Where does this additional animus come from? Ultimately, it would seem, from mana. Animus by its very nature attracts mana. The more animus a thing has the more mana it attracts. Some of the attracted mana is apparently “consumed” by the animus and the animus grows.
In principle, on the physical plane, animus must be contained or it will quickly disperse. Larger concentrations take longer to be dispersed; thus when a plant dies its animus tends to go back into nature rather quickly, breaking back down to other substances and perhaps back into raw mana. When a sentient creature dies, its concentration of mana is large enough that it usually has time to exit the physical plane, usually with the assistance of some higher being (a god for example). In certain cases, discussed later, it may be possible to contain the animus with mana, and the spirit may stay around on the physical plane for a longer period of time.
Mana is the fundamental energy of the universe. It is a fundamental property that is either created by, or intrinsic to, the elemental forces. All of the elements radiate mana into their surroundings. It is this radiated mana that binds the elements together. Some theorists have thus referred to mana as the Binding Element of the Universe, or the Raw Energy of the Elements. Whatever it is, it is usable by those who understand it.
As mentioned earlier, animus attracts mana to itself from its surroundings. The more animus, the more mana collected. While all creatures collect mana, only those specially trained can hold on to it, or do anything with it. Non-magical, and non-magic using creatures, accumulate mana, and store some of it in themselves to sustain their animus. The rest radiate it away either to the environment, or they can channel it to some other being, such as a god, through prayers, sacrifice, and religious rituals.
High emotions tend to cause mana to bubble to the surface of a being more easily. Thus it can either be radiated away faster or given up in religious rites more easily. It is for this reason that priests often like to incite religious fervor and emotion, in order that the worshippers may more easily donate their excess mana to the god. It is also for this reason that certain dark and nefarious creatures and beings thrive on fear and pain, as this can make the mana an individual has, easier to “harvest.” Finally, it is also this reason that causes battlefields to be large regions of mana which consequently causes a larger number of ghosts.
Animus must be contained or it dissolves away. If after death (the separation of Animus from its physical host) the Animus (spirit) can collect enough mana, it can form something similar to a “mana body,” and thus one has ghosts. Similarly, spirits can sometimes collect enough mana to reanimate a dead body and contain the animus within it; however, in this case, the mana is no longer infused within the cells of the body but is just sitting in it with the mana keeping it inside. This reanimation is where one gets revenants, Liches, and other similar creatures. (Note that zombies and other truly “lesser” undead are different, zombies are corpses reanimated by mana, but with no animus huddled inside.) It is because emotion can free up so much mana, that one most often finds ghosts and such creatures being the product great battles or highly traumatic experiences.
Mana Absorption and Transmission:
Unless something else is done with it, excess mana simply dissolves back into nature. Certain magical spells and magical creatures are capable of harnessing this mana before it is absorbed by nature. Strong emotions greatly amplify the rate at which mana is radiated from an individual and make it much easier for the mana to be harnessed by other beings.
Creatures that absorb radiated mana include ghosts, ghasts, wraiths, revenants, the Ban-Sidhe, pooka and many of the other ‘malevolent’ races of fairy. Vampires also steal mana as well as animus, however they steal directly from the individual rather than from the mana radiated by the individual. Liches also may steal mana from individuals, but if so, then it is by standard Necronomical spells. For most such creatures fear is the predominant emotion they prefer to tap for getting mana.
Divine entities may also, and in fact almost always do, tap the mana radiated by individuals. The normal method is through the prayers of their worshippers. Prayers channel all excess mana during the time period of the prayer to the deity. Extremely devout and fervent prayers may actually transmit all of the mana the individual would normally collect in twice the period directly to the deity. In either case, the person ‘dries themselves up’ for that time period; thus by praying in the presence of a mana absorbing creature, one can prevent them from absorbing mana (it is be rerouted to the deity). It also tends to make the creature really mad.
Finally, the mere presence of a deific individual (normally a saint, etc.) absorbs radiated mana. Physically present deities automatically (unless they will it otherwise) absorb much of the radiated mana from all creatures who view the deity, regardless of whether they are worshippers.
Chapter 55
Tom fell like a rock. Out of the sky and into the cold water. Steam and vapor hissed around him as he felt his body submerge under the waves. He didn’t think he’d ever felt anything that felt so good. His massive body continued to sink slowly, the water undulating over his flesh, no longer flame now. He slowed his descent with his wings, coming to a halt about thirty or forty feet below the surface.
Tom sighed in contentment. Not only did he actually feel the cool caress of the waves on his body, they seemed to sooth his mind as well. He couldn’t describe how good it felt to be back in his own body again. To no longer be cramped in the Edwyrd form, as he had been for more the last few days. He could finally just relax all the muscles in his body and soak. Soak like in a soothing bath, something he hadn’t had in way, way too long.
His eyes closed, he just floated, heedless of all but the gentle water around him. Cool, no more flame. He’d released the flame as he hit the water. That too felt good. At first, when he’d allowed himself to become one with the flame, it hadn’t been taxing at all. Soon however, it had started to feel rather draining. Launching the all-out attack on the ship had really felt draining. He didn’t feel exhausted though, just worn.
Actually, he also felt rather pleased. He hadn’t been sure he could maintain both the Edwyrd form and do anything demonic. It had been for that very reason that he hadn’t done anything against the pirates for a long time. He was afraid if he tried anything, he’d pop back into his true form. Lose his true form, he corrected himself mentally, the Edwyrd form was his original form. However, when that wizard had hit him with the lightning bolt...
That had hurt. Not as much as the original formation of his body, no, nothing was that bad, but certainly it had hurt more than anything since, including the dragon. Part of that may have been due to Edwyrd’s intrinsically flimsy shape, even so, it had hurt. He had lost the Edwyrd shape then. He’d transformed back into the demon form during the attack. That was what had destroyed his clothes. He’d reverted as quickly as he could, he hoped no one had noticed.
However, the lightning had pissed him off. He’d decided to try something, anything. Allowing himself to become one with the flame, was something he’d tried before when he was plane shifting, this time he just carried it all the way through to its logical conclusion. The form had come easily enough, as had the ability to stretch himself to attack the other ship. Unfortunately, the wizard had proved more powerful than he’d thought.