The Four Spheres of Magic

Mages across Zoar have struggled to label and categorize every one of the uncountable manifestations of magic. The most familar form of this excercise in futility is to group each manifestation into one category or another. The names of these categories have changed over the years, and the number of them has been in constant flux. This methodology has resulted in great progress in the understanding of the metaphysical nature of magic, but it is ultimately flawed.

The current paradigm views all magic as functioning in the same manner, regardless of source. This holds true for observations on a macro scale, and when describing the rudimentary effects of spells. Yet there are large gaps in its coverage, effects and manifestations it can't attribute to any one category. There are spells that manipulate the very flow of time and probability, infuse elemental energies into potions, and twist the very aspect of entropy itself. There is a fundamental difference between animating the dead, and restoring true life to a corpse, and it is not simply the amount of magical energy expended.
All users of magic draw from different sources of magic, and access to these sources are goverened by a set of rules that only some of the greatest sages have begun to uncover. These Spheres of magic are distinct, and exist adjacent to the Worldsphere, within their own domain. Through rigorous study, or the knowledge imparted by the divine, a creature can reach beyond the veil to draw from these Spheres.
  There are four spheres in total, each containing a different type of essence:
 

The Nul Sphere

This sphere is the domain of Time, Space, and the Entropy of the multiverse. All spells that see into the past or future, invariably draw from this sphere to do so. Some scholars have hypothesized that certain creatures, namely the halflings, have an innate connection to this sphere. Other, more professional scholars, discount such a hypothesis as only the bruised ego of someone who may have lost a game of chance one too many times.
 

The Sen Sphere

This sphere is the domain of Death, Darkness, and the Void that lies beyond the Worldsphere. Those that draw power from this sphere are usually doing so to animate the dead. In ancient times, the particularly skilled created small spheres comprised entirely of Sen essence. Unmoving annihilating spheres, the knowledge of their creation is now lost to time.
 

The Vix Sphere

This sphere is the domain of Life, Light, and the Order imposed on the multiverse. Those that are blessed by the divine, gain access to this sphere through their divine agents. Rigorous study has not yet uncovered a method for reliably drawing from this sphere. It is for that reason that scholars believe it can only be accessed by the divine, by it's nature.
 

The Ord Sphere

This sphere is the domain of the elemental energies: fire, water, earth and wind. It is the easiest to reach, and understand. The presence of living elementals, and the research done by some in communing with them has solidified the theory that the Ord sphere primarily exists within our Multiverse as opposed to adjacent to it as the others are.


The manifestations of magic in the form of spells are the manipulation of the essence of one or more of these spheres. It is the infusion of essence from these spheres that has created the wondrous items of the world. Though time has stolen much of the knowledge of tapping into the spheres, some are rediscovering and reinventing such methods.