Anima

Anima is the true name of the magical force that binds the land of Altairus together and gives its denizens the gifts of sentience and magical powers. It doesn’t show itself on Earth save for those who are sensitive to its presence, mainly young children, animals, and artists. After the Earth portals closed, it didn’t show itself on Earth at all.

The Sigil of Anima

The Sigil of Anima consists of a six-pointed pentagram with a lightning bolt in the center. The six points on the pentagram represent the six elements of Anima, while the lightning bolt represents the spark of life that Anima affords all of its children in Altairus.

The Anima Sigil may be surrounded by another border containing the symbols of each of the six elements, much like the one shown here. The elements are always put in the same places; the symbols start with Air at the top, and going clockwise from there you have the symbols for Water, Dark, Earth, Fire, and Light. The elements are placed so that the elements that represent opposing aspects of Anima (two sides of the same coin, so to speak) are placed directly opposite from each other.

The Royal Beasts

Occasionally, one might find the Sigil of Anima depicted with a white unicorn and a black dragon flanking its sides. These are the royal beasts; two magical beasts that are closely associated with Altairus and serve as symbolic protectors of Anima. The unicorn on the left protects the Seelie (Yang) elements, while the dragon protects the Unseelie (Yin) elements. Together, they represent the unity and mutual protection of beings all across Altairus. This is the symbol that is present at the top of every chapter in the paperback versions of the books.

Manifestation

While all Anima is made of the same substance, different aspects of Anima show more prominently in different parts of the world. These aspects have been separated into six elements, each representing a crucial piece of Altairus.

The Elements

Air

The Air element sits at the top of the Anima sigil and is represented by a swirly-topped cloud and associated with the colors sky blue and cyan. Air magic specializes in weather control and gives its practitioners the power of flight.

Water

The Water element is associated with the colors indigo and emerald green, and it is represented by three water droplets. Water magic not only gives the gift of underwater breath and swift swimming, but it can also manipulate the tides, heal the sick or wounded through healing springs, and command the creatures of the deep.

Earth

The Earth element is represented by a tree with five branches, representing Ygdrassil, the world tree that resides in the Emerald Woodland. It is associated with the colors green and brown, and gifts its practitioners with super strength, as well as many powerful healing spells (perhaps more than any other element), the ability to control, bless, and curse the flora and fauna of the land, and even the power of metamorphosis.

Fire

The Fire element is represented by a blazing flame and is associated with the colors red and orange. Faeries and other elementals associated with Fire enjoy immunity to freezing and ice magic. In addition to pyromancy, practitioners can control the temperature of an area and even use fire to burn away disease (a potent healing spell).

Light

The Light element is associated with the colors white and gold and is represented by a compass-rose shaped sun. Altairians of the Light element are unparalleled in their powers of persuasion and ability to "enlighten" opponents and turn them to their side. This power can be used for good or evil purposes. Aside from this, they can heal allies using light and form blades and shields from beams of light.

Dark

The Dark element is associated with the colors purple and black and is represented by a crescent moon turned on its side. Practitioners of Dark magic are skilled in the ability to manipulate shadows and take command of the creatures of the night. They also possess the powers of telepathy, divination, and a limited form of necromancy in which they control the actions of dead bodies like puppets. Again, these powers can be used for good or evil purposes.

Seelie vs. Unseelie Magic

Air, Fire, and Light are considered Seelie energies, while Earth, Water, and Dark are considered Unseelie energies. Seelie magic draws its power from the sun and is strongest around the Summer Solstice when the day is at its longest. In contrast, Unseelie magic draws its power from the moon and is strongest around the Winter Solstice when the night is at its longest.

Seelie and Unseelie energies are not just affected by the time of year, but the time of day. Seelie magic tends to peak around midday, while Unseelie magic peaks at midnight. The exception to this is in the event of an eclipse; for the time a solar or lunar eclipse is present, the powers of the two energies invert. This means that during a solar eclipse, Unseelie magic is dominant, while during a lunar eclipse, Seelie magic dominates. There are spells that can force a solar or lunar eclipse to occur, and in Altairus, both kinds of eclipses occur with equal frequency. This is much unlike on Earth, where lunar eclipses are much more frequent than solar eclipses.

Many faeries take issue with the two terms because they were coined by the humans and, in some Altairians’ eyes, separate an all-encompassing force into two dualistic forces when Anima is in fact a singular force and the individual elements are simply different aspects of that force, some of which are different sides of the same coin. Unseelie faeries in particular take issue with being labeled with a term that means “unblessed” or “cursed” simply because the humans don’t like wintertime.

Undifferentiated Anima

Undifferentiated Anima is Anima that is not associated with a single element but instead combines all of the elements together. It tends to be white with a rainbow aura when it is used. Alternatively, it might take the form of a rainbow with six colors (red, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple; representing the six elements) that emits multicolored sparkles as it channels. Spells in this category are almost exclusively spells against wendigoes, as it tends to have the same effect as a nuclear bomb on them, completely shredding them apart if they so much as get close to it. The Wendigo Banishing Incantation is the Undifferentiated Anima spell used to strip wendigoes of their power and send them back to the Flipside.

Undifferentiated Anima gains its power from the unity of all elements in Anima. In other words, it is literally powered by friendship. It also tends to gain power from music, likely because music supports unity. This is why wendigoes find both Undifferentiated Anima and music so repulsive; the concept of unity is antithetical to wendigoes' existence, and thus harms them whenever they come near it.

As an added side effect, Undifferentiated Anima tends to elevate the mood of both the caster and the recipient. It is not clear why this is, but Undifferentiated Anima being fuelled by friendship and unity is most likely a major part of the reason. The intensity tends to depend on how strong the spell was; stronger spells elevate mood most profoundly, with Heaven's Transformation begetting the greatest elevation of all.

Localization

Different elements of Anima are more present in certain locations than in others. Normally, where these elements are strongest is pretty intuitive; Water Anima is most abundant near the bodies of water, Air Anima is associated with floating islands and mountains, etc. Some, however, are less intuitive; tropical rainforests and deserts tend to be associated with the Fire element, for example. The different lands of Altairus are almost always associated with more than one element, with one or more elements being stronger in one particular zone.

The Sigil of Anima Depicted With the Royal Beasts

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The Elements (Clockwise from Top)

1. Air
2. Water
3. Darkness
4. Earth
5. Fire
6. Light

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Seelie Magic (Air, Fire, Light)

• Powered by the sun
• Strongest during midday, summer
• Gain strength during a lunar eclipse
• The "Yang" Elements

Unseelie Magic (Water, Earth, Darkness)

• Powered by the moon
• Strongest during midnight, winter
• Gain strength during a solar eclipse
• The "Yin" Elements

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Undifferentiated Anima

• Composed of all elements
• Glows white with a spectral aura
• Powered by connection and unity (i.e. friendship)
• Used for wendigo-countering spells
• Associated with fenghuangs