Magic is everywhere in Dalshmier. From the mystical forests that sometimes connect to the Feywild to the deep caverns that sometimes open into the depths of the Underdark, magic flows into, out of, and through the world. Some can harness it and others are mystified by it. The common belief is that all magic users are mages. If the common folk see an act of prestidigitation performed in a tavern, well that’s just a trick, but the first time they see a fireball or a magic missile cast, they become sure the caster is a mage.

In the city of Sindora Anchorage, there exists a prestigious mage school, the Arcane University College of Mages who’s campus is centered on the Lord Dean Monteque Silverbrand’s Mage Tower. While people in Sindora might know the name all the way down to street urchin level, most don’t know who the man is or what goes on at the college or what the students are up to. In truth, Mages or wizards study much of their life to master the verbal and somatic components of spells and to retain the knowledge of the material components in schools like this one. You may wonder why many a mage seems to be an old person… well, that’s why; A lifetime of study to gain a modicum of power in a school like this or the College of Mystical Arts in Sat’ware. Smaller schools exist in other cities, but these two are the most sought after in terms of teachers and training. A farmer in a village may not even know the actual schools exist but would believe Mages must be trained somewhere. That is the extent of the common knowledge of magic users… there is, of course, more to it.

Sorcerers tap into the innate magics of the world and cast with feeling and emotion. They are in tune with the world and it’s ebbing and flowing magical energy. They may not have access to all the spells a mage would, but sorcerers also don’t have to spend their time in mage schools learning to light candles for years on end.

Warlocks have made a deal with a patron to gain the power and magical skill to cast their spells. Sometimes, these patrons are untrustworthy and malicious and other times they’re playful and mischievous. The warlock may see their patron as a spirit or a demon, or even a god or a great old one but regardless of the perception of the warlock, the thing that sets them apart is that the patron is NOT a god proper. Otherwise, the warlock would be a cleric and are sometimes confused for them by the common folk.

Druids worship the Wild Mother and maintain their temple gardens and parks in major cities as well as smaller towns but they’re still seen by the populous as either holy people like clerics or as mages. They’re power is the power wielded by mages and sorcerers but it it bestowed upon them by nature herself and they are truly more akin to clerics.

Other magic users exist, though their lives are not dominated so fully by magic. Rangers, Bards, and some thieves are often practitioners of the mystic arts. Rangers get some of their power from the Wild mother as Druids do. Some thieves have a patron like a warlock would. Bards get their magics as sorcerers may, quite naturally. When wielding these magics, however, they’re not seen to be magical people like Wizards are. It’s just a trick a ranger can do or it’s just showmanship from a great bard.