Schools of Magic

**Schools of Magic** are a concept in arcane practice whereby spells and rituals are grouped into distinct categories. The concept began through study into the theories of magic, the study of arcana, and the different forms of energy manipulation. The hypotheses and field of study quickly spread to other academies of magic, slowly being improved into a universal classification of arcane practice in general.

All spellcasting is believed to function in essentially the same way, as a drawing of arcana from the Weave, using internal arcane energy as a catalyst. The drawn energy can then be converted into base energy, following specific mathematical principles. These principles are grouped together into schools, where each school is a set of principles that fulfil a similar purpose. The categories of magic below apply to all spells, whether they derive from rigorous study, innate bloodlines, or an external force. There are 9 approved schools of magic acknowledged by current academia.

## Approved Fields

### Abjuration

Abjuration spells are protective in nature, though some of them have aggressive uses. They create magical barriers, negate harmful effects, harm trespassers, or banish creatures to other planes of existence. The goal is always to disperse or nullify arcane energy in some way or form.

### Chronomancy

Chronomancy spells deal with the manipulation of time itself. A very recent addition to the schools of magic, it is barely studied and typically forbidden from use, due to the hazardous effects it causes in the fabric of reality. In theory, chronomancy can allow a skilled practitioner to bend time on itself and affect the past, present, and future all at once.

### Conjuration

Conjuration spells involve the transportation and manipulation of physical matter. Some spells summon creatures or objects to the caster’s side, whereas others allow the caster to teleport to another location. Some may create objects or effects out of thin air, directly transposing matter and energy to take physical form.

### Divination

Divination spells reveal information, whether in the form of secrets long forgotten, glimpses of the future, the locations of hidden things, the truth behind illusions, or visions of distant people or places. Some more advanced spells peer also into the tapestry of fate, though often the legitimacy of such spells is disputed.

### Enchantment

Enchantment spells affect the minds of others, influencing or controlling their behaviour, beliefs, and personalities. Such spells can make enemies see the caster as a friend, force creatures to take a course of action, or even control another creature like a puppet.

### Evocation

Evocation spells manipulate raw energy into non-complex forms to produce powerful physical effects. Some call up blasts of fire or lightning. Others channel energy to repair wounds. This school of magic is volatile and dangerous, but is extremely potent in the hands of a capable user, bending the power of nature to the whim of the wielder.

### Illusion

Illusion spells deceive the senses of others. They cause people to see things that are not there, to miss things that are there, to hear phantom noises, or to remember things that never happened. Some illusions create phantom images that any creature can see, but the most insidious illusions plant an image directly in the mind of a creature.

### Necromancy

Necromancy spells manipulate the energies of life and death. Such spells can grant an extra reserve of life force, drain the life energy from another creature, create the undead, or even bring the dead back to life. It is often considered a dangerous school of practice that draws the attention of darker powers, and very few of good intent seek to master it.

### Transmutation

Transmutation spells manipulate matter to change the properties of a creature, object, or environment. They might turn an enemy into a harmless creature, bolster the strength of an ally, make an object move at the caster’s command, or enhance a creature’s innate healing abilities to rapidly recover from injury.

## Other Fields

### Daemancy

Daemancy spells deal with the manipulation of Fate, the binding that holds together the dimensions of reality (space, time, and cosmos). Despite its significant importance, fate is barely understood and often confused with mythological and religious beliefs. Knowledge about its connection with arcana as it is currently studied is very limited. Divination magic seeks to determine future events by looking at fate, but never to distort it. The study of fate and how it can be manipulated through magical means is one of the more niche fields of arcanalogical research, but has yet to be accepted as its own School of Magic, due simply to the less than promising results it has so far yielded.

Daemancy is similar in some ways to Chronomancy, but where time magic can cause aberrant distortions in reality, Fate manipulation is theorised to be capable of rippling through the tapestry of space-time and causing it to correct itself without tearing reality apart. Some mythological or otherworldly beings are said to possess such power, but whether it is capable for normal mortals to wield it is another question entirely.

### Warding

Though not exactly a separate school of magic, the study of warding emphasises the casting of magic through arcane glyphs and wards in written form, essentially a condensed version of written formulae. Certain pupils of the school, known as *warders*, tattoo these glyphs directly onto their skin. These wards can channel magic from the Weave into the object or body to which they are attached. In the case of warders, the increased presence of arcane energy in the body allows the wielder direct access to powerful arcana, and bolsters their own physical and mental power in the process.

Most spellcasters learn some basic form of warding, however true warders dedicate their life to the application of warding magic, warding every inch of their bodies in an almost ravenous pursuit of new glyphs, striving to understand the very fabric of the arcana. To creatures that fear magic, their very touch is poison, and while some may argue that the constant flow of arcana addles their brains, there is no debate that warders are amongst the deadliest spellcasters in Maíandir.

### Psionics

The study of psionics is an often misunderstood field of magic. Though at a surface level it may seem as though the capabilities of a psion are similar to any other magical user, in truth the two are fundamentally different. Whereas a sorcerer or wizard redirects the flow of the weave to shape magical power, psions intersect the weave using sheer force of will to actualise the power of their mind. In this sense, psionics is less of a school of magic and more of a completely different branch of it, and one that is often seen as abhorrent and unnatural especially by those who study the arcane. That being said, there is a good amount of overlap between psionics and the arcane, and the two can often achieve similar effects (such as telekinesis or telepathy), albeit in very different ways.

Psions are rare in most of Ygdren, though some races have a natural aptitude for it. The practice is scarcely studied or understood, and very few are those who possess the mental fortitude for it. To further complicate matters, it is outright banned in some places, seen as a complete violation of nature. In other more lenient regions, it is instead studied by a select few, though always with great caution. Since a psion's weapon is their mind, they are always a careless thought away from harming those around them. For a psion, the line between thinking and doing can be very thin, forcing them to keep their thoughts and emotions in check, lest their powers run amok.