Arcanum
What Do We Know?
The Arcanum or Arcanium (more proper, older word for the same thing) is the thing manipulated by us mortals to ultimately allow us to utilize magic in general (when not granted to us due to our devotion to a god) which can usually be referred to similarly as Arcana. Everything from casting a spell, to enchanting an item, and even creating a magical aura all require a manipulation (or "pulling of the strings") of the Arcanum itself, granted you have no help from a god directly. After many years of the world of Melora being in constant turmoil, due to the nature of divine intervention from some of the more evil gods in the pantheon, the lawful and good gods bonded together to form what is now the Arcanum as a gift to the world for all it had been through, finally granting all willing to take the time to study it, the ability to utilize magic.
The Arcanum itself is described as an "innate magical energy" that surrounds all things. The more powerful of a magical effect that you require, the larger the amount of energy is needed to manipulate that portion of the Arcanum. The Arcanum's energy requirements for different power levels of spells is what ultimately prevents just anyone from casting a spell at will. One must train, and as they do so their physical being changes to accomodate for their use of that new level of energy.
Technically speaking, anyone in the world of Melora may attempt a casting of any tier of spell, but doing so without the proper training and preparation as well as the proper physical being, will likely kill you before you ever make any use of the energy you gather and intend to manipulate. This would be seen as someone essentially immolating themselves before your very eyes, probably pretty similar to the way the priestess who attempted to cast a spell from one of Vecna's spell pages did. With that said it is possible to "immolate youself" while also successfully casting a spell, but this is probably nearly as difficult.
The Arcanum's creation, often referred to as the "burst of the Acrcanum" is known to have happened at the turn of an era, being the defining event that marked the beginning of the Age of Discovery. We also know a decent amount about this event as it is strongy believed by the party that the "burst of the Arcanum" took place over Azarkea due to a series of paintings and descriptions we found in The Hole. It was during this time that we believe the first dragons were likely created, which would ultimately lead to the eventual dragon gods we know today in Bahamut and Tiamat. Additionally, it is believed that those living in Azarkea at the time the Arcanum was created were what would evolve into the first ever dragonborn.
Alongside that, we do know that while some who cast spells require the Arcanum's manipultion, many also do not. Wizards, warlocks, and bards all do indeed require it, while clerics, paladins and druids, simply get their magic from the divine entities themselves. Technically speaking warlocks do not manipulate the Arcanum themselves but rather there patron assists them when prompted by doing so for them or as our DM puts it:
And the warlock cries to dad that all the cool kids get to move the blocks and his demon dad feels bad looks at the arcanum with enough hatred that the strings of arcanum would rather just move the block then deal with the patron.
Brief Summary
Physical Description
Any innate energy that surrounds all things, typically described as "strings"Significance
The essence required for non-divine spellcasters to acutally cast their spells and use their other magical effects.
Type
Metaphysical, Arcane
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