Each lore presented on the following pages is but a splinter of the pure magic practiced by the High Elves; one focused shard of magical energy, with a particular trait all of its own. The Lore of Fire, for example, is chiefly a repository of raging and destructive spells, whilst the Lore of Life specialises in spells of protection and healing. Each of the eight lores harnesses energy from one of the divisions in the Winds of Magic. Some kinds of energy are denser than others and sink low to permeate the ground, others are more rarefied, billowing like high clouds through the upper atmosphere.
Your choice of lores will depend on how you want to use your Wizards, and also upon how many you plan to field. Presented on the following pages are eight magical lores, the eight sorcerous traditions as taught by the High Elves to the Wizards of the Empire. Although many of the Warhammer world's races practise their own magical traditions and thus have their own spell lores (as detailed in the relevant Warhammer army book), most also have some understanding of at least one of the eight lores described in this section.
The Lore of Fire has its basis in powerful ranged attack spells, designed to wreak massive damage on your foes. If you see your Wizards as essentially 'magical artillery' then the Lore of Fire is probably the one for you.
The Lore of Beasts is dominated by augmentative spells that grant your models extra capabilities. It's best chosen if your army intends to win its battles in close combat, as a few timely spells from the Lore of Beasts can transform mediocre troops into fearsome battle winners.
The Lore of Metal is based around the manipulation and transformation of metals. As you might expect, enemies that rely heavily on armour should beware the Lore of Metal, as its spells either ignore armour, or turn it against its wearer with horrendous consequences
The Lore of Light can broadly be described as protective magic, granting defensive bonuses to your troops. It also contains a few 'exorcism' spells that can banish Undead and Daemonic creatures.
The Lore of Life unleashes the power of the natural world. It is primarily a defensive lore, with an array of spells that heal your troops and augment their resilience.
The Lore of Heavens manipulates the forces of the sky, harnessing destructive weather or drawing upon the predictive power of astrology to alter probabilities – it's particularly effective against flying enemies.
The Lore of Shadow is a force of illusion and deception, relying chiefly on phantasmal attacks to sap the enemy's will (or ability) to fight.
The Lore of Death has a formidable battery of short-ranged damage spells that specialise in zapping enemy characters. Death magic is more destructive even than Fire magic, but the Wizard has to be pretty close to his foe (perhaps dangerously close) to use the Lore of Death to its full, fearsome potential.