Animage Schools and Learning Anigmagic

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Learning Animagic

Animagic, actually a very old term predating modern wizardry, is what a few animages still like to call their craft. It is an extremely demanding craft, much more fundamental than 'prepackaged' wizardry, more scientific than the grunts, wails, and drug-induced hallucinations of the druids, and much more immediate than the ritualized clerical rigmarole.

How does the aspiring student of this day learn Animagic in this time when animages are in disrepute? This is a difficult question. Like wizardry and religion, Animagic can't be picked up simply on the side, at least not easily. Someone must teach it to the novice. Now, fortunately, almost anyone with the required knowledge, cleverness, strength of will, and fortitude can pick up some Animagic from a willing tutor. However, true mastery requires intense discipline and long study (and talent).

If the novice wishes to specialize in one of the standard sub professions, such as Healing, Seeing, Summoning, Elementalism or Mentalism, then he or she need only seek out the infrequent, but certainly present, schools in such and pass the entrance requirements to learn. If one prefers a more liberal approach and a broader background, then one must seek out a local master or a wandering animage who would be willing to pass on knowledge. In fact, for true liberality, one would probably need to seek out several such masters.

Can Animagic be picked up on one's own? Not from scratch, no. The basics, at least, must be taught by someone. Eventually, however, many animages may teach themselves in disciplines they already know. Teaching oneself generally takes at least twice as long as learning from an instructor.

Animage Schools

The most common of all animage schools are the Healer's Guilds. Anyone with the aptitude and the proper attitude can generally gain admittance, although this may vary from school to school. However, it is critical to note that it is extremely seldom that any individual that is less than completely ethical accepted, and most schools have rigorous testing methodologies to assure this. The reason is simple, those who can heal with their mind, can also harm. Further, the discipline of Cell Mastery is generally a closely guarded secret of the Healer's Guilds. Thus, the only practical way to learn this discipline is by studying at a Healer's School, which limits knowledge of this discipline to screened individuals.

Perhaps the next most commonly found animage is the Seer. While there are some seer schools, often times a local seer can teach as much as a big school. Whether a student will be accepted by the school or an individual seer depends completely on what the seer or school 'Sees' in the student and his or her own personal attitudes.

Also somewhat common, although not always reputable are Mediums who can communicate with various spirits, ghosts and animagic beings. Mediums are often viewed suspiciously due to people confusing them with Necromancers. And it's not inconceivable that a Healer/Medium could do Necromancy.

Elementalist schools are sometimes hard to locate, as Elementalists are often overshadowed in their community by the elemental wizards. However, animage Elementalists have the advantage of working with all the elements and not just one, should they choose. Of course there are specialty schools atached to specific elementas as well as general Elementalists. Specialists go by the names Pyromaster, Aeromaster, Aquamaster, Geomaster. A Spirit Elementalist is generally a Medium, Summoner, or a Healer.

Summoners are also a difficult lot to track down. This is largely because the wizardly engineering discipline of Conjury is much safer at high level than animage summoning, even if a bit less versatile. Often times, Summoners work on small-scale efforts, due to the very real danger in powerful summonings. Of course, if you want someone to break a binding or a link, Summoners are generally your only recourse.

Mentalists and their schools go by many different names and will either stick out like a sore thumb in any community or will be noticeably absent. Common names are School of Mental Science, Temple of the Mind, School of Psychology, Psychiatric Clinic, etc., etc. The novice entering these schools had best be prepared to have his or her soul examined down to the core. If the school decides to accept a student, it will only be after thorough mental examination of all motives. Unfortunately, one cannot report that all schools only accept the purist of motives.

Extremely uncommon/forgotten or "Lost Schools" of Animagic include:

Anichemists are not missing or forgotten, it's just that the line between Alchemists and Anichemists is tightly controlled by the Chemist Guild and so very few outside of the chemical industry know about Anichemists.
Voyagers who specialize in out of body travel, plane travel and similar work.
Psychoanimists are individuals combining Healing and Mentalism. Today they are usually sub-specialists of one of the two other specialties.
Time Warriors are all dead, eliminated with the Anilords. These mighty warriors used their mastery of time and space manipulation to literally be multiple places at once, even against as single opponent. They were literally able to surround an opponent with time/space displaced versions of themselves.
Mind-Reavers Don't exist, never have. They were supposedly a specialty invented by the Anilords capable of probing and rewriting people's memories; essentially uber-Mentalists capable of extracting any and all information from one's mind and then rewriting it to their choosing. Again, no evidence has been found to indicate Mind Reavers ever existed outside of propaganda.