Schools of Magick:

 
The magicks, and the formalized schools that define their vast spectrum of applications, are a subject far too expansive to be discussed with any meaningful brevity. Any mage worth their salt will confess the sheer magnitude of study required to command The Arcane, a primal current of creation itself, woven through all matter, shaping form, function, and force alike. This latent power, called Magick, not only animates life, but dictates its parameters in ways even the most learned still poorly grasp. To manipulate it is to interfere with the unseen laws of Gaiatia itself. Entire lives, long, meticulous lives, have been devoted to the refinement of a single spell. And so, in an effort to organize this chaos into something that could be studied, taught, and regulated, the arcane academies, guilds, and Coalitions of old divided the practice into distinct Schools of Magick. These schools, such as Evocation, Divination, and Transmutation, each define a specific approach to the Arcane: channeling its force into destruction, unraveling the secrets of time and truth, or reshaping the fabric of reality with intent.   Yet these are not mere categories, they are philosophies, each with unique principles, dangers, and consequences. The work of a Conjurer is not simply to summon, but to negotiate with powers from realms unknown. The Abjurer does not cast walls, they deny reality’s terms. The Enchanter alters the will of others, often at the expense of their own. A Necromancer wrestles with memory, death, and the soul, not simply the raising of corpses. With the passage of time, many of these disciplines evolved from battlefield utilities to societal necessities, or else were twisted into terrifying tools of tyranny and war. Others, such as Necromancy, were only defined as their own school after centuries of misuse and fragmentation, their roots traced to infamous figures like the devil-general Orcus, whose betrayal during the Fall marked the birth of magick most now fear to speak aloud. These schools serve not only as paths of specialization, but also as boundaries, walls erected to protect the world from magicks too volatile to wield indiscriminately. The Arcane Coalition enforces these boundaries with brutal precision, regulating practice, licensing instruction, and locking away spells that bend the world too far. And yet, the magick leaks through, reshaping Gaiatia in subtle, permanent ways. To study the Arcane is to court both revelation and ruin. The ends these aspirants wish to meet through its mastery have, more often than not, resulted in catastrophic disagreements. Sometimes these disputes take the form of duels or edicts, and sometimes they ignite wars that remake the world. But despite the risks, the fear, the hate, the Schools still remain, evolving, resisting, and enduring, like magick itself.