Divine Arts

The 9 Divine Arts, also known simply as Arts, or elements, are the elemental focuses of magic and make up the entirety of Eon's being.
In the world of Eon, magic is actually quite common, consisting of several elements and aspects, and it is used for a variety of things, ranging from combat to cooking to entertainment purposes (such as in carnival shows, or even powering game systems). However, despite all of this, there remains a stigma against those who use magic, especially in Magnesia, due to misconceptions that have been perpetuated throughout the Ages in regards to the “unholiness” of magic and those who wield it (Despite some sects of the The Divine Light promoting the positive nature of using magic). As such, those who possess these abilities must often keep them hidden so that they don’t get harassed and persecuted, which may also extend to their families if some of their tormentors are relentless enough. Though, it isn't all bad for elemental users, or anyone dabbling in magic. People who have apt control over it and decide to become hunters are heralded as fierce warriors risking their lives to keep people safe. Or priests who decide to use it for healing are called saviors for being able to use their magic for healing. Magic can either be manifested through a conduit, which would be a weapon of some kind, or through the physical manifestation through a person's thoughts, feelings and emotions. While some people are capable of using magic without needing a conduit (i.e Delta , Catastrophe ), some others require it to help with their own magic amplification (i.e Samara )
Other types of magic exist as well outside of what exists on Eon, such as shadow magic - a powerful, higher tier magic using void elemental magic to outpace the element. For example, void ice is extremely powerful, and can freeze normal ice and spread faster, while void fire can burn up normal fire. This magic can also affect beings made of light or harmony as well.
There is also something to note that some of the elements have a primordial form, which comes from Eon being crafted with it when it was first made. This comes from the primordial fire and primordial ice aspect of Muspelheim and Helheim specifically. Each realm also has its own physics when it comes to magic - so while this page may explain the elemental capacity of Midgard (or the mortal plane of Eon), the other realms will go into detail about their own magic.

Manifestation

Magic has been around since the formation of the planet and make up the entirety of Eon with every aspect of living. While the Divines are made entirely of magic, they're capable of using all elements, though they have their own favorites - for example, Coraxol prefers using space and reality, which is why her descendants have a good hand of manipulating gravity or using reality bending magic.
The capability of a person knowing magic from the start of their birth depends entirely on where they're from, their heritage and their species. Magic use can appear as early as puberty or manifest later in life through natural or artificial means, such as subjecting someone to high exposure to magic. The latter is not recommended however, as it can be like getting radiation poisoning and can cause malformations or disfiguration.
The Arts are divided into two categories - the Natural Arts which is fire, ice, water, lightning, water and air, and the Mother Arts, which makes up space, time and energy. Some types of magic can fit under an element in the Natural Arts, but most non elemental magic use, like healing or light, is under the Mother Arts.

Fire

The most common form of magic, fire magic is used for just about any and every reason, every single day. Those who come into magic will most often discover that they possess this form, and that it is the easiest to control and master. Why this is remains unknown even to this day, but it is often speculated that it may have something to do with how the world was made, with many historians suggesting that, perhaps, fire was the most abundant element in the very beginning, considering that Niflheim and Muspelheim were the first realms to be created.
Despite its ease to use, fire magic can still get very complicated and powerful the more one learns, requiring incredible concentration to maintain and control at the higher tiers. Those who study it diligently, however, will find those higher tiers little harder to master than the lower tiers.
Fire's opposite is ice - and thus, for fighting against fire.

Ice

Another very common form of magic, ice magic has a slightly lower practical uses outside of combat than fire magic does, though this doesn’t stop people from trying to find new ways to implement it wherever they can. Ice is harder to control than fire is, though not by much; most of the difficulty comes in maintaining a consistent temperature to keep the ice frozen, which means that those new to it will often end up having to attempt several times to form a simple ice cube in the beginning.
The higher tiers of ice magic are known to be almost impossibly difficult to master for those who didn’t start off with the element when they first came into their magic. Because of this, many feel discouraged to even begin learning ice magic in general, but those who persevere will often find that, even if they can’t master the higher tiers, the lower tiers are still quite manageable.

Water

The polar opposite of fire magic, water magic is extremely difficult to control and use, and even harder to master. Despite fire’s raging nature, it is easily contained, whereas water is much more chaotic and unruly, impossible to truly contain for long. Many who have tried to use water magic have ended up either seriously harming themselves or others, or causing massive amounts of damage to their surroundings.
Because of water’s overall difficulty to control, most who do manage to learn it tend to veer away from the higher tiers altogether. There are very few throughout history who have successfully managed to do such a thing and they tend to be respected by many magic users, but feared by many more, for an individual who can master water magic to such degree possesses incredible power that should not be messed with.

Wind

Wind magic is a form of magic that not many attempt to learn, and not many come into it as their first element, making it an element that is much rarer, almost as rare as water magic. Wind magic has very little practical use outside of combat,but for example, a farmer may use it to power their windmill to create energy out in rural areas of some countries.
The higher tiers of wind magic are capable of absolutely devastating things, and should only be attempted by those who have put plenty of time and effort into practicing the lower tiers. It is also suggested that all attempts at practicing the higher tiers take place in wide, open spaces a decent amount of distance away from civilization so as to minimize potential damage and/or casualties, since the storms conjured up in those higher tiers are incredibly powerful.

Earth

Earth magic is fairly common, but more often than not used for more practical things than it is for combat. A major example of this is how widely it’s used in agricultural endeavors, with farmers using it to help with their various crops to ensure they’re all arranged properly and appropriately nourished. In combat, it is mostly used to trap or block off enemies, and even to trip them as they advance.
The higher tiers of earth magic possess some of the most destructive powers that exist. For example, someone who manages to master the higher tiers will be able to create massive earthquakes and sinkholes capable of leveling entire cities. These are made even more potent if the individual in question has a staff, which is often used to channel and amplify magic to a much higher degree, and the resulting disaster could potentially level more than just a single city.

Lightning

Very powerful and extremely practical, lightning magic is used quite a bit outside of combat. Many homes are powered by it, and many businesses use it to work their appliances. It is one of the easier forms of magic to use, but only at the most basic levels, which is what most people tend to use to begin with, thus alleviating the stress of maintaining something that powerful for too long.
Lightning magic can be catastrophic in its higher tiers, especially if paired with the higher tiers of water magic or wind magic. It is also highly dangerous to wield, and many who have tried to master the higher tiers have ended up seriously wounded or even dead due to either lack of preparation or plain ineptitude. A good way for one to prevent this is to stand somewhere grounded, have someone who knows earth magic to be there with them in order to create a protective shield (since earth magic is the polar opposite of lightning magic), and to wear something rubbery to avoid conducting any of the electricity produced.

Non-Elemental Magic

Non Elemental magic is usually categorized under the Mother Arts - they're the reason for all other magic to exist.
Time and space are the two most common, and most difficult to handle, elements out of the Arts. They can cause immense strain on a person's psyche, and the only ones on Eon who can really master or control such elements are children and descendants of Coraxol and Opeitos for the most part, such as Taurvros and Brashur. Most users with that kind of control uses the magic for battle purposes with space - for example, being able to create singularities (black holes) or reducing someone's gravity to zero and making them float helplessly. Though, its been recorded that that kind of magic can be used for every day use as well. Time can be used for convenience's sake, with slowing down time to help someone out of danger, or to complete a task before a deadline.
Light magic is often referred to as “magic of the soul” due to how it draws most of its strength from willpower and belief. Aside from the obvious ability to produce illumination, light magic can also create barriers, be used as adhesive for any material, and produce a comforting aura to calm someone in a panic, among other things. It is rarely taught in conventional magic classes, and even the most advanced courses only tend to cover the basics. Francine represents the element of light as one of the Divines.
Leslave perhaps uses light magic much more frequently than any other location on Eon, and with more skillful mastery. The one race that is considered to be the true masters of it are Elves , Francine's species she made from a relationship with a Lightwarden . They are so proficient in the use of light magic that even their own homes can be constructed using it, and using it is as natural to them as breathing and speaking.
The higher tiers of light magic are said to be capable of incredible things, such as rebuilding collapsed structures, illuminating the depths of the ocean, and even creating new stars in the sky. Whether or not that last feat is actually achievable is known to very few, and those who do have that knowledge seldom ever divulge it, believing it best for such secrets to remain just that: secrets.

Another of the more powerful forms of magic, dark magic has the potential to be either incredibly helpful or extremely harmful depending on whomever is wielding it. Because of the fact that it draws more heavily from the physical aspects of the caster, dark magic is commonly referred to as “magic of the body” by many. A few examples of dark magic include telekinesis, the ability to increase one’s own physical strength, and invulnerability. Dark magic, while the name of it seems foreboding, is only called as such due to the opposite properties of its counterpart, light. Ursula represents the aspect of dark magic as one of the Divines, and is thus thought to be Francine's opposite.
Much like light magic, dark magic is rarely, if ever, taught in conventional magic classes. The more advanced classes do offer to teach it, but only to those students who excel above and beyond all of their peers and prove themselves trustworthy with the knowledge of such a powerful form of magic. This often irritates hopefuls who are determined to learn about it, but there is not much else they can do but complain and move on.
The higher tiers of dark magic, strangely enough, provide no form of outstanding power beyond strengthening what is already available at lower tiers. For example, if one were to learn the ability to make oneself invulnerable, the higher tiers offer the ability to strengthen that into nigh-immortality. It is currently unknown as to why dark magic functions this way, and very few believe it will ever be understood.

Type

Metaphysical, Elemental