Natural Magic

Also sometimes called arcane magic, natural magic is ability that comes from within; an individual's inherent magical potential is developed through training and discipline, allowing them to cast a variety of spells based on what they choose to focus in. Natural mages are by far the most common spellcasters of Genesis, though their level of talent and power varies enormously from individual. They're also much more dedicated to their art than practitioners of divine magic, for whom their abilities are more of a byproduct than a goal.

Sources of Power

Though some who practice magic may gain their power from outside sources, the limiting factor of magic is always the same: magic is contained within the blood, and stems from the lifeforce that is the essential quality providing vitality, longevity, and the animating force that separates living things from inanimate materials. What makes a mage is being born with a naturally open connection to their own lifeforce, letting them draw upon that life energy and expel it to power their spells; the latent magical energy contained in the blood exists in all living things, but not everyone is capable of accessing and expressing it as magical talent.
For most, lifeforce is the wellspring of their magic, and the ability to use it both easily and efficiently is what gives a spellcaster their power. The strength and stability of that lifeforce differs between the different races, and affects a number of things; for example, humans have a strong lifeforce and are capable of using its raw energy to produce powerful magic. However, their power is much less stable and is consumed much more quickly through the natural process of their life; as such, humans have typically shorter lifespans. Elves, on the other hand, have a much more stable lifeforce, but less raw power; they live a longer time, but it takes more finesse and efficiency to use their magic on the same level as a short-lived human.
Long-lived races are often stronger natural casters when compared to humans, but it’s in spite of their weaker natural conduit; they simply have more time to master control and various techniques that amplify the use of their magic. A human caster who’s been well-taught would have more raw power than an elf or other race at a comparable level of progression in their knowledge.
One's lifeforce simply provides the guidelines for what one is capable of; its strength and the efficiency of the user's access defines how much power can be drawn at once before exhausting the caster. A common comparison explains the lifeforce, or source of magic, to be a reservoir; while the reservoir exists in all people, for some people it exists behind a solid dam while for others they’re born with a naturally occurring pipe by which they access that available power. The power of the reservoir can be released in various ways depending on how it’s controlled. An untrained or inexperienced caster user a large pipe; though the result is forceful, it drains the available reservoir far faster than an experienced caster using a thin pipe to achieve a sustained and forceful result. It should be noted that, despite the logical progression of this line of thought, the use of magic does not shorten one's life unless frequently used to the point of complete exhaustion.
Upon draining that power, the caster will have to wait while their strength recovers; the part of lifeforce of a living creature that is used for the casting of magic slowly replenishes so long as the caster is able to rest, eat, and recover. It’s far harder to regain one’s magical strength while exhausted or under extreme duress; individuals who routinely have to recover under these sorts of circumstances need a high level of discipline and will often study meditation and other practices to help themselves make the most of what little rest they get. Mages learn to carefully balance expenditure with recovery, but many hero-mages of the past have died prematurely due to their power output.

The Seven Disciplines

Natural magic is divided into seven 'schools' or disciplines, roughly categorizing most spellwork. As a matter of practicality, mages will typically focus in one or two disciplines that they feel a natural affinity for or are otherwise drawn to; some schools are purely magical, while some are best studied in tandem with mundane skills, anatomy, or conceptual knowledge.
Before learning to control their magic and shape it into spells, those with unrefined magical ability most often expressed it in crude ways. Their magic will often occur spontaneously until the user recognizes it and learns to bleed off the excess energy when not using their magic.
BINDER
Includes the summoning and commanding of malevolent forces, most commonly the animate dead and demons, also the study of psionics and the manipulation/domination of another’s will. Binding is considered dangerous to study, and requires an iron resolve. Its practice is more closely monitored and mistrusted than that of the other magical arts, due to its higher potential for misuse; while it's not forbidden, it's also not unusual for Binders to be less open about their chosen practice due to the discomfort many feel around them.
CALLER
Though similar to Binding in that it involves the command of spirits, Calling is dissimilar in terms of the forces summoned. It deals primarily with elemental forces and neutral, if not benign, spirits. Additionally, it can give a limited control over birds and beasts depending on the strength of will of the practitioner and the mental complexity of the being or beings they seek a rapport with.
CASTER
Though it has become an overarching term among non-practitioners for any spellcaster and is the most common magical affinity, Casting is actually a specialized school. This primarily concerns destructive magic and has limited application for other uses; casters often begin with forms of casting that require less finesse to expel in short, inefficient bursts and then either continue on this path or choose to develop more delicate, nuanced abilities. Though it can definitely be a highly refined discipline, Casters are generally limited to a few preferred elemental spells of the practitioner’s natural affinity, and then many variations thereupon. Though few but war magi choose Casting as their primary specialization due to its limitations, many will pick it as a lesser specialization.
Casters generally express their power in one of two loose categories. One side of the spectrum is large/flashy/more immediately destructive and is used in short, powerful bursts at the cost of expending far more energy and being harder to control; this covers raw force, fire, lightning, etc. The other side is more subtle and tends to enhance the user’s power by drawing on energy present in their surroundings; these types of Casting can be sustained longer with less energy output, but often require more finesse or creativity to use well. This covers things like wind, light, freezing water, weather, etc.
HEALER
True to its name, this school involves the healing of wounds, both of the flesh and the spirit. Though small acts of healing do not require specialized knowledge, the mending of complex, internal, or psychic wounds require an intimate understanding of the body and its natural function. More than most specializations, Healing requires rigorous mundane study to compliment the practitioner’s magical knowledge.
SEER
Involves both the enhancement of the practitioner’s perception, and the obscurement of that of others. Though it is possible to study both to a lesser degree, almost all followers of this school specialize in either the Closed Eye (creating illusions and deceiving or confusing the senses), or the Open Eye (scrying distant events and gaining insight through prophetic visions). Those who choose to study the latter are frequently followers of the Mirror God, Alarand.
SHAPER
Includes enhancement, alteration, and creation. Shapers are responsible for the origin of almost all non-divine magical items and weapons of legend. Additionally, the alteration of existing items or organisms is possible, though this sort of advanced work relies heavily on the knowledge of the practitioner. Most Shapers are also Healers or mundane craftsmen for the sake of the knowledge to compliment their chosen specialization.
WEAVER
The most difficult and thus loosely populated school, concerning the creation of and application of complex, pre-prepared spells. Spells prepared in such a fashion have the potential to be much more powerful proportionally to the amount of power invested by the practitioner, and much more permanent, but suffer in that they are not spontaneous. Thus, Weavers rarely take the field of battle themselves in favor of acting through proxy; however, when they step into battle prepared, few can stand against them. As masters of an immensely demanding art, they are typically granted great respect by other practitioners.

Natural Occurrence and Variation

The percentage of the population that has a natural inclination for magic varies by race and location, for reasons that nobody is entirely sure of; it's thought that it has something to do with how deeply a race ties into the innate magic of the world around them and how present that magic is, but nobody's been able to come up with a real answer. Lending support to this theory is the fact that magical talent occurs at a higher frequency in those born within Genesis compared to those born in the Old World, theorized to be a result of originating in a magic-saturated environment.
In addition to this inborn tendency towards magic, attitudes towards mages and magical learning vary between the races and also affects how many of those born with the capacity for magic go on to become fully trained mages as opposed to simply having a knack and access to a few rudimentary spells.
HUMANS App. 20% of the human population within Genesis has some natural aptitude for magic, with maybe 7% of the population advancing that further and actively training as a mage. These numbers drop significantly among Old World humans, with only 3-5% exhibiting natural aptitude; however, almost anyone who exhibits talent is trained to the best of the magical community's more limited abilities. A rare few Old Worlders with enough potential (or enough potential to cause disaster if left untrained) will be sent to study within Genesis at Lyonesse or Ys, but the biological reaction to such a magic-rich environment makes this difficult even when it is considered an option.
ELVES Elven culture puts a much higher emphasis on encouraging natural talent, and anyone who shows magical potential is encouraged to develop it; longer lifespans also tend to lead to more gradually accessing or becoming aware of their abilities over time. While elves express magic at slightly lower rates than humans (~15%), the numbers of full mages and otherwise sophisticated magic use is higher (12%) due to the cultural attitude. The sole exception to this is among the Wave Walker subrace of elves, where natural expression of magic is extremely low and hovers around ~5%.
SHAPESHIFTERS Shapeshifters rarely express magic other than their innate abilities, and few choose to pursue it due to a lack of cultural interest; magic holds a lot less mystique for people who are so deeply magical to begin with. True ‘shapeshifter mages’ are exceedingly rare (1-2%), and a demonstrated spellcaster capable of changing forms is much more likely a skilled Shaper from another race than an actual shapeshifter using magic.
VAMPIRES Vampires all express magic to some degree, due to the requirements of their existence; it's not precisely known whether this is a coincidence, a side effect of their creation, or a deliberate factor in who vampires choose to make into members of their kind. Magical training with a focus on Seeing/illusion is a mandatory part of a young vampire’s training until they learn the more nuanced skills of altering their true form into something that passes for human.