Anivances

"The power of a soul, the energy and memories of a being that is living or has once lived. Much power lies in the heart of a soul, a power that some can harness..." -Gilder Von Kroyzt, Anivancer and skilled craftsman.
Most philosophers and arcanists agree that a living person is made of three important pieces. The body, the memory, and the energy. The body being the actual physical flesh and bone of a living creature. The memory is their personality as well as being able to recall everything they experience. The energy is force of it all. The spirit energy to create memory, the magical power of a creature, or the actual physical remains that feed the earth. Anivancy is a magical craft that is akin to some forms of Necromancy, where you can trap the portions of a soul and implant them in a construct. These portions of the soul are most of the energy and a fragment of the memory, creating an anivance that houses a soul that can think and do tasks.
The Use of a Soul Anivances are wonders of necromantic magic and artifice. A crystalline core that houses the soul energy of a deceased creature and can be used to power or enchant a number of different items or machines. There are many anivancers who have created great weapons that wield personalities. A number of constructs hold anivances that allow them to move and follow orders. Magical companions that take the form of bronzework cats or wooden birds. They can also take the form of powerful defenders with them being implanted in golems or animated defenders. Anivances have also been placed in the hearts of keeps and castles. Wires of copper and gold are built into the walls to allow for the anivance to watch the entire keep. Anivances are advanced and versatile pieces of magical technology.
The Issues of Anivancy Anivancy is a complicated art that involves many unstable pieces that must be put together to work correctly. The inherent connections to necromancy make it a soft topic for many who have adverse opinions to magic. They may see it as an abomination in the mortal realm, trapping the soul and conscience of a creature to use for material or magical gains. It is also a very difficult thing to do. It requires the knowledge of the magic to contain or acquire a soul, a skill that is often only acquired by mages who have mastered certain spells. There are also the dilemmas between using the souls of animals and the souls of people. The souls of animals are easier to capture and contain, they are also more accepted by a number of outside observers. The souls of people on the other hand can create more complex anivances that can handle greater tasks. However, the souls are stronger and more complex than the souls of animals, thus making them harder to acquire in the magical sense. There are also the moral dilemmas of capturing a fragment of a person's soul inside. Where did you get this soul? Did the person consent to giving their soul? Anivancy has had its fair share of controversy and there are many who look down on the art. However, there are still those who practice anivancy to expand their knowledge of the subject and create wonders of the material world out of parts of the spirit.

Manufacturing process

In order to craft one of these objects, you need a number of tools to capture the soul, contain the soul, and tool the contraption so that it can be used and can interact with other objects. Firstly, you need a way to capture and contain the soul of another creature. There are a number of ways to do this, but they either require a mastery of certain arcana or make deals with those who own souls to spare. The issue is that people tend to view the practice with a sense of distrust due to the question of where you acquired the souls.
Once you have the soul, you need what people professionally refer to as an animetric collector. Most anivancers refer to it as the kozanu. The kozanu is hollowed out bronze sphere enscribed with runes that you can place an empty core inside. You can then hold it on your person as you cast a spell that allows you to collect a soul, or use it as the focus of a ritual for soul transference with a powerful entity. After the kozanu is used and the core is full, you have a matter of hours to days to complete the anivance. You can complete the process using spools of your chosen binding. You can use a tool known as a skatch to bind your anivance. It is a contraption originally based of an arcanist's moving orrery. You put the core in the center stand and use cranks to move several spools to bind the anivance.

History

They were first discovered by an ancient arcanist who created it on accident. After using a spell that slew a creature, they accidentally trapped a portion of the soul inside a ruby they were carrying on their person. After a short time, the crystal lost its lustre and the soul was lost. After much experimentation, it was found that adding a conductive binding around the crystal helped it stabilize. After using the creation in a magical weapon. It was found that the weapon held a small amount of sentience that would transfer to the object.
Anivances would then be among the tales taking the form of special objects throughout history. Swords with minds of their own, a necklace that could store thoughts, and many more. Eventually, it would be discovered that through an extensive process and expensive renovations, an anivance could be used to create an experimental living castle. The Kalthane Palace in modern day Ardocia is one such place that was one of the first examples of an anivance being used to create an artificial steward.

Item type

Magical

Raw materials & Components

There are numerous ways to create an anivance, but they all require certain components in order to work. A core and the binding are the two main component. A core is something that can contain and keep the soul for a manageable time. Something that can hold the energy without it spilling back into the afterlife or the world around it. The binding is often something to enhance the effects of the anivance can support the core, while also acting as a system of wires so it can connect to other things.
Oftentimes the cores are crafted from a crystalline substance. Glass, diamond, or quartz. The most powerful cores are crafted from a material known as Anglevein, which is the refined blood of an angel that was willingly sacrificed. Core crafted out of wood have been known to burn out, while metal cores have been unable to contain the souls.
The bindings on the other hand are almost exclusively made out of metals. Precious metals are the best selection due to their magical conductivity. Copper, silver, gold, and kestre are the best binding materials.

Tools

The kozanu is a tool that was invented by the soul weavers of Riyaradh. The soul weavers were a guild of secretive anivancers who created marvels with their constructs. Using a bronze sphere, they created a contraption that could help a core collect soul energy much easier than without. Now it is a staple of the craft and is used by most anivancers throughout the world.
The bindings are the next step of the creation of anivances. Most folks use spools of their selected materials to manually wrap them with the metallic wire. However, an arcanist in Ardissa crafted an apparatus that could make binding anivances easier. Out of an orrery he owned, he replaced the planets with a number of spools and the sun in the center was replaced with a small clamp that could hold the core. A crank would activate gears in the base and cause the spools to circle the core, thus binding it in the wire of your choosing.