Magic has always existed, but there was a highly successful effort to monopolize it by a few in ages past. “Hedge magic” – that is, low powered magic by folks who only know a handful of rote tricks – has always been a known thing. Even during the dark ages of magic, most villages had a wise woman or hermit living on the outskirts who practiced a mixture of herbalism, hedge magic, and chicanery.
Magic is rare. In theory, anyone can learn. But few would risk practicing magic if they were not pushed into it by circumstances.
There is always a personal touch to every spell. A formula that works for one practitioner has to be adapted to work for another. In tomes of true magic, the words seem to move on the page, shaping themselves to the reader and their mood. No printing press has been able to capture and stamp out magical writings. The need to experiment to discover your own personal magical formulae, combined with the dangers of getting these recipes wrong, make magic a path trod by few sane folk. And since the risks of magic can land on innocent neighbors are easily as on the willing sorcerer, most communities are hostile to The Art.
- Daemonology & Shamanism: The source of arcane power is not a lifeless place. A daemonologist or shaman draws their power from dealings with the inhabitants of that realm.
- Academic magic: This is as close as you get to vanilla wizardry in this world. An academic magician studies the world so closely that they surpass normal skill and tap into forces from worlds beyond.
- Church miracles: The Aloric Church (and its rivals) claim blessings from the angels and saints, and there exist holy men and women capable of producing miracles. This is the one socially acceptable form of magic. Like hedge magic, there are many neighborhood priests who can produce an efficacious blessing, but stronger magics are rare.
- Natural magic: Mythic creatures, changelings, and those with a drop of daemonic blood in their veins can perform specific magical feats, appropriate to their ancestry.
