So, had the pleasure of reading a string of posts about alchemy, and I saw that you guys brought up the question "why do some people study alchemy, while others study wizardry?" I know that you had the idea that one or the other comes easier to a person, but I had some thoughts of my own which I shall detail below.
I also wondered "why are people suspicious of alchemists, but not wizards? I mean, one would think wizardry is just as deserving as suspicion, right?"
Well, all this wondering gave me and idea.
What if, long ago, different regions of Morcia, or even the universe in general, developed different "styles" of magical manipulation. These styles would include wizardry, alchemy, spinjitzu (raw elemental manipulation channeled through martial arts), mental powers (telekinesis, telepethy, etc.), and moar. These regions lived in peaceful isolation from one another, until the people from the alchemy region did something egregous (maybe they started a war or something), upsetting the other regions. The people from region that created alchemy were shunned and looked down upon because of this, and practicing Alchemy was concidered taboo because it meant you simpithized with the alchemy region. Even decades after the war (or whatever) ended, the prejudice against alchemists still remained, which is why everyone hates alchemists. Most people don't even know about/remember the long ago war, so their suspicion of alchemists is just pointless prejudice they picked up from their parents/society. The reason different people practice different styles would be determined by their culture. It would be the similar to reason that people practice different styles of martial arts in real life. The different styles were created by different cultures.
Of course, we still could have it that different styles of magic come easier to people in addition to the idea that the different styles were created in different regions. After all, I'm sure that in real life some types of martial arts come easier to people than others.
-- N_B
Yay! People like my ideas! :P