#image_title
Magic pulls in all kinds of people. Some are good-natured at heart, seeking to use their powers to make the world a better place whereas others have ulterior motives. These people endeavor to use their ability to do magic for nefarious purposes such as enriching themselves or eliminating their opponents. However, there is a group of people who all have a singular goal to advance their agenda and that would be the magic cult.
Cults based on magic are not to be trifled with. They’re filled with fanatics who will do everything it takes to prevail, even if it means sacrificing themselves. They perform various ritual activities such as hexing their foes or worshipping the leader or the deity who supposedly speaks to said leader.
How does one go about creating a magic cult? There are some things to know so that you can integrate it into your world or the story. These basics will go a long way in making the cult feel realistic to your audience and to the people living within the world.
A cult of magic isn’t just about a group of fanatics living and working together to implement their agenda, not when magic is involved. It’s filled with many magic users, the majority of which can perform all kinds of witchcraft and spell-craft. As such, due to the great powers they wield, they pose a serious threat to the world and extreme caution is needed when approaching them.
The magic cult plays a part in the world in that it takes like-minded individuals who have never crossed paths and puts them into a group akin to a brotherhood or sisterhood. They develop a strong loyalty to the cause and to their brethren. Each one brings with them a certain talent that will prove useful as the cult schemes to expand its influence.
This is article number eight in the different aspects of magic series. If you’d like to peruse our other articles, you can find them all on our blog page!
Cults come in many shapes and forms. Some are small, less than ten people, and some feature hundreds of people. Yet there is a common denominator in all cults and that is the fervent desire of their members who prioritize advancing the cause by using all available tools at their disposal.
One thing a magic cult needs is a leader. Said person is usually an inspirational, a motivational speaker. He has the uncanny knack of telling the members exactly what they want to hear. The leader uses his impressive oratory skills to hornswoggle and lure people into the cult.
It wouldn’t be a cult of magic if the leader had no followers. He targets those who are more willing to listen to him pontificate and these people are usually going through a hard time or don’t feel like they can amount to anything in their lives. Using the power of words, it is as if he’s speaking to them personally and they feel like someone is hearing them and that person will help them become whole again.
The leader can’t do everything that a magic cult needs by himself. Instead, he relies on his helpers, some of whom are his most stalwart acolytes. Others are simply people who he paid. They perform a variety of tasks such as keeping people in line and punishing those who veer out of bounds. They also help weed out the ‘undesirables’ or troublemakers and deal with them, one way or the other.
The cult of magic has a ‘program’ that’s designed to help its members achieve nirvana. The leader deludes his followers into following the program religiously, telling them that doing so will guide them to the answers they’re seeking in order to become the best versions of themselves. Little do they know, they’re just doing the tasks the leader deems important such as gardening or preparing food so that he doesn’t have to do it all by himself.
Just because it might be a group filled with fanatics doesn’t mean the cult of magic should be scoffed at or treated with scorn. That fanaticism can lead to the cult unlocking powers it didn’t have before which makes it more dangerous to the world. When it comes to magic, it can truly become a force to be reckoned with on the world stage.
One thing a magic cult excels at is its hexing rituals. These rituals typically involve chanting words or placing curses on those who the cult deems as its enemies. There is great power in these words, for they can impact people’s lives in unexpected ways. For instance, a curse the cult places on a wizard can make him more vulnerable, paving the way for an attempt on his life.
The cult of magic also uses these rituals to delve ever deeper into black magic. Members perform various activities, all of which are designed to augment their ever-growing power with the aim of learning more malevolent spells that they can put to evil use. The most powerful members can learn necromancy or spells only they can learn.
Spells aren’t the only weapon in the arsenal of a magic cult. Fear and intimidation are two of its most powerful tools and the cult uses them to great success. Evil witches and wizards threaten people, destroy property, cast spells that cause people’s hearts to fill with dread, among other shady actions, all in the name of advancing their agenda.
One of the greatest powers the cult of magic has is its capacity to commit crimes, including murder. Its members are imbued with an obsessive desire to do everything for the cause. That means they torment, blackmail, kidnap, and murder people, all for the cause. They would sell out their own family if they could gain something from it.
When it comes to the world, a cult of magic can pose a serious threat to it, especially one filled with users of varying powers. While a small one might not be one to fret about, it’s the ones that have amassed a sizable following full of fanatics who would gladly sacrifice themselves if it ensured that the cult achieved its goals. Every single thing these people do everyday is to advance the cause.
The reason why a magic cult can become a grave threat to the world is because it brings about people from different walks of life together for a purpose. These people have similar ideas and perspectives about the issues of the day but weren’t sure how they could voice their opinions. By forming friendships and alliances with like-minded people can they pool their talents to become a formidable force to be reckoned with.
A deadly cult of magic seeks to dominate everyone and rule the world with its leader at the helm, making decisions that will shape everybody’s lives. It will stop at nothing to achieve that goal, even going so far as to declare war on all those who would dare stand in its path. Its members will threaten, blackmail, and even murder their foes and make examples out of them in order to intimidate others who might be wondering whether to oppose them or not.
A magic cult also endeavors to delve deep into the dark arts. It is eager to push the boundaries beyond what is already accepted magic. It wishes to explore new realms of magic-making skills that it can use to cement its hold on power and to strike fear against its enemies.
Many cults operate in the rural countryside, far from prying eyes though they dispatch their people to nearby communities to recruit new members and to stock up on supplies. Some are urban-focused though they go to great lengths to conceal their activities so that they can evade the local authorities until the time is right for them to make their move. They determine who’s likely to become members and disregard those who they believe will be difficult to recruit, though they might wonder if these people might become enemies one day in the future.
A cult of magic is not to be taken lightly. Its members are likely to know powerful and devastating spells that they will use in order to attain the cult’s goals. Only those who are proficient in magic can stand a chance against the fear and might of the cult.
Though a magic cult might be comprised of people, it is so much more than that. There’s a clear hierarchy of power with the leader sitting at top and his followers below him. He spreads messages that border on gospel and the others take them to heart as they go about their chores and missions.
As for the powers that a cult of magic wields, the most powerful ones are used for the leader and his inner circle, all full of erstwhile loyalists. They use spells such as those to raise the dead or cause massive infernos, all in the name of spreading fear and chaos upon the populace. Those on the lower levels still can perform dangerous spells that can end someone’s life or use an inanimate object as a weapon in which to bludgeon their foes with.
The purpose a magic cult serves is to be a threat that the world must deal with. It is an organization that seeks to supplant the ruling system and rule the world. The cult won’t hesitate to use everything it has at its disposal to achieve it, even if it means eliminating scores of innocent civilians using extremely powerful forms of magic.
In terms of worldbuilding, the magic cult is an excellent addition to it in that it brings together people who share similar mindsets and ideas about the world. By marshaling their talents together, they compound the power the cult wields, becoming the protagonist’s most formidable adversaries. Pitting the hero against a cult can generate riveting storytelling but only if it’s done right.
Let me know what you think in the comments below. (Note: this is an account-exclusive feature).
If you don’t have one, you can register here. It only takes a few moments of your time!
Liked this article and want to subscribe? All you have to do is fill out the form below and that’s it!
Thanks for reading this and until the next time,
Sunfire
Subscribing means you receive:
You can always unsubscribe anytime.
CONTENTS The Premise While dwelling in a magical community might be fun, there needs to…
CONTENTS Overview One of the best parts of building a fantasy world is constructing the…
CONTENTS Introduction In fantasy worlds that have magic, there are all kinds of users. Good-natured…
CONTENTS The Premise For these worlds that have it, magic sprinkles every corner of them,…
CONTENTS Overview From sprouting trees out of nowhere to summoning a great wave that instantly…
CONTENTS Introduction Magic is an integral part of the fantasy genre. While it appears in…
This website uses cookies.