Magic

Magic is not uncommon in Trid, though its practice is rare in the Age of History. Most magic takes the form of minor items—potions, scrolls, and wands, for example—but there are more powerful artefacts to be found amid the ruined piles left by saurians, dwarfs, elves, and even some human realms. Bona fide spell casters are few in number, owing to a general distrust of magic following The Fall.  

Sources of Magic

Magical energy courses and flows throughout the multiverse, powered (so sages posit) by the Elder Powers, who themselves are responsible for the mix of fundamental physical, mental, and metaphysical forces: life, death, emotion, appetites, time, alignment, and every permutation thereof. Trid is especially receptive to these energies, and both the saurians and elves managed to recognise and harness them as early as the Before Times. It wasn't until the after The Fall that humans recovered enough arcane research from hidden elven sources to practise it themselves. In the Age of History, Trid's magical field remains and may be tapped, though it suffers random disruptions by Opho as a result of the Ardic Curse.   Divine magic flows from the same source as arcane, but is bestowed upon mortals by powerful immortals. In the Before Times, cultures who looked to divine beings for guidance and inspiration developed faith magic as a way to manifest the power of Local Gods. When the elves raised humans to civilisation, they introduced the Ardic Gods and, with them, the practice of active worship that resulted in clerical spells. During the fall of the Republic, humans deposed the elves and their idols, replacing them with the Lawful Faith. In the Age of History, the gods have changed, but clerical magic has not, suggesting that the devout—of any religion—receive their powers from a common source. Indeed, cultures now worship all manner of divine beings, who continue to bestow divine magic upon worthy servants to advance their influence.  

Arcane Magic

Arcane magic reflects the will of the caster. Arcane spells tend to enhance the wielder's offensive and defensive capabilities, reveal hidden knowledge, or allow the wielder to exert influence over others. Arcane magic relies on the caster's ability to understand how to access, manipulate, and release Trid's magical field to the desired purpose.   Magic-users and enchanters harness and channel these energies to produce spells and spell-like effects, though they must contend with the Ardic Curse's unpredictable impact on spell casting. These practioners inhabit all corners of the Continent save the Midlands, but are rare owning not only to the perils of arcane casting, but also the abuse of a suspicious society.   To avoid these complications, some arcane casters couch their research in the growing discipline of "science," seeking to demonstrate predictable outcomes in an otherwise unpredictable discipline. These hedge wizards draw arcane energy directly from Opho in ways that compensate for or even correct the abberations in Trid's magical field. While their magic is less powerful, it is viewed with less suspicion, and the Chymistry Guild is represented in most settled areas of the Continent.   Those arcane practioners unconcerned with social stigma, but still wary of the Ardic Curse, go directly to the source of Trid's magical energies by engaging in pacts with those few extroverted Elder Powers who suffer trafficking with mortals. In these pacts, sorcerers exchange service to the immortal for spells. In many cases, these pacts are long-established and passed down a line of sorcerers, either through heredity, ritual, or affiliation. Thus is the case among the sorcerer-kings of Alfland, whose dynasties trace back to The Fall. Similarly, the elementalists of Sudenland deal directly with the Elemental Lords, to whom they've sworn alligiance as agents in some enigmatic struggle for cosmic balance.    

Divine Magic

Divine magic reflects the will of the gods to expand their various spheres of influence. Divine spells are granted when the caster's intent supports the deity's interests, and typically provide healing, protection, and guidance. Divine magic relies on the caster's devotion to their deity, who grants power only to their most worthy servants.   The earliest form of divine magic is faith magic, employed by ritualists who interpret the will of their Local Gods. Practioners do not receive spells from their patrons, but instead produce spell-like effects through their conviction that they have been chosen to interpret the Old Gods' will. Most wildermen tribes still practice faith magic, though the civilised Jarlefolk and Nordmen cultures also observe the traditions of their local gods, the AEsir, and the nomads of the Scour maintain faith in the Uliger.   While ritualists still practice their faith in the wild and isolated cultures, most divine casters since the Age of Fable are clerics, who may worship one of the Ardic Gods, a deity of the Lawful Faith, or any of the scores of immortals inhabiting the Wheel of Chaos.   Elder Powers who wish—for whatever inscrutable reason—to influence life on Trid may inspire chosen mortals to gather a following to make their vision real. These mortals are cultists, and they exchange their zeal for a mix of arcane and divine spells. While Elder Powers are not worshipped in the same sense as deities proper, cult magic is considered divine in that it is bestowed in support of a higher power's will (and may, by implication, be withheld should the cultist fall into disfavour).