Forbidden Arts

The Forbidden Arts are those that are taught and researched outside of the spectrum of magic and morality, with no regard for the consequences or for the lives of those who oppose it. It is mostly persued by those who simply wish for personal gain or widescale destruction.

Its origins are unknown but it is assumed to originally be an offshoot of natural magic, twisted and deformed over the course of centuries to become its own warped creature. Despite the practice of the arts being forbidden in many regions both in the eyes of the law and the general population, the number of practioners yet continued to increase to the point where some campaign for its recognition as an official school of magic.

Variants
While there are some who seek to indulge in multiple sources of the arts, they tend to find themselves both physically and mentally ruined due to the sheer strain a single strand of the foridden arts places upon the user, nevermind several.
 * Hexes - verbal spells that bestow debuffs and draining effects upon foes.
 * Blood - extremely powerful magic that drains the casters lifeforce for devastating effect
 * Summoning - an ethereal connection between caster and spirit is made, allowing for spectres from another dimension to be drawn forth and manipulated by the controller.

History
The earliest recorded use of the forbidden arts is found in myths and stories from the early years of the history of Opia. It was supposably used by groups of assassins and rogues who sought to free the people from the oppression of the monarchs who suppressed and exploited them, with the arts being used as a twisted source of good within the world. These tales quickly turn into darker territory however, with talk of users using mass murder to fuel their research into the arts.

Present Day
In the modern day opinion on the arts is much less clean-cut than in previous years where there was a simple division between those who sought its oppression and those who sought its dominance. While these divisions do exist in smaller communities, the issue is much less black and white. With the establishment of the Artists Guild there is now a public body campaigning for wider acceptance of the arts, who seek to educate those interested. Vast sections of Opia still forbid the practice, but it appears that some groups of government are willing to turn a blind eye and allow for the Guild to continue to grow in full-view, so long as they swear fealty to those in power, a vast contrast from the tales and legends that paint practioners as the liberators of the underclass.