Magical Traditions are the broadest division of magic our scholars recognise; it's not a perfect system, and divisions at this level come and go, but it's far more static than schools and especially disciplines of magic.— Shirahime
The traditions of magic are the highest level of magical subdivision present across Atronach, and are broadly used to categorise magic based on the kind of mana it uses. There are some odd exceptions to this rule - such as dark magic and chi manipulation, both of which blur the lines of a tradition a lot when it comes to arcanical science, but, even with that being the case, they are distinct enough to warrant separate classifications.
Classifying Broad Magic
The first question usually proffered by a new magic user upon seeing the magical traditions is "Why?"; arcane magic, divine magic and fae magic make sense due to each using their coupled mana type, but chi manipulation? sword magic?
dark magic? Their classification - just to name a few, as the traditions of magic expand and retract every few thousand years generally speaking - confuses people.
Ultimately, for a group of magic to be defined as a tradition, it needs to meet a few important criteria, the most important of which is that their source of power has to be the same - such as arcane, divine and fae magic using their respective mana types. This applies to the other classifications too; chi manipulation uses
Chi - or Stamina - while sword magic uses both stamina and arcane mana, and dark magic uses a mixture of all mana types. Generally, these traditional boundaries are quite... flexible, as the Atronach system allows mortal influence to define them to a degree - less so than
Magical Schools, but still a fair amount - and has little intrinsic care for them as a system. That said, it's almost eerie how much overlap exists between
Pearalos and the
Milky Way's arcanical bodies when it comes to these matters, but that might be
because of the Atronach system itself.
The Types of Tradition
At present, there are 6 total, distinct traditions of magic, each of which has an overarching identity that defines all of the schools and disciplines within it. Below you can find a rough description of each one.
Once the documents for each are done, a link will be present, as well.
Arcane Magic
Arcane magic is the tradition encapsulating all schools of magic that utilise arcane mana or - in rare cases - pure mana. Generally, the traditions of arcane magic are more broadly academic in nature - though not always - and tend to form the basis of arcanical studies and magical science across the cosmos, as their properties are far easier to understand, but they're also much harder to master due to the
Law of Mastery outlined in the
Mana Weave.
Divine Magic
Divine magic is the tradition encapsulating magic with a divine origin, either from gods, divine realms, or the stars. The tradition utilises a mixture of divine and arcane mana, with divine mana generally taking the majority of a spell's cost, though this is variable based on the mana's source and their alignment; an ability that perfectly lines up with the source can be extremely cheap, while one that runs contrary to the source can be profoundly expensive.
Fae Magic
Fae magic is the tradition encapsulating magic that draws its power entirely from the fae realm of
Nyssara. The tradition utilises exclusively fae mana and is uniquely subject to the rules and whims of the fae realm itself, its power ebbing and flowing with the seasons and the wielder's relationship with the fae themselves. For most fae magic users, this means that the magic is strongest in the spring and summer, and weakest in the fall and winter.
Chi Manipulation
Chi manipulation is a...
very curious form of magic. Sometimes known as chi magic instead, it doesn't utilise mana directly at all intrinsically, and instead utilises
Chi, the very same energy used by all living beings for physical exertions - known to most of them as Stamina. Chi manipulation is inherently connected to the Cultivation process, as well as the
Magical Aura of an individual, allowing for incredible heights of power.
Sword Magic
Sword magic is one of more weird forms of magic, as it relies upon the powers of individual blades - generally referred to as Sacred Blades - as opposed to mana, chi or some other power. Sword magic is curious as personal skill plays more of a part in the forging of these sacred blades as opposed to using the magic - though it does play some role there too - and because anyone can use a sacred blade to wield its magic, though they won't be as good as a master.
Dark Magic
While many traditions of magic blur the lines a
bit when it comes to standard classifications, none buck the trend
quite as much as dark magic does. Capable of using - and corrupting - all forms of mana and shackling its users to only being able to use dark magic, dark magical abilities are very powerful and
very unnatural. Often, people confuse dark magicians with users of divine or arcane magic... until they
actually cast, that is.
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