“Anima” is a term that appears often within the game. But what exactly does it mean? Anima is used as an energy source for Spells, but is also sometimes used to refer to a person’s life essence or soul. Understanding the meaning and origin of this word will make this concept easier to grasp.
[ Added 05/18/21 ]
Animism 〜 The Origin of Anima
Long before the phenomenon of Spells was brought about by Quells, people believed that Spirits existed in all aspects of nature. These “Spirits” are what came to be known as “Anima”, and are thought to manifest in flora, fauna, and rocks, the soil of mountains and rivers, lightning and the weather, and astronomical phenomena such as comets. This primitive belief of Animism naturally permeated the culture as Humans built their civilization. The life and death of living things, natural disasters and supernatural occurrences were all said to be influenced by the Spirits. They were believed to hold great power, enough that they could make almost anything happen. All this was beyond the comprehension of Humans, who regarded these Spirits with awe and mystery.
When the first Quell was discovered in Weissland and used to cast a “Spell”, the people of that time had never seen anything like it and believed the effects were caused by the power of the Spirits. Afterwards, a set of theories were created and Spell usage spread throughout the world. The energy powering these Spells is called “Anima”, but still has its roots in Animism. In the era when the game takes place, beliefs about the will of the Spirits have changed to Anima being used as Spell energy. However, the “souls” of people are still considered to be a separate aspect of Anima, suggesting that Animism still lives on at the root of this society.
The concept of “evil Anima” is a remnant of Animism. Anima in this case refers to a person’s soul.
Spell Font 〜 Anima as Energy
Anima exists in natural objects and its various forms can be controlled to create the phenomenon known as “Spells”. During the game, various types of Anima from Symbol Theory are used, such as Tree and Stone, but Anima energy actually isn’t classified into different types. Despite being used as an energy source, Anima in its natural state can’t be used for Spells. An entity such as a person must control Anima toward a specific purpose for Spells to occur. The exceptions to this are living beings (Monsters) that absorb Anima from Megaliths and Quells and are partly forced to use Spell-like abilities. Quells and the like are artifacts, however, so Monsters have instinctively learned to draw Anima and manifest it into Spells. Ordinary plants and animals live normal lives and don’t willfully cast Spells.
Anima is not an infinite resource. An object is for all intents and purposes destroyed if its Anima is depleted through casting Spells and the like. For living organisms such as humans and plants, Anima is the life force powering both the body and the mind. If this Anima is lost, mental faculties come to a halt and the body falls into a comatose state.
Tools (natural objects) break and turn into “Chips” when their Anima is depleted.
