Magic is split into two types, and three categories. Starting with types, we have Spells and Full Elemental Control
Spells: Magic spells are extremely limited forms of magic. A spell does one thing, and one thing only. You may cast your fireball spell as many times as you like, but it will always shoot a fireball in a straight line. It will never do anything else, it will never shoot a bigger fireball, it will never shoot a stronger fireball. A fireball spell, just shoots a fireball. Because of their limited nature, spells are very easy to learn and can generally be learned quickly. Spells can be learned by anyone, including those who are not primarily magic users, and those who have chosen to use a different element. (A water mage could learn spells of a non-water element.)
Full Elemental Control Full elemental control allows you to create your own spells. These new spells do not require any time or practice to learn, you fully control the element and can make it do whatever you want. Spells can be made in advance, or on the fly (all spells must be run through me for a balance check before use. Which will only take a minute, usually). So with full fire control, you can change the fireball to do different things, to make it stronger or weaker, etc. But full elemental control takes a very long time to learn, and even longer to master. While in the early stages of learning, there will be an intelligence check for each spell cast, and failing the check will result in a misfired spell. This check is removed when the element is mastered, and is made easier as the character becomes more skilled.
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