I would say that the dust settled after the battle, but that would not be exactly true. The truth is that there was no dust. Neither was their foliage, nor stray arrows, nor even the corpses of enemies. No. There was only that smell, the smell of fire left overnight, the smell of meat burnt black and cooked for another hour. Only that smell and a field of ashes, in the middle of which sat Uro, cross legged, his face twisted into that smile he always had, when he knew we were too afraid to voice our opinions.
– Anatar of The Swordsman’s Shining Company
Magic is not common in the world of Cormagh. The normal citizen has never seen anything magical in their life. Often times, things they call 'magic' tend to simply be forces of nature. They don't worry about magic, instead they worry about bandits, and who controls the roads. Thus, they often fear what they don't understand, and many have died for 'worshiping demons'. There are no Mage colleges, or schools of Sorcery in the realm. Those who can harness the mysterious force and channel them into spells are very rare. No one knows exactly where magic comes from, some have supposed and theorized, and many have studied the finite number of magical sources known to the realm in an attempt to glean the truth to it all. Throughout history, there have been documented cases of those who can wield magic, and the great Archivist Dervin Caine once compiled all of these tales into a single volume. Below you will find "excerpts" from this book, and you can treat them all as in-character knowledge. I encourage you to incorporate it into your backstory if you want, and feel free to ask questions about anything you might be confused about. If you are curious about how this affects the mechanics of the game, skip to the bottom.
"To be able to understand the world, I ventured into it to discover what forces move us. What I discovered was not something that can easily be put into words, and so I can only give my first hand accounting of the supernatural phenomena I witnessed."
- Dervin Caine , The Complex World , inside cover
The Chosen
(Divine casters such as Clerics, Druids, Rangers and Paladins)
Often referred to as The Chosen, those who wield magic of this type were specifically granted it by one god or another. They may not have asked for it, and some believe that those wielding divine magic are simply tools being used by the Ascendants to further their own goals in the mortal world. Some would argue that this idea isn’t necessarily a bad thing. One need only point to the Wars fought in their name to see proof of the contrary. It all seems to begin in a similar fashion, as far as recorded history has so far depicted. They are visited, either in their dreams, or by another Chosen, and told the Truth. No one knows what this Truth is, as it seems to be unable to be written down or conveyed easily. Research has proved fruitless, and only turned up mad ravings of some priests. After this visitation, they usually heed the call of the Ascendant who gave them this knowledge. They take up their cause, and attempt to spread this Truth. This often leads a very dangerous life, and often claims the life of the Chosen. Thus, in all of recorded history, there have only been a handful of those who have lived to have their names written down and recorded as doing anything of note, all of which lived supernaturally extended lives. Some, those who live primarily within the Wilderness, have the unique experience of discovering the Truth for themselves. It is less clear which Ascendant gives them strength, and some say it is nature itself, the elemental forces that keep the world turning. It seems that not all hermits are mad.
-Dervin Caine , The Complex World p.122
The Gifted
(Arcane Casters such as Bards,Eldritch Knights,most Sorcerers, Wizards, and most Warlocks)
Often referred to as The Gifted, those who wield magic of this type were either born with it, or sought it out on their own. Those born with The Gift are often exploited for their abilities, and experimented on in an attempt to breed more Gifted, or they are simply cast out for being sacrilegious. Magic of this type is less understood, and incredibly rare. Even still, there seems to be no common cause for such sudden manifestations of The Gift. Some theorize that their magic also comes from Gods, as often a Gifted can wield magic similar to a Chosen. There are those who were not born with the Gift but sought it out anyway. The easiest method would be to seek out the merfolk of Elilyse, and join the Bardic college there. Every bard that graduates is given a magical instrument, instilled with the voice of merfolk. With it, they can manipulate sound as a method of wielding magic. There are no other places of magical study in the Cormagh peninsula, and it seems those who want to learn have to seek the knowledge out on their own. Many fail in this regard, and either never find anything of note, or die in the process. Plundering ruins and searching through texts of long dead empires for lost magic is not a healthy profession. There are the rare few that succeed, and it awakens a thirst within them. They hunger for more knowledge, and more magical texts. Thus the cycle feeds into itself. Then there are those who are born without the gift, and also do not seek it through texts. They instead spend most of their time searching without, preforming enigmatic rituals to nameless beings. Some think they are instead Chosen, but by Those Outside, or Demons. The acts of this last group, through recorded history, have been what has colored the opinion of the Gifted.
-Dervin Caine , The Complex World p.345
Creatures of Cormagh
There are a number of creatures that can wield magic in one form or another. It is unclear where they draw this power from. There have been records of those who have captured some of these beings, and experimented on them in order to discover the truth, and it has almost universally ended in disaster. Many of the tales about these strange creatures are simply that: fabrications. However, every so often there will be a grain of truth within, and research has proven that, at the very least, there does seem to be some logic to it all. It is said that when the Human empire expanded, and attempted to drive out the Elves, they were first met with resistance not from the Elves, but from the forest itself. The surviving tales are all of varying degrees of horror: large beings made of wood picking up and tossing men in full plate as if they were dolls. There are tales in every civilization about those who rise from the dead, or linger on and inflict curses upon those that have wronged them. Stories of objects moving on their own with a malevolent will, passed on by their hateful former owners, are found in every library. Many have spoken of the reptile men of fire that reign over the Scorched Valley, and the living flame that often accompany their patrols. Even the tales of walking men of wood and metal, created by the gnomes and given a will of their own, are often mentioned. There is much to the world, and it's mysteries may forever lay beyond me.
-Dervin Caine , The Complex World p.671
Mechanics
If you just want the TL;DR version, here are the differences between my world and what is described in the core rules.
Spellcasters naturally live much longer than their mundane counterparts
If a Wizard is without a spellbook, a Bard without their instrument, a Warlock loses their pact, or a Paladin breaks their oath, they rapidly age over the course of a year and die if beyond natural age for their race.
You cannot multi-class into the Sorcerer class.
Shops are far less likely to buy or sell magic items of any sort. Dedicated magic shops are much more rare.