The magic of this world is called "Kah" by the spirits (literally means soul), or in human terms "Soulbound". The two terms are used interchangeably.
This kah is awakened by spirits of the world, and those that have been awakened by the spirits can pass this ability down through their children. The first race that was given this abilitiy were the Auctians, a race of octopus like creatures. What type of Kah you possess is random and is tied to the personality of the user, though traits from the part may be passed, like having awakenings many times in your life, or lack imagination, etc.
Types of Kah:
There are three types of Kah in the world- Creation, Time, and Cursing.
Creation (Type one in the Auctian language): This is a very common type of kah, as it leads to creation and manipulation of fire, water, stone, plants, etc Narrators fall into this category too. Humans have given themselves codenames as a means of keeping track of what power they have: Tidewalkers command water, Greenkeepers command plants, Grounders command earth and stone, etc. In Auctian society it is frowned upon to have a type one kah, as it goes against the natural order of the world. They have developed devices that can tell which type a child would have at the beginning of their life around 4-8 years. They have gotten so set in their ways they literally jettison their children into the ocean that have type one.
Time (Type two in the Auctian language): This is an uncommon type of kah, it leads to the acceleration/ deceleration, and manipulation of time and movement. Powers that fall under this category are healers, causing/preventing disease, teleportation, portal making, etc. Humans have also given code names to these types as well: Mender for healers, Plaguebreakers for disease causing and curing, Skyriders for teleporters, and Gatekeepers for portal makers.
Cursing (Having grown up in Arvendon Abby has named the third type this): Cursewrights are what humans call them, and they have only been found in the human areas. The kingdom of Arvendon was founded by Cursewrights and as such they are the ruling class in the hive city. This is a strange type in that it cannot be inherited, offspring must be "cursed" with the ability. This mixes the two other types of Kah, due to curses being unique and created by the user and the duration that they persist also up to the user. Abby theorizes that this type is unique to humans as they fundamentally think differently compared to Auctians.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Mastery of the Soulbound:
Mastery of your Kah is dependent on the person, and their particular type of mindset. The more intelligent/ clever a person is with their ability the more versatile their abilities are. For instance while a person can only use fire, what they do with that fire is limited to their imagination. I.e. they can use their fire as a cloak protecting them, use it as a weapon shaping it, condensing the fire forming it into plasma, or even controlling radiation.
Awakenings lead to Mastery:
As they come to an understanding or having an "Ah ha!" moment it triggers an awakening. This is when their soul overlaps with their body creating a pale blue glow in their finger tips, eyes and hair (think Aang when he goes into the Avatar state). Given it can be pretty powerful, there are limitations to mastery. As you master or come to an understanding of your power, you become more powerful, but these awakening are limited. This takes place during maturation of the individual. For humans, its around the time puberty hits and the brain finishes developing; so around 12-25 years. Auctians are about 19-75 due to their much longer lifespan. As such Auctians and humans have placed high value on education and developing soulbound users once they are found. There is a ls a push to militarize these users as kingdoms and cities have risen and fallen due to their number of users in their ranks. Once a person or Auctian have passed puberty, they have only a few awakenings left in their life, about 10 or so for humans, 15 for auctians. These are usually reactions to fight or flight responses during emergencies. They could even be responses to stronger enemies in the tide of battle.
One more thing, and it's dangerous: Transcendence
This occurs when the person or auctian is backed into a courner and there is no way out, and there is nothing left to give. Their soul merges with their body causing a deep blue almost black hue from their eyes, hair, and finger tips. At this point they exert power beyond what they normally produce. However, this uses up their soul, causing advanced aging and disabilities for the rest of their lives afterwards. Humans can no longer use their abilities albeit, auctians can though at a much, much weaker extent than they could previously. Humans see this as a noble sacrifice; whereas Auctians see it a means of permanent death as those who transcend cannot become a spirit after death.