Animism

"I am the stone of the gorge. I am the cascading falls. I speak to the river's source, and I know the delta at the river's mouth. Wherever I go, the river goes with me." - Anaruwa Dauda

Currents run through the sea, blood runs through the body, winds circle the earth and aether flows in and across the land.

Wizards have for generations charted the flow of leylines as a great network, but before the first wizards put their ideas to pen, there were the animists. Druids, shamans and wise folk who trained themselves to feel and tap into the natural flow, guiding that energy into manifestation. All aether is tinged with virtues, concepts or aspects it picks up on its flow. Passing through a lake, it can pick up virtues of water, depth, cold, a deep cave can be stone, patience, concealment. The nests of beasts or men can affect the land. An aerie can lend swiftness or predatory edge. A city is filled with a riot of different virtues, for the many conflicting ideas that compose it. The energy of the inhabitants leaks into the identity of the nexus, and the nature of the place shapes the people and the power that both come from it. For many casters, this is simply an obstacle. Imposing their will on aether is like hiking though hilly country, sometimes uphill, sometimes down depending on what you want and what the aether is like. But for animists, it is more like sailing with the wind, seeking out how best to make the leylines work for you. When an animist casts a spell, they reach out with their incantation to a place. Many trace glyphs and play spellsongs, but others use wizard-like written casts or sorcerous tools to aid in their connection. An animist forms a bond with a place that carries the type of aether they want and draws it along the leyline, sometimes from far away. For them, sacred locations are always present.
Because of this roundabout process, animists sometimes appear less in control of their magic than other mages, subject as they are to nature. They are often eccentric, accustomed to paying attention to things most people cannot see, and they are beholden to an ancient, difficult tradition that sets them apart from the quicker results of more modern schools of magic. The demands of their magic either root them to a place, in service to the nexus of their power, or pushes them to wander and build connections to many locations.
In addition, animists often commune with the leylines in personified form. It is not uncommon for a nexus that has long been touched by mortals to develop a spirit; a local god or genius loci that represents its will. Striking mountains, great rivers, and uncharted forests are known for their spirits that take the forms of mighty beasts or mystical beings. These spirits sleep away the centuries unless roused by animists or by those who would harm the nexuses they personify. The oldest and most continually communed with genius loci are gods in truth, able to exert their will some distance from their nexus. Animists take a role like a priest or ascetic in communities where a communion with the will of the land is part of daily life.