During my studies I came up with a theory that the Ways are defined by two attributes, which can be summed up as the "physical" attribute and the "spiritual" attribute.

The physical attribute represents everything physical and material -- like earth and fire -- and is less complex and flexible than the spiritual. The Ways which use this as the dominant attribute are the Red and Brown Way.
The reason why the physical is less flexible is because the spiritual, by nature, is ever changing. It can return souls to this plane, change the flow of the air by a wave of the hand or create miracles at will. In simpler terms, with a a rock or fire you can change the form into anything you like as long as the material is enough and your imagination unrestricted. Can a rock create three separate swords? If so, would it still be a rock and not three?
With the spiritual, everything is connected by nature, you have an unlimited amount of material and, in relation, work place. It can be used everywhere, even if the forms differ.
It can be a tool too look into the minds of others, it can be the air we breath, it can be the life and will the ground possesses, or it can be death in it simplest form. And going with the rock theory, even if we were going to split it into, lets say, three telepathic waves or four rays of light, it would still be connected to each other because light and telepathy can't be separated; as with all spiritual things, it needs a medium to channel the energy it gets from it sources. These sources, as you all know, are nature itself, the azure crystal, the dark crystal, the water element or the fire element. Those are just some of the few we know, as to learn all the sources would take decades of hard work and generations of lives.

The spiritual is what we cannot touch, it is the mind and it is the elements. This is the attribute with the most freedom, as it has an ever changing nature. The Ways which use this as the dominant attribute are the Azure and Blue Way. This is the attribute which is the hardest to explain, and has the most mysteries in it.
For example, how would you explain how the Divination of the Blue Way works, or the Purifying of the Crystal Way? It is beyond us simply because we have not yet approached the point where we have enough knowledge to learn it or interact with it too much. Being the most flexible attribute, it is also the most unpredictable, it can be used to bring and take life; but if one were going to misuse or even abuse such a spell, the consequences would be devastating.

In general, the Ways have one dominant and one subsidiary attribute, with opposing Ways having the opposite dominant attribute. The exception of this rule are the Crystal Way and the Dark Way, where they are in perfect balance. Do not forget though, that all Ways possess both attributes.
Spells usually have both attributed mixed, just their main attribute depends on their specific effect. Comparing the preferred attribute of all known spells in a Way support the discovery of the dominant attribute of the Way.

The Dark Way

The Dark Way has, as I said, well balanced attributes. It is as much spiritual as it is physical, even though people may think the spiritual is dominant. While it is true that it deals a lot with spiritual -- like, for example, controlling shadows and use the life force for things that would be impossible for the physical -- is it, however, all spiritual?
No, the shadows in turn, after being controlled, take a physical form, which is achieved by mixing the spiritual with the physical. The darkness condenses into a thick layer which makes it impossible to see through and thus has gone from a spiritual state to a physical state. Were it all spiritual, you wouldn't even have noticed it was there unless you were an adept mage.
While it deals with death and life force, yes, that is spiritual, however it is also that it can be physical. It can create other life from souls, with enough knowledge and life force one can even form it into another being.
One may even be able to drag a soul back from Dakkru's Realm to reanimate the body, although there is no known successful attempt among publicly known mages yet due to Dakkru's interference, yet it shall be possible to succeed. I wouldn't dare to assume too much about the state of the mind or soul, as some things are better left untouched. Necromancy is a crime, according to the Octarchal Decree of 425 AY, for a good reason.

The Brown Way

The Brown Way is one of the two Ways with the physical attribute being dominant (the other being the Red Way). It uses earth and nature as its source and main aim for spells. While it can be argued that the spells that strengthen the natural defense in our bodies and the spells that raise growth of plants and nature is spiritual, the same is also true for the physical. Both spiritual and physical are involved in it, as giving life requires both soul, life force and body. The defense of the body being strengthened directly also changes the skin, which is physical and infuses the spiritual, as our bodies wouldn't be able to take the change otherwise, we are not built for it.
Other than that, it deals with earth and creatures. It can change earth, make earthquakes, form it at will and bind it to other material.
This is the main attribute of the Way, as most of its spells and purposes use the earth and material as its base. And as such, the spiritual is subsidiary.

The Blue Way

The Blue Way is one of the two mainly spiritual ways (the other being the Azure Way).
It is the most changeable Way as it represents the flow of things. It can see into the future, change water -- the most flexible of all materials, equal only too air -- into any form, and see though the illusions which obscure our vision, revealing what the object in front of us is made of, and replenish us when we are mentally tired. But that is not all, flow and change are not restricted to that, it is only the beginning, just terms explaining it in its simplest form. Change and flow can be used to describe time, which the Way interacts with a lot. And as such, it is spiritual.

The Crystal Way

The Crystal Way, like the Dark Way, has well balanced attributes. It is related to life and mainly used for the creation and manipulation of it.
It offers a wide range of energy and faith based spells, which is to no surprise, as they are the base of many effects. While it can summon material, close wounds, thus manipulate the body it is all in harmony, nothing it does uses one single attribute only. For example, healing or creating something, which the Way is mainly used for, is done by using the spiritual to affect the physical or directly converting it.
If one applies too much energy to a body, it "burns out". It has been proven to lead to a true death which is caused by Crystal energy overload. This is an excellent example that highly concentrated Crystal Way energy leads to physical effects.
Another example would be the gates or "doors" the way makes. They are portals, taking you apart into spiritual matter and reassembling you as physical. It is, as such, a Way of harmony.

The Azure Way

The Azure Way is one of the two spiritual ways. It is mostly based on the mind making it a spiritual way, but as every way, has a mix of both. It also has some pyhsical aspects such as the Dome and the Bond. It connects things, may they be spiritual or physical. The Dome creates an area where the caster has the full authority and controls everything inside of it. The air element can also be considered physical as you can feel it against your skin, it even lifts up birds, leaves, clouds. To sum it up, the physical attribute of the Way is connection and form, as wind is on the same level as water when it comes to the ability to change.
But the spiritual widely surpasses that, as the way mostly focuses on the mind which is spiritual. It has the ability to do almost anything to the mind, form thoughts like matter and unleash them against those who stand in its way. A known spell for this would be Psychic Blow, but there are many others as well.
All in all, the spiritual attribute certainly dominates the physical due to the Way's nature, which is the mind.

The Red Way

The Red Way is one of the two physical Ways (the other being the Brown Way). It represents manifestation, making flames, lightning or a meteor appear. It is one of the highest and most advanced forms of the use of the physical attribute, as it creates things according to will. It uses and affects emotions, usually anger and wrath, due to its destructive tendencies, but it is still true. It makes nothing into something. And as that is the highest form it can take, it is physical.
But that doesn't mean it can't be spiritual. For example, it can strengthen the body and purify material, a spiritual attribute. I admit the way has few spiritual attributes, but it is still there, even if it is subsidiary.
As to not confuse manifestation with creation, it is important to keep in mind that creation generates complex matter out of nothing, going from that state into something that is both physical and spiritual. Manifestation, on the other hand, uses will to condense the spiritual and transform it into something physical. With other words, manifestation uses something spiritual which is already present, and the will turns it into something purely physical, while by creation, the generated object or creature receives and maintains both spiritual and physical substance out of the caster's will and mental energy.
To conclude, as the Red Way converts something from the spiritual into the physical and not the other way around, staying all physical, it is a way where the physical attribute is dominant. The element is fire.

The Difference and Similarities between The Dark Way and The Crystal Way

The reason the Dark and Crystal Ways' attributes are in balance have many explanations, though it is of course impossible to know if they are correct. Some theories can be that their sources, the Dark Crystal and the Azure Crystal, were once combined. But as they got separated and Dakkru used the Dark Crystal shard for her own realm, it changed nature, but can be considered to still have the same base as when it was combined. That is one of the lesser theories. A more credible one would be that, as they both deal with death and life respectably, following the circle of life, they are connected; as such they cannot be unrelated opposites, because death is required for life and life is required for death. It is, as we know, impossible to create something opposite of what it once was.
Some more theories would be that darkness and light are both spiritual, but affect the physical, or that both Ways deals with souls and life force, just in different ways.
If you were to require more visible proof I would say, what is the difference between giving life and taking it. Making a body and taking it apart before reassembling it in the death realm where the Dark Crystal heals it. We can also add the difference between purifying and corrupting, both opposites yet they use the same material, faith and intent. It can be summed up as they uses the same things, just in opposite ways.

Why It is Of Use

By knowing all this we are one step closer to revealing the depths of magic. While this is only the surface, it can be used as an entrance to study what makes magic.
In my next project, if this one is approved, I shall go more into detail regarding what happens when you combine the Ways, how it affects glyphs, and possibly about subcategories.


Alvero Alenciar, degree student of the Knowledge Seekers.