There are phenomena in Arvor that defy natural, worldly tendencies. These phenomena are called "magic", and to laypeople that is the end of it. But practitioners and students of these phenomena have a deeper understanding of their classifications and sources.
Arcane Magic
Arcane magic is the magic of
Mystra's Weave. Over millennia, this magic has been honed through study, logic, and experimentation. It is a scientific pursuit, and many of its simpler effects have been distilled to their barest essence to make them accessible to more would-be arcanists. In the present day, the arcana are studied in universities and cloisters all across Arvor, from the exclusive academies of wizardry to more practical
magewright schools. The only way to advance in Arcane magic is through study.
Divine Magic
Long before the sun hung high at noon or the moon twinkled in the skies,
The Gardener emerged from primordial chaos to shape
Kasama, propelled by their Spark of Inspiration. It was from this spark that the first gods derived their vast power. This powerful legacy lives on in today's deities, who share it with their most devout in the form of miracles, or divine magic. The works of divine magi are sometimes called spells (due to parallels with other forms of magic), but they are not procedures practiced by rote, learnable by anyone. They are prayers for miracles.
Divine magic flows from the gods, and as their power grows so too does the power of their devout. Some scholars believe that divine magic is driven not only by the divine themselves, but also by the relationship between divine and acolyte. So as the acolyte's unwavering faith grows, so too does power in both directions. This has not been proven. It is believed that those deities who are allies of Mystra, like
Corellon, also make use The Weave to deliver some of their miracles.
Primal Magic
Silvanus detested the so-called "progress" of the Age of Giants. He watched from atop the highest mountain, aghast as the giants cut his forests, dammed
his daughter's rivers. Silvanus was full of anger, and was determined to give his wrath to the world so it might fight against destruction. He retreated into the world, becoming part of it and diffusing his spark through all nature's living things. This near-divine essence of the natural world is Primal magic.
While its underlying source is Silvanus's divinity, it is not harnessed through prayer or divine favor. Those who control it are those that can see and respectfully borrow the interconnected power of nature. Primal magic cannot easily be taught – it is a calling.
Occult Magic
There are other magicks that defy categorization and understanding. Most of these come from beyond Kasama, leaking in through the millennia. These arts are not practiced openly, and are rightfully feared. All other magic can be understood as part of the whole of our cosmos, but the occult are a dangerous subversion of the natural order, and can bring terrible consequences on the world.
Old Magic
There are some forms of magic that were practiced long ago, but were lost either through cataclysm or divine intervention. You may encounter small pockets of their practice, but for the most part today's folk only know the stories.
Blood Magic
Today's Necromancers practice magic of flesh, blood, and bone that traces its beginnings to the old Blood Magic. They say there is magic in all of us, and some witches and wizards of old sought to cut it out and use it. This magic was used by terrible magi such as
Vanuk the Soulbreaker to wield tremendous power at tremendous cost.
The Chant
Long before Arvor’s arcane magic was systematized and studied as a scientific pursuit, those who were sensitive to the presence of arcane power found ways to attune to The Weave and call upon its power. Due to the practice’s loud, often repetitive nature it was called The Chant, and its practitioners Chanters. (Here we have the origin of the more modern “enchant” and “enchanter”, though the Enchantment tradition is far removed from the ancient practice).
The Chant was not simply a language to be learned and spoken. Chanting required not only knowledge of words, grammar, and precise pronunciation, but also absolute clarity and visualization of intent. Any lack of specificity or resolve could be absolutely disastrous for the chanter or their target. Even the most skilled chanters occasionally found themselves strained by routine practice – sometimes to the point of death. In many villages, the arrival of a Chanter was not celebrated. The Chanter (and later innkeeper) Padilla wrote of resting at a roadside inn, only to awake and find the guests and staff had hastily departed in the night.
The last lexicons of The Chant were lost with The Cataclysm, and there are no known Chanters in Arvor today. Nonetheless, The Chant laid the foundation for further study and use of magic. Practitioners used their growing understanding to systematize other means of more precise, reliable arcane control, and the fruits of modern magic grew from its rich soil.
Chronomancy (or Chronurgy)
Chronomancy was an arcane tradition focused on the manipulation of time. Very little remains of historical work in this area, and since Mystra's restoration in the Great Spring this class of magic has been hindered by divine forces. Some arcanists believe it is because this form of magic was instrumental in bringing about the Cataclysm.
Elven High Magic
Elven high magic was a form of ritual magic created by ancient elves, and possibly performed exclusively by them. This old magic enabled feats unheard of today, including the creation of new realms and worlds. Some evidence of these feats remains today, including
Thaveus's tower in
Tiernas (now the Whispering Woods Wild Magic Zone), which was ripped from our plane and shunted into extradimensional space.
