Sorcery

It'll hurt, when I carve the spells on your bones. But you'll have the power of ice inside you when I'm done. - Giuseppe the Chisel, Sorcerer

Some people learn to do magic. Others choose to become magic.

Most spellcasters, like wizards, have some way of performing their incantations; they write, make music, or sign an utterance that imposes their will on the aether. Sorcery is the art of imbuing a physical object with magical virtues. A magical ring or sword is ensorcelled, and so is a sorcerer's blazing fist or glowing eyes. Some sorcerers prefer to put work into the crafting bench or chirugeon's table rather than risk performing a spell imperfectly under the pressures of the field. Others simply wish for their magic to create something tangible they call sell. And still others enjoy infusing their allies - or unwilling dupes - with supernatural powers of their design.
Sorcery works through three principal methods. Many sorcerers are craftsmen, inscribing runes not in the air or on paper but permanently on stone or steel or wood. Others do their work on flesh: tattooing magical symbols into skin, grafting the limbs or eyes of incarnations onto the natural body or otherwise making a magical item out of their subject's own body. Still others work their craft in food or perfume or oil; in this way, sorcery overlaps with alchemy. In all circumstances, a sorcerer creates an object through which they express their magic where another mage might be more direct. Many casters of other disciplines dabble in sorcery: many wizards create wands and staves to sorcerously store power in excess of what they can channel alone, and witches are notorious for their potions. Some wizards do not perform body-modification sorcery on themselves but make a living fusing spells into would-be sorcerers who would rather not learn the complexities themselves. However, most dedicated sorcerers, especially those who do combat, are as expert in the processes of infusing a spell into the body as they are at using them at the opportune moment. Many warriors and martial artists who otherwise use little magic favor a sorcerous trick, and there are few people of any profession who would turn down an ensorcelled tool or weapon. True sorcerers take the creation and utilization of such practices to a level above a warrior with magical warpaint or a marksman with a bespelled crossbow.
The act of infusing a magical virtue into a person or object requires physical representations of the virtues. Where a wizard might use a poetic reference to flame, and a bard might play chords to evoke heat, a sorcerer must find materials and symbols that associate with fire and incorporate them into the work. It is for this reason that sorcerers make a point of hunting and harvesting incarnations, who powerfully represent the virtues most useful in strong magic. Sorcerers who cannot or will not source dragon's blood or fire-rat fur for their spell components must rely on magically significant herbs and crystals and artistic representations of such. Many a would-be sorcerer has driven themselves into debt seeking the most expensive components and skilled artisans to assist in their creations; it is an unfortunate but true fact that magic lives longer in a well-crafted object than a cheaply-made one.
Wizardry is notoriously academic and elite. Sorcery, on the other hand, is often the secret of traditional culture. Individual clans or families will have sorcerous practices that vary slightly from household to household, and the secrets of a community's sorcery are often defended fiercely. The sorcery of certain regions or ethnicities become famous in the magical community for their unique specialties. The parents of sorcerers often infuse the beginnings of their magic into their children before they come of age. Some sinister sorcerers even hunt other sorcerers to deconstruct the magical secrets hidden in their gear and dissect the spells woven into their flesh. When people speak of sorcerer bloodlines, they usually refer to either this transmission of magic from generation, though sometimes it refers to magic seized from incarnations. For example, kitsune are famous for their foxfire, their illusions, and their sinister charms. These spells are passed from mother to child, tattooed on the flesh of kitsune kits. Gnomes pass down secret recipes for potions sourced from fae powders and herbs. Dragon sorcerers, on the other hand, acquire by gift or force the blood or flesh of a dragon and incorporate it into their body using secret rites, while oni sorcerers might wear masks torn from the faces of weaker akuma. Sorcerers usually take pride in their lineage, though some will conceal the origins of their powers if they wish to avoid a bad reputation associated with it, or keep their enemies from guessing their tricks. The rivalries and secrets of sorcerers can mirror those of the martial arts world.
Many people rely on sorcery in their daily lives, regardless, the reputation of sorcerers tends to be negative. People are more likely to trust a wizard or a blacksmith who knows magical crafting techniques than someone who has turned their arm into a wand with those same techniques. One reason for this is the black market nature of sorcery components. Ambitious sorcerers hunt or pay specialized, shady hunters, and if a guardian spirit or another sorcerer dies, the blame may fall on whoever stands the most to gain from claiming their blood and flesh. It is for this reason that most sorcerers either downplay their abilities, treating them as an extension of their true calling, or live as flamboyant outcasts, defying laymen to take offense at their often strange appearances and stranger powers.