Animist Arcana

This philosophy of arcana is based upon the principle of generative spirit. An animist mage recognizes the potential energy in all living things. The life force of organic matter is so imbued with energy that it constantly manipulates the field of probability around it. Living things share the common capacity to interact with and change the world around them and the anima field is an expression of this potential. Although in objective space-time only one of these many potential states is actualized, in the swirling vortex of anima all potentialities exist in various states relative to our objective reality. These potential realities may be tapped and mapped onto the mage’s own field of local space-time in order to produce reality-altering effects.

The Animist Approach to Understanding the Arcane Schools

Divination:

Scrying magic scans the vortex of anima in order to draw out certain predictions regarding likely probability sets. This works in a similar way regardless of whether the caster is looking into the future, the present, or the past. In every case the diviner is predicting the composition of reality by either assembling a speculative future state or by reassembling the chain of previous anima states.

Enchantment:

Charms and compulsions nudge a target mind towards a chosen set of its potential permutations of voluntary action. By manipulating the anima of the target’s mind (in this case the sensitive spirits responsible for perception and cognition), the enchanter can direct these spirits to obey his own will.

Evocation:

Evocation spells draw upon the latent anima of a target subject in order to produce energy and/or matter. Through this powerful application of anima, the evoker transforms potential energy into positive energy within the local field of space-time.

Illusion:

“Figments,” “glamers,” and “patterns” are illusion effects that an animist illusionist can produce through the use of anima energy. “Phantasms” are similar to enchantments and require the manipulation of a subject’s sensitive spirits in order to produce false sense impressions. Illusions of the “shadow” type may require alienist techniques to draw shadow beings from extraplanar realms.

Necromancy:

The vegetative and animal spirits of anima can be directed to extend, limit, or even terminate the life force of living creatures. Anima can even be used to animate lifeless matter or dead bodies, though this form of animation is quite different from true resurrection.

Transmutation:

Transmutation differs from conjuration creation magic because unlike conjuration, which creates physical changes in matter, transmutation actually alters the composition of matter on a subatomic level. Atoms of one element become atoms of another kind. Through anima manipulation, molecular bonds may be broken or formed, elements may be transfigured, and even complex protein patterns can be polymorphed to transform living matter into diverse forms.

Conjuration:

The conjuration school of arcana is the discipline of magic most natural to the philosophies of alienist spellcraft, and as a result the properties of some conjuration spells are contrary to the philosophies of animist spellcasting. In fact, some spells of the “healing” subschool and all spells of the “calling” subschool are impossible to duplicate using purely animist methods. The “healing” spells cast by animist mages are treated as conjurations of the “creation” subschool, which rearranges anima to physically manipulate matter and either constitute or reconstitute physical objects or bodies.

Conjuration spells of the “summoning” and “teleportation” subschools work differently in alienist and animist spellcraft. An alienist conjurer moves matter from one place to another by folding it through holes in space-time. These “holes” are the subatomic tears or rips used by alienist mages to channel otherworldly energies. When a rip is used for summoning or teleportation the target of the spell passes through extraplanar space. An animist conjurer on the other hand must identify linked chains of anima within local space-time and use these chains as pathways to convey the targets of his summoning and teleportation spells. This is most easily accomplished through the use of Ley-lines.