The Nature of Magic
Magic in Adept is a natural and organic part of the world. It can mutate life or empower it with supernatural abilities. It is everchanging like the weather itself and is intrinsically meshed in every part of the world. These forces are called the Nine Pillars of Magic.
Adepts are those people who have the gift to channel power quickly and in large quantities. Adepts are a small portion of the larger population, and are valued for their specialized gifts. Adepts study The Traditions to help them manifest their power.
The Traditions of magic are bodies of study developed over generations. Each tradition specializes in certain areas of power or types of magic. It takes years to master a tradition and most adepts only study a few in their lifetimes.
Ritual magic is much more common since anyone can be trained to use it. Rituals take more time, too much for combat, so they are usually seen as less powerful. In truth, rituals are useful in different ways that are no less potent.