The Four Streams of Magic

Introduction

Though study of the nature of the universe beyond the material plane is an admittedly abstract and esoteric pursuit, generations of scholars have dedicated countless years to the exploration, understanding, and categorization of both the planes beyond as well as the ways in which they interact with the material world. Debates and differences of understanding rage on across the numerous disciplines which overlap with planar and existential studies. Where the most common ground can be found, however, is on the nature and categorization of the four primary sources of magic, referred to as The Four Streams of Magic, so called to represent magic's existence beyond the material plane flowing through it rather than existing within it. In this collection of tomes, I will readily take on the impossible task of coalescing eons of thought and research on these expansive topics into nigh comprehensive yet comprehendible discussions on magic, planar existence, and through these lens, the nature of the universe itself. | Telphar of the Tomes, Candlekeep

On the Four Streams

Just as the four primal elements shape the distant Inner Planes of our very reality, so too the Four Streams of Magic form the fundamental ways in which our world and the universe beyond function.
Flowing through the Weave, the Fey, the Shadowfell, and the blessings of the gods who dwell in the Outer Planes beyond, all those who bend reality to their will in even the most mundane fashions dip their toes into one of the same four streams as all ancient ancestors have and all future generations will so long as the cosmology continues.

— Telphar of the Tomes, Candlekeep

Arcane Magic

Of all the types of magic, the arcane arts are by far the most familiar to most and the most studied by the magical community as a whole. While some may argue divine magic has been utilized for generations longer than the formal study of pure arcana, the study of the gods has always focussed primarily on the deities as the sources rather than the causal effect of the powers granted themselves and thus is perhaps not understood to the same extent as a medium of magical manifestation.
For the average individual, arcane magic is the study of wizards, the innate powers of sorcerers, and is akin to understanding a different language and culture full of strange artifacts, customs, and taboos. For the more studious, arcane magic is understood to be an individual's ability to access and in small ways manipulate the Weave in order to harness the raw power of arcane energy to a desired end. The Weave exists as an organization of the raw arcane magic of the world into threads which are managed by Mystra and her disciples to provide mortal's the ability to utilize magic in predictable and consistent ways. Many depict the Weave as a blanket which lays over the Material Plane and exists parallel to the world as mortals understand it. One need look no further than the Spellplague and Times of Trouble to see the devastation which can be wrought on the material plane when the Weave is not maintained and nurtured by the Goddess of Magic and her exarchs.

— Ilyana Morlen, transcribed

Divine Magic

Whereas the Weave lies over the material world flowing in parallel, the magic of the gods moves in a stream perpendicular to our existence from the Outer Planes where our deities dwell inward until finally reaching the extended grasps of the faithful who pledge their allegiance and offer their prayers to patrons and gods alike. Whether humble priests conducting rituals of cleansing and healing or battle-hardened paladins smiting their demonic foes, divine magic is both the tools and rewards of the faithful in their dutiful work of furthering the gods wills in the material plane.
While the arcane scholars typically agree on the workings of the Weave, its relationship with the divine magic is a contentious point at best. There are those who believe the gods themselves make use of the weave, harness the raw power of magic through it, and then bestow those powers upon their followers. Others still believe divine magic circumscribes but does not interact with the Weave in any meaningful way. Finally, a smaller cohort of scholars suggest that divine magic may work alongside and amplify, but thereafter exist separately from the Weave and arcane magic as a conduit for material manipulation.

— Salgrin Runeborn, reproduced with permission

Fey Magic

Less is known about the stream of Feywild magic than its arcane or divine counterparts, but there is no denying the existence nor power of the fey's affect on the material plane. Those who have stepped through the countless overlapping regions of our world into the realm of the fey speak of the eerily similar yet equally strange world which brightly mirrors our own. Those who have returned often share a common deterioration of memory and lack of temporal cognition. To say more would be a divergence into the nature of the Feywild itself, but suffice it to say an academic study and depiction of the Feywild as a stream of magic has not yet revealed itself in a satisfyingly comprehensive or cogent manner and thus this magic more than the other sources studied leaves itself to be steeped in mysticism and abstraction.
Some who have used arcane methods to converse with creatures indigenous to the Feywild relay the creatures describing magic as "akin to water for aquatic life." If this allusion is to be believed, it perhaps paints the Feywild as a world similar to our material plane but one in which the Weave is less like a blanket overlaid and perhaps the fabric of the world itself. But to delve further into metaphor only further obfuscates the matter and hand.

— Elyon Helerora, transcribed

Shadow Magic

If the magic of the Feywild is steeped in mysticism, then the stream of the Shadow Magic is painted in visages of questionable intent and looming darkness. Throughout the centuries there have been many who have claimed to wield powers of the Shadow Weave, and evidence during times of turmoil suggest such a source exists in the greater cosmology of the universe. While it is believed mortals have "shadowstepped" into the Shadowfell and perhaps even experienced a connection to the Shadow Weave, the Feywild counterpart and dark reflection of our world is much less welcoming and few, if any, witnesses return and those who might are likely not in a condition to share their experiences in an academically suitable fashion.
What can be stated as generally accepted fact based on historical evidence is this: for those who pledge allegiance to the powers at be in the Shadowfell, whether they be deities who choose or otherwise cannot dwell in the Outer Planes or other creatures on par with the more noteworthy exarchs, or for those who somehow attune themselves directly to the dark forces at work in the distant realm, these individuals are then able to gain access to a conduit of magic akin to the Weave which grants undiluted power even when the Weave itself is not present.

— Alastrum, transcribed

In Conclusion

There are a thousand scrolls worth still to be said and yet still to be understood regarding the nature of magic and its relation to the cosmology and organization of the universe beyond our Material Plane.
These collections of tomes are my life's work, centuries of research so as to bring to fruition the aspirations of collecting the disparate and comprehensive voices on this crucial topic into a larger body of scholarly endeavors which may outlast this generation in hopes of informing, inspiring, and inviting the next into this ongoing conversation.
If you have reached this final thought of a now old and weary scholar, then perhaps you are equipped to take up this mantle and continue delving through history and the Weave itself in search of more answers.
May Mystra have mercy on your mortal soul, for it is a joyous and terrible burden to scour the universe in search of answers to questions yet unasked. But what is life without the mystery and magic? | Telphar of the Tomes, Candlekeep

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane