Anima

Anima the raw essence of magic. On its own it is mostly inert but interacts uniquely with each of the base elements. It is also the basis and fuel for magic.

Anima and the Elements

Anima is naturally occurring and interacts with each of the elements in a unique way. Scholars believe there may be other interactions with Anima, a lifecycle of sorts, though nobody has as of yet been able to prove any theories.

Earth

Earth generates Anima. From dirt to marble, from coal to crystals. The more pure a material is the more Anima it generates. Even when separated from the earth a stone produces just as much as it would alongside other materials. Gems are some of the most efficient and valuable Anima generators and are used for countless purposes.

Water

Water acts as an insulator of Anima. It struggles to pass through water penetrating only a short way and greatly diminishing its intensity on the other side. Beyond a few hundred feet of an uninterrupted source the amount of Anima that remains is negligible.

Air

Air holds Anima in a neutral state and carries it away. The more Anima has saturated the air the thicker and more cloying it feels, inversely if there is a lack of Anima it feels thin, reedy, and hard to breathe. The futher from a source of Anima the more diffuse it becomes until there is too little to support life.
If there is no anima at all any produced is sucked away as if in a vaccum trying to fill the space.

Fire

Fire destroys Anima. It seems to act as a secondary fuel for fires as sufficent concentrations in the surrounding area it burns out quickly or outright refuses to ignite. Inversely in areas of partiucularly high Anima concentration materials that are not usually flamable become so, such as certain stones and metals. Thankfully shaped magic is unaffected by this phenomenon, though it can sometimes be difficult to channel near particularly large fires.

Metal

Some would confuse metal as falling under the category of earth but this is not the case. It is a distinct material that is merely found within the earth. For a long time it was though to have no effect on Anima at all until it was discovered that when properly utilized it can act as a remarkable conductor for Anima. It is has been found that is can be used for moving, shaping, concentrating, and more. With the correct handling it can even channel Anima into a usable state on its own.

Animas Effects on Creatures

Channeling

Ambient anima can be both intentionally and unknowingly to be shaped it into one of the four usable states, Arcane, Primal, Divine, and Occult. Doing so is known as channeling and it is the basis of magic. There are as many different ways to channel as there are uses for it. Some use their strength of will, others are naturally born with the talent, some make deals or pledges to otherworldly entities to borrow their ability, and it has even been known to grow attuned to the skill with simple focus. Suffice to say that in theory everyone can, in theory, channel in one form or another. Its not uncommon for animals to be seen channeling in the wild either.

Burnout

When a creature draws anima for channeling sooner or later they will hit a natural limit to what they can comfortably use for a given period of time. If they choose to ignore this limitation and continue channeling they run the risk of overexerting themselves which can lead to severe trauma to the body and mind or damaging their ability to channel if not outright burning the ability out of them. In extreme cases channelers have even killed themselves by drawing on too much anima at once.
This natual limit can be extended though. By a slow process of channeling reguarly one can increase the amount of anima they can safely handle in a given period much like increasing ones stamina. The process is a mixture of mental, physical, and metaphyical discipline.

Extended Lifespans

Through repeated channeling of powerful spells one may find themselves aging at a decelterated rate or not at all. Anima is the essence of life itself, and when safe amounts are absorbed regularly through channeling, this property acts as a side effect. There is theorically no limit to how long one can live, though the process only touches natual lifespan; wounds, disease, and illness are not affected.
Some believe this extention of life to be a form of mutation, others simply a pausing of biological decay. In any case this effect only takes hold once one is able to channel extreme levels of anima without harming themself; so only powerful channelers with gain this benifit.

Radiation

When Anima levels in a given area grow dangerously high it becomes radiation. This can occur for a number of reasons, exposed pure stone, lack of plants to absorb excess anima, a large spell is suddenly broken, ect.
Not dangerous in small doses it builds up in the body and if a critical mass is reached the creature affected may begin to experience mutations, rapid and unpredictable changes in their physiology as their body tries to purge the excess. Thankfully all but the most extreme effects can be reversed by help of a profesional.
It is advisable to avoid areas of high radiation without proper protection or treatment.

Technically Anima of all levels produce raditaiton. This is the basis for evolution and adpatation that can be seen in every living thing, even plants. The difference is that adaptation takes many years if not generations and is curated by ones environment while mutation is rapid and uncontrolled.

-Dolarion, the Exile

Maelstrom

While normally weather has no effect on magic when already focused, storms of sufficent size or strength can cause the weavings of spells to unravel or fray by virtue of the amount of anima moving around. When this occurs it is called a maelstroms.
While no more dangerous than a regular storm on the surface they render any magic that reaches more than a short distance to fail if not backfire. Teleportation and and such break down, and even simple spells can become diffcult to control.

Type

Metaphysical, Supernatural

Desolate Ranges

These regions cannot rightly be considered dangerous, they are death. With no anima to speak of creatures cannot beathe, plants cannot grow, magic fails.
The two largest are high in the sky, and out at sea.