Magic

Origins

The origins of magic and how a creature can cast spells has been the debate of scholars at the University of Magic for some time. It is most commonly believed that all magic, divine and arcane, is provided by the goddesses. The land of Ekina is a highly magical place. Magic is prevalent in nature; forests are filled with mystical beasts and supernatural plant life; weather can often take on strange and mysterious effects; rivers have been known to flow backwards, and so much more that can't be explained. It is therefore believed that the will of the goddesses provide magic to all.

Casting Spells

How different spellcasters access this magic can be explained as below:

Wizards

Wizards study magical texts and the world around them in order to construct raw magic into written spells. Ekina is a highly magical land, with magic prevalent in nature. Through intense study, a wizard captures the essence of raw magic from the world around them, converting this raw energy into a written form that can be studied, copied, and produced by themselves and other wizards. 

Clerics & Paladins

Those with a divine calling receive their spellcasting abilities directly from the goddess that they revere. Through prayer and following the divine tenants of their goddess, a cleric or paladin will receive the spells they need from the goddesses.

Druids

Druids receive their magical power through the land itself. It is believed that druids connection to nature - through centuries of living in forests and generally away from civilisation - has infused the magic of nature into the druid's very being. Druids tend to be born to parents who are also druids, and so their powers are passed down through the generations. It's believed that if for some reason a druid were to begin living in a city and had children there, eventually the descendants of this druid would lose their connection to the land, and thus lose their druidic powers.

Warlocks

Through a magical pact, a warlock receives their magic via a powerful, often extra-planar, entity. The warlock's magic is therefore not their own, but borrowed from another creature who has gained magical abilities through other means, possibly means listed here.

Sorcerers

How sorcerers come to be is somewhat of a mystery to the scholars of Kureta. Each sorcerer that has been encountered tends to have a certain set of circumstances that lead to their powers, but the why of it all often remains a mystery. In some cases the sorcerer may be the descendent of a magical being, and so their powers can be explained through genetics. Other sorcerers seem to gain their powers randomly, or are born with them for no known purpose. It is believed that perhaps these individuals are blessed by the goddesses, for some divine purpose yet to be seen.

Bards

Bards learn their magic much like wizards do. Through fervent study at the College of Exquisite Arts, a bard can learn to infuse music and art with magical effects. Whereas a wizard will convert raw magic into written spells, a bard converts the raw energies of the world into song. Unlike written text and glyphs, a song can be remembered much more easily, and so a bard who learns a magical song can perform it without the need of a spellbook (or songbook) in which the spell is written down. This often raises the question of how a bard can infuse magic into their performance, when the common man or woman repeating a bard's song would not achieve the same magical effect. The answer is believed to be in the skill of the bard. In order to infuse magic into a song, the song must be performed to a high enough standard, with perfect accuracy. Some believe that the skill of the bard is enough to please even the goddesses, and so the magic is granted to them. This is one of the reasons why the college keeps it motto "Anyone else is just a performer".

Witches

Witches are rare in Kureta, and the nature of their magic is somewhat unknown. It is believed to lie somewhere between the methods of a wizard and druid - the witches' connection to nature seems to provide them power, but they have also been known to carry grimoires that contain written spells.

Common Magic

Some non-mages have been known to possess skills which resemble magic, but are widely seen as not being arcane. For instance, a highly trained thief may have the ability to disappear into shadows as if they were never there - or a warrior might break stone that only a giant could usually destroy. Such skills are known as "Common Magic" (although mages often call it "fake magic" to protect their craft) and they can be performed by non-mages. It is believed that such non-mages are able to use these skills because they have the favour of a Goddess.