Charlaquin
Goblin Queen (She/Her/Hers)
I like to think of all magic as being eminently practical. Spells are actions that have predictable, observed outcomes. Divine spells (and “primal” magic, which are ultimately the same thing in this model) works by entreating the gods, spirits, or other numenous forces to enact a certain desired outcome on your behalf - Invoke the right entity with the right phrasing and the right offering, and it will do a specific favor for you in return. The Druid and Cleric spell lists are essentially collections of practical knowledge about what entities to entreat in what ways to achieve what results, learned through generations of trial and error, and preserved through their religious traditions.
Arcane magic is essentially doing the same thing, but cutting out the middle man. Rather than appeasing external entities to enact desired effects on your behalf, wizards seek to learn how those entities create the effects, and reproduce them directly. A Cleric or Druid knows that if you ask a spirit of fire to ignite your kindling in the right way, it will oblige you, and accepts that because it works reliably. A Wizard asks, “yeah, but how did the spirit do that, and can I do the same thing myself?” Wizard spells, like Cleric and Druid spells, are records of specific actions with predictable, repeatable outcomes, but the process of developing a wizard spells is more, for want of a better term, “scientifically” rigorous. And how exactly do these sorts of spells work? By directly interacting with and manipulating natural forces - combine the right materials, intone the right harmonic frequencies, use your body and/or a focusing implement to direct the aetheric currents to flow in the right way, and produce your desired outcome.
Wizards develop these formulae through experimentation, record them (often using esoteric methods to confound the efforts of rival wizards to steal their discoveries) and learn formulae developed by others before them through rigorous study. Sorcerers intuit these methods. They may have some innate ability to sense the flow of magical energy that other mortal beings lack, and so can instinctively manipulate those forces. But they are, ultimately, doing what wizards do, directly interacting with and manipulating natural forces and elements. They just have a knack for improvising these spells rather than experimenting and following precise formulae.
Under this model, what Warlocks do is probably closer to divine magic than arcane. They do, in a sense, entreat external entities to do the magic on their behalf. But they’re kind of the Sorcerers of the divine method, improvising their way through interactions with these external entities, rather than observing the rituals of any particular tradition. The Cleric knows that for generations their order has used this reliable method of offering these prayers and this sacrament to this deity. The Warlock says, “hey, what does it take for a girl to get some divine intervention around here?” and usually the entities who answer are the sort willing to take advantage of such an open offer. If there’s an arcane element to Warlock magic, it’s in learning specific magical formulae for compelling service from certain external entities. Rather than learning the right gestures and incantations to produce a flame, or the right offerings to entice a flame spirit, the Warlock learns how to entrap a flame spirit and make it produce flame for them under duress.
Arcane magic is essentially doing the same thing, but cutting out the middle man. Rather than appeasing external entities to enact desired effects on your behalf, wizards seek to learn how those entities create the effects, and reproduce them directly. A Cleric or Druid knows that if you ask a spirit of fire to ignite your kindling in the right way, it will oblige you, and accepts that because it works reliably. A Wizard asks, “yeah, but how did the spirit do that, and can I do the same thing myself?” Wizard spells, like Cleric and Druid spells, are records of specific actions with predictable, repeatable outcomes, but the process of developing a wizard spells is more, for want of a better term, “scientifically” rigorous. And how exactly do these sorts of spells work? By directly interacting with and manipulating natural forces - combine the right materials, intone the right harmonic frequencies, use your body and/or a focusing implement to direct the aetheric currents to flow in the right way, and produce your desired outcome.
Wizards develop these formulae through experimentation, record them (often using esoteric methods to confound the efforts of rival wizards to steal their discoveries) and learn formulae developed by others before them through rigorous study. Sorcerers intuit these methods. They may have some innate ability to sense the flow of magical energy that other mortal beings lack, and so can instinctively manipulate those forces. But they are, ultimately, doing what wizards do, directly interacting with and manipulating natural forces and elements. They just have a knack for improvising these spells rather than experimenting and following precise formulae.
Under this model, what Warlocks do is probably closer to divine magic than arcane. They do, in a sense, entreat external entities to do the magic on their behalf. But they’re kind of the Sorcerers of the divine method, improvising their way through interactions with these external entities, rather than observing the rituals of any particular tradition. The Cleric knows that for generations their order has used this reliable method of offering these prayers and this sacrament to this deity. The Warlock says, “hey, what does it take for a girl to get some divine intervention around here?” and usually the entities who answer are the sort willing to take advantage of such an open offer. If there’s an arcane element to Warlock magic, it’s in learning specific magical formulae for compelling service from certain external entities. Rather than learning the right gestures and incantations to produce a flame, or the right offerings to entice a flame spirit, the Warlock learns how to entrap a flame spirit and make it produce flame for them under duress.
