Magic

The lifeblood of the world

Magic courses through every fiber of the world. It's in the air, the earth, and even in the blood of all creatures. It's like a well that only needs to be tapped for its potential to be realized. Magic is what gives life to Kima. Some people are naturally able to draw from that well. Others work to develop that skill. Others still are never able to access magic at all.
The magic of Kima is split into three schools, or circles, each detailing a different kind of magic and its capabilities. The schools are as follows: gume, yuna, leuyix, and vyšnak. It's important to note that vyšnak is not an official school and is considered unnatural.
There are also different "elements" that can be drawn from. They are separated into three (sometimes four) basic categories: earth, water, and energy. They each have different complexities, strengths, and weaknesses associated with drawing from them. Most apprentices begin by drawing from earth, largely considered the easiest, before learning water and then energy. Experienced mages can draw from any source at any time. The fourth, unspoken source is associated with vyšnak, and is only briefly taught so that apprentices know not to draw from it. All three natural schools, while being divided by labels, frequently overlap with one another, blurring the lines. They aren't really any different, as the separation only exists because of the human desire to categorize things, which makes it easier to learn.
Drawing from the earth is not about precision like water or control like energy. It's about strength in one's surroundings. There are no tricks or caveats like there can be with other elements, but it can be incredibly taxing to use. Anything from the earth is fair game: soil, rock, mountains, trees, grass, etc. Notably, things such as lumber and smelted metal have little to no power available to tap. Scholars believe that this is because all of the "life" has been removed from the material so that it is adequate for human use.
When drawing from water, mages use bodies of water, ice or snow, and sometimes clouds. Water is more nuanced and precise than its earth counterpart. Students learn to tap the sea not far into their training, but only true masters can take power from a cloud, the droplets in fog, or the moisture in the air on a humid day. There are even rumors of mages who can use the water inside a living being if necessary, though this comes dangerously close to vyšnak.
Energy is more complicated and abstract than earth and water. With this, mages can tap things that produce tangible energy, such as fire and electricity. Beginners learn by drawing from small flames, such as from candles. As they advance in skill, they begin drawing from larger flames. The key to energy magic is control. Any lapse in focus can lead to injury. Lightning is wild and unpredictable. It's physically and mentally exhausting to draw from so it's typically only used as a last resort, and only the most powerful of energy mages can even attempt to tame it. Energy is often considered the most difficult element to learn. Those that are skilled in it are often called to fight wildfires.
No element is better or worse than another, and their use largely depends on personal preference. Most advanced mages can get by with only mastering the use of one, though knowing a little of the other two is highly recommended. Each has pros and cons, and it is up to the mage to decide which one is the most efficient for their use. Earth is the most common element, and energy the least, but they're all still widespread among the mages of Kima.

"Flowers and grass are young and eager to please. Trees are old and wise. They are willing to help but only if you help yourself. Stone, however, is stubborn. It is older than the trees, than the flowers and the grass. You must earn the stone's respect to ever have hope of drawing from it."

— Mage Primus Asa

Anyone who shows an ability to tap into magic has what's considered an aptitude. This gift typically presents itself relatively early, around age five. Young and beginning mages can only tap their aptitude by being in physical contact with an element. More advanced mages don't have this problem, though it is always easier to tap the source when touching it.
Six academies exist that specialize in training young mages. There are also independent masters available for those who wish for private study instead. The academies work toward pushing apprentices into the world after their training is complete. Graduates often end up becoming healers, advisors, battlemages, etc. Although private students don't get as much exposure prior to graduation, they are often more well-rounded and more advanced than their counterparts at the academies. Some masters at the academies offer private lessons in addition to typical coursework to help students get ahead.

Gume

Gume is the manipulation of the physical world. It involves things such as telekinesis, healing, transformation and morphing of items or people (to an extent, of course), weather alteration, and seeing through magical effects, among others. It is important to note that magic cannot create things out of thin air, but it can transfigure them. Gume is perhaps the most versatile of the schools, and is typically the second one that apprentices begin learning.

Yuna

Yuna is the manipulation of the senses. Mages in this school are masters of illusions, invisibility, telepathy, and in extreme cases, mass suggestion. They can make food taste like something else, cause someone to feel hot or cold, create images that aren't really there, and a litany of other effects. This is the first one that apprentices learn, but takes a long time to fully master.

Leuyix

Leuyix is the manipulation of raw magical energy. It is most commonly used by battlemages, and includes things such as shields of force, blasts of energy, light creation, electricity, and other effects. Young mages are prone to accidentally tapping into this. It is the last one that their studies focus on, but usually the easiest to master due to its simplicity.

Vyšnak

"Beware those who would claim they know an easier way. Easier does not mean better. It does not mean moral. The land imposed a limit on us so that we do not abuse our gifts. To ignore that is to disrespect what we have been given."

— Mage Primus Asa

Vyšnak is forbidden in Kima, and is the manipulation of life force. It is also known as blood or death magic, and refers both to the school and the element. It was previously mentioned that magic runs in the blood of every living creature in Kima. That is where vyšnak comes from. There is no natural aptitude for blood magic, but it is possible to accidentally tap into it if one is unexperienced.
Every creature in Kima has a magical "shield," called a širik (sher-ik). These shields act as natural defenses against blood magic. Even the smallest insect has one, although few are more powerful than a human's. Generally, the more intelligent the species, the stronger the širik. Infants, children, the wounded, and the elderly have weaker širik. Because of this, mages casting heavy spells are often advised do avoid doing so around civilians and, during wartime, away from triage sites. A širik can also be affected by mental state.
Širik can be broken in a few ways. For animals, it is about brute force. Most animals can be broken relatively easily, though more intelligent and larger creatures present more of a challenge. Humans and foja can be broken this way too, but it becomes a challenge of wills. Blood mages will often break humans in other ways before they attempt to break their širiks. These methods can include physical or psychological torture, drugging, knocking the victim unconscious, etc. However, mojy, life force/magic, is most potent when taken from a conscious, healthy person. As soon as someone dies, the vyšnak begins to "evaporate" because, like the other elements, it is based around life force.
Some blood mages have found ways to preserve mojy after death by removing organs and preserving them using charms or other types of magic, but this is incredibly difficult to do and has not been studied very thoroughly.
A mage can also tap their own mojy, whether by accident or on purpose. They must still break through their own širik, but it is easier to do so on one's self than on another. Nearly every young mage experiences accidental blood drawing at one point or another. It happens when all the power in an elemental supply is used up. For example, if all the mojy is drawn out of a flower, the flower will wilt. If the mage isn't paying attention or tries to push the flower further, they may accidentally break through their own širik and begin drawing from themselves. More experienced mages are better able to gauge their power use and are also capable of drawing from sources with more power, so they are less likely to accidentally tap into themselves.
Accidental blood drawing rarely has severe or permanent consequences, as the mage typically realizes as soon as it happens and stops. However, sometimes a mage will keep going if they have exhausted all their options and decide to continue. This can have catastrophic consequences. When vyšnak is used on any living thing, it saps their life force. Small amounts, like that from accidental drawing, can be recovered easily, but larger amounts can permanently reduce the amount of life force a living being has remaining. Weaker creatures are killed almost instantly upon use of blood magic, but humans can survive longer periods. Documented effects include whitening hair (very common, often manifests as streaks of white that cannot be colored with dye or magic), withering patches of skin or entire limbs (more common with heavy users of blood magic), infertility, amnesia, loss of senses, emotional numbness, mental and physical deterioration, and incurable (non-contagious) diseases. Milder versions of these effects have even been observed in blood mages who didn't draw from themselves. See Blight for more information.
Blood magic is dangerous because it's temptingly easy. A human being's life force can provide more power than the heaviest stone, the largest ocean, the brightest sun, or the darkest eclipse. It can't be used up like magic from a tree or wildfire and it doesn't provide resistance like darkness does. Kaedis is typically only practiced by the power-hungry. There have been very few virtuous Kaedis mages.