“Time is a spiral; ever rhyming, never the same.”
-- Unknown
The magics of the spirit sphere carry with them a unique origin amongst the spheres of Avendar. Tied inextricably to the end of the War of Night, spirit magic was brought unto the world by the fleeing ch'taren people. Wielding a force unlike any other seen in the world before this point, they put a decisive end to the war with the zeal characteristic of their race. To this day, the ch'taren are the primary race to become full scholars of this sphere, though caladaran also find appeal in some of the less martial applications of the school. The occasional nefortu has been known to find some appeal of the practice of the art, but these are considered odd by both their own people and their chosen guild.
Many scholars of other spheres also choose to dabble in the spirits, finding appeal in the diverse benedictions such study grants. Major scholars of the sphere learn the intricacies of the spirits of those around them, becoming able to inspect them and aid them, and to fetter the souls of those whom they strike against. Greater scholars of the spirit develop deeper ties to the spiritual planes, eventually choosing a distinct Path to follow to gain further insight into the soul.
- Path of the Weavedancer: these scholars develop the deepest understanding of the Weave, learning to channel the most basic of mystical forces towards their own ends.
- Path of the Silver Light: by communing with the world of spirits and dreams, these magi gain great power over mortal souls.
- Path of Eternal Dawn: choosing for themselves two patron seraphim as guides, these priests and priestesses embrace the fuller mysteries of the divine.
As one of the two planar spheres, the magics of the spirit are granted by no god in particular. Rystaia, however, being patron of the Ch'taren people, is often associated with the profession, and it is not unheard of for mages of the spirit to personally profess devotion to an individual seraph, appreciating what they stand for. Regardless, the higher planes cannot be channeled in any way by any being of red resonance. The Path of Eternal Dawn in particular may only be followed by those of pure heart.
The magics of the spirit were once taught in a great palace in the skies, before it was brought low by the shuddeni. Still, the magics are such that not all fell in the attack, and live on to teach their magics still.