The Winds of Magic

How Magic is Cast
Spellcasters, as everyone knows either gain their ablilties through arcane or divine means. On Vaeltor magic is channelled through strong pulses, flows, and ebbs of a substance known as rift magic. Spellcasters are able to draw on the power of Rift magic to cast spells. It gets its name from the beleif that there is an alternate plane where the energy summoned exists from called, "The Rift." Rift magic itself is raw, potent, and unpredictable. However, Rift magic can be filtered down into a manageable source by diluting it using one of the twelve winds of magic. The winds of magic are seen as "safe" connections between "The Rift" and the normal plane of existence.

The Twelve Winds of Magic
When Rift magic is channelled through one of the winds of magic the raw power is diluted to ee safer to use by the spellcaster. These "connections" betwen "The Rift" and the real world exist all throughout Vaeltor. When using one of these conduits the raw magic goes through a change and takes on the traits of the wind it was passed through. Because of this process a list of twelve winds have been made for reference. These twelve winds are, Every spell that has ever been crafted has come from one of the twelve winds. Some winds do not contain the required components for some spells thus certain spells can be cast from multiple winds.
 * The Red Wind, The Ruby Wind, The Wind of Fire
 * The Blue Wind, The Sapphire Wind, The Wind of Water
 * The Green Wind, The Emerald Wind, The Wind of Earth
 * The Yellow Wind, The Topaz Wind, The Wind of LightningWizard_Battle.jpg
 * The Clouded Wind, The Opal Wind, The Wind of Force
 * The White Wind, The Ivory Wind, The Wind of Life
 * The Black Wind, The Onyx Wind, The Wind of Death
 * The Puple Wind, The Amethsyt Wind, The Wind of Strength
 * The Clear Wind, The Diamond Wind, The Wind of Perfection
 * The 1st Metallic Wind, The Gold Wind, The Wind of Insight
 * The 2nd Metallic Wind, The Silver Wind, The Wind of Willpower
 * The Crystal Wind, The Opaque Wind, The Wind of Deception

Some Winds have synergies with others. Some have mitigating combinations. For example, The Red Wind and The Yellow Wind can combine to form a powerful damaging spell. However The Red Wind and The Blue Wind will have very little uses combined, though these uses can still be very important.

Rift Magic
There are those who have dare to pull raw rift magic straight through the veil of The Rift and manipulate it. For whatever justification these mages have done this for it is an extremley dangerous action. Raw Rift Magic (or RARIM as some call it) is an undiluted energy that is extremely powerful and volatile. Though casting through a wind is second nature to a spellcaster casting directly from The Rift takes long work and practice to even start to harness the energy. In almost all education the use of RARIM is preached against and the consequences of failure while using it are taught.

The most famous example of RARIM betraying the caster was at The Battle of Tyrin's Pass. The battefield was a narrow pass between two moutains. A small but elite force of Great Alliance infantry were making their way through the pass when they were ambushed by a Drow raiding group. A mage by the name of Zeller was with the infantry unit. Zeller was well reknown for his uncanny ability to control RARIM. As the infantry unit was being attack Zeller pulled the magic he sought directly from The Rift. During the last bit of his conuring an arrow soared past the guard protecting Zeller and struck him. The volatile magic burst forth unprepared from his body turning the once powerful mage into dust. The raw storm of energy bounced around the pass like pebbles in a hurricane killing anyone who was close enough. After the energy finall dissapated there was but one "survivor." His body was mangled to the point where he was no longer human but some abomination of flesh and bone. No one knows if this thing was once Drow or Great Alliance. All that is known for sure is that the beast still wonders the pass moaning it's awful cry and ending anyone's life who dares to enter it's domain. It is known as The Creature of Tryin's Pass.

This tale is often told to scare people away from using the Raw Rift Magic, though it does not keep everyone away from the lure of the power it offers.