Magic Types

There are many ways in which magic can be used on nardish. The categories they fall into are a little blurry round the edges, but it helps to consider them in this way.

Arcane Magic

The most well understood, and by far the most studied, arcane magic taps into the whole of the arcana to pull magic out of the weave suitable for the situation. Casters are usually in tune with the general ebb and flow of magic, without viewing it through any particular lens. They can call sudden and dramatic acts of power from the arcana, and tend not to be tied to a particular god. Wizards and sorcerers are the archtypical arcane users, but any humanoid caster can be using arcane magic if they have unfocussed and unfiltered access to the strands of magic in the arcana.

Divine Magic

True gods exist within the arcana, and many false gods are also very magically powerful and so connected to it closely. In this way they can guide thier followers to their associated strands, allowing the devout easier access to particular kinds of magic. In order to use this effectively the caster must maintain a strong relationship with the strands of magic they are using, such as by remaining faithful to a god or their teachings. A typical divine caster is a cleric or druid, but some wizards etc have a semi-divine edge to their magic if they are suitably committed to a particular aspect (several fire wizards are almost devout in their love for their fire, for example).

Raw Magic

Some creatures and objects have innate magical powers and effects, such as dragons breath, awakened trees, and a sorcerer's bloodline. In general, anything that can cause magic effects without any knowledge, training or devotion is probably using raw magic. What is commonly referred to as raw magic is usually only the most obviously fantastic of the genre, as raw magic technically means anything with an essence that became the arcana. People have essences of raw magic; it is what gives them souls, and lets them know language, and lets them be a part if the world's story.

Echo Magic

Many magical effects can be induced by using the raw magical power of creatures or materials. For example, drawing the energy of a dragon's breath by allowing a dragon scale in your possession to be consumed. {For dragon prince watchers, this is their so-called "dark magic."} The use of components works this way, as the echo magic from the components can focus the caster's draw from the arcana, making casting easier.

Sympathetic Magic

Sympathetic magic is a way of exploiting magical connections between things, either that exist already or that a caster has forged. For example, a curse can be placed via a twig from the tree, a hair from a creature, etc. thus allowing a caster to enforce their will from afar. Some casters can use the name of a target to cause effects, by bestowing a small model of them with the same name. Sympathetic magic is often the cause of superstitions as it is the least obvious; a caster might never have to set foot in a village to curse it's mayor.

Blood Magic

While technically not a pure kind of magic, "blood magic" is treated as it's own type due to the taboo nature of it's practice. Fundametally, blood magic is where the life-force of a person (either physical ie blood, or magical ie spirit or soul) is somehow used as a component. This is echo magic that is supplemented by one or multiple of divne, aracne, and sympathetic magic. Often blood magic is combined with necromancy to boost the spell's power, but it's uses are very widespread and often the most powerful magic an individual might have access to. The easiest blood magic consumes only physical blood, more advanced mortals can consume the spirit with the blood, some are able to consume spirit without breaking the skin. Only extremely powerful immortals can consume souls, and usually only in the form of self-sacrifice.
Ruth's Note: soul vs spirit. I am trying to use the words soul and spirit to mean two different distinct things. A soul is immortal, and is what makes a person a person (or a dog a dog, etc). They are fragments of the first being, and while they can have their alignment changed by their experience in the main planes, this is the only information about it's weilder that a soul carries. The spirit contains the memories and temprament of a person, the specifics of who they are. Spirits fade over time when not being used, which includes after death but can also mean in life. Denying someone individualty literally diminishes their spirit, making them mentally weaker.