Anima Leech

One of the most unfortunate surprises a traveler may encounter in the Isles is what the natives call anima leeches. These are not the common sucking slugs found in brackish waters across Ysireth; anima leeches are small, shapeshifting creatures who survive by establishing a parasitic relationship with a host that has more and stronger anima. In the wild, they can appear as songbirds, squirrels, rabbits, frogs, or any manner of relatively harmless animal. They may even be mistaken for fey creatures or arcane beasts.
Anima leeches lure potential hosts--usually kinvari, due to our comparative abundance of anima--into a trusting state with a subtle hypnotic aura, which allows them to optimize their appearance and demeanor to something appealing to the kinvar in order to stay near their target. Within very little time--a matter of hours, or a day at most--the host will assume great protectiveness and fondness for the leech, guarding it against other kinvari who are not affected by the leech’s hypnosis and will often identify it for what it is--a dangerous trickster. Other kinvari will see the same general shape of the leech as the leech’s host does, but they will be free of the compulsion that drives the host to preserve the leech and keep it close.
Once its host is emotionally attached, the anima leech begins linking its soul--yes, the very anima that holds its unique imprint--to its host’s soul. This process takes a handful of days, and if not halted early, can be irreversible without considerable damage, even with the aid of a highly skilled witch. During this time, the host will remain solidly under the leech’s sway and will preserve its life, even at the cost of the host’s own safety or health. The host may feel tired, groggy, or weak while the soul link takes place, and almost universally will attribute these sensations to a common “jungle fever” or similar mild illness.
The anima leech will complete the soul link within two weeks of first encountering its new host. A finished soul link cannot be unwoven without both killing the anima leech and sucking all of its remaining anima out of the host’s soul. Even then, such a procedure brings high risk of damage, madness, disability, and/or death to the host.
Anima leeches, once linked to their host, are strictly territorial; they may congregate in small groups in the wild, but they will not tolerate any other leech near their host, unless that leech is also linked to a different host. Luckily, if a leech is removed early enough to let the host survive mostly intact, other anima leeches will not seek to link with that particular kinvar, seeing their soul as damaged and undesirable.
As a parasite, the leech will not directly harm its host, but the interlinking of life force between a kinvar and a small “animal” will dilute the kinvar’s inner strength and will decrease or entirely negate a magician’s magical power. A sufficiently strong-willed kinvar, magician or not, may be able to adapt over time to this new system and recover their strength and abilities. Where the anima leech takes barely a score of days to permanently afflict its victim, however, this recovery can take anywhere from six months to two years. A leech will live as long as its host does.
Some few powerful magicians in the Isles have turned this parasitic relationship around and built it into a more mutual symbiosis. In addition to recovering whatever skill or strength they lost when the anima leech fused to their soul, these magicians utilize the extended anima system to further their arcane might. At this point, a leech will be called a familiar--though obviously not all familiars are leeches--and any deleterious effects of the leech will have been negated entirely. The advantages of these magicians and their soul-partners are numerous, but rarely do any non-natives understand the origin of those seemingly useful familiars.
Travelers are strongly advised to not attempt to bond with an anima leech in hopes of becoming one of these rare magicians. Anyone who needs this pamphlet at all, especially this reference section, is not mentally or magically equipped to handle an anima leech, let alone turn a parasite into a symbiote. Do not engage with any small wildlife, and if one seems particularly endearing or alluring, either kill it or leave the area immediately.