From the introduction: Welcome to the world of the Circle of Magic, a world where there is magic in everything, where every crafting skill possesses the potential link to some greater power than the merely creative. In this world, Ambient Mages draw power from the world around them, be they Weather Mages, Plant Mages, Thread Mages, or Smith Mages. This magic flows from the world into the mage, and the mage shapes it then releases it back into the world, a circle. Though each different Ambient Magic is strong in some areas, weaker in others, none has any hard and fast limitations. What one Ambient Mage can do working with Wood, another might do in Glass or Stone or Paint or Dance. The only hard and fast limits on an Ambient Mage’s power are their creativity and endurance, for the working of magic is draining in the extreme.