Natural Mage Arts

Arcanist

The Natural Mage Arts are a specialized form of magic practiced primarily by Elven mages called Arcanist. This practice of Magic uses natural flow of ‘life energy’ through all living things to produce effects. In order to use this form of magic the practitioner must first absorb the magic from nature and allow it to flow through them. Unlike the human’s Fantasmal Method also known as the Forsaken Tongue, Natural Magic uses complex rituals and spiritual teachings to complete magical effects.
To the elven people magic retained its spiritual significance and is revered as a reverence to the gods as much as a means of national defense and offense. The practice of magic is often deified to the point that becoming an Arcanist is only available to those that have undergone trials of the church and have become spiritual leaders as well. Learning the proper rituals, chants, motion, and incantations takes decades to perfect. The result is a deep connection to the Magic Ley Lines which allows for arcanists to connect themselves to the world around them.
There are two main sects of Arcanist that practice Natural Mage Arts. The Arcanist Athos seek to make themselves one with the Magic Ley Lines by giving up physical attachments and relinquishing desires. According to those that practice as Arcanist Athos believe that by devoting themselves to the spiritual aspects of magic they can return their souls to the Ley Line becoming one with the God of Magic’s grand design reaching a state of total oneness with the Celestial Cone.
The Arcanist Praetorian practice the combat applications for Natural Mage Arts for the defense of the elven people. They, unlike the Athos, would not seek to become one with the Ley Lines so they could still concern themselves with the affairs of elven kind. Both sects of the Arcanist are deeply spiritual and devote most of their time to the preservation of tradition and religious practices as they see them as irreversibly tied.

Natural Mage Arts & The Fantasmal Method

Natural Mage Arts primary practitioners are the elves this is primarily because of the difficulty in mastering even basic levels of the art. It is expected that at least twenty years was required to learn and master the most rudimentary foundations of the artform. To elves which on average live 700 years this time investment is minimal but to humans it is unrealistic to devote so long for so little payoff.
Humans had to become arcanists if they wanted to learn magic while living under the Elvish Imperium. Many tried but none were ever able to become novices in the art so combat magic was out of reach for them. As tensions between the two groups grew, the human revolutionists experimented in new ways to simplify magic. The Elven Arcanist saw human experimentation as blasphemous leading to the persecution of early practitioners of "human magic".
Multiple human disciplines developed in human communities which would continue to develop as humanity left the Imperium. The Fantasmal Method became the dominant philosophy used by humankind; its simplicity and practicality over ritual and spirituality allowed for it to be used more effectively in direct combat. While Natural Mage Arts Arcanist could more easily create large effects, the Fantasmal Mage could be taught basic magic principles and become combat effective in a year. This also made magic more accessible to virtually anyone with magic aptitude.
As the Testial Empire grew in size and power, teachings of the Fantasmal Method mixed with Natural Mage Arts creating a hybrid style amongst the unorthodocs and growing Magia Suprema style of Arcanist. The style was a radical idea developed in secret by several members of both the Athos and Praetorian. The most notable member of the Magia Suprema was Senator Valreice Etranoc the II. Things would not turnout well for the group as once they were discovered the church excommunicated. They would imprisoned and put on trial which saw anyone accused of being a practitioner executed. The practitioners became known as Eretico Stregone or Heretic Sorcerers causing them to flee the country.
It was believed that every member of the Magia Suprema style was killed during this time and their teachings destroyed. However, a new revolutionary movement against the Imperium’s Mortal Divines is led by open practitioners of the style. The revolutionists believe that the Imperium has grown complacent and lazy in the wake of the ascension of High God Craven. They also believe Magia Suprema is superior to all other forms of magic and because they seek to understand magic in all forms, they are closer to the will of High God Telemundo and High God Craven than the corrupted Church.

Effect

Arcanist magical effects are notably stronger than those produced by human mages that practice the Fantasmal Method. This is because the source for Fantasmal Mages is the mage’s “mana” which the elves recognize as their life force. Arcanist do not use their life force to create magical effects. Instead they pull magic from Zuth itself only using their life force to guide the magic through them or act as a vessel for the magical effects.
Natural magic can produce many effects as long as the proper rituals are completed and the individual is spiritually attuned. Effects range from weather manipulation, astral projection, divination, strengthening, sorcery, astrology, and Layline Dominance. These disciplines are extremely difficult to master with each taking decades to obtain basic levels of skill.

Side/Secondary Effects

Rituals to complete natural magic incantations can cause long lasting effects on the mental and spiritual aspects of an individual. If the Arcanist that attempts a ritual does not have the proper mental fortitude or spiritual resilience it can result in a multitude of undesired effects occurring. These side effects may manifest as a draining of mana or life force, a failure to cast, shortening of the effects, weakening of the spell or backfiring the spell onto the caster.

Source

The source of magic in Natural Mage Arts is three fold. The first is called the anima or soul, which is the life force within all living beings. The second is the cielo or sky where all magic originates. Magic from cielo is pure and unrefined but also difficult to utilize. Acanists will instead utilize magic that has become trapped within Zuth and flow around the planet in naturally or artificially occurring Magic Ley Lines. Arcanist will draw up magic into themselves and direct the flow of magic outward into the world.