Opinion About Anima

Anima — the energy that fuels Spells.
Whatever has Anima tends to change in nature.
Anima in Humans is not only used for Spells,
But plays a huge role in determining the individual characters of a person.
Here we’ll examine Anima in both Humans and inanimate objects,
taking a closer look at how Anima affects Spells.

[ Added 05/18/21 ]

Spiritual Anima

♦ Influence on Human Daily Life

In the game, there are incidents where Quells cause a person’s Anima to run wild, which destroys the body and turns them into Monsters. However, a particularly interesting case is when Misty (the Egg) made the residents of North Gate to fall into a coma. This happened because the Egg slowly drained the residents of their Anima to the point where they fell unconscious. In this case, the body still lives if supplied with nourishment, but coming out of the coma is difficult.

For Humans, Anima is spiritual energy that governs the soul and mental faculties. In the era when the game takes place, the people’s concept of Anima is sophisticated enough where they consider it a representation of individual “beings” and the soul. They also believe that Anima of the deceased leaves the body and returns to nature. It seems people nearby can sense the moment that Anima leaves the body. The released energy resonates with the Anima of others nearby.

Anima Within Inanimate Objects

♦ Energy That Forms Materials

Inanimate objects and materials such as rocks, fire, and water are also thought to have Anima. Unrelated to the beliefs of Animism, Anima can be gathered from inanimate objects and used as energy for Spells.

As an example, stone can be used as a raw material to create a Tool, then the Anima from that Tool can be used to cast Spells until it eventually breaks (and turns into Chips). The same applies to parts from living things, such as bone or wood fragments. For inanimate objects, losing Anima means that the object no longer has the ability to retain its shape. Chips still have a little Anima remaining within and are used to make Tools, but the complete loss of Anima is still apparent and weakens the final product.

With Humans, the body doesn’t turn into Chips when Anima is separated, but decays naturally. This is also the case for plants and animals. Life functions cease, but it is thought that energy still remains within the body materials. Tools made from bone or timber draw upon this residual energy, which is also “Anima”.

■ Metal and Anima

As Quell research progressed, it was discovered that metal could negate the effect of Spells. Metal blocks Anima resonance and the conversion of that energy to Spells, but how and why this happens is unknown.

Because metal resisted Anima, some people grew to hate it. Metal goods and their manufacturing methods disappeared with the rise of Tool Culture. However, this also gave rise to customs involving the use of metal. To protect the dead from being possessed by evil Anima and transformed into Monsters, a metal plate etched with a cross (steel is considered to be the best for this purpose) is placed in the coffin before burial.

Of all the metals, only gold and silver do not have this Anima resisting property. Some Quells have even been created using gold and silver. Both are considered valuable metals even in this world setting and are mainly used for ornamentations. Tools with gold and silver actually seem to amplify the effects of Anima.

The Limits of Spells

♦ Anima and Spell Power (Fig. 1)

People draw on their own Anima or Anima from Tools as an energy source for casting Spells. Spell power increases as more energy is drawn out, but one would have to resonate with all that energy and be able to control it. Anima must also be converted into a Spell without leaving behind any excess energy.

Each person has a different amount of Anima. If an individual’s Anima isn’t large enough to at least draw upon Anima in natural objects, then he or she can’t cast Spells. Basically, the larger the Caster’s Anima, the more Anima they can resonate with, which also increases the amount of Anima they can draw upon for Spells. However, this doesn’t instantly lead to an increase in Spell power. The same basic steps still need to be carried out efficiently: Focus to resonate with Anima, draw upon that Anima, then Control it towards a Spell effect.

Variance in Spell power is thought to occur because an individual’s weak Anima results in a weak Spell effect or because poor spell casting techniques don’t produce good results. Inefficient casting of Spells also significantly increases mental exhaustion. Take for example a Caster who resonates with 10 Anima, draws on 5 of those, then only uses 2 Anima to cast a Spell. This produces the same result as only drawing upon 2 Anima in the first place, but drawing the excess energy causes extreme mental strain for the Caster. Talented Spell Casters can efficiently draw upon Anima and still produce complex Spells. This is because talent and training with casting Spells has a large impact regardless of the individual Caster’s Anima.

New Anima

♦ The Nature of Unclassified Anima

Of the Anima Symbols, “Tone” is a relatively recent addition from the new era. The method of perceiving Tone Anima is very close to Animism itself. The mysterious sensation of sound and music are channeled as Anima for Spell energy. Also, some unclassified Quells appearing in the game, such as < Kris Knife> and < Eternity Staff>, actually contain otherworldly “Star Anima”. The place where Ginny Knights and company battle the “Egg” is a Megalith filled with Star Anima. The divine cave Megalith underneath the quarry where the Edelritters were created is also thought to contain Star Anima.

A new set of theories based on Animism were created to explain how this energy was formed into new Anima. Anima that was classified as simply Stone, Tree, etc. was thought to actually contain different parts or perhaps even more subdivisions. Anima might also be the same type of energy, without different classifications, that could move freely in any direction. Regardless, the people of Sandail will continue believing that Spells = Anima, with an ever evolving culture progressing far after the game’s events.

Scorpion Assassins 〜 Anima Blind Spot

In this world, members of the assassination group “The Scorpions” have been able to kill their target even in the middle of a crowd. The end result doesn’t go unnoticed, of course. But how is such a feat possible?

People unconsciously perceive the Anima of other people and become aware of their existence. This is a sensory phenomenon that happens as a reaction between Anima users. The Scorpions suppress this Anima resonance, which intercepts the mental senses of people around them.

As for being seen physically… The image of a scorpion is projected in the viewer’s eyes, but the assassin still can’t be consciously perceived. Because the Scorpions’ Anima doesn’t resonate, people can’t sense their presence. This makes the Scorpions virtually undetectable unless one is consciously alert.

The technique for suppressing one’s Anima resonance can’t be obtained through normal training. The Scorpions are always on the brink of death as part of their extreme training to learn this art.

■■■

People unconsciously resonate with Anima and become aware of the presence of other people before seeing them visually. The Scorpions control their Anima resonance to avoid detection. It’s difficult to sense an individual in a crowd since their signal gets scattered among the others, which makes this the Scorpions’ preferred working environment. Scorpions are undetectable, even in plain sight of others, because their Anima can’t be sensed.