
When I think about something like Arcanima and grimoires, I think of magic being used as a ultility, instead of just "having the gift" like with Thaumaturgy and Conjury. The way I've worked Emiiresa's explanations about arcanima IC, it is composed of not just having the gift of great amounts of aether and/or magic, it is being able to use one's mental and intellectual capacities and abilities to voluntarily influence or alter and transform it to one's needs, so I feel Arcanima depends more on the person rather than the magic itself. Carbuncle, for instance, is really just aether given form through mental and intellectual conceptualization. I don't really consider "forming a bond" with the creature to be important in doing this. When you deal with Summoner and Scholar, especially Scholar, it is really about strategizing and altering the geometries and aether to suit your situation, and most of those geometries come from the grimoires Arcanists use, as shown by the pictures in the books. Emiiresa learns a fairly large majority of her Summoning and Scholar skills through the grimoires. I take into account that, since they're books, there's information to be read in each and every one of them, information which helps her to become a masterful Arcanist. In my opinion, I believe that arcanima involves taking aether, regardless of the amount, and shaping it into the desired structure using one's own imagination and intellect to do so. To me you're more dependent on your intellect and creativity as well as what you learn from reading the grimoires rather than JUST magic and aether.
Things like Conjury and Thaumaturgy, on the other hand, I would consider to be more tailored to "having the gift," or having the ability to mainly channel magic and aether, because all you're doing as a Black Mage and a White Mage is casting and throwing spells, it's not as complex as Arcanima where you're taking aether and turning it into several different things. It's why Arcanists have a diverse set of spells, while Black Mage and White Mage are focused on one type of magic, and channel it through their weapons and in some cases, whether OOC or IC, even their body. Again, this is shown in the Conjurer storyline, in which Sylphie's mother used her own life force to heal(Of course that's not exactly the best means of healing, as it puts the user at a serious risk unless their lifeforce is enormous). Again, all Emiiresa does IC when it comes to things like White Mage is just gathering however much aether she needs and, using her weapon as a medium, channeling it into energy that heals.
Hmm...to put it one way, it could be akin to comparing kinetic energy, which derives more from the natural, with mechanical energy, which is synthetic, or man-made, and requires more effort on our part.
Things like Conjury and Thaumaturgy, on the other hand, I would consider to be more tailored to "having the gift," or having the ability to mainly channel magic and aether, because all you're doing as a Black Mage and a White Mage is casting and throwing spells, it's not as complex as Arcanima where you're taking aether and turning it into several different things. It's why Arcanists have a diverse set of spells, while Black Mage and White Mage are focused on one type of magic, and channel it through their weapons and in some cases, whether OOC or IC, even their body. Again, this is shown in the Conjurer storyline, in which Sylphie's mother used her own life force to heal(Of course that's not exactly the best means of healing, as it puts the user at a serious risk unless their lifeforce is enormous). Again, all Emiiresa does IC when it comes to things like White Mage is just gathering however much aether she needs and, using her weapon as a medium, channeling it into energy that heals.
Hmm...to put it one way, it could be akin to comparing kinetic energy, which derives more from the natural, with mechanical energy, which is synthetic, or man-made, and requires more effort on our part.