Chapter I: On Magic

This is the first chapter of the book Magic in Azeroth.

I: On Magic
Magic is a near-omnipresent field of energy that pervades Azeroth, and indeed all worlds which have been encountered beyond Azeroth. Defining 'magic' is nearly impossible, but it will suffice to say that it is a force that, when properly invoked, is capable of producing normally impossible effects.

Traditional scholarship divides magic into two forms: divine and arcane. Divine magic is that granted through conviction or faith in an Eternal, and is practiced through virtually all cultures and sentient species. Eternals – entities of immense power, typically distant – appear then to be either creators or conduits of magical energies transmitted to their petitioners. Perhaps the fundamental question of magical theory pertains to the relationship between divine and arcane magic, but answering that question is sadly far beyond the scope of this work.

The arcane, the other form of magic, is more difficult to define. In fact, it is commonly described simply as magic that does not have a divine source. But for any serious student of the arcane, a more rigourous definition of her craft is required. It shall here be argued that one can view arcane magic as magic drawn, in some form or another, from the Twisting Nether. This will be explicated, but it is necessary in order to do so to begin with the Well of Eternity.

Whether magic in some form preceded or followed from the Titans and their works is unknown, but what is certain is that the Titans left behind on Azeroth a powerful font of magic in known as the Well of Eternity. However, the Well was not the true source of magic, but rather only a conduit for it. It drew on energies from the Great Dark Beyond, the vast void between the planets. The Beyond in turn is woven together with the Twisting Nether, that is, the formless, astral realm of magical energy and chaos. The magic drawn through the Well of Eternity thus stems in its original form from the Twisting Nether. All arcane magic on Azeroth draws from the Well (later wells) of Eternity, and so all arcane magic must have the Twisting Nether as its original source.

While the Well of Eternity is the font of magic in Azeroth, in practice, practitioners of magecraft do not often reach out directly to its power. Under Azeroth run flows of magic called ley lines. These ley lines are the source of magic for most, as they spread magic to all corners of Azeroth. Indeed, ley lines underlie the magical sites of nearly all cultures, from elven moonwells to Dalaran itself. In this way, ley lines suffuse Azeroth with the energies drawn on for arcane magic.

Ley lines, on the rare occasions that they have been observed, often appear formless, as 'rivers' of pure mana, but they are in fact patterned by a deep symbolic logic. Each ley-line holds a runic symbol representing a fundamental magical concept. Thus, for example, the ley line of Shielding, which rests in the Great Bulwark Mountains, holds the pattern used to derive warding spells. In this way, ley lines both distribute magical energy across Azeroth, and contain within them the fundaments of magical practice.

The connection between that Well and the ley lines is that of a heart and arteries, with the former drawing magic, and the latter conveying it across the world. It is unknown precisely how this relationship changed when the first Well of Eternity was destroyed and the second came into existence, but the ley lines of Azeroth clearly shifted somehow to flow to the new Well under the roots of Nordrassil. Perhaps the outflow of magic from the Well into the surrounding soil of Azeroth met with existing ley lines to re-form the connection between Well and lines. Or perhaps the ley lines redirected themselves; if so, does this mean that magic is itself ‘alive’ or at least purposeful? And in turn, if that is the case, what implications are there for the cosmos? These questions cannot be answered here, but rather are left for the student to consider. Regardless, what we have seen is that magic stems originally from the Twisting Nether, and from thence to the Well of Eternity. The ley lines carry it out into the world, and into the hands of the mortal races.