn't have another animus because they could just clearly solve that very easily.
That was my question too. Another one is why Diamond didn't have more dragonets and why Arctic was her only one. If she had more dragonets dragons begin with, the chances of another animus would have been much higher in later generations.
@theresachacon8832 tui stated that he does have siblings but they aren't animus dragons
@@zay4401 whiteout did not have animus. However, she passed the animus *gene* onto the Nightwing tribe because clearly Darkstalker didn’t. It’s a gene that carries throughout a bloodline relatively consistently (if it was rare or a random mutation we’d be seeing a lot more animus dragons - or none at all )
So that’s not a good enough reason for them to lose all animus dragons.
@@south452ok
Additionally it DOES have a limit. Basically your imagination. A lot of Animus dragons we've seen are mentally kids or teens, so uh they could just be mentally dumb dumb. An obvious sulition to one person is not obvious to another. It might seem like it but it may not be.
I actually quite like how open ended animus magic is, though your rules are also pretty neat.
Yeah, Tui Sutherland maybe put over the window the Animus Magic at book 14, most for the best at my opinion, but with the clever idea to made the thing with a compromise.
Because she made that Jerboa III/Boa spell work only on current animus dragons alive, to retire their powers in order to prevent new furure spells. But that don't work at all for the already and previous spells made before, who continue to exist. She also said and put anything about the genetic transmission of Animus Magic, so new future animus dragons will appears one day, but not before a long time.
What I don't understand is, when Darkstalker saw how much trouble the Qibli earrings would give him, why didn't he sent a bunch of beetles to rip them off of whoever wearing them?
HE HAD NO PROBLEM DOING THAT TO HIS FATHERS PROTECTION EARRING!
This is overall a good video. I agree that animus magic is too over powered. Anyone who wields it is a literal god. And the story could have ended with a spell or two.
Now…here is how I would fix animus magic by adding new rules.
1. IT TAKES AWAY YOUR LIFE FORCE
Each time you use animus magic, it temporarily takes away some of your life force. Which is what keeps you alive. Depending on how big the spell is, the more life force you use. But it is always recovered only after not using your magic for a while.
You will feel weak after casting a spell, or may even pass out. If you create a spell that is to big, or use it to often at once/not how many spell you do in your life, just how often you do it at once. You will possibly die.
2. YOU CAN NOT MANIPULATE TIME
You won’t be able to control time in any way shape or form. Meaning you can not undo what you did in the past. You can’t go back to the past or the future.
3. YOU CAN NOT ENCHANT DRAGONS ANIMALS OR HUMANS
You won’t be able to enchant a dragon human or animal. At least not directly. If you want to cast a spell on them, you will have to do it on an inanimate object or plant. Yes, plants are the only living things you can enchant with this new rule. And you can’t enchant part of a body either. There are no loopholes to go around this.
4. YOU CAN NOT USE ANIMUS MAGIC TO GIVE YOURSELF OR OTHERS IMMORTALITY
You will have to face growing old and dying one day. And will not be able to find any loopholes to it.
5. YOU CAN’T USE LOOPHOLES TO BRING BACK THE DEAD
You will not be able to make a carbon copy of a dead individual/species does not matter. And can not give someone else their memories. There is no way shape or form that you can bring back the dead. Once they are gone, they are gone.
6. YOU CAN NOT GIVE OR TAKE AWAY ANIMUS POWERS OR WILLFULLY GIVE THEM UP
You can not make anyone else an animus, or take away their powers. And you can not willfully give them up either. And will have to live with it forever.
7. YOU HAVE TO TOUCH THE OBJECT YOU ARE ENCHANTING AT ALL TIMES TO DO A SPELL
Yes, I know you already said that idea but I like the new rule. If they let go of the object halfway while doing a spell, it won’t work.
8. YOU CAN’T USE YOUR MIND TO CAST A SPELL
With this rule, it means it will be harder to cast spells, since the only way to cast a spell is to speak. But there is no limit of how loud or quiet you have to speak. You can scream or speak normally. And to be more secretive, even whisper.
If the user can not speak, they can still write instead to cast a spell. And since aquatic is a language, I decided to let this slide and allow it to be used to cast spells. You can also speak scavenger/human to use magic.
Well that’s it. You can leave your replies so I know your opinions. Please do, because when I ask for it no one replies to me :(
I get how it doesn’t really make sense in terms of worldbuilding, but I like that animus magic is so OP; it feels like that’s the point in terms of story. When you can do literally almost ANYTHING, it’s not the magic that’s ruining your soul, it’s your loss of sympathy and seeing other dragons as people that are ruining your soul. Dragons like Darkstalker, Jerboa, and Albatross are all warnings about how that lack of sympathy and respect for others boundaries is what really ruins them.
Its my head cannon that using animus magic more and more makes you exhausted short term.
Also it somewhat works in the series because of the contrants placed on Turtle in book 9. A simple modification to book 10 makes Anemone unable to cast spells OR talk, and is found later than before.
Its not perfect, but again, I also loved book 9 because the characters were interesting. In some ways its kinda like Harry Potter, magic is pretty much unexplained, and the focus is characters.
I just recently started watching your videos, and they are amazing. Cant wait to watch more
I made of a fan made arc about my fan made continent and how I did fix the Animus problem was I made a villain that can defeat darkstalker and made it every time a spell is made he gets stronger whitch is why one of the storylines in is the characters looking for old enchanted items to used on him
0:37 i think they mentioned it briefly in early book 1 but book 2 is where we actually see the first animus dragon
The problem with animus magic is that it is limitless.
This means the setting will absolutely end with an animus destroying the world or something far worse.
A single magic user could simply enslave the entire world with absolute ease.
Only possible limit on this is if losing the soul kills the character.
A simple limitation of requiring the enchanted object to be in contact with anything it would change, and perhaps a vague power level limit (cannot destroy the entire planet) would work to make animus magic feel more reasonable.
I like the idea of the no enchanting dragons directly but even the simple limitation of making the object need to be in contact with anything it changes to at least feel grounded.
Being able to pick up a rock, say “I enchanted this rock so that I cannot be physically harmed and everyone must obey me” is just too overpowered.
Also, sidenote, enchanting an object to make everyone like you is evil, enchanting yourself to be more likeable when wearing an object is not. (I mean, its not exactly good, but its not a violation of others minds in the same way.)
One infringes in others free will and the other is manipulative but only directly changing yourself.
As someone who is making a magic system let me just say that Animus magic fundamentally breaks wings of fire, and I can give 3 reasons why
1) the rules are flimsy and can be worked around
For the soul cost it you could make a necklace that when worn prevents your soul from being lost, enchant some food that when eaten restores your soul, or even enchant another dragon so that when you use a spell it will cost their soul instead of yours.
For the rule of can't bring back the dead you could bypass this rule with just 2 spells
To start let's use the dead body of a mud wing named Steve
first spell: enchant the dead body of Steve so that it turns into stone causing it to no longer be a dead but instead an inanimate object
second spell: enchant another object to fuse with the stone to transform it into Steve the mud wing
2) Kids are smart, imaginative, and can be blunt
With animus magic like many things, kids will be curious of it and what it can do, and they will realize the few limits, that can end horribly for others and for themselves. Another thing is that kids have quite the imagination and with something like animus magic it would get really strange in the world. Along with these kids tend to be more strait forward in what they want to do.
3) It has a lack of (Internal Realism) or in simplest terms does it make sense in the world of the story
You know the one thing I don't get is despite animus magic being around for at least a few thousand years, not one dragon has tried figuring out what animus magic can and can't do. Furthermore, if you were to take into consideration on what animus magic and what spells that already exist would do too the world building, in simplest terms everything about the world would be different. First off, animus dragons are practically gods in mortal form being able to warp the very fabric of reality itself at the cost of only a bit of soul, this fact alone would lead to more religious societies. Additionally, objects such as turtle's duplication bowl would cause all-out war due to its ability to pretty much create matter for duplication, seriously the power of the duplication bowl would cause unimaginable havoc.
you could give rules to the magic system but and that would normally work but with this system you would have to both change the world building and the story itself for it to work. (I'm thinking of making a possible rework though it will require changes that will take time to fully workout along with changes it would cause)
I love how he actually cursed lmao- i agree with everything here
Wonderful analysis!
When I first started the series I thought that animus magic was that the dragons who had it had a special ability that was unique to them.
Casually foreshadowing your next AU is TIGHT! 😁
2:49 actually someone could do that it would be quite simple
Carve a stone to look like the dragon you want then enchant it to have the memories of the dragon touch need and make it come to life (animate objects can come to life because Fanthom did so to blob)
Woo I cant wait for this vid
Also Tui didn't even solve her B's magick system problem. Snowfall literally does nothing for plot other than to kick start the plot and she does so by using Animus powers, even if she herself is not an Animus she still used Animus enchanted to things to get the plot going, and even gives stuff to the main characters that Animus enchanted. So no, Tui did not learn her lesson and still relies on Animus magick to do anything.
How did i just notice his necklace is the other half of his broken horn...
there are many counter arguments that could be made to your alternative darkstalker methods but ill just point out what i think is the obvious one (imo) the reason he didn't just "simply kill turtle" was because he promised moon he wouldn't hurt her friends, and im pretty sure that counts as hurting them, i guarantee she would DEFINITELY find out about something like that
also on the topic of animus magic, am i the only one who is wondering... who or what gave dragons animus magic in the first place? don't know about you, but i think it could make for a pretty interesting story arc trying to find out the origin of animus magic
I 💕 Wings Of Fire!!!!!
Hey charcoal! Maybe you could make a video on how yiu would bring it back from boas spell!
Another thing you could add is the fact that there are just too many loopholes, with the exeption of boa's spell. That also ruined animus magic.
Does Charcoal got animus magic? My Sky/Night hybrid Crow sertendly does
It's one of the most broken magic systems I've ever heard, No rules, limitations, or borders. Its literally magic run amok, this has seriously affected the 1st and 2nd Arcs in devastating negative effects, it's like the magic makes things go too fast or makes things too simple. It's very likely Tui Bull****ed animus magic because in like 3 seconds, Boom! Arc 3 over where's the God***m plot? The fact that she had to do that literally states how stupid this was. At this point, if I ever decide to add magic to my fanfic Wof books, they are going to be smart and careful.
Claim premier tickets here!
we never know that animous magic cant bring anyone back to life as no one has ever tried. we only have been told it cant
Hey there charcoal it's me again I was just thinking about something and that is how you got and finished up reading wings of fire book 15 The flames of Hope and if so what did you think of it did you like it
Could you make an enchantment that makes it so the holder forgets about their animus magic, besides the spell caster?
This is amazing
Wouldn’t these rules still make darkstalker god? Atleast compared to other normal dragons since he’d still have his scales and could probably become immortal still, since I don’t remember the exact wording ever being stated
That the characters didn't find the limits, that doesn't mean that there aren't any... they just don't know...
I partially cope with the wild incompetence of the animus magicians on a basis of just assuming that dragons are just not actually all that smart as a species. Like, how in warrior cats while the characters can have all the clan drama and interpersonal dialogues they want they're still not going to be building a house. Ergo dragon could be the same with the cleverest of them lying somewhere in the space between 13-14 year old humans still with added dragon inclinations towards beastly instincts on top of it. Mad scientist Mastermind's great claim to fame was being able to perform calculus after all.
Me realizing at the start of the video there was Monster hunter (PS4) music:OH
Yessssssss
ok All of these points would be on point if not for one thing, all the dragons that we see that have this power have some level of morality and even those who didn't really still cared about other dragons enough to not want to just straight up brain wash them (Darkstalker) or in the cause of albatross wanted other dragons to see them as something important and using magic to fix this would mean it's not actually them saying "Good Job, your amazing, etc." No matter how hard they tried or how many spells they cast they would still feel empty. Which is one of the reasons I like the magic system in these books is because it goes to show that even if you were unlimited in your power you are still but human (dragon) and need other people (dragons) to make your life complete, something power and magic, health and wealth, can't get you.
It wasnt complete terrible luck that the icewings never had an animus, its because both the other icewings with animus blood - snowfox and snowflake - were lesbian and never had eggs (as far as we know)
OBJECTION! Clearsight foretold that Snowfox would have a daughter
That lesbian thing wouldn't mean shit to the IceWings because A, She was the last heir to the throne, so she would need to make more heirs to keep the royal bloodline going and B, If being in love with someone was enough for them to not set you up with someone else, Runaways wouldn't have happened
I see your points, but at the same time I understand that it depends on the character, the context, and the risk involved.
At least the pl
For example Darkstalker COULD have killed all the Icewings in one fell swoop with a single spell if he wanted to (I remember he joked about that in his own book, but Clearsight talked him out of it), but he didn't want it to be too obvious that it was in fact a spell, especially to Moon. After Qibli figured it out he said it was for "plausible deniability."
Animus magic is only limited to the user's imagination, so even if you can imagine something after the fact, doesn't mean it's what they thought of at the moment.
Darkstalker could have just wiped everyone’s memory of the icewings in general with the exception of hybrids. He mud have know he could do that. And regardless, if a villain doesn’t do something as the result of a character trait, especially in a book meant for 12 year olds, it needs to be made obvious. And it’s simply not in wings of fire. It’s a plot hole no matter how you look at it.
Wait Falcon’s AU isn’t done yet? :O
What type of dragon is your oc is it some kind nightwing
Looks like a Nightwing/Skywing hybrid to me.
the only problem i have with this new system is not being able to directly enchant dragons
darkstalker didnt kill turtle cus he was moons friend
There's a limitation you forgot the soul thing also no giving magic or enchanting dragons mean turtles little sister would not be an animus
I would like to make fan art
Since technically the only thing an animus can’t do is bring a dead dragon back, wouldn’t they be able to:
1) bypass the dead rule by enchanting like a stick to take the exact form of a dead dragon and take their personality? (It’s not technically bringing them back from the dead)
2) blow up the planet
3) blow up a star
4) time-travel
5) control every living being
6) alter space-time
7) pull a Thanos
8) create an alternate universe
9) literally play god
10) and more
Animus magic needs a nerf :/
Yes
Today is my birthday on April 7 right now
@Dean Zaltsman thanks 😋🎁😊
“Happy birthday 🥳!” Hope u have a good day :)
@@milenadoerksen7262 thank you I hope you also have a good day
Happy Birthday:D
@@frostmint3584 thank you 😊
Animus magic can reverse time on a dead being therefore resurrection. Animus magic is broken.
When I research this Animus magic, it sounds more like Illusionary school of magic.
Also in my book magic is called ‘Mist’
Arc 3 is my favourite mainly because of blicket haha- but I like the fact that it still had animas enchanted objects but there weren’t active animuses (animi??) making everything easier. Plus just an opinion but I liked how the scorching finally had a relevant part to play >:D
I hate to say it, but we’re far overdue for another massacre. A bigger one this time, killing characters we actually care about to emphasize it’s importance. We’ve got too many animus characters at this point, and it would partially solve the overpowered problem, as it would cause enough fear to stop them from constantly using spels
There’s a reason, they can’t do big things or they will loose all their soul
For example, getting everyone to be royal to you once your done you will die
Do not read book 15 at night
Another good rule, they cannot make them self’s immortal
juice wrld better
no no no Turtle can't die because plot armor
The Waffle House has found it’s new host
WHY DId YOU HAVE TO SWEAR?