The fantasy world of Netflix's Shadow and Bone series is a complex one and its Grisha magic and the purpose of amplifiers may need some explanation for those not familiar with the books. Based on the Grishaverse trilogy of books by Leigh Bardugo (with additional characters added from the Six of Crows duology), the series tells the story of Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) and her unexpected quest to destroy the Shadow Fold and to save her kingdom of Ravka.
After a near-disaster while on a mission with her military regiment to cross the deadly Shadow Fold for supplies and come back, Alina and the world discover she has rare magical powers that are heretofore unknown. She's soon whisked away into the world of the Grisha, i.e. those with magical abilities, or, as they refer to it, the "Small Science." It's an overwhelming time for her, not only because she has to learn how to navigate the political intrigue and complex court life of the Grisha, but also because she has to learn how to master her own Sun Summoner powers and how magic works at all.
Like Alina, audiences who haven't read the books may be scrambling to catch up to the magic of the world and the deep mythology the Netflix show builds around it. The magical hierarchy of the Grishaverse is strict, but there are a number of moving parts. Once one includes outliers like the summoners and the amplifiers, it starts getting complex, and while the Shadow and Bone reviews have been great, it's a lot to absorb. For anyone wondering exactly how it all works, here are the magic and amplifiers of Shadow & Bone explained. Note that most of this is in the series, but some of the information is pulled from the books to give a deeper, fuller understanding of the magic.
Magic Isn't Actually Magic In Shadow & Bone, But Science
Perhaps surprisingly for a fantasy series, the "magic" of Shadow & Bone isn't actually magic at all, but rooted firmly in science – or as much science as a fantasy series will allow. The Grisha refer to what they do as the Small Science. It's not some arcane, mysterious art, but rather the manipulation of matter at its most fundamental elements. The Grisha can, quite literally, manipulate matter at the molecular level.
As with anything in nature, this comes with limitations. Unlike the magicians and wizards and spellcasters in other fantasy series, Grisha can not just conjure up things out of nothing or magically create something out of nothing. Instead, a Grisha draws upon the elements that they have an affinity to from the surrounding atmosphere and environment. For example, an Inferni – a fire-caster – can not just make fire from nothing. Instead, they draw combustible materials from the air and world around them and even then, they need a flint to light the spark to start the fire they can then control. If a Grisha isn't in an environment conducive to the order they're aligned with, it's harder or even impossible for them to use their magic. For example, Alina, as the Sun Summoner, finds it almost impossible to use her powers when she's underground, as there is no sunlight from which to draw upon - the fire of torchlight isn't the thing she has an affinity for, and thus she can't draw upon it.
Using their abilities benefits the Grisha in other ways, however. In both the books and the Netflix TV show, Shadow & Bone does away with the fantasy version of magic-s' kryptonite in that the Grisha don't get tired out after using their magic for too long or after casting a large spell. As they're drawing upon elements externally rather than generating the magic internally, they're not kneecapped by having a finite amount of energy. In fact, the more a Grisha uses their abilities, the stronger and healthier they get; suppressing their abilities makes them sickly and frail. It can even extend a Grisha's life and give them extreme longevity.
The Grisha Are Divided Into Three Classes
Corporalki
There are three main classes of Grisha: 1. Corporalki, 2. Etherealki, 3. Materialki. There is a clear hierarchy in the Grisha and the Corporalki, or the Order of the Living and the Dead, are at the top. They are the Grisha who can manipulate and control the body for deadly or restorative reasons. As with all Grisha orders, there are specialty classes within the Coporalki order. Heartrenders have the ability to damage a person's organs and cells and can do anything from slowing a person's pulse down to calm them, to squeezing the breath from their lungs, to crushing a person's heart in their chest. Heartrenders are identified by their red kefta with black embroidery on the cuffs. Their opposite are the Healers, who do exactly what their name implies: They are the Grisha menders who can knit together torn flesh, graft broken bones, and heal internal damage. Their keftas are the red of the Corporalki order but with gray embroidery.
There are also extremely rare types of Corporalki, as well. Tailors have the ability to change a person's appearance, making them useful from anything from cosmetic vanity to providing an impermeable cover to someone in spycraft. At the moment, Genya Safin (Daisy Head) is the only known Tailor in the Shadow & Bone series. Genya's kefta is cream-colored with gold embroidery, but this is a byproduct of her being one of the palace servants rather than Tailors having a standard kefta. The rarest of Corporalki mentioned in the books are known as Corpsewitches, but they do not make an appearance in the series. While the others can manipulate living flesh, a Corpsewitch can manipulate dead flesh and cells, and thus reanimate the dead.
Etherealki
The second order of Grisha are the Etherealki, or the Order of Summoners. Their Grisha gifts enable them to manipulate the elements of air, fire, and water. Inferni, as their name implies, manipulate fire, and their blue kefta are embroidered in red to denote their fiery gifts. Along with Heartrenders, Inferni are most often used in an offensive capacity, whether in battle or against the volcra of the Shadow Fold. As with all Etherealki, most Inferni train in pairs and learn to work as a team. Next are Squallers, or those who can manipulate air and air pressure to achieve anything from making sure a ship never dies in the water and pushing it faster to warding off storms to hurling objects through the air. Their kefta are the blue of the Etherealki order and embroidered in silver. Last are Tidemakers, or the water manipulators of the Grisha. They can summon waves, calm rough waters, and even pull water from air to water parched crops. Considering their complementary talents, Squallers and Tidemakers almost always pair together as sailing and storms alike both require the need for and manipulation of both water and air. Tidemakers are denoted by the pale blue embroidery on their darker blue kefta.
As with the Corporalki, there are extremely rare types of Etherealki known as Summoners. In fact, in the series there are only three known Summoners. General Kirigan, a.k.a. the Darkling (Ben Barnes), is a Shadow Summoner whose powers allow him to pull darkness and manipulate shadows. With his abilities, he can cloak a room or an area in pitch-black darkness even in the middle of a sunny day, use his shadows to wrap around the face of someone to blind them, even use something known as the Cut, in which he shapes shadows into a blade that can slice through anything. Of all the Grisha in the world, only Baghra (Zoë Wanamaker) also has the powers of a Shadow Summoner. With a power as rare as his, Kirgan is the most powerful of the Grisha and, as such, is the only one allowed to wear the color black. Thus, his kefta is purest black on black with his sigil - a sun in eclipse - featured in its clasps and embroidery.
His opposite is Alina Starkov. Alina is the only known Sun Summoner, and, since she and the Darkling are technically both considered of the Etherealki order as they manipulate nature, she is considered his counterpart, one half of a whole. Where Kirigan can summon shadow and darkness, Alina can summon pure sunlight. With her sunlight, she can warm those around her, brighten a dark day, or obliterate darkness with the intense power of the sun. When their powers are focused, like Shadow Summoners, Sun Summoners can focus sunlight into a pointed beam to create the Cut. Though, as the Sun Summoner, Alina would normally wear a black kefta to complement the Darkling, save with golden embroidery, in the series (as in the book), Alina chooses to have a blue kefta embroidered in gold so as not to stand out too much.
Materialki
Last are the Materialki, or the Order of Fabrikators. Though considered the lowest of the Grisha orders since they rarely see battle and have no offensive capabilities, the Grisha army, known as Ravka's Second Army, would be lost without the Materialki, who can manipulate composite materials, whether man-made or natural, and thus are the inventors and innovators of the Grisha. Durasts can manipulate anything solid on a molecular level, including wood and plants, metal, glass, stone and more. With their powers, Durasts can, for example, infuse a Grisha's kefta to be bulletproof, draw out harmful material from a person's body, make a tree grow, or create weapons that are near-unbreakable. Their purple kefta are embroidered with gray.
The Alkemi can do to chemicals, powders, and non-solid matter what Durasts can do to solid matter. As a result, Alkemi are geniuses with creating and manipulating poisons and antidotes, creating blasting powders and bombs, purifying and maturing liquids – anything alchemical in nature. The purple keftas of the Alkemi are embroidered in red. Though they are a separate specialty from Durasts, as Alkemi and Durasts work side-by-side in the same workshops and are considered the lowest order, the other Grisha rarely bother to make the distinction and refer to all Materialki as Fabrikators.
Others Have No Grisha Gifts Or Abuse The Gifts They Have
Not everyone in the world can use the Small Science, however. Those born without Grisha gifts are referred to as the otkazat'sya – "the abandoned." In the Ravkan language, it's another word for "orphan," and it indicates how those without Grisha abilities are viewed. In other countries, magic-s are feared, even hunted down and exterminated, but in Ravka, they are revered and treated as a class above ordinary non-Grisha humans.
And not every practitioner of the Small Science respects its boundaries. The Small Science adheres to the real-world premise of the First Law of Thermodynamics: energy can not be created or destroyed, only converted into another form of energy. With the Small Science, the Grisha believe that matter can not be created or destroyed, only manipulated. However, a Grisha with extreme power and skill can attempt to push the boundaries beyond what Small Science says is possible with merzost, which is a Ravkan word that means both "abomination" and "magic." Merzost gives a Grisha the power of life over death, of pure creation – in other words, they can become a god. But that power comes at a great price, for the Grisha either sacrifices something vital in themselves to attempt merzost or there are unintended and terrible consequences that rebound. It is magic and science perverted and only a few Grisha in history have ever been powerful enough, desperate enough, or reckless enough to attempt merzost.
Amplifiers Can Increase A Grisha's Power
A major storyline of the 2021 Netflix show, as well as the books, involves amplifiers. Amplifiers are exactly what they sound like – objects that can increase a Grisha's power. These are almost always natural materials derived from special animals, usually the bones, teeth, scales or horns of animals. Amplifiers are rare, and don't work for all Grisha – only the Grisha who kill the animal can use the amplifier that animal offers. And it is an offering, for not only does the Grisha choose the amplifier, but the amplifier also chooses the Grisha. As a result, amplifiers are almost always only worn by Grisha powerful enough to master them. As amplifiers are so rare, only Grisha who are chosen by the Darkling are allowed to have them, and most Grisha are only allowed to have one amplifier at a time.
However, there are three mythical amplifiers that legend says was created by Ilya Morozova, otherwise known as Sankt Ilya in Chains, one of the first and most powerful Grisha to ever have lived. These amplifiers are said to be legendarily powerful and possessing one, or even all three, would amplify a Grisha's powers beyond measure. The first of these amplifiers is Morozova's Collar, created from the antlers of Morozova's Stag, an ancient and magical white stag. The second of the amplifiers is the Sea Whip's Fetter, created from the golden scales of Rusalye, otherwise known as the sea whip, a magnifient sea serpent that legend says is a cursed dragon prince. The third of Morozova's amplifiers is the Firebird, and even less is known about the Firebird than about the first two mythical creatures.
Along with animal parts, other human beings can serve as amplifiers, though it's extremely rare. Of the Grisha in the series, only General Kirigan with his Darkling powers and Baghra are known to be living amplifiers, though it's unknown whether their amplification abilities are tied to their Shadow Summoner nature. Likewise, living amplifiers can detect a Grisha's power, but they have to be touching the person to sense it.
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Like the world itself, Grisha magic is both complicated and simple, profound and mundane. There are secrets and surprises from the books Netflix's Shadow and Bone series has yet to reveal about the Small Science and its workings. Shadow and Bone season 2 will almost certainly answer a few more of those questions.