Raenarin is the home of two magical races, and one non-magical race, who call themselves witches and sorceresses. Magic is an ability that only women are permitted to use, because it's said to be unsafe for any men, but that doesn't stop men from occasionally learning how to use it. If they are found out they are often put to death, so any men who do have magic or learn how to use it keep their mouths firmly shut. Often these men are also demons, so they travel to other words in order to use their abilities safely.
This, however, was not always the way things worked on Raenarin. When the witches were first created they had a queen who ruled over them and no man child found to have magic was executed. Instead they were trained to use their abilites. Often male witches were seers, which is part of the reason they are now executed, and could use slightly different magics to the female witches. Sorcery was more difficult, as almost all sorcerers end up mad when trained to use magic the female way. There is one sect of sorcerers, hidden on a continent unfindable by almost everyone else on Raenarin, and they aren't mad, because they learnt about male magic rather than female.