Philosophia Arcana
Invocation of the divine through Theurgia is not the only method of manipulating the flow of Ar in the universe. Throughout the history of Tel, there have been beings possessed of a keen intelligence that have noticed how the workings of the natural world follow certain metaphysical rules. Through study of these rules, they learned how to manipulate the flow of Ar to one’s benefit. The study of what the ancient Rexans and Eknoi called "philosophia arcana" involves the meditation upon certain mystical paradoxes that resemble koans, optical illusions, and riddles. By pondering such paradoxes, these individuals seek to find antinomian solutions (i.e., “spells”) that reveal the true nature of Ar. With their understanding of arcane law, they use this knowledge to affect changes upon reality itself. While the general term for a student of this art is "magic-user," different cultures have various names for those in their societies who devote themselves to such study; for example, in Common Rexan they are known as "magi".
Philosophia arcana is taught by a master guiding his or her apprentice through the contemplation of various paradoxes organized into different paths (viae magicae), of which deeper understanding of a paradox leads to more powerful evocations. For example, “The Path of Fire” (Via Ignis) centers around the question “How do you burn ashes?” A beginning mage may understand this question only deeply enough to produce a single ball of fire; however, under the tutelage of a more experienced master of the path, the mage may deepen his or her understanding of the question to be able to produce a great conflagration or even summon an elemental being of pure fire to do the mage's bidding!
History
As Eknoi civilization expanded across the Central Sea, they eventually came into contact with the Ikhubti and their salvaged, half-remembered knowledge of the powerful magics of the Third Age. Ikhubti knowledge was brought back to Eknos, termed as philosophia mystikos. The Eknoi used this knowledge to develop their primative shamanistic traditions into the systematic division of the Ar into distinct magical paths. The close cultural contact between the Eknoi and Rexan peoples led to the adoption of this magical tradition early on in the history of the Rexans as well.
The spread of the Rexan Empire across Ione and Aerisca Borealis led to
During the peak of the Rexan Empire, great academies of philosophia arcana could be found in metropolises like Rexa and Eknopolis, however, due to the Great Fall caused by Emperor Nefastius and his quest for eternal life, mages are feared and despised in the majority of nations in Ione and Aerisca Borealis. While a mage might be tolerated with suspicion in the more cosmopolitan central city-states of the Aeriscan League, an mage risks death by openly flaunting his knowledge in a more isolated village or hamlet. As such, those who wish to learn magical paths are forced to either seek path masters who typically reside as hermits in isolated wilderness or seek passage along the treacherous Dragon Silk Road to the distant Alvi nations in the eastern continents of Dhenia and Aeolia, where arcane schools still exist and the stigma of Rexan history lies far away.
