The River
In Teluria all magic ebbs and flows from the River. It is sometimes referred to as Her Mistress’ River because Lymiekki, the Madzi Witch, is the Guardian of the River. The River is vast and wide with numerous secondary and tributary branches. It permeates everything between the realms of the mortal plane and the ascended plane.
There is no one path onto the River. Much like its endless flow, everyone must find their own shoreline for entry to its dark and ever-changing waters. There is also no one way to navigate the River. While the shoreline of your departure is always the same way onto the River for you, the waters themselves never are ever-changing. The eddies constantly reform as do the currents. Rapids arise in unexpected places. Familiar landscapes on one journey are gone the next. Strainers and obstructions are at every turn and depth, shallow or deep. It is said “to master the River is to never return.”
This is one of the fundamental reasons why the common people, at best, distrust magic, and, at worse, outright fear it. Not because it is inherently evil or dark but because of its fickle and capricious nature. Everyone wants the magic when it works. The problem is it rarely works without cost and nobody wants, or likes, to pay.
Except mages and shaman.
There are no official schools of magic nor organized priesthoods of collective magic-wielders. There are no formal places of training. Anyone willing to dip their toes into the depths of the River must find their own way. Mages might have guidance from a tutor or very small groups of like-minded individuals. Most don’t. Most simply discover through trial and error and this "education" is why many mages are scarred and damaged, either mentally, physically or both. Those who turn to the divines might do so through mentors and small groups as well as the guidance of divine inspiration. This divine presence often softens the difficulties of navigating the River but at the same time the price is adhering to the beliefs and purviews of the divine being worshipped and therefore being conformed to a more rigid path through the flow.