Spellsmithing

At the core of all creation are two substances, one divine, one antithetical. It is the intermingling of entropy and the will to create that allows all things to be brought into existence. With all things, sentient, living, or inanimate, at the fundamental core of their nature bearing this mixture it should not be surprising that the many varied peoples that fill Isesda are driven to create. Some create art, others great literature, still others music or brilliant new tools or something altogether unique. For some though, the forces of existence and nonexistence burn so deeply and fiercely that they touch the white hot words of creation themselves.
These are the spellsmiths, the workers of magic. They draw upon the spark of the All-Mother that exists within all things to work their will upon reality.
Spellsmithing itself is a practice that's splintered into countless disciplines. It is said there are as many paths of magic as there are wanderers upon them. Though their techniques, descriptions, and results may appear wildly different, it is always the same well from which they draw. The essence of Void and the will of the All-Mother blend together into the ink of creation and with it the book of creation can be rewritten. This is not to be confused with the legend of the creator's blood, a physical substance said to tie back to creation, but a metaphorical inkwell that all who smith magic dip into for their work.
A few of the most common methods of spellsmithing are noted below:

• The arcane tradition which uses mathematics and complex geometries to denote their spells, usually attributed to wizards.
• The priestly tradition which use prayers, meditation, and the invocation of the All-Mother and her children to beg the effect of spells. Often associated with the holy cults of the Children, though there are others who will answer these calls.
• The ascetic tradition which internalizes the will to master one's own body and existence by invoking the spark within. It is often difficult to see where the training of one's body and mind shifts into spellsmithing, but some claim even the most basic physical training is still drawing on the same source.
• The wild tradition seeks almost the reverse of the ascetic, losing the self into the multitudes of creation. Spellsmiths on this path do not differentiate between themselves and any other living thing, recognizing that the spark is within all things, living and unliving alike.
• The craft tradition is perhaps the most common and varied among all the groupings. Spellsmiths of the craft see the All-Mother as the ultimate creator and emulate her being in their own lives. They, moreso than any others, create with their spells. Most all will write in some form or another, but they may just as easily take up spells of music, engineering, artistry, sculpture, or the manipulation of light or even life itself. The only aspect that truly unifies those of the craft is that their spells inevitably make something.

Beyond this of course there are other, smaller traditions such as the workers of blood magics, the walkers of the tides, or the drifters who step between worlds. And of course, plenty who wander in the space between these common groupings, aligning fully to no one tradition.
There are those however who are able to work magics that are not truly spellsmiths. These can be broken down into two groups.
The first, and arguably most well known, are the voidpriests. These servants of entropy draw not upon the melded power of creation, but instead solely upon the will of Void to return to a state of pure nothingness. They lack the ability to create, but their ability to unravel creation can be horrifying in its application, especially in the hands of a creative voidpriest. These agents of destruction are secretive and are in effect the antithesis to the spellsmiths.
The second are little known in the world, but their power is growing and their implications dire. These are servants of the invader-gods. From beyond the All-Mother's great barrier, forces alien to Isesda seek to enter creation though to what point and purpose none can say, even their Isesdan servants. Their magic is not part of creation, but rather an act of violence upon it. The magic corrupts, alters, and distorts all that encounter it, including those who work it. Both the All-Mother and Void stand in opposition to them, but as time passes, the influence of these invaders is growing. Where this will lead, none can truly say.

Type

Metaphysical, Divine