Chapter 1: Black and White
In the beginning, all the colors were mingled together in the One Source, the Primal White, joined together and indistinguished.
The Primal White was a mix of red, blue, and green. These are the three aspects of Action, Thought, and Balance. Together, they are the Elements of Creation.
Because it was in perfect Balance, time had no meaning to it, and so it could neither Act nor Think. And because it was one, there was nothing to Balance itself against.
A Desire arose within it, and from this Desire came the first Creation.
The Primal White mingled Action and Thought and created within it a creation that it was not, a creation to Balance itself, the Primal Black.
Primal Black was all that White was not. In the place of Action was Passivity. In the place of Thought was Impulse. And in the place of Balance was Desire. Together, they made the Elements of Destruction.
White moved upon Black, and the World was formed.
Chapter 2: The Four Elements
After the Black, the first creations were Red and Blue, the Elemental Fire and Elemental Water, born from the White's reflection upon the Black.
With their powers further balanced, the White and Black were reduced to Elemental Air and Earth.
The colors of Elemental Fire are Red, Black, and White. It is Destructive Light, carrying the intent of the Black but the qualities of the White. It is active and hard.
The colors of Elemental Water are Blue, White, and Black. It is Creative Darkness, carrying the intent of the White but the qualities of the Black. It is passive and soft.
The colors of Elemental Air are White and Green, with a touch of Blue. It is active and soft.
The colors of Elemental Earth are Black and Green, with a touch of Red. It is passive and hard.
Chapter 3: The Green
The Green was born from the White and Black to balance the Red and Blue. It is the color of Balance, and rests in the middle between Earth and Air.
From this color, Life was born, a mix of the Four Elements. It rested in the center, and was the Fifth Element.
But because the Green reflected Balance, aligned with White, the world's balance had been disrupted. And so White granted Black the power to create colors of its own.
Chapter 4: The Secondary Colors
The secondary colors were created by Black to oppose the Red, Green, and Blue.
To oppose Red, it created Cyan, the color of Passivity. To oppose Blue, it created Yellow, the color of Impulse. To oppose Green, it created Magenta, the color of Desire.
White was closely aligned with Green, and so Yellow and Cyan were joined to White. These were the Divine Colors, White, Yellow, and Cyan.
Magenta remained aligned with Black, and so Red and Blue were joined to Black. These were the Colors of Ego, Black, Red, and Blue.
And so Desire became the source for the creation of the Primal Black, just as it always had. And Balance was once again achieved.
The Eight Schools
Red:Red is the color of heat, hard work, struggle, and raw power. It can be chaotic and is often destructive in nature, but is also the source of building and the creation of artifice by the work of one's hands.
Red Mages are strong laborers and warriors, wielding the element of fire to shape stone and metal into buildings and tools. They often will use their powers to bolster their own physical strength.
They tend to be hot-headed, and live for strife and conflict. In combat, they usually eschew defense and strategy in exchange for maximizing their offensive power and obliterating an enemy as fast as possible.
Because of their goal-oriented, no-nonsense personalities, Red Mages have a bad habit of driving off friends and allies. They work best alone or with other Red Mages, who understand them better.
Yellow:Yellow is the color of impulsiveness and instinct, fear and joy. It is a youthful and vibrant color, coursing with the energy of life struggling to survive against harsh odds.
Yellow Mages combine the energy of the Red with the protectiveness of the Green. They are the messianic archetype; strong leaders who fight for their friends or their ideals, and typically surround themselves with allies.
They specialize in abilities related to justice or vengence, absorbing attacks to turn their defense into offense or empowering themselves by absorbing the power of their allies.
They are also skilled at healing and protection, although their healing is usually limited to mending wounds or purifying curses; they typically lack the ability to empower an already healthy ally to the extent of the Green.
Their favored elements are lightning and earth, but they often forego wielding elemental powers directly, preferring to bolster their own power. Yellow Mages often glow with a golden aura when they are at their full strength.
Green:Green is the color of balance and life, bonding, growth and healing.
Green Mages are the guardians of nature, and are often seen wandering the wilds. They make friends easily among both people and animals, and are the second best healers, surpassed only by the White Mages.
Their favored element is Wood, which they use to facilitate plant growth, usually for defensive purposes or to rejuvenate injured forests. Some will manifest skill with Wind or Earth as well.
When forced to fight, they often focus on empowering their companions rather than engaging in combat directly, although some transform into different kinds of animals, harden their skin into bark or use poison to attack their foes.
Greens tend to bend their surrounding environment toward their will over time, so they often come out on top in a prolonged conflict.
Cyan:Cyan is the color of passivity, stoicism, stability, meditation, and trust.
Cyan Mages are spiritual guides and protectors, often found in solitary meditation on mountaintops, seeking enlightenment and separation from the material world. Allies gravitate to them and help protect them.
They combine the protectiveness of the Green with the introverted depth of the Blue. Many have clairvoyant or extrasensory abilities related to percieving the world around them.
Their favored elements are ice and wind, which they often use to create strong defensive barriers to separate themselves from the outside world. Some are talented healers as well.
They are passive and generally avoid conflict unless forced. When faced with an enemy, Cyans prefer to erect barriers of ice and wind or immobilize their foes rather than attack them outright.
Blue:Blue is the color of intelligence, sophistication, knowledge, and strategy.
Blue Mages are scholars who seek wisdom above all else. They can often be found in their studies or in towers, excercising their intellects and accumulating knowledge.
Blue Magic involves a great deal of rune inscription and takes time to prepare. Blues learn a lot from their experiences and can often duplicate an ability once they have seen it performed.
Although their favored element is water, they typically wield a multitude of abilities to be ready for any situation. They are master strategists who exchange raw power for arcane flexibility.
They are usually solitary by nature, maintaining at most small circle of friends, typically Blue Mages themselves. They like to argue a lot.
Magenta:Magenta is the color of desire, royalty, magic, technology, and the power of the soul.
Magenta Mages combine the sophistication and flexibility of the Blue with the raw power of the Red. Their ability to bend reality directly in accordance with their will makes them the most "magical" of all mages.
They often manifest a wide range of psychic powers like telekinesis and telepathy. Their powers are impressive, but they lack endurance and defensive ability. Magentas have a hard time standing up to real opposition for very long.
Their ability to inspire passion in others makes them excellent manipulators, which may or may not be for the benefit of the one being manipulated. Many can even possess other creatures and use their bodies as a puppet.
Magentas are prone to developing a god complex, and do not make friends easily. Magenta "covens" are generally alliances for the purpose of acquiring more power or wielding their combined power against a common foe.
White:White is the color of purity, spirituality and holiness, associated with light and creation.
White Mages combine the balance of Green, the wisdom of Blue, and the power of Red. They seek to create balance in the world by combining deep knowledge and steady, proactive behavior.
Because of the complexity of the healing arts, White Mages are the best healers. They are looked up to as leaders by the other schools.
The favored element of the White Mages is Wind, although most Whites can and will wield all of the elements together.
Black:Black is the color of corruption, materialism and profanity, associated with darkness and decay.
Black Mages combine the desire of Magenta, the impulsiveness of Yellow, and the passivity of Cyan. They are full of hunger for power, yet are patient in the fulfillment of that hunger, waiting for opportunities and jumping when they come along.
While all the colors manifest different aspects of being, Black is a non-color, associated with the essence of not-being. Its primary function is to oppose and counteract, and is typically associated with death and sacrifice.
While Black Mages are often seen as evil - and many of them are - there are those who will point out that death and decay are necessary for life to exist and grow.
Indeed, the favored element of the Black Mages is Earth, specifically the soil formed of decayed matter, from which new life can grow. However, most Black Mages will wield many elements in the most destructive way possible.
Each color is "allied" with the colors next to it and "opposed" to its complementary color.
This system takes inspiration from existing magic systems (Magic the Gathering is the most prominent but there is also some Final Fantasy, Wheel of Time, and others). I tried to keep things as generic and troperiffic as possible, although very few systems use Magenta Magic. Note that this system is based on the RGB color wheel rather than Newton's shoehorned color scale that everyone likes so much (seriously, why is indigo even there?) and it is therefore possible to produce a magic philosophy from any possible color by blending the three additive primaries in different amounts. Red is action, Blue is wisdom, Green is harmony.