The Tide

and the Flow of Magic within Argent

In the world of Argent, magic is commonplace. You see it in the wildlife, you see it in the people, you see it in the sky. Abnormality is normal here, and all of it comes from a source known to the Seddenese as the tide. Like rain, divine energy falls from the heavens and accumulates at the center of the universe, around the source. This energy, that only divine beings can see, is a fluid. It flows like a sea, with each new drop causing a ripple and as ripples clash they make waves. This is why this energy is called what it is, and refered to as if itself was a liquid, or an ocean of sorts that we all reside in.
When the gods act, they produce divine magic, and in the process of divine magic acting upon the world the excess is left behind. This excess magic is known as arcane magic. When a spellcaster casts a spell, they're doing it in one of two ways. They are using divine magic, and calling upon celestial beings to directly enact the will of their spells and adding more magic to the evergrowing supply that exists in the world, or they are using arcane magic, and they are using their skills to collect and redistribute the arcane magic that exists all around them, using what already is and recycling that energy.
There is one last form of magic, known as outer magic. Magic is constantly overflowing from Argent, spilling out into the realm known as the Excess. As the magic gets further from Argent, it's influence by the divine grows weaker and weaker, and it stops following the rules it did on the surface of Argent. When this is at it's strongest, it becomes irreversible. That is when the tides become outer magic. Outer magic follows no rules, with spells cast using it often having wild and chaotic after effects, or even alterations to what the spell was intended to do. The use of magic is explicitly outlawed by Icae, not just her faithful, but by the goddess herself.

Daze by Richard Wright