Ever think about how fertility magic is really close to creation magic? It’s literally a form of creation, making kids making plants, all that stuff. Life magic. I’d been thinking about the potential for life-magic to make anything, from monsters to powerful people... and now I caught up on Lore Olympus so I’m thinking about it more.
It makes sense that fertility deities would be hugely powerful, or have the potential to boost other’s powers. Rather than being tied to created things/forces, they’re literally tied to creation itself.
“As above so below”, that is the best description of the ways in which magic can affect the world and be utilized by the ones gifted with it. In the same way in which the world functions in pairs of equal opposites, so does magic have opposing manifestations that balance out each other. Although mages tend to have a natural inclination towards one particular school of magic, it doesn’t mean they cannot excel in more than one, provided they study diligently.
The 4 Schools Of Magic
Magic can be roughly split in two big categories: Magic of Energy and Magic of Matter. As the names suggest, the former has to do with all the manifestations of magic in the immaterial world and the latter with active and immediate manipulation of the matter around us. Each category includes two schools of magic, which represent opposing yet complimentary manipulations of Energy and Matter, thus forming 4 Schools in total:
Spirit School
Primal School
Creation School
Entropy School
Spirit School of Magic
Opposing and complimentary to the Primal School, Spirit school draws its power from the Fade itself. It manipulates energies that are invisible and outside of nature forces, yet surround us at all times. Also known as the school of mysteries and the ephemera, it includes everything from direct manipulation of mana and spell energies to the study and summoning of spirits themselves. It is the most esoteric from the schools of magic; and the ones who specalize in it are often misunderstood by the wide populus who knows next to nothing when it comes to the Fade.
Spirit spells can be used both in war and peace, including arcane magic (both in energy blasts and barrier creation ), mana manipulation, summoning and healing magic.
Healing magic has to do with manipulation of life-force acquired from the benevolent spirits which reside in the Fade. Not all things to come from the Fade are harmful. The spirits involved in this form of magic do not feed on the darker side of the psyche. These benign spirits of fortitude, compassion, hope and the like rarely seek to cross the Veil, but can sometimes be persuaded to protect and restore life, rather than corrupt or destroy it as demons would. However, this has two major implications: The spirit healer has to earn the spirit’s trust first in order to gain their services; and one must not forget the ever-present risk of posession which is even higher for spirit healers, since they seek to attract attention from the other side of the Veil. More than one tale exists of a spirit healer being fooled by a demon masquerading as a benevolent spirit, and inadvertently bringing them across the Veil... or being tricked into letting down their guard, and possessed.
Another domain of spirit magic -albeit on the macabre side- is Necromancy; in other words, the manipulation of the spirits of the deceased. Developed by the Mortalitasi (the Keepers of the Grand Necropolis of Nevarra), it can be used in either passive or active fashion; to simply contact a particular spirit of a deceased person or to bind the spirits that are drawn to death on the battlefield in order to put the fear of death into enemies, bring spirits to fight on the mage’s behalf and even cause devastating explosions when enemies die (this only happens through synergy with primal magic which will be discussed in a while).
Finally, dreamer magic is the discipline of spirit magic which allows the practitioner’s consciousness to enter the Fade in a dream state and interact with spirits in their own habitat. However, due to its rarity and dangerousness, it is not one of the disciplines widely taught within Circles of Magi.
Primal School of Magic
Sometimes called the School of Power, the Primal School is the second of the Schools of Energy, balanced by Spirit, and concerns the most visible and tangible forces of nature itself: the primal mage is capable of bending the elements under their will.
This is the magic of war: Fire, ice, and lightning. Devastation. This is what the vast majority imagines when they hear the word "magic." There is a great variety of elemental spells that a mage can be taught in a Circle -most classes and training sessions have to do with elemental magic in one form or another; especially since it is one of the most common and sought-after specializations.
At this point I would like to take the opportunity and discuss force magic: a distinct form of magic that lies in the gray zone between spirit and primal magic and happens to be the most common mage specialization in the Kirkwall Circle of Magi. The force mage uses their mind and focused will as a weapon, resulting in raw application of magic in all its vicious glory: maelstroms that draw opponents, ethereal weight that crush and slow, or great waves that throw enemies about like ragdolls. Targets not to be toyed with are simply slammed into the ground, as though pummeled by a great fist. And in their mastery of such damage, Force Mages can make themselves all but immune to similar attacks, an ability that hints at the true discipline they must maintain. After all, unsubtle doesn't mean unsophisticated—the Force Mage specialization requires uncommon precision to keep such overwhelming power under control.
Creation School of Magic
The School of Creation, sometimes called the School of Nature, is the first of the Schools of Matter, the balancing force and complement of Entropy. Creation magic manipulates natural forces, transforming what exists and bringing new things into being.
Creation requires considerable finesse, more than any other school, and is therefore rarely mastered. Those mages who have made a serious study of creation are the highest in demand, useful in times of peace as well as war.
Dalish Keepers have preserved most forms of Creation Magic and the discipline’s creation can be dated back to the years of Elvhenan domination. Lore has it that it was one of Mythal’s gifts to elves; so it is a discipline almost exclusive to elven mages. Some of the spells Dalish Keepers cast allow them to become one with nature thus creating defensive shields, call roots from beneath the earth to inflict physical damage on all enemies, as well as absorb energy from the dead within their casting field.
A form of magic which balances between the Creation and Spirit schools is shapeshifting; which allows a person to transform their body into the form of an animal.The path of the Shapeshifter is one that crosses the boundary between mage and warrior. Some mages see it as a form of self-mastery, while others use it as a method of survival; a physical bag of tricks that enable the mage to be unpredictable in battle. Shapeshifters must master one form at a time, the most common ones being those that are found in the Fereldan wilds. The mighty bear is popular as are wildcats, spiders, and even birds. Legend tells of mages who mastered even more fantastical and deadly forms. To a skilled Shapeshifter, no door is impassable, no fight is unwinnable, and no terrain inhospitable as long as they know a shape that can meet the task at hand.
Entropy School of Magic
The second of the two Schools of Matter, Entropy is the opposing force of Creation; for this reason it is often called the School of Negation or School of Chaos. Nothing lives without death. Time inevitably brings an end to all things in the material world, and yet in this ending is the seed of a beginning. A river may flood its banks, causing havoc, but bring new life to its floodplain. The fire that burns a forest ushers in new growth. And so it is with entropic magic that we manipulate the forces of erosion, decay, and destruction to create anew.
Although closely related to elemental magic due to their common destructive element, entropic magic is more deeply rooted in the psyche of the spellcaster and was thought to be a curse. Entropy mages can absorb one’s life-force through mere touch, cause buildings to collapse, erode the landscape and turn order into chaos. This specialization is rare to occur on its own, but if it does it is very dangerous to be mastered and often takes the practitioner’s life in one way or another. The most talented of elemental and force mages are entropy mages at heart or at least they have an inclination towards entropy magic.
Blood Magic: The Forbidden School
Technically I should not even be speaking of this school of magic since the Chantry forbids it; however I believe it is only fair that you have some knowledge of what it consists of and why you should not take it lightly. A knife can be used to slice bread or to kill someone; it is but a means to an end. Same goes with blood magic; it is not a school of magic per se, only a means to help someone cast complicated spells that require a lot of mana. Instead of exhausting oneself, the mage uses their own lifeforce through blood to fuel the spells. It is similar in its workings to lyrium-enforced magic, but without the health risks that lyrium poses. Also, unlike lyrium which allows a mage to send his conscious mind into the Fade, blood would allow them to find the sleeping minds of others, view their dreams, and even influence or dominate their thoughts. Additionally, blood magic allows the Veil to be opened completely so that demons may physically pass through it into our world.
It was common practice, at one time, for a magister to keep a number of slaves on hand so that, should he undertake the working of a spell that was physically beyond his abilities, he could use the blood of his slaves to bolster the casting. The more the blood the more powerful the spell. However, greed is a terrible vice, and soon slave bloodletting turned into sacrifice. Since this is no history manual, I will not go into the details of how this led to the First Blight and the fall of the Tevinter Imperium. Greed and vanity have existed for as long as conscience itself and blood magic should not be held accountable for these vices. It is not blood magic which corrupts people. Power corrupts people; it attracts the worst and destroys the best of them. Blood magic is only the means to achieve great power while allowing practitioners to overlook the great responsibility that comes with it.
Woven silken threads glow under the moon's light, casting spells and weaving dreams and inspiring creativity.
As the weaver of the web, the spider symbolizes the spirit of creation. In several traditions, she’s the totemic symbol of the Mother, strong feminine energy. In Ancient Egypt, the spider was used as a symbol to represent the goddess of the Divine Mother, Neith. In some American Indian tribes, it is considered as the symbol for the creator of the world and by extension is associated with the female creative energy.
Spider meaning represents mystery, growth, and power. It symbolizes the shadow of yourself, or the dark aspect of your personality. Spider wants you to celebrate your feminine energy and allow others to get to know you on a more personal level.
Spider symbolizes:
Patience
Receptivity
Feminine energy
Creativity
Weaver of life’s fate
Shadow self, dark aspects of life or personality
Spider is the enchantress of creativity and artistic expression. She weaves a magical spell as she infuses her dreams into her web as she weaves it. The spider's web is a dream catcher, a tapestry of her beliefs she binds to trees and bushes so nature spirits can see magic in full display.
Available in my etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheEnchantedWren
Moon Magic Pendant Spider
Spider Web Grimoire Book of Shadows
The Hall of Chara'a was the largest single room Amara had seen in the palace, rivaling the soaring expansiveness of the University atrium. But the size of it was not what struck her first. It was its song. All magic sang to her, the wispy notes of air, the hard beats of earth, fire’s sinuous undulations. This room was a harmonious chorus, with notes she had never heard before, a bright, clear thread that evoked joy. A shadow pitch, smoky and whispered. pg.389-399
