Lifeblood

Lifeblood magic is the school of magic that studies how to manipulate or alter beings and living systems, utilizing the magical power within them known as aether essence.

Mages skilled in lifeblood magic are known as *lifebringers*, *lifeblood mages*, *wood mages*, or *healers*.

Also: *Living magic* or *Wood magic*

Lifeblood Spell Types:

*Super Senses* – Heightened or super powerful senses: eyesight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. This includes reactions such as adrenaline, sensations or skin bumps, and systems of the body: respiratory, hormonal, immune, and even psychic energy of the nervous system. Emotions such as anger and loyalty can also be enhanced.

*Wood Magic* – The control of plant growth, including fungi and spore manipulation. Wood mages can grow any plant so long as dust, moisture, and light are present in the area, or is conjured. This magic speeds the process of morphogenesis, causing rampant growth. The behavior of such plants also is manipulated by the wood mage, and so they can restrain a target in vines, pierce them with thorns, grab them with trees, etc.

*Healing* – Restoring, curing, and enhancing living tissue with spells of healing, fortification, resistance, and anti-aging.

*Mutation* – The change of living beings in a variety of ways; a new face, growing limbs, reshaping the body, developing immunities, and gaining new abilities. Mutation includes powers of reactive adaptation. Reactive adaptations are sudden mutations in situations of stress, such as toughened skin, reading new languages, gaining sudden strength or regeneration, or gaining the opposite power as the opponent.

*Transformation* – The complete transformation of a living body into a different being or object. This can refer to shapeshifting, beast changing, and lycanthropy, or other examples: a human transforming into a bird, or an elf into a fish, a dwarf into a rock, or a bird into a leaf. The most skilled lifeblood mages can make many sequential changes into an array of forms, or switch forms several times over.

*Blood Magic* – Powers of the blood used to gain or deploy the magic or attributes of the original blood carrier, or to cure, magically track, create potions or energy fields, to animate, or to use psionic or celestial blood magic for scrying or to glean knowledge of the past, present or future. Also: *Hematomancy*

*Ecological Empathy* – The ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment of nature, with an aetherial connection. This allows the lifeblood mage to physically and mentally merge into such environment, in order to influence, manipulate, or control both living and non-living aspects of it, and to share knowledge and  communicate with nature. This includes empathic transformation, nature communication, weather alteration, natural affinity, and power augmentation in all biomes; forests, deserts, tundras, wetlands, mountains, etc.

*Pherokinesis* – The power to manipulate pheromones. The user has complete control over the pheromones, a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species, of oneself and others, releasing pheromones that induce attraction between subjects, or exuding pheromones strong enough to induce sleep, change or influence emotions, draw crowds, etc. Pheromones may induce a pleasure or may put subjects into a state of high suggestibility, useful for limited mind control. They may also be used to mark territory, repelling others away, or to leave a pheromone path, which others will follow, or to mark targets for homing in more dangerous pheromones. Pheromones will even increase stamina, stimulate the healing process, or cause foes to become disoriented, violent or extremely sick.

*Genesis* – The creation of life of all forms. The life form is created and fertilized, or unfertilized in an egg, and birthed from that egg. Genesis magic includes cloning.

*Essence Magic* – The use of one or another's aether essence for magical enhancement and creation, or for enchanted objects, i.e. weapons and armor, etc.

*Reincarnation* – To fertilize or instill the aether essence of one being into the embryo or egg of another, or to infuse it into another being of any age. The essence reincarnates the original being into a new body, yet with memory of their previous life, and with virtually the same attributes, tendencies for certain skills, etc. To reincarnate properly the aether essence must be instilled in the early stages of life. The farther along in age the host, the less effective the aether essence will be.

\*As wood magic, crop enrichment spells also increase crop yields, by making the plants more robust and productive. Other transmutation spells can also make fertile soils.