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Message: <blockquote data-quote="steeldragons" data-source="post: 7291505" data-attributes="member: 92511">I don't know how "bucking of tradition" it is, but my homebrew world has (and has had for decades, almost since its inception) and acknowledges therre are three distinct kinds of magic that exist in the world. Each coming from or existing in its own particular source and its own particular interaction with/from the world.The magic of the clerics (and paladins) and used by institutional religion, called "Divine" Magic by those knowledgeable about such things. The prayers, spells, and invocations used in Divine Magic are spoken in the near-dead language of the former (not destroyed) empire. This is "outside" magic. Namely, it is not inherent to the individual -though the modes for harnessing and directing/channeling it may be easier to grasp and control for some than others, i.e. Higher Wisdom = higher capacity/facility to use divine magic- but is a mere spark or shard of the "essence" of the infinite and immortal granted/gifted from or, more accurately, "shown" or "lent to" the caster from a divine entity. In my setting, this must be a deity of some rank -greater (any/all spells), lesser (6th level spell max), or demi- (for up to 3rd level spells). The energy is external to the caster and not theirs/at their fingertips. They are merely the conduit for the magic (essence) of the gods slipping into the world and molding things/reality (the spell) to a specific outcome/instance.The magic of the mages (wizards and subclass/specialists of all types) is called the "Arcane" Magic. It is a part of the cosmos, permeating the universe and everything in it. It ebbs and flows, having more readily available means of connecting to and controlling it in some places (and worlds) than lesser available -or non-existent- ones in other places. But it is readily "mold-able" I suppose, for lack of a better term, with the proper incantation, gestures, through specific -sometimes even improvised- formulae (spells) or ritual -to generate energy or illusion, change one thing into another, bring things from other planes -or transverse the planes themselves, even skirt the line between life and death. Its uses are nearly endless and the ultimate use of its power -really- barely conceivable by most mortals. Those with a higher intelligence are assured a higher degree of comprehension (can learn higher spells) and facility in harnessing and directing these energies, learning and recalling and properly activating the intricate syllables and discreet motions, and reliably replicate them with the successful outcomes (i.e. desired spell effect) that constantly flow about and through -over and under- the world...effecting everything and everyone in it without their slightest notice. To the extent these ever-present energies can be codified -countless civilizations across countless worlds have devised different means of utilizing them with varying degrees of success: making music or other primal vocalizations, carving runes and other mystical alphabets, ceremonies, dreams, specific rhymes, the use of specially prepared items or foci to "catch" and direct the magic. The methods are far from exhausted. - on the world of Orea, the instruction and affectation of using Arcane magic is conducted -most commonly and easily- by the learned in the Arkanic tongue. Who first devised it? Any number of myths exist, though the most commonly accepted legend is that it was passed down from the first most ancient and powerful of Dragons, the Children of Zho, the first creatures in existence to independently control/wield these energies. From there it was merged with the magics of the Titans. From there, it was taught or passed (or some say stolen!) by the first Elves in the dawn of the world before Men, and after great amounts of time, eventually, bits and pieces of it ended up in the ears and hands and mouths of human magi who have been teaching it -master to apprentice- ever since. The third distinct energies of the world for the..."core," for lack of a better term, of existence. This is the energy of life the batteries that sustain the physical, material, natural world. It comes as no surprise, I am sure, that it is referenced as "Nature" Magic. This is the magic of the druids (a single continental hierarchical organization, the world's original "priests"- instructed by the beneficent titans who served the elder goddess Llyndra before she discorporated in the destruction of the World-as-it-was-known. Now an all but secret society revering the natural world above and instead of any "Gods of Man." They are considered "godless heathens," marginalized and distrusted in most "civilized" lands. While the undisputed grand masters of "Nature" magic, there are many other than Druids of the Ancient Order who tap into the ever-present..."radiation" is a good way of thinking about it...of Nature. It is also the purview of shamans, witches, bards, and accessed by many fae, elemental, sylvan, and other innately magical creatures. Each with their own particular way of harnessing and directing the energy emanating from the world and the elemental forces and living things which comprise it. The druids, for their part, utilize a primordial language, taught to the first Green Men in the times when humans first appeared (the elves had learned it long before that). Today it is simply known as the "Druidic" tongue and is neither taught nor known to anyone outside of the order. It is said that the primeval power of the cryptic tongue defies reason and will rend the minds of any uninitiated unfortunate enough to hear it. With their incantations and invocations, distinct from those of either Divine or Arcane magic, they can duplicate some effects of both. But their true powers lie in harnessing the growing green, the beasts, the cardinal elements, and the storm.The types of magic are typically instructed to the neophytes with the analogy of "The Sun (or Stars), the Wind, and the Tree (or Stone/Earth)." The light, heat, and energy of the Sun is something that you are only granted at certain times in certain instances (you have to be standing in the sunlight, for example to reap its benefits). The Divine Magic Sun shines down, above and beyond mortals, effective only when the deity supplying them is "listening"/paying attention/has been "satisfied" (as by the proper invocation) by their servant. The moving flowing air all around us, sometimes a whisper, sometimes a hurricane. Fan it or block it for more or less. Hold it. Breathe it. Change its temperature. The Winds of Arcane magic flow around and through all things in the [multi-]universe. The growing thing that provides sustenance and protection, drawing strength from the ground and the sun and the water to increase. The birds and beasts are drawn to and flourish in it. From it all manner of uses are possible and even in destruction, it shall eventually rise anew.   This Tree of Nature Magic eminates life, beauty, strength and renewal.Or, as I've often cliffnoted it, "Divine is like a source of light, coming from outside. Arcane is like the air/wind, moving through. Nature is like a radiation, emitting from/coming from within."</blockquote>

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