Arcanism

Arcanism, or arcanist magic, is one of the two main fields of known magic within the Sunscald, the other being channeling. While popular and influential in antiquity, especially in the 'arcanist empires' of Armaidas and Siolfwic, arcanism has fallen out of fashion following the series of arcanist disasters that destroyed these aforementioned empires. In the modern Sunscald, the use of arcanist magic is rare and generally frowned upon.
Arcanism, as with all known magic, is an esoteric series of practises, and with the loss of much of our understanding of it with the destruction of the 'arcanist empires', its exact operations are unclear. It is perhaps best described as a subversion of the universe's natural laws. Arcanist magic effectively functions by undermining the 'rules' of the universe in concentrated and specific ways. For example, the Armaidan kryopyxis (roughly 'cold box') was a container imbued with arcanist magic to effectively extract heat from its interior, keeping the contents of the kryopyxis unnaturally cold. These artifacts were common in Armaidas, especially for food storage, and the few that survived its destruction are prized by their (usually extremely rich) owners for their utility. Arcanism was extremely common in ancient times, and was preferred over channeling or mundane technology for its convenience and scope - unlike with channeling, arcanist magic could also be imbued into artifacts such as the kryopyxis, not necessitating the constant presence of a highly skilled spellcaster.
As arcanism essentially destabilises some select 'laws of the universe' in its operation, the concentration of arcanist magic can be disastrous. One common analogy describes arcanism as essentially 'bending the rules' of reality - if these rules are bent too heavily, they can instead 'break', with destructive consequences in the surrounding area. These effects are known as arcanist disasters, and ultimately wreaked havoc on the arcanist societies of antiquity, leading to their destruction. For example, the territory that once comprised the Armaidan Empire is now the site of the infamous Great Fissure, as concentrated arcanist enchantments and artifacts eventually subverted even the most basic laws of the universe in the area, causing much of the land to quite literally implode on itself. Consequently, arcanist magic has strongly fallen out of favour in modern times, with the surviving Armaidans rejecting their destructor and the unaffected areas of the Sunscald having lacked any long arcanist traditions to begin with.
In modern times, arcanism is rare and frowned upon, though it is not formally banned in any of the Sunscald's city-states - some ruling elites, especially in the north, may still own one or two Armaidan arcanist artifacts as a symbol of prestige. With the progress of mundane technology, which may have the capacity to produce similar (if likely less intense) results to arcanist magic while staying strictly within the bounds of reality, arcanism is often considered an obsolete remnant of a more ignorant age. Openly practising arcanism is extremely rare, with arcanists likely to be ostracised by any observers - however there may be some who experiment with the arcane behind closed doors.