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Arcane powers are the most common, but at the same time, most diverse, encompassing many abilities.

The Inner Planes
Purity. Power. Such are the inner planes; the building blocks of the multiverse, of raw power and pure elements, the most primal states of matter. Places hostile to all mortals due to the nature of the planes. Energy from the inner planes is what drives an arcane power, be it specifically an element or either positive or negative energy, or magical energy in general. The general form of magical energy is an all encompassing force which ties the prime material world to the inner planes.

They are as follows, twenty seven in all, no more, no less.

• There exists two energy planes; positive and negative.
  
• There exists four elemental planes; earth, fire, air, and water.
  
• There exists four para-elemental planes, mixtures between two elemental planes; magma, smoke, ice, and ooze.
  
• There exists eight quasi-elemental planes, mixtures between an energy plane and an elemental plane; lightning, vacuum, radiance, ash, steam, salt, mineral, and dust.
  
• There exists eight semi-elemental planes, mixtures between an energy plane and a para-elemental plane; crystal, frost, clay, silt, obsidian, pumice, sparks, and fumes.
  
• There exists the plane of shadow, within and between the inner planes.

Notes

• Of such things, the plane of vacuum, commonly known as 'void' by the uneducated, being utter nothingness and infinite space, should not be mistaken for the negative energy plane which absorbs all energy and life into it, or dust, which is annihilation or destruction into inert matter.
  
• Positive energy and negative energy can be loosely called 'life' and 'death'. Arcane spells and abilities which heal are linked to the positive energy plane, whereas spells and abilities that drain life are linked to the negative energy plane. Incidentally, living and undead are healed by their respective counterparts. Living are healed by positive energy while damaged by negative energy, and undead are healed by negative energy while healed by positive energy.
  
• Though positive energy can damage undead as negative energy damages life, it is not to be mistaken as 'holy' as the uneducated call it, for divine abilities and spells are direct powers given from a deity, and may vary depending on the deity's alignment.
  
• Positive energy and negative energy are commonly mistaken for a generic term of 'light' and 'dark' or 'good' and 'evil', which is wrong. Good and evil do not even fit into the category of arcane power as they are ways of thought, and light and darkness would simply translate to to the planes of radiance and shadow, though the shadow plane is not a place lacking light.
  
• An elemental is a sentient creature composed of one pure element. An elementalist is someone/thing that exclusively uses and/or controls said element.

Examples

• A fire elementalist has the ability to create flame from the elemental plane of fire and shape it at his will.
  
• Undead are linked to the negative energy plane, and many possess the power to drain life.

Schools of Magic
Magic, combined and shaped, create spell effects. All come from one or the other inner planes, be it energy, or element. Schools of Magic relates spells to one another on the type of effects they produce.

There are eight schools of magic

• Abjuration - Spells from this school focus on protection, they create magical or physical barriers or negating spells and abilities.
  
• Conjuration - Spells from this school bring objects, creatures, or some form of energy to the caster from a different location or a different plane of existance.
  
• Divination - Spells from this school provide information by finding hidden things, predicting the future, learn secrets, and foil deceptive spells.
  
• Enchantment - Spells from this school affect the minds of others, influencing or controlling their behavior.
  
• Evocation - Spells from this school manipulate energy to create something out of nothing. Perhaps the most common and spectacular forms of spellcraft comes from this school.
  
• Illusion - Spells from this school decieve the mind and senses of others, they cause them to see and hear things that dont exist, not see things that do exist, or give memories that never existed.
  
• Necromancy - Spells from this school manipulate the powers of life and death as well as undeath and the life force of others.
  
• Transmutation - Spells from this school change the physical properties of a creature, thing, or condition.

In addition to the eight schools of magic, there is an additional one which is usually under debate, and that is chaos. All known spells are formed in a definate shape (in this case, categorized by law), however, chaos is not. It is the use of raw energy, shaped as it is used, and the end effects are as random as the name implies. To use pure unshaped energy, it is as unreliable as it is powerful; for volitile energy is so much more destructive than controlled energy, but requires great concentration of the user to maintain the spell, lest it goes awry and affects them instead.

Use of the Arcane
Magic is an art practised and controlled in many forms. Some forms of controlling the energies that make up the art include an innate ability to shape these energies into a desired spell at will, where on the other end, someone who lacks the natural ability may employ the use of runes, spell components, or even magical objects to achieve this.

Additionally, use of arcane abilities are usually split between three groups of use; magic, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilitites. They differ in its use and means of production.

• Magic (Spells): Magic, in its purest form, is when one draws a form of energy from one of the existing planes of energy or elemental planes. This is an external power where the user must summon the energy through the use of an incantation or material components for spell to come into effect, using their own bodies and items as a conduit for the magical energy from the inner planes to be unleashed into the prime marterial plane. As an after-effect, the magic which passes through a body when unleashed into the prime material will leave the body drained for a small amount of time, preventing it from casting another spell in rapid succession. Magic is the least draining ability for a user for the caster does not use any of their own energy at all.
  
• Spell-like Abilities: Spell-like abilities are similar to magic, producing the same effects, however, the means are different. Instead of actually casting a spell, the user has a natural ability to draw upon powers from the inner planes, though they do this with a portion of their own energy instead of casting a spell. This differentiates from magic as the user drains their own energy to summon one from the inner planes; unlike magic, who's effects are the same, spell-like abilities can be cast in rapid succession, but at the cost of a user's energy. Spell-like abilities are semi-draining to a user's stamina because it uses a portion of their own energy to create a more powerful effect.
  
• Supernatural Abilitites: Supernatural abilities are seperate from magic and spell-like abilities. Unlike the former two abilities, supernatural abilities occur naturally and do not connect to any of the elemental or energy planes directly, but rather indirectly and effects varies with each different user. However, similar to spell-like abilities, supernatural abilties rely on the user's energy, though effects are produces directly from it rather than from an external source. Supernatural abilities are the most draining for the manifested powers are spawned directly from the user's energy alone.
  
  
• Categorization: Magic is also categorized by the distinct effect it causes. Unlike supernatural abilities, magic and spell-like abilities have very specific effects; this is because the use of magic and spell-like abilitites weave the arcane energies together for specific function. The ability to create fire may be a supernatural ability, but to further form the fire into a fireball that can be hurled and explodes on impact is a magic or a spell-like ability.
  
  
• Note on Anti-magic: Anti-magic is a form of magical energy which blocks the external use of magic, barring an individual from summoning energy from one of the inner planes. It essentially prevents the use of magic; spells and spell-like abilities from functioning for they draw upon energy externally. However, it does not prevent supernatural abilities from functioning as they occur in the natural world from an inside source rather than an outside source.

Shadow
This term called 'shadow' or 'shadow magic', what is it? Imagine if you will, that each of the different elemental and energy planes are seperated from one another, a line between the transitional planes of the major ones which further seperates them, a point where you can say, 'this is exactly where this plane ends, and that plane starts'. What is holding them together?

The art, magic is commonly said to be a weave; strings woven together over one another to form something greater. With all the energy, elemental, para-elemental, and quasi-elemental planes, the total adds up to twenty-six. However, by the rule-of-three's, that which everything is made up of, twenty-six is in no way related. This is where 'Shadow' comes in, where twenty-seven is three cubed.

If common magic is a weave, then shadow is everything between the spaces of the weave; the gaps in the fabric. As such, 'Shadow' is a quasi-reflection of all that around it. It is its own seperate power, but mimics others; a reflection of sorts.

*Additional detail and information may be added when I'm not feeling lazy.

The power of the mind, force of will, measure of intellect. The power of psionics is that of tapping into the mind's limitless potential to achieve a specific result. More of less, it is the same as arcane abilitites but with a different means of doing so.

Psionic abilities fall into six disciplines as follows

• Clairesentience - It is the ability to forsee the future and know what is not normally knowable through either magical means equivalent to magic in the school of divination, or scrying; creation of an additional sensory organ such as a third eye or far seeing abilities.
  
• Metacreativity - It is the ability to draw raw ectoplasm from the astral plane and shape it into creatures or some form of matter. Things created are as solid and as durable as any normal object even though they are made out of a substance which isnt. This discipline is equivalent to the magic school of summoning/conjuration.
  
• Psychokinesis - It is the ability to manipulate energy of the mind to produce a desired effect. Commonly it is seen as moving, melting, transforming, or blasting an object with this power. In the form of arcane magic, this is equivalent to the school of evocation.
  
• Psychometabolism - It is the ability to alter the physical properties of a creature or thing. It is the equivalent of the school of transmutation magic.
  
• Psychoportaion - It is the power to move an object or creature through space and time, similar to teleportation which is to move something through great distances.
  
• Telepathy - It is the power to affect the minds of others, to read thoughts and control behavior. In the form of arcane magic, it is equivalent to the school of enchantment/charm which affects sentient creatures.

As limitless as the psionic powers are, they require great discipline of the mind, focus, will power, and intellect to perform. Many psionic powers are not permanent, as the energy of the mind used for such ends need to be restored.


*Additional detail and information may be added when I'm not feeling lazy.