( she's just gonna launch into teacher mode with glee, and will unfortunately not give natsuno room to interject for a few minutes, sorry- )
Innate magic and teachable magic are different types, basically- they tap into mana, yes, but the types of mana they tap into are like... the difference between salt water and fresh water. It's the same but different, and most people can only do one or the other... and some people are the equivalent of an anadromous fish.
Innate magic usually falls under a natural affinity that steers how their magic shapes, but it's not a requirement. My affinity is misfortune, so I excel at curses and hexes, but I also can manipulate luck on a certain level. But on the other hand, I've got garbage luck in general. Other affinities are probably more like you might expect- elements and the like.
Learned magic can be anything and is more limited by imagination and strength than anything- trying to quantify it is difficult and unreasonable on most levels, but it also doesn't have the same oomph as innate magic.
There's also magical items that can be used, of course, but those vary between "a pen that never runs out of ink" to "every doomsday artifact from every rpg ever crammed into one", honestly.
Oh! There's also those with innate magic who are something called Wellsprings! This means that they're a walking fountain of magic, which both amplifies their magic and makes them a source of it as well. I'm one!
( felicity ends on a high note, and then... realizes she absolutely dominated the conversation there for a minute.
no subject
Innate magic and teachable magic are different types, basically- they tap into mana, yes, but the types of mana they tap into are like... the difference between salt water and fresh water. It's the same but different, and most people can only do one or the other... and some people are the equivalent of an anadromous fish.
Innate magic usually falls under a natural affinity that steers how their magic shapes, but it's not a requirement. My affinity is misfortune, so I excel at curses and hexes, but I also can manipulate luck on a certain level. But on the other hand, I've got garbage luck in general. Other affinities are probably more like you might expect- elements and the like.
Learned magic can be anything and is more limited by imagination and strength than anything- trying to quantify it is difficult and unreasonable on most levels, but it also doesn't have the same oomph as innate magic.
There's also magical items that can be used, of course, but those vary between "a pen that never runs out of ink" to "every doomsday artifact from every rpg ever crammed into one", honestly.
Oh! There's also those with innate magic who are something called Wellsprings! This means that they're a walking fountain of magic, which both amplifies their magic and makes them a source of it as well. I'm one!
( felicity ends on a high note, and then... realizes she absolutely dominated the conversation there for a minute.
whoops. )