Vostian Magic

Technical
Everyone within the Vostian empire has a from of inate magic ability. The magic of the people is directly connected to the power of their gods, and so the categories which define the gods are also what defines their magic.

As such there are three categories which all magic falls into:

Creation: The creation of new substance, life or other such entities.

Destruction: The destruction of substances, life or other such entities.

Illusion: The creation of imaginary, or not true substances, life or other such entities.

Precisely what spells fall into which categories is up for debate. For example, some creation mages are able to conceptualize lightning spells as being "the creation of violent energy" despite its destructive functions. There for, in some situations, a lighrning spell could be used by both creation and destruction mages. This is true of many spells. However, the basic structure of categories remains.

When a mortal, be they human, elvish, dwarvish, or any other non-god being, is born within the realm, the gods grant them the gift of magic. Each person is only able to access a single category of magic, and this access can not fluctuate over time, and there are no exceptions to this rule beyond conceptualization of spells as previously mentioned.

As such, the spells available to the Vostian's are different than the spells available to others within the Ninth Realm. The Vostian's are not limited in what spells they can concive in by class but by categorization and study. Due to this, the idea of a Wizard or a Sorcerer is incomprehensible to Northerners who have not been exposed to the ways of other continents. Druid, Cleric and Bard types are defined by not their magic use, but by their other characteristics. Those who persue magic further than childhood experimentation are considered to be Mages, or Magi, and are well valued for their hightened skills, but are not rare within the empire.

Culture
Different cultures value different magic types higher than others, though there are some general racial preferences which can be seen in leadership.

For the Base Races:

Humans: Destruction

Dwarves: Creation

Elves: Creation

Halflings: Creation

Gnomes: Illusion (creation*)

Orcs: Destruction

On Gnomes and Illusion*
It is noticeable that Gnomes are the only Base Race that have Illusion as their highest regarded Magic. This is due to the major stigma against Illusion magic found within the Vostian Empire. Illusionists are seen as deceptive and false, and often even having an illusionist in the family can be a shame. This also leads to some issues with Gnomes being subjugated because of not only their preference for Illusion, but also the tendency within Gnomes to be Illusionists. Not many Gnomes still live within the Empire, instead fleeing to Haven. Those who stay are typically creation and destruction mages. These remaining gnomes  tend to claim a preference for Creation magic.