hmm all my fluff notes are at home but from memory...

Arcanes are gatherers of knowledge and forgotten lore. Most of the time you encounter an Arcane his head will be in a book either reading and learning or writing down all that he has learned so that he can easily remember it later. Trained from young ages to use their minds as their weapons they learn to use their mental energies to absorb knowledge and cast spells. They can be found roaming the dustiest sections of the great libraries in huge cities or delving deep into forgotten dungeons of long lost civilizations looking for any secrets they might hold. Many Arcanes form into cabals or join universities to further their studies and share knowledge they have learned.
An Arcanes strength comes from his mind and as such Intelligence is the key ability for both his limited spellcasting and his arcane pool.
Background: Most Arcanes recognize each other as comrades in the search for knowledge and it is not uncommon for two that meet by chance to end up spending a week sharing information before being willing to part company. Arcanes see themselves as part of a small but unique group keepers of that which others would leave behind they know all too well that one must pay attention to history.
They tend to work well with most other classes, they certainly realize that their place is not on the front line and often are accompanied by guards or compatriots.
Arcanes adventure for only one reason, the pursuit of knowledge. Both written facts they can dig up in old books and the experiences they get exploring and learning and seeing.
Elves make excellent Arcanes with their long memories and centuries of time to delve into the most intricate of lore. Humans also have a tendency to become Arcanes out of the drive and curiosity to explore that is in their hearts.