Magic In Etharis

In Etharis, "magic" is a catch-all term for a power outside of mortal ability, a means of altering or defying reality altogether. There are three different kinds of magic, each with their own mystical sources: arcane, divine, and nature.

Arcane magic is the term given to the ancient art of spellcraft. Over the centuries, mortals have painstakingly built upon the knowledge of their ancestors, creating multiple compendiums on the mysterious words, signs, and materials that, when used together in an extremely precise casting ritual, manipulate the latent mana of the universe to produce a desired effect. The list of spells in the annals of arcane spellcasting are vast and have a wider variety of uses than the spells of the other kinds of magic. Some arcane spells can rip a hole open to the elemental plane of fire to produce a gout of flame, while others can manipulate a mortal's brain chemistry into seeing, feeling, or sensing something that isn't there. Learning this form of magic requires immense intelligence, long hours of study, and years of dedicated practice.

Divine magic is the gift from otherworldly beings to those who are connected to them either through worship or other means. Use of this magic requires wisdom, profound knowledge of ones self, and adherence to the rituals, rites, and tenets desired by whatever greater power is granting you their mana. Although materials, chants, and signs are required to produce a spell, they look, sound, and produce a different looking effect than spells of Arcane or Nature magic. Unlike the innately neutral essence of the other kinds of spellcasting, most divine magic is heavily polarized, usually being inherently good or evil in nature.

Nature magic is the druidic practice of harnessing the mana found in the environment, seasons, ecosystem, and all living things within it, and sometimes out of it. Mastering this form of spellcraft requires a wise soul, as well as attunement with the world around you and an innate understanding of how small you are in the vastness of the universe. Once you can channel the mana from nature itself, shamanic rituals, rites, and gifts of tribute to the land will allow you to shape that magic into spells. Nature magic can mimic beasts of the wild, create natural disasters, and bend the ecosystem itself to its caster's will. Because it requires more natural materials like spruce wood and mistletoe, the spells it produces look primal and savage compared to the strange essence of arcane magic and the dark/light nature of divine magic.