One of the fundamental building blocks of magic is the process of Bonding a material. Everyone can do this, assuming they have enough mana to fuel the process. This is one of the dividing lines between mages and the average citizen. All magical or enchanted items have to be bonded before you can use them, excepting the most basic of items, this is because bonding allows you to push your mana into the item with less loss and from a distance at higher bond levels.