Animancy: the Seventh Gift
Common Skills | Druids | Training | Witchcraft | Return to Magic in Lyran Tal
Animancy is loosely defined as "spirit magic." It is the harmonious union of mind, body, and spirit and, as such, it is by far the most complicated of the Seven Gifts. Although each animancer possesses a natural inclination toward one aspect of their gift (mind, body, or spirit), they are not limited to that aspect alone. As a matter of course, their greatest spells and skills will be those which involve this intrinsic preference.
An animancer can communicate with animals, feel the emotions of others, communicate with spirits, dreamwalk, shapeshift, or move objects, depending on their power level and experience. An animancer often tends to have a preternatural awareness of their surroundings. Everything that is done involves an investment of one's own personal energy, the manipulation of their essence.
While scholars have labeled the Seventh Gift "animancy," there are extremely few beyond the hallowed halls and books of learning who actually use the term. As a generality, there are few people that truly know of the existence of the Seventh Gift or how it works. To further complicate the issue, each of the diverse branches use their own terminology. Practitioners (when they are singled out at all) are variously called 'witches' (whether they are male or female), 'sorcerers,' 'druids' (often wrongly) or, for lack of a more informed choice, simply ''mancers.' Although there is a new school for budding animancers, it is quite small and has almost entirely escaped attention. In addition, some of the branches (Druids, witches, shamans) have their own methods of teaching.
Whether by chance or by choice, the office of Archmage of Animancy (or Archmage of the Spirit Gift, as it would be more commonly known) has historically been clouded by obscurity. Rare ancient tomes do make mention of the existence of such a position and, indeed, it is certain that Spirit Magic follows the conventions of the Laws of Magic and there is always an archmage for each of the Seven Gifts, whether the knowledge of who holds the position is public or not.
To avoid potential confusion, it must be pointed out that while animancy is "spirit magic," the Twixt and/or Spirit World does not form the energy source of the Seventh Gift, it is, however -- on its own plane of existence -- linked to the Seventh Gift. Animancy uses the 'mancer's spiritual connection with the world to draw upon the ley lines. It is the focus of spirit that calms the chaos of the leylines.
Becoming an Animancer
There is no one region that produces or supports animancy, and the Gift is extremely rare. One must be born with the ability to utilize "spirit magic." The Seventh Gift can affect nearly anything, animate or inanimate, using the spirit to channel the power of the ley line. It can not, however, affect water, air, or fire. As with any Gift, the amount of power one is able to draw depends upon the ability of the user.
The Seventh Gift is utilized through the connection one's spirit has with other things or with one's self to perform some action/event. Some use spells. Others can perform skills through application of sheer will, though they tend to be very strong in their gift. Most animancers can perform a number of skills, but they usually incline toward only one of the three aspects: mind, body or spirit. The stronger the mage, the more likely he/she is to develop abilities in a second aspect. It is very rare, however, for any single mage to have mastery over all aspects of the Seventh Gift. Additionally, without formal training the potential to learn -- and become proficient in -- more than two or three of the major skills (listed below) is almost unheard of.
Common Skills
(Note: the word "common" indicates only that these skills are among those most likely to appear in an animancer's repertoire and does not take into account the length of time needed either to learn or perfect the skill.)
Dreamwalking: Dreamwalking is seeking out a person's mind/essence through dreams and affecting it through the spirit. Some animancers touch the dreams of those close to them, intentionally or no. Druids often communicate by dreams, but this is usually by accessing the Twixt (some more intentionally than others). Twixt is the place between the spirit world and the living world; a stopover for the recently deceased. [See Speakers for the Dead.]
Empathy: Natural empathy is the ability to read body language, and draw from that what another is feeling. Magical empathy enables the 'mancer to share another person's feelings intimately.
Healing: The essence or spirit of a person is directly linked to the body, therefore one who uses the Seventh Gift has the ability to influence the function of their own body. One empowers one's spirit to accelerate their own body's healing or stabilize a critical wound.
Rare indeed is the animancer who has the ability to heal another, and it requires drawing heavily upon the leylines. It is quite limited and not nearly as potent as vivomancy. The better the 'mancer knows the person, the better he/she will be able to accomplish his goal.
When an animancer works a healing, he/she taps into the unconscious or involuntary bodily processes (heartbeat, brainwaves, etc.) in order to manipulate them by conscious mental control, thereby accelerating the healing process or stabilizing a critical wound. This talent goes hand in hand with Empathy. With access to the feelings and inner core of another being, the 'mancer can effect minimal healing on others as well.
Yet another aspect of this skill is the ability to bind another's spirit with their own, holding it to this world instead of letting it drift into the Twixt until the critical wound heals naturally.
Hind Sight: The ability to sense actions or emotions that have taken place at a location in the past, or upon a certain object. Derived from the animancer's sensitivity to the spirits of others, it is almost like 'historical empathy.'
Illusion: is used by projecting false sensations and/or perceptions -- a twist on telepathy. It is usually used on single targets by touchinng them with one's own spirit. In order to affect more than one individual, the 'mancer would be required to split their spirit, which requires great strength and ability. Those who are not being actively cast upon will not see the illusion, no matter how hard they 'look.' At the same time, the person upon which the illusion is being worked will see, hear, feel, smell or taste (depending on the proficiency of the caster) the illusion as though it were real. Real damage is possible through the target's reaction to the spell, either physically or mentally (escaping the perceived threat or mental shock from false pain and/or fear).
Portals: Opening portals is a part of teleportation, but to maintain it for a long period of time, like the naturally occurring portals, requires much more magical energy. Because of this, 'mancers only use such spells for personal travel and the populace at large use the stable portals. Also, it is important to note that one can only connect the newly opened portal with a previously existing one.
Precognition: Knowledge of an event or state that has not yet occured. This skill is extremely rare and apparently limited to females.
Shape-shifting: The spirit, through its connection to another living spirit (the animal it is shape-shifting to) forces the body into a different shape. It is important to note that, to date, Druids are the only known practitioners of the Seventh Gift that can shape-change. Those of Druidic study find it easiest to shift into a certain species, one with which they are extremely familiar. This involves many years of study, during which time the 'mancer learns every aspect of the other creature's body and spirit.
Spirit Link: Some animancers have the ability to learn how to form a spiritual connection through which they can affect (or be affected by) those to whom they are linked. It is limited by ability, distance and familiarity with the subject.
Spirit Reading: Spirit Reading is related to empathy and is in some ways another facet of it. It is the ability to read strong aspects of a person's soul and character rather than current surface emotions. These could include malicious or benevolent intentions, naiveté or worldliness, being highly trustworthy or treacherous, etc. High level 'mancers would be able to ascertain more than low level. Where one might just feel uncomfortable around a certifiable evildoer, another would recoil in horror.
Spirit Speaking: involves the ability of the 'mancer to contact and speak with the spirits of those who have died. On another level -- associated with Witches -- one may coax, force, or otherwise manipulate the inhabitants of the Spirit World/Twixt. A low-level caster might be able to tell fortunes and predict futures (by asking the spirits to reveal what they see). She might also be able to ward off curses (or place them) and 'create' luck (by asking spirits to either protect or harm others). Finally, they might be able to coax spirits to perform tricks or mischievous acts.
Telekinesis: Moving items requires an intimacy of knowledge of the object. The caster does not channel himself into an object, but instead draws it into him, making the action an internal rather than an external process. Of course, the higher the level of the 'mancer, the better he/she is at becoming attuned to an object. The distance the item can be moved is directly proportional to the 'mancer's ability. Generally, it is limited to the area local to the 'mancer.
Telepathy: Most often done with animals, this form of communication relies almost completely on spirit and empathy. Animal minds are in many ways extremely foreign to most humanoids, but always share certain base drives, needs and desires. An animancer communicates with feeling and emotion through the spirit rather than words. Where it involves humans alone, such communication would be very strongly influenced by emotion, but coupled with experience and intuition the caster would be able to 'speak' to another person. Limits? Yes. Animancers cannot simply 'read' minds. Two-way communication requires a 'receiver' with similar abilities. In other words, a telepath can only hear another telepath.
Teleportation: Every gift has its own mode of teleporting. In the instance of the animancer, since the 'mancer has intimate knowledge of his spirit, he also has the ability to move it, changing its location from one place to another; the body and mind, being connected, follow along. Since one must be in physical contact (and familiar) with the object or person being teleported, it is somewhat limited. Another aspect of Teleportation is moving solely the spirit, leaving the body behind. It is dangerous and risky, for it is far too easy to become severed from one's own body and be forced to roam the land as a ghost. It must be pointed out that such 'movement' must be to a familiar place.
Users of Animancy
The Druids are the oldest widely known practitioners of the Seventh Gift within the Empire of the Silver Moon, and are the Lyran Tal counterpart of an Earth's Shaman. Their school is widely influenced by their worship of Gaia, also called the Earth Mother, and is reflected in the spells taught through their Seventh Gift. The Druid's main belief is that all things, of nature, inanimate, wild life, as well as humans, possess a spirit. In recognizing this, they can use the focus of their "essence" to drawn upon the Ley Lines and manifest various spells and abilities, again using the mind, the body, and the spirit as their focus. Druidism is also a cultural belief as much as it is a school of magic.
Using the focus of the body, they can manifest Teleportation. The Druids are also known to foretell the weather, but likely this is due to their close observation of nature and wildlife rather than the connection to the Ley Lines. But some speculate that it may also be linked to their close understanding of the Spirit of Earth Mother.
A Druid can bring plants to life, for in their careful nurture of their own individual territories, Druids can invest their own "essence" into the plant life and thereby exercise the druidic version of telekinesis. This expansive empowering of "essence" can only happen however, within a land they have already nurtured through time. A Druid perceives such manifestation as linking their spirit and will to the spirit of nature to bring it to life.
Shapeshifting is another manifestation of the Seventh Gift practiced by the Druids. It manifests through the body, when a trained Druid is able to channel a pure spirit of an animal power. A Druid can use the focus of the mind, to communicate with animals as well.
Due to their strong spiritual focus, the Druids use dreams and altered level of consciousness to call upon the spirits, and have a strong respect and link to the spirit of their ancestors. They also practice meditation extensively to strengthen their own spiritual focus as well as their sense of peace and connection with nature.
Witchcraft is practiced exclusively by Witches. A Witch is someone who uses the Seventh Gift to coax, force or otherwise use the inhabitants of the Spirit World to achieve a desired effect.
Beings of the Spirit World, or the plane of the Spirits, are different from the spirits that the Druids worship and refer to as the High Spirit. Druids are attuned to and draw upon the spirits that are natural (spirit of all things upon the Earth), as well as the spirits of souls who have passed from life onto death. Witches, on the other hand, draw from the spirits that reside in the Spirit World. This plane is mostly inhabited by restless souls of those that have died, and other supernatural beings that never had an origin as a mortal nor are connected to anything of the tangible world. Scholars of magic say that the demons summoned in the Demon War were from the spirit plane. Witches seem to be attuned to the inhabitants of this dangerous and unpredictable Spirit World, rather than the natural spirits that pervade the mortal world.
Witches are born with an innate awareness of this alternate plane that exists in parallel to the natural tangible world. They also tend to possess some quality that draws these entities forth from the spirit plane to them, a trait that can be beneficial and/or quite dangerous. The ability to actually exert one's will over these spirits however, is something that must be taught. There are no formal schools or places of education for the art of witchcraft, rather it is something taught and practiced quietly and individually, sometimes being passed down through families. Because of this, not much is known about Witches, and there are often misunderstandings about who they are and what it is that they do.
It should also be noted that unlike the other two schools of the Seventh Gift, witchcraft is limited to manifestation of the power only upon the spiritual component of the "essence". It may be due to the fact that witchcraft, due to its cultural taboo as well as its rarity and exclusivity, is not well studied nor developed, the knowledge of the Gift being only passed from parent to offspring in most cases.
The control over the spirit world comes from a Witch's own spirit or soul. She uses sheer will to coax or force these entities into performing various acts. Therefore her abilities are largely based on the degree of will she possesses as well as the strength and reliability of the spirits she uses. Suffice it to say, however, that most witchcraft would not be considered terribly powerful magic compared to the other gifts. A Witch might be able to tell fortunes and predict futures (by asking the spirits to reveal what they see). She might also be able to ward off curses (or place them) and create good luck (by asking spirits to either protect or harm others). Finally, Witches might be able to coax spirits to perform tricks or mischievous acts.
It should always be remembered though, that spirits of the Spirit World can be unpredictable. They may have their own motivations, or even seek to uses Witches to their own ends. These manipulative motivations are not usually observed in the naturally occurring spirits of the animals and nature that the Druids worship. Thus, the practice of witchcraft can be a dangerous one compared to the others of the Seventh Gift.
Much speculation remains on where exactly this "Spirit World" exists. Current beliefs say that the Spirit World is actually 'Twixt, but there is no evidence which can prove this theory. Some scholars say that 'Twixt is but a middle ground, a realm that acts as a bridge between the nether-realm as well as the separate plane of spirits. The exact nature of these spirits is frequently debated; current beliefs link the spirits to both benevolent and malicious types. The benevolent spirits are called simply that: spirits. The malicious types are commonly referred to as Demons. The "Demon War" which ravaged across the Silver Moon Empire had the redcap Gane calling on an army of "Demonic" forces. Whether these forces were the same types of malicious spirits has yet to be proven. Some claims have the demons coming from another dimension entirely. The origins of the spirits that the Witches invoke, as well as the nature of the netherrealm and 'Twixt, continue to remain a mystery.
The Khorezim have established their own schools of Talents, individually specialized manifestations of the Seventh Gift. Using the focus of the body, they can perform feats of Healing by empowering another's "chi" to accelerate their own body's healing or stabilizing a critical wound. They have powers of Telepathy in which the "chi" energy of the mind is tapped, and they also have Speakers for the Dead, who are able to use the focus of their own spirit to speak to those that have passed onto the Beyond. Using their "chi" to tap into the Ley Lines, they can also perform Teleportation to manifest upon their bodie (this last also qualifies as a generic magical spell, one that can be performed in other spheres as long as there is a pure focus).
Telekinesis is achieved when a practitioner of the Seventh Gift invests their own "chi" into a known item, thereby enabling him to manipulate that object. Telekinesis is directly linked to the level of intimacy a person has to the item manipulated. The same would apply for the size of the item that is empowered with someone's "chi". This is the only Talent that can directly affect an inanimate object.
While the above mentioned are the main known Talents of the Khorezim, more details on what each Talent's capabilities are will be explored in the future as more knowledge of Khorezim's schools and culture becomes known.
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