Magic is all around us and anyone has the aptitude to use magic. Most people don’t use magic, either because they don’t know about it, think that it isn’t real, their magic channels aren't strong enough or don’t take the time to study it. It really depends on the world they live in. A low magic world is going to have little to no magic users and most people aren't going to know about it or think it isn't real, like Earth. A high magic world will have a lot of magic users. Most people will use magic on a day to day basics in their homes, but won't know how to use a particular type of magic or particular strong magic if they haven't either specialized in it or have the magic channels for it. However, most worlds have an average amount of magic and for those world, some people use magic and some don't. It depends on if they have the aptitude, the desire and the access to a master or deity to teach them to use magic.
There are two ways to study magic: Religious Driven & Secular Driven
Religious Driven
There is one creator deity: Eyota Oviyan, The Great Creator - Ze gave physical birth to five children and spiritual birth to untold more. Each deity was given a Staff of Power (SoP). This SoP allowed them to learn and grow with their magic. They are considered to be a Minor Deity. Once they have mastered their magic and no longer need to use the SoP, then they are considered to be a Major Deity and can start training clerics.
Clerics are how their peoples learn magic. Clerics use spell books to learn spells and have to pray to their Deity for the power to wield their magic. The type and power of their spells depend on who their Deity is and how long they have been a Major Deity. There are a lot of variable that go into being a cleric based on who the Deity involved is, how long the person has been a cleric, how much faith the cleric has, how powerful the Deity, etc. Higher level cleric spells could be faster to learn if their faith is high, prayer schedule is on point, and their Deity is watching closely. On the other hand, if their Deity doesn’t really care, they could stay a low level cleric for years. Another drawback to being a cleric is that losing faith with your Deity could mean losing power in your spells, or if your Deity is in a war with another Deity and loses, your spells could lose power.
Secular Driven
The secular driven path is harder and longer, but more stable. Once mages learns a spell, they know it and can use as long as they have power to back it up. Getting the power to back up spells is all they learn for the first few years of magic life, which is tedious, so most people usually drop out during this time. Those that stick through those years of power building are the ones that learn mage craft for life.
There are several ways that a young mage to be can learn spell craft. Some worlds have mage schools where older mages that want to settle down will teach the power raising and low level spells. Medium or higher level spells are usually learned after leaving school.
Some world use an apprenticeship type program. Masters apprentice your mages and teach them the power gathering spells. This way the master will have the apprentice gather enough power for them both while the master can concentrate on his research. The apprentice will also take care of all household chores and make sure the master is fed and gets some sleep. The master will make sure the apprentice learns all the power gathering spells as well as the low level spells need for the journeyman travels before the apprentice is allowed to leave.
Some world only have self study as these worlds are more into science than magic or are anti-magic for one reason or another. There are hidden libraries or families with mage tomes to which those with great mage potential will be drawn. Once in the hands of the mage, they will only be able to read about power gathering and self defense spells until they have mastered them and are ready to move onto something greater. Once they are ready, their magic will guide them to new books and tomes with more information.
Power Gathering
Power gathering is completed in two different way, Body Gathering and Crystal Gathering.
Body Gathering is a single use power gathering. It is the first way a mage learns to gather power. The mage grounds and centers their body, then pulls in magic from everything around them until they have enough power for the spell. The mage can continue to pull in magic from around them to power multiple spells until the area they can reach around them runs out of ambient magic. It will take a will for the area to fill back up again. The stronger the mage, the further away they can pull the ambient magic, the more power the mage will have for their use. They can only gather up as much as their body can gather at one time. Their body can not overfill. Also, if multiple mages are using the same ambient magic, it will deplete faster than if there is only one. Body Gathering is great if there is only one mage and that mage is moving around. Just be careful that mage doesn’t run out of ambient magic.
Crystal Gathering is a more permanent form of power gathering. It doesn’t necessarily need to be crystals, but the first time a mage realized that magic power could be stored, it was in a crystal. Any crystal, gem, raw metal, wood, etc. can store magic. This sometimes leads to mages looking gaudy as they carry around enough crystals and gems to start wars, but each one carries spare magic power. Of course, smart mages will make or buy infinite bags to store their Gathering Crystals, so no one sees how much power they have. Mostly it is the new mages that show off that much. To power up a Gathering Crystal, a mage must meditate will willing the ambient power he is gathering into the crystal. The reason it takes so long to learn this skill is that, unlike with Body Gathering, it doesn’t automatically shut off when the crystal is full. If you overfill the crystal, the crystal will explode and all the magic will dissipate and you will be less one crystal. Most apprentice mages take years before they learn the trick to filling a crystal to full without overfilling. Most spend years under filling crystals instead.
Magical Foci and Staffs
All mages use a magical focus. The mages create their own magical focus at the end of their schooling or apprenticeship. It is the sign that they are ready to journey out into the world as mages. Each focus is unique to the wielder and can be made out of any natural materials and take any form. As a mage ages and learns their craft, they may overpower their focus. If this happens, then they will need to create a stronger focus.
Sometimes a mages gets strong enough to need a Staff of Power. A Staff of Power is a symbol of the deities, so when a mage who has started using a staff is seen as a Lessor Deity. For this reason, all Staffs of Power must be blessed by a Major Deity for them to work. This gives them a specialization for their power, just like each Minor Deity has a specialization for their power. A Mage can never go passed the point of Lessor Deity.
Staffs of Power blessed by Eyota Oviyan and Wielded by a Deity, makes the Deity a Minor Deity and gives them a specialization for their power. Any Minor Deity that has grown passed the need for a Staff of Power is now a Major Deity, and can now have clerics of their own.
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