Magic

Magic was a pervasive, invisible force that existed in the multiverse. It permeated the cosmos as arcane potential imbued into all matter and energy.

The Weave

The fabric of magic, a kind of interface between the quintessence of a mind and the raw powers of creation, was often referred to as the Weave. Without access to the Weave, raw magic was completely inaccessible. The use of magic was dependent on the Weave, though different kinds of magic accessed it in different ways.

Schools of Magic

There were generally considered to be eight types, or schools, of magic. These were classified by mortals by their interactions with the Weave; for example, abjuration spells hardened the Weave around a caster, whereas evocation spells plucked at the strands to produce varied effects.

Abjuration

Spells in the abjuration school were primarily concerned with blocking, banishing, or protecting. Practitioners of abjuration were sought when baleful spirits required exorcism, when important locations needed guarding against magical spying, and when portals to other planes of existence had to be closed.

Conjuration

Conjurers favored spells that produced objects out of thin air. Summoners who called upon creatures from elsewhere to fight on their behalf were devoted to conjuration. A master conjurer could learn spells of teleportation to move between vast distances, or even the planes themselves, in an instant. Leomund Magic Academy in Mathar Falls was said to be a premier institution for the study of conjuration.

Divination

The counsel of diviners was highly sought after by royalty and commoners alike. Magic from the divination school strove to part the veils of space, time, and consciousness to reveal past, present, and future. Diviners worked to master spells of discernment, scrying, supernatural knowledge, and prophecy.

Enchantment

Members of the school of enchantment honed their abilities to magically entrance and beguile other people and monsters. Some enchanters were peacemakers who bewitched the violent to lay down their arms and charmed the cruel into showing mercy. Others were tyrants who magically bound the unwilling into their service. Enchantment magic was all but forbidden by the Tyrrosian College of Glamour.

Evocation

The school of evocation was the most common focus for magical study. The military applications of evocation were numerous, as evokers could create powerful elemental effects such as bitter cold, searing flame, and crackling lightning.

Illusion

The "first school of magic", illusion was obsessed with magic that dazzled the senses and befuddled the mind. Illusionists were subtle, but the effects of their magic made the impossible seem real. Some illusionists used magic to entertain or shield, but many were sinister masters of deception. The "lidded eye" symbol, famously used as a holy symbol of Ioun, was originally used to describe the illusion school.

Necromancy

The school of necromancy explored the cosmic forces of life, death, and undeath. Manipulating the energy that animated all living things was a dangerous and often reviled path. Most people saw necromancers as villainous, but not all necromancers were evil. However, the forces they manipulated were considered taboo by many societies.

Transmutation

Spells that modified energy and matter made the world not a fixed thing, but eminently mutable. Transmuters became smiths on reality's forge, changing copper to gold and mineral to vegetable. Masters of transmutation reached the farthest into the Weave, manipulating the raw magic beyond. It was said that the power of the gods to make and destroy worlds was at the end of the transmutation school. The so-called "Transmutation Theory" was popularized by Mordenkainen as part of his last treatise on magic.

Chronomancy

The power of chronomancy, or time magic, was sometimes considered a ninth school of magic. However, as it was an unintended byproduct of the Shattered Prophecy which disappeared after the Melding, most scholars did not include time magic in arcane canon.