Magic and the Arcane Arts

The real world you know is not. It is the echo, the mirage. It is the reflection of the greater Real, the Web of Creation. We stand in the echo and draw upon the sound to work miracles, or to clothe nightmares is flesh. You can feel the Web all around you; in the steady glow of the sunstones, and in the eternal brilliance of the Spires. If you are gifted, you might reach out to the Web and have it reach back to you. If you are clever, you might construct foci to do the pulling for you. The Web delights in finding devices to inhabit. Sometimes the challenge of the arcanist is in keeping the Web out.
We are not alone in our use of the Web. The Watchers in the Dark make use of it too, though with great difficulty, for the Web despises abomination, and the Thramorri are indeed abominable. They befoul the Web; where they build their holy sites and places of power, there the Web grows dark, as if mouldering in the presence of their sightless evil.
The world is not the only echo. We too are but shimmering reflections of the Web and its designs. Perhaps that sounds too religious? Perhaps so. Yet belief is part of the magic too, is it not? Surely our beliefs give shape to our will, gives shape to the Web? Echo and sound. Who is to say which is which after all?

Grand Magestrix Vesara, ruler of the Sahelliom, Flame of the Blackspire

Manifestation

On Laethelle, magic is everywhere. Magic permeates the world and manifests in its flora and fauna. The arcane binds the world to the infinite Web of Creation, a force that binds universes together in a vast network of infinite complexity. Through the Web, all things are possible to those with the imagination and will to try.
To use magic, one requires a sensitivity to the arcane, technical knowledge of its workings, and a focus through which to manifest its power. A magic-user's focus is a deeply personal thing, and no two foci are ever alike. Some prefer the traditional accoutrements - a staff perhaps, or a wand - while others make use of lanterns, gauntlets, spectacles, swords, even a book or piece of jewelry. Such implements are required to evoke arcane power, but by blending magical skills with those of a skilled crafter, a person might build receptacles of arcane energy, to be used by anyone regardless of their skill.
The exception to this rule are the so-called "spark-numb"; those who are anathema to the arcane. Their presence can warp arcane workings and ruin delicate arcane talismans or devices. Such people tend to be shunned by their neighbours and families, whose reliance on such devices makes them vulnerable to a spark-numb's powers.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane