The Simonian Runes of the Script of Destiny.

In the Planar Danse there is a powerful Arcane script named the Simonian Runes of the Script of Destiny, which runs through all the Themes and the Story, creating the definition of everything. Each and every separate entity has specific amounts of each Rune inside them, creating a sort of underlying form of matter in the Story. Essentially, instead of molecules, there are tiny Runic ideas that form in great number, everything in the Planar Danse, including the Void. The Runic Script is a language, and knowing it and invoking it is how one performs magic. It is not translatable, and is not phonetic, and therefore can not be spoken.
Each Theme has it's own Rune, as does the Guardian/Face/Will/Idea of that Theme, and how one defines that second Runes source is a matter of great debate over many religions upon Sartova. Additionally, Sartova has it's own Rune, as does the continents of Evandyr and Jhar'gorn. All of these govern ideas, they essentially are the ideas, as they constitute everything. Some believe, and this is most prevalent in The Forest Elves, that this is also a concrete Script, that is written out through all of time as Destiny and cannot be changed. Other mock this, and create philosophical arguments of the coexistance of Fate and Destiny, but there is essentially no way to prove any of these myriad faiths correct or incorrect.
It is knowledge of a single Rune that allows a wizard to know magic. Of the 36 runes, only 16 were known for the majority of the Arcane Conservatory's history, since the discovery of the Darkwater Chest. However, four more were uncovered with the discovery of the Second Darkwater Chest, and Entropy, Senses, and Rapture were found due to the actions of the The Ember Spears. This leads to 23 Runes known to the Arcane Conservatory.
All Arcane magic is powered by this, and its numerous forms and applications are discussed in Magic from Simon.