Chapter IV: The Elements and Schools of Magic

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

IV: The Elements and Schools of Magic
For both pedagogical and empirical reasons, mages have long divided their craft along the axes of element and school. Elements refer to the substances out of which spells are formed or composed, while schools are collections of spells and techniques that produce similar effects. For the prospective student of magic, familiarity with these categories is vital both for conceptualizing an effect during the spellweaving process (see Chapter III), and because of the priority that is given to them during magical education.

Elements of Magic
Arcane magic can be divided into six distinct elements, which form the constituent parts of any spell. It is readily apparent how many spells, such as fireballs and frostbolts, are formed from an element or elements. In cases where no element is obvious, the element is usually arcana, though some obscure spellcasting methods ascribe to spells elements representative metaphorically or analogously (e.g. a hint of fire in a spell designed to bolster courage, representing a fire in one’s heart). All elements exist in their purest forms in their respective elemental planes, and it is from here that many are drawn.

Arcana
Perhaps one of the most confusing developments in magical theory is the dual use of the term ‘arcane’. It is used both to describe the broad form of magic practiced by mages, contrasted with divine magic; and it is used to describe a particular element within the school. Students of magic are advised to keep this distinction firmly in mind. To aid in this process, I shall endeavour to refer to the element as ‘arcana’, and the branch of magic as ‘arcane magic.’

Beyond terminological difficulties, what actually is arcana is no simple matter. Arcana is the most pure form of arcane magic. Archmage Firebane in his seminal text on the matter refers to arcana as a combination of many elemental forces combined into one: it is an amalgam of fire, lightning, earth, water, and so forth. However, while arcana is a combination of other elements, this does not imply that those other elements are prior to arcana, i.e. that they exist before it and through the will of a mage are combined together into it. Rather, arcana should be seen as the white light that, when passed through a prism, fractures into its constituent colours. It is the basis for other elements, and so it is more accurate to say that other elements are diluted arcana.

Fire
Fire has long held a place of prominence in nearly all civilized cultures, and so it is no surprise that it does the same within magic. Fire spells most obviously include fireballs and wards against the same, but also incorporate the summoning of fire elementals, the augmentation of weaponry, and spells that shed light. However, fire magic also overlaps with fel practices (warlock’s fire, and the summoning of fiery demonic entities like infernals), and as such mages practicing this craft ought to be cautious not to overstep safe limits.

Frost
Together with arcana and fire, frost is one of the traditional elements employed by the mages of the Eastern Kingdoms. While usually referred to as frost, this element in fact encompasses all water-related effects. It thus includes a plethora of offensive and defensive spells designed to entrap or freeze an opponent, but also more mundane effects, like the conjuring of water.

Lightning
While associated more with shamanic practices, lightning can be wielded by arcane spellcasters. Amongst magi of the Eastern Kingdoms, such spells are sometimes used by gnomish wizards to empower their mechanical constructions. Lightning spells can unleash immense devastation, and can also be used to energize.

Nature
‘Nature’ magic is an ungainly term for spells that draw on the natural world for their power. Shifting rocks, poisoning a foe, and growing plant matter all fall under this element. Some scholars have thus postulated that it is in fact an amalgam of other, more precise elements, but the rarity of its use by mages makes this an understudied area.

Shadow
Shadow magic includes effects that draw upon darkness. Intriguingly, this darkness includes not only literal absence of light, but also pestilence, death, and negative emotions. Regardless, shadow magic is often associated with forbidden practices of necromancy. However, it also plays a key role in many spells that invoke illusory images or false emotions.

Schools of Arcane Magic
Arcane magic is divided into eight schools. It should be noted that these schools are more a matter of organizational expedience than fundamental difference: a frostbolt and frost ward are highly similar spells, despite being assigned respectively to the schools of evocation and abjuration. Nonetheless, each school has its own techniques and practices, such that it is worthwhile for the aspiring student of the arcane to consider each separately from the others. In the chapter that follows, I shall detail each school as it is conventionally defined, and suggest problematic areas in the classification of certain spells that merit further study and investigation.

Abjuration
Abjuration concerns itself with protective and defensive magics, and as such is often the first school in which mage apprentices are instructed. The staple spells of abjurers are wards, shields, and barriers (sometimes called transitus shields). Wards are weak, easily-cast spells that are primed to resist a single element. Their quick casting time makes them a mage’s first line of defense against the unexpected.

Shields are translucent, impenetrable barriers that are formed around a creature or object. They deflect all elements, and also physical attacks. The most common such spell is the mana shield, which forms condensed arcane energy into a hard bubble around the caster. Some mages weave elemental energies into their wards. Because of ice’s natural defensive properties, it is the most common such element.

The height of abjuration magic is the barrier, or transitus shield. These wards are erected over an area of terrain, ranging from as little as a few meters, to spreads of several miles. Essentially, barriers act as enlarged mana shields, preventing access or deflecting attacks. They can also be interwoven with illusion magic to conceal those within the barrier from sight by those without.

Conjuration
Conjuration relates to the transportation and creation of matter. Such a definition encompasses much of the schools of abjuration and evocation within it: conjured water is not fundamentally different from the ice used in an ice ward. Indeed, it is a matter of much debate amongst scholars as to whether evocation and abjuration are more properly defined as subschools of conjuration. However, as a matter of tradition and the different uses to which each school is put, the three remain distinct.

Conjuration spells can be divided into two areas: summonings, which allow a mage to call an existing entity or substance to her; and creations, whereby the mage creates something wholly new (for example, weapons, elemental constructs, or food and water). Summoning spells often involve complex rituals or extensive knowledge of the summoned entity in order to function properly. Because of their placid nature in comparison with other elementals, the most commonly summoned beings are water elementals. Warlocks and other practitioners of dark magic summon demons from the Twisting Nether. Such practices may not be inherently evil, but they are dangerous in the extreme, and highly corruptive to all who engage in them. It is therefore the recommendation of this author that such things are avoided altogether.

Divination
Divination concerns itself with the acquisition of knowledge through magic. Scrying spells are the staple tool of a diviner. Scrying is the observation of something beyond one’s natural sight through magical means. Such spells require a reflective surface, onto which the observed area will be shown. Mirrors, clear water, crystals, and orbs are all common scrying implements. For subjects unknown to the caster, or whose locations are unknown, diviners require some trace piece of the subject: a lock of hair, bit of skin, and so forth. Expert diviners are even able to use an individual’s residual magical aura to scry.

Diviners are also capable of interfacing with a subject’s mind to detect surface thoughts and emotions and discern truth from falsehood. Reputedly, some diviners are able to enter the realm of dreams, but such claims are often difficult to distinguish from madness.

Enchantment
Enchantment deals with the enhancement or augmentation of objects and, less frequently, living beings. Enchantments typically draw on the magical essence of a focal crystal for their power, though a multitude of power sources have been used by different races and cultures.

The process for enchanting an object is difficult to master, requiring countless hours of practice. However, its basics can be set down. Enchanting an object requires a source of mana to power whatever effects the enchanter wishes to apply. Because such effects typically must be permanent, the caster’s own mana pool is not an option (because that will involve a perpetual drain so long as the item exists). Thus enchanters make use of mana-filled crystals, which are carefully shattered in the course of the enchantment, transmitting their power into the object. Magical dusts, powders, and essences act as fortifiers for enchanting, strengthening the effects that are produced. Master enchanters are even able to imbue objects with rudimentary intelligence in order to create golems.

Evocation
Evocation deals with the direction manipulation of arcane energies, without converting them into the source of another effect. It thus deals with ‘pure’ magic in the most direct sense, which in many cases means elemental blasts. This author laments the fact that the evoker’s art is more associated with war magic than with the fine manipulation of arcane currents, but acknowledges that the discipline has immense destructive potential that is naturally channelled for combat.

All evocation spells use one or more element to cause their effect. The traditional elements in which mages are trained are frost, fire, and pure arcana. Less common elements include nature (including lightning, earth, and poison) and shadow. In the latter case, these spells are usually amalgams of necromancy and evocation.

Illusion
Illusion concerns itself with the creation of imagery, sounds, sensations, and emotions, without the conjuring of actual physical substances or entities. Because of its association with tricking the mind, illusion is looked on by some as a school practiced by scoundrels and worse. Indeed, thieves, assassins and other dabblers in shadow magic often employ a range of limited illusion effects. Nonetheless, students of magic are reminded that illusion is no more innately nefarious than any other school of magic.

A staple illusion spell is the invisibility incantation. To cast such a spell, a mage either creates a field through which light can pass around himself, or directly manipulates the senses of his viewers to instantaneously erase any trace of his presence. Invisibility spells can also be cast on inanimate objects, with the difficulty of doing so depending on size. Spells similar to invisibility can mask magical auras, employing the same method to avoid or erase detection.

Beyond invisibility, Archmage Firebane defines two categories of illusions. Figmentary illusions alter the senses to create false perceptions. However, the perceptions have no reality, and are unable to interact with the physical world (except insofar as creatures in the physical world react to their supposed presence). Phantasmic or phantom illusions, on the other hand, create images with a modicum of reality to them, generally by infusing the illusions with shadow magic. Mirror image spells are the most common form of phantasmic illusion.

Within magical theory, there is some debate as to whether the mind-reading effects of the divination school are in some manner related to illusion. Both deal with the mind and its contents. In the case of mind-reading divinations, information is extracted, while for illusions, information is implanted.

Necromancy
Necromancy as a school deals with death and associated powers over life-essences. As a consequence of its morbid subject matter and the horrific legacy of its practice in Lordaeron, necromancy is shunned by most magical establishments. Indeed, necromancy is highly corruptive to its wielder, inducing maladies both of the psyche and the corpus. Its chief spells are those that raise the dead and allow a necromancer to control undead minions, and those that drain and manipulate life-essence. This author urges against the study of necromancy with anything more than purely theoretical intent, and thus will say nothing more about its practice.

Transmutation
Transmutation is concerned with the manipulation of the key properties of matter. Such properties include form, place, and even the way time flows around the matter in question. Because many of these properties can be understood only at a conceptual level, transmutation is a discipline that requires exceptional spacial and logical reasoning.

Transmutation spells can be divided into three categories: form, space, and time alteration. Form alteration, the most basic of the three, involves changing the physical properties of a creature or object. The iconic spell of this class is polymorph, which radically alters the shape and composition of its target into that of a small, typically-mammalian animal. Such spells can also involve physical enhancements to strength or speed, or transmuting substances.

Space alteration shifts matter’s position in space, and are commonly known as teleportation and portal spells. Such spells allow transmuters to rapidly move matter by sending it through the Twisting Nether to another destination. Because of its role in transporting pre-existing matter, and its connection with the Twisting Nether, there is some ambiguity as to whether teleportation spells are more accurately classed as conjuration.

The final category are time alteration spells, also referred to as chronomancy. Such spells can send matter backward or forward through time, or alter the flow of time to make it slow down or speed up relative to other matter. Even more so than other branches of transmutation, chronomancy is exceptionally difficult, requiring a mind capable of abstract thinking and the ability to grasp the nature of the timeways. Under Dalaranian law, chronomancy is illegal, a fact that students of magic would do well to remember.