Animage

Animages are individuals who use their minds to manipulate their own personal animus. Using their animus, they can manipulate mana, and hence the elements and the physical world around them. 
For all practical purposes, animages are individuals who simply need concentrate in the proper manner to achieve magic or spell-like effects. Consequently, the manipulations of animages are far more basic and simplistic than clerics or wizards, yet also much more flexible. Using their power in a building-block manner, animages can achieve almost any effect imaginable. The cost and difficulty, however, is often higher than that for wizards or clerics to do the same thing.
People actually calling themselves animages are actually relatively rare. This does not, however, imply that there are not very many animages. While there are probably both more clerics and wizards than animages, animages are not as uncommon as the general populace believes. The reason is not exactly that animages are in hiding, although in some regions this is the case. The real reason is that animages often specialize in particular disciplines and the most common of these specializations have names associated with them that many people mistake as a profession.
This confusion is not helped by the fact that certain animage specialization groups have even set up schools, as if they were a separate profession. In fact, it is these schools that really cause confusion. While it is not that uncommon to find a school devoted to a particular specialization, a pure animage school, which goes by such a name is almost completely unheard of. Most animages, outside a few select specializations, are either taught on a one-to-one basis by a single master, or in a few rare cases, semi-self-taught. The various specializations as well as the learning structure of animages are discussed in the Animage School section.
Part of the low profile of animages is due to the fact that with the possible exception of the hermetic druids, the animage is probably the least understood of all professions. The majority of other mana-wielding professions hold animages at some level of suspicion. This suspicion is usually transmitted down to the laymen as well. The reason for this is that most other mana wielders do not understand exactly what animages do or how they manipulate mana. Among the non-magical population, the Animages position is looked upon suspiciously due to trepidation and fear. The trepidation and fear comes from the stereotype that all animages are mind readers and telepaths. This is not actually true.
With the exception of hermetic druids, other mana wielders are, by and large, spell casters. In other words, they use rituals, pronouncements, incantations, etc. as well-defined vehicles of mana transport. Animages, on the other hand, do nothing of the sort. What animages do is to manipulate mana using their own personal animus. In other words, they bypass the traditional frameworks and achieve spell-like effects solely by force of concentration and will.
Actually, this is a slight over simplification. In actual point of fact, an animage cannot simply will something to happen; rather he or she must manipulate his or her animus in such a way as to cause mana to behave in the desired manner. While it may look very easy and straightforward, it is, in fact, a much more difficult, albeit more direct, method of using mana. Learning to manipulate animus, and hence mana, is something that takes many years of intense study, practice, and literal 'soul searching.' Hence, an animage's ability to achieve desired spell-like effects is measured in terms of skill-like abilities. These animage skills are referred to as Disciplines.
== Notable Animages ==
* Maelen Serenanus
* Edwyrd
== Known Animagic Disciplines ==
Number	Discipline 	Description
1 	Aeromastery 	Aeromastery is the discipline of manipulating the element of Air. Thus, Aeromastery involves the manipulation of the air and gases. Winds, vacuum, breathing, gases and clouds all lie within its realm. Great masters of the air can summon huge winds and tornadoes, and combined with Aquamastery and Electromastery great storms can be summoned. Aeromasters can also affect the local atmosphere to disperse or induce poison gases and to create vacuums. Aeromastery combined with body mastery can allow an individual to become lighter than air and to rise above the clouds in flight
2 	Animastery 	Animastery is the direct manipulation of animus. This discipline allows the user directly to manipulate animus in much the same way one might manipulate an element.
3 	Aquamastery 	Aquamastery is the discipline of controlling liquids. All liquids can be controlled, in a manner similar to that of gases in Aeromastery
4 	Astramastery 	Astramastery is actually a slightly misleading term. On first examination, it might appear to solely be the study of the Astral Plane, but in reality, it is a whole lot more. Actually, Astramastery is a catch-all category for skills relating to out-of-body travel. As such, it often incorporates tidbits from other disciplines. This is seen in the prerequisites for some of the effects.
It should also be noted that Astral and out-of-body travel for animages is much more primitive yet more flexible than for most other professions. Animages project their spirits from their bodies (forming a silver cord in the process) and then must form a 'spirit' or Anima Body to hold their animus together. At this point, they move around freely just as any out-of-body individual within the Planes of Man. If they wish to then travel to the Astral Plane they must create an Astral Tunnel.
5 	Body Mastery 	Body Mastery is the study and understanding of how to control and assist the functions of one's own body. Originally, this discipline was used for manipulating the practitioner's own body, but knowledge of one's own body can be extremely useful when working with others', especially for healing. Thus, this discipline can also be used on others at higher skill levels. For use on others, Link Mastery is usually required.
6 	Cell Mastery 	Cell Mastery is the study of living cells. It is also the study of flesh and the body. Cell Mastery can be used to study and examine the cell structure and the interrelations of cells within the body. If Link Mastery is known and a link established to a target, any of these effects can be used on the target of the link.
7 	Clairomastery 	Clairomastery is the study of extending one's senses beyond the normal. In its simplest form, it allows for extended mundane senses. At high skill levels, the clairomaster can see into other realms and places, and used with Prescience Mastery and Temporamastery it can be used to see through the very veils of time.
8 	Electromastery 	Electromastery is a specialized study of the element of Fire. Electricity is actually an aspect of Fire, but its use has been studied intently and has actually become a separate discipline from Pyromastery.
9 	Geomastery 	Geomastery is the study of the manipulation of the Element of Earth. In addition to soil, minerals, and other things of the earth, gravity is also under the jurisdiction of Geomastery.
10 	Kinetomastery 	Kinetomastery is the study of motion at a distance. It is the study of all things involving movement, including that which is usually called telekinesis or psychokinesis.
11 	Link Mastery 	Link Mastery is the study of animus and mana links. Link Mastery is fundamental to many animage disciplines, as it is that which allows an animage to contact another being for healing, mind reading or any number of other activities. While the specific effects of Link Mastery are not spectacular, they are critical in the function of most major animage disciplines.
In the case of living beings, these links are animus or mana cords between the individuals. In the case of objects, small amounts of animus or mana are attached to the object (see Object Mastery) and a link is then formed. Animage mana links are identical to the links used by wizards in bindings and object links. Animus links are usually the sorts of links used by clerics, such as in the Wedding Ceremony. The silver cord seen by out-of-body travelers is an example of a very strong animus link.
12 	Mana Mastery 	Mana Mastery is similar to Animastery in that it is the study of the manipulation of true mana. This discipline deals with the channeling and controlling of mana in its raw form.
13 	Multimastery 	Multimastery is a discipline unlike all the others. For very experienced animages, it is perhaps the most useful discipline there is, opening a whole new realm of possibilities. For less experienced animages, however, it can be of limited use in the game of survival.
Multimastery is the science of combing multiple disciplines into a single effect. The use of Multimastery allows a practitioner to produce a single effect that draws on parts of multiple disciplines that the user already knows. The limits of Multimastery are few and given below, the possibilities limited only by the animage's cleverness and imagination, and willpower.
14 	Object Mastery 	Object Mastery is the science of attaching mana and animus to inanimate objects. It is actually a rather tricky discipline since inanimate objects have no animus and usually little mana. In general, this task is made easier if the objects to undergo the effects of this discipline are of the finest construction possible.
15 	Prescience Mastery 	Prescience Mastery is the study of the unknown. It is an outgrowth of Clairomastery focusing on seeing into other places and events unknown to the user.
16 	Pyromastery 	Pyromastery is the study of the element of Fire in its aspects of fire, light, and heat.
17 	Spatiomastery 	Spatiomastery is the study of space and the various dimensions. In its simplest form, it allows the user to have a very good sense of direction. At higher levels the user can literally slip through space in ways beyond those of normal translational motion by creating folds in the fabric of reality.
18 	Summastery 	Summastery is the discipline of summoning creatures or beings from afar. It usually requires some form of Link
19 	Telemastery 	Perhaps the most well-known and feared of all disciplines by outsiders, Telemastery is the science of the mind. It is the discipline that allows skilled animages to read the very minds of other individuals.
20 	Temporamastery 	Temporamastery is the manipulation of time and an individual's perception of time. Actually, since time itself is extremely hard to manipulate, it is often the perception that is easier to affect. It is also a hard discipline to learn, as very few masters still exist. Only the Time Warriors were ever true masters and they seem to have all died. Thus, learning this skill can be difficult.
21 	This discipline does not exist. Despite rumors, there is no 21stdiscipline, and if it did exist it would most likely be illegal wherever you are reading this. So don't worry about it.	This discipline does not exist. There is no such discipline. The rumors are completely unfounded and made up by students in their dorms. Such a discipline is simply not physically possible for the mind of an animage to perform. Even if it did exist, it is currently illegal in almost every country known. Such a discipline would also be a gross violation of the Animage Code of Ethics.
If such a discipline existed, which it doesn't, it would be almost impossible to learn. No individual could learn it on his or her own. For another animage to teach such a discipline is generally considered a capital crime in many countries. Since this discipline doesn't exist, finding an instructor is next to impossible, even illegally, since, obviously, no one knows it.
Theoretically speaking of course, if such a discipline could be learned (which it cannot, since it doesn't actually exist) it would require an extreme proficiency in Telemastery and Link Master to even begin for this discipline to make any sense. Further, for each additional level, an additional SL in both Telemastery and Link Mastery (up to the maximum listed effect plus 5) would be necessary.
Category:Magic