This site will look much better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
Proficiencies deal with finding, harvesting, refining, and crafting items. Practice sessions are used to learn and improve these skills. Higher ranks will produce higher quality materials and finished products when harvesting, refining, or crafting. The quality of your refining equipment (i.e. forge, loom, tanning pit, etc.) also affects the quality of finished products.
To learn these skills, you need to be level 20 or higher. You can then head to Wasat's Workshop in North Midgaard (4n w 2n from Temple) to train using your proficiency points.
First, you need to find your materials. This is done through propecting, timber, or divining.
Then you get the raw materials. This is done through butchering (meat), extract/chirurgy (bones), fishing, gathering (herbs and silk), mining(iron ore), logging (wood), harnessing(magic), or skinning(hides).
Then you take the raw materials and refine them. This is done by smelting(ore), polishing(gems), milling(wood), paper making(wood), magic focusing(magic), weaving(silk), tanning(hides), or carving(bones).
Now that you have the refined material you can make many things. Things like armor, shields, poisons, potions, bows, hammers, swords, food, spell books, scrolls, holy symbols, staffs, etc.
Here is an example: You use your prospecting skill to find some iron ore and mine it using your mining skill. You take the ore to the refinery and use your smelting skill to make metal. Now you can take the metal and use your blacksmithing skill to make a metal shield or armor or a sword or fix your existing metal equipment.