It is commonly accepted that there are 8 schools of magic: Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation. Each of these schools has its own unique, fundamental laws, interacting with The Astral Plane in its own way. Evocation deals with the plane most directly, shaping the raw energy of magical potential into potent spell effects, while Enchantment uses The Weave to tug on creature's minds, and Conjuration to move and reshape things across planes.

Giants created the first magic items, using the newly created runic system to imbue items with magical properties, and later learning to make use of magical materials to further enhance their crafts. Imbuing an item with magical runes is very similar to making use of runes to cast a spell, with similar requirements, although spell slots typically do not need to be expended.

Of course, suitable materials are also required to craft magic items. Materials saturated with magical energy are ideal, and necessary for an especially powerful item. A sword made of metal saturated with elemental ice energy will prove far stronger than one made of plane metal yet otherwise craft with similar skill.

Spellcasting existed long before runes did, with magic accessed through divinities or innate talents. It was only at Dovu's behest that Dovu and Aracne sat down together to create the first runic alphabet, tying power into the symbols themselves, so that others might learn these symbols and master the art of casting- becoming wizards. While those from the Shadow-Wild to the Primal Planes found use of these runes, it was a bit of a surprise when the humanoids of The Material Plane demonstrated an ability to wield runes as well.

There is more to making use of runes than copying them down perfectly. One must understand each symbol, how those symbols work together to create a greater meaning, and forge a personal connection to what they draw to draw upon The Weave (which might take the form of expending spell slots). No entry of a wizard's spellbook is complete without a record of the runes required to cast the spell.

Since their advent, wizards have used runes to work out new spells (spells only wizards can learn), and some other casters have learned to make use of them for a limited number of spells which would otherwise be impossible (such as Teleportation Circle).

Because runes are small components of meaning, a spell such as Fireball might be written in a variety of different ways, with different runes or runes written in a different order, the way one might write multiple sentences which each convey the same meaning. Each spell school has its own runic alphabet, suited to the school's unique laws.

There are objective Verbal and Somatic components to (most) spells. As with runes, many spells have more than one valid verbal or somatic component. Just as there are multiple ways to go about a mathematical proof, or multiple ways to convey an idea, there are multiple ways to go about casting a spell. However, unlike runes, Verbal and Somatic components were not established by any deity, but rather had to be uncovered through trial and error.

These components draw upon the fundamental laws of magic, their seeming simplicity masking the long and arduous process it took to first uncover these magic fundamentals and then translate them into corresponding movement and noise.

Material components of spells are fairly unique to Humanoids, as most creatures from beyond The Material Plane can cast spells without the need of a material focus. Material foci are generally understood to be a crutch needed by Humanoids to bolster their connection to The Weave. Once again at the behest of Dovu, the material components of spells were laid out by Aracne and Dovu, Aracne agreeing to aid the caster in their spell so long as the materials were supplied, and it is Aracne's will which ultimately decides whether or not the supplied materials are sufficient for the casting to succeed.

This is notable not true of all spells, as some spells require (typically pricey) material components in order to limit humanoids' ability to wield those magics. This is true of resurrection spells, which require components as part of a compromise with No'vel and Reaper and Ember to permit resurrection yet make is costly and difficult. The Oblivious Pantheon wanted to prevent resurrection magics entirely, while Ember did not want such intensive control over The Material Plane exercised by deities, and thus a compromise was struck.

Once more at the behest of Dovu, Aracne agreed to accept general spellcasting foci, such as staffs and wands, in place of some material components, making spellcasting even more accessible to humanoids.