Alivina

The Animus Telum

• Expertise

  Purity/Impurity
  Entropy Mastery
  Martial Combat
  Balefire Mastery
  Reanimation

• The Animus Telum

  The Animus Telums are what separates the assassins in the Noctus Ingredi from other assassins. Disguised as seven ordinary pieces of jewelry - crown, amulet, earrings, ring, gauntlet, mask, and cloak - the Animus Telums are magical artifacts once created by a powerful Necromancer hundreds of years ago to help him ascend himself into a state of Godhood and bring forth an Age of Death to the mortal kind. When the Necromancer was defeated, his eternal weapons were lost in time until they were recovered by a lone assassin. This assassin saw purpose from these pieces of jewelry and thus, created the Noctus Ingredi.
  
  The Animus Telums draw their power from the essence of a soul known as life-force. They extract the life-force directly from the host they are bound to, draining them of years to their life, energy, and overall physical strength. To counteract this, the host must offer the Animus Telum the soul of another, living or dead, to quench its never-ending hunger, but only temporarily. As the essence courses through the host's body, it mends the scars on their soul inflicted by the Animus Telum as well as return some of the years that they had lost. The more souls the Animus Telum devours, the stronger the host's soul becomes. This could extend their lives tenfold, mend physical wounds quicker, and even heighten their senses and reflexes. In addition, the host may tap into the Animus Telum's power and wield it's raw, unstable energy as they command.
  
  This however, does not come without consequence. For each time the Animus Telum is tapped, it corrupts the host's soul. As dark magic seeps into their core, black markings resembling decayed flesh sprouts along their body near the location where the Animus Telum resides. The more the host taps into the power, the more the artifact corrupts their soul, tainting it with its dark magic and asserting its dominance over the much weaker entity. Meanwhile, the tattoos would stretch and grow like vines in the earth. If the tattoos were to cover the host's body entirely, it signifies that the Animus Telum has fully corrupted their soul and has gained control over their body. From that point on, the host is nothing more than a vessel; a puppet whose strings are pulled by the Animus Telum until the shell is slain by a mortal wound. To prevent this from happening, the Noctus Ingredi instilled rules to allow a successor to inherit their Master's Animus Telum, so long as they prove to be their superior in combat and can kill their Master before they are fully corrupted.
  
  There are seven Animus Telums, each possessing a unique power that enabled the Necromancer to become a God:
  
  The Crown - The ability to manipulate and influence others mentally
  
  The Mask - The ability to detect deception and to deceive others (A living lie detector and an undetectable liar)
  
  The Earrings - The ability to sense into the future, if only slightly
  
  The Ring - The ability to turn anything (inanimate) into deadly poison just by touching
  
  The Gauntlet - The ability to manipulate and augment objects with shadowy energy
  
  The Cloak - The ability to resist magical properties and spells
  
  The Amulet - The Heart of the Necromancer; a fragment of the Necromancer's power that develops and grows the more its corruption spreads.

• The Heart of the Necromancer

  The Heart of the Necromancer - the amulet - is unlike any other Animus Telum and was created for one purpose and one purpose only; to ensure that his soul remains unharmed and intact. When the Necromancer created the first six artifacts, he did not count on them lashing out against the soul of their host. He feared that if he were to bind himself to all six Animus Telums at once, they would tear his soul apart, killing him instantaneously. In order for himself to safely wear the artifacts, he would need to find another source to provide them the souls they need. Thus, he created the amulet; the Soul Collector.
  
  Where the six Animus Telums held no allegiances to their host and only sought power, the amulet was crafted to be completely subservient to its creator and master, the Necromancer. Its purpose was to collect and store the soul of its victim and not just the essence. By doing so, it would become a feeding pot for the other Animus Telums. The amulet was the Necromancer's prize and the bond created was so close, that the amulet was imbued with the Necromancer's powers. The amulet not only shared its creator's power, but his ideals and goals. When the Necromancer was finally defeated and the Animus Telums fell into the hands of the Noctus Ingredi, the amulet refused to choose a host unworthy for its cause. Where the other six wanted killers, the amulet longed for something more - a host who was pure of heart, but susceptible to corruption. Only by turning a silver heart black, could the amulet awaken the power of the Necromancer and finish its master's goal of bringing forth the Age of the Dead. So it rested.
  
  Hundreds of years of being in stasis has left the amulet weak and vulnerable. Where before, it had the strength to resist the temptation of its host's soul, now it has been consumed by its own hunger.

• The Bearer of Souls

  Name: The Bearer of Souls
  
  Form: Amulet
  
  Personality: The bond between the amulet and its new mistress is different than the bond it had with its creator. The amulet does not view the mortal girl as its superior, but rather a pawn to be manipulated and toyed with. Unlike the Necromancer whose soul had been corrupted prior to their union, the girl's soul was pure and innocent. She resisted the amulet's calling for death and nearly died herself as a result. From the moment the two had synced, the amulet knew who was in control. It had to break her, tear her will down until there was nothing left and rebuild her into something that was inhuman and monstrous. It had to take away her life by turning those closest to her against her, making her think that it was her against the world, just so she would begin to trust in its guidance and power. It had to kill the girl pure of heart and awaken the Necromancer within; the Bearer of Souls.
  
  Appearance: A long, jagged emerald crystal hanging from the roof of a minuet skull, dangles from a pristine silver chain. When around the living the crystal emits a dull glow, but when it is hungry the glow is more vibrant and pulsating.
  
  Purpose: To collect and store souls and fulfill its creator's will.
  
  Innate Abilities:
  
  Life Span: This tends to fluctuate depending on the state of the amulet. If the amulet is properly fed on a regular basis, the life-force from the souls would mend the scars on her own and even strengthen it. This can improve her health, give her longevity, and even faster regeneration (a wound that takes a month to heal could heal in a week). But if the amulet is neglected and it is forced to feed on Alivina's soul, it could make her sick, weak, shorten her life expectancy, or even outright kill her. Since Alivina's morals has conflicted with her needs, she has been unwilling to kill frequently and so she is more in the negative end of the continuum.
  
  Enhanced Awareness: Because the amulet NEEDS a host to feed it and fulfill its agenda, the amulet is naturally in tune with her surroundings. It warns her of warns her of imminent danger or if something appears wrong. It may even lash out defensively if Alivina's own reflexes were unable to guard herself quick enough. These warnings are subtle, like a small vibration floating with a cool breeze.
  
  Soul Imprints: The amulet functions differently than the other Animus Telums in the sense that the tattoos it produces aren't a sign of the artifact's corruption. Instead, the tattoos sprout whenever a soul is consumed and trapped by the amulet. This leaves traces of the soul's essence, or life-force, imprinted on her flesh that retains magical properties for her to use at her disposal. Each imprint is unique, just as each soul absorbed is unique, and will branch off another to create a more tribal-looking tattoo. The more souls she absorbs, the more her body is covered in tattoos, originating near the amulet hanging at her chest. Each imprint has enough energy to fuel one spell from the trapped soul it identifies. When that spell is cast, the soul returns to the Animus Telum where it will recharge.
  
  Memories: Because the amulet absorbs the entirety of the soul it captures and leaves its imprint on Alivina, the girl obtains pieces of the soul's memories and life. Sometimes she may experience hallucinations, believing that she is one of the souls that she had captured rather than herself. Other times she may have dreams or nightmares of a distant memory belonging to the soul. The extremity of this side-effects varies pertaining to the number of souls she has trapped; the greater the number, the more it begins to envelop her. Even when she is not experiencing the memories, traces of the soul's identity may blend into her personality, perhaps causing her to explode in a fit of anger despite usually being quiet and reserved.

• Necromancy

  Alivina's Necromantic powers are tied in with the amulet just like all its other powers. After being in stasis for hundreds of years, the amulet became weak and empty. All those years of not feeding; not being bound to a soul, has starved it of its strength and potential. Thus, when Alivina put the amulet on, forever sealing her soul to its will, it was only natural that the amulet's power would return in time. In for the amulet to regain all its might, it will need to feed on a number of souls. This feat is measured by stages, stage one being an assortment of spells at its most basic level and stage ten being a measure of power equal to the amulet's creator, the Necromancer, Macero.
  
  Alivina's Current Stage: Four
  
  Stage 1: Begins at the moment of awakening.
  
  Soul Absorption: The ability to steal and consume souls of others. This is most commonly performed after the victim has been killed. After death, the soul lingers within the body for only a few moments before it slips from the empty shell's orifices and floats in the air. By this point, the soul decides whether it chooses to ascend the Heavens or to wander the mortal realm. The soul must be absorbed before a decision is made and when the soul is in a dazed state.
  
  Stage 2: Begins after the first blood is shed and the first soul is absorbed.
  
  Soul Conjuration: By tapping into the essence of the imprints on her body, Alivina can release the trapped soul from within the amulet for a short period of time. Whether it's to fight on her behalf or simply to act as a companion, the soul will materialize in the mortal realm and linger near its Mistress. These lost souls retain no memories of their past life as their memories reside within the essence in the soul imprint. They do, however, retain certain characteristics or traits they held in life.
  
  Soul Manipulation: When a soul resides within the living world, their being is made of a unique form of energy known as Nectoplasm. This energy can be molded and manipulated by Alivina to take the shape of objects or to be used as an energized projectile in he midst of combat. Upon using this spell, Alivina relieves the soul of its strength and causes it to return to the Animus Telum where it will recharge.
  
  Stage 3:
  
  Curse Inducement: The ability to utilize the nectoplasm from a lingering soul as a source of negative energy to inflict misfortune, torture, illness, physical defects, as well as other affects on a target. These affects are only temporary and likely do not possess the ability to kill.
  
  Death Sense: A passive awareness of the dead within the surrounding area. This could be lost souls who wander the mortal realm or the empty corpses resting beneath the earth's surface. She is able to detect and identify the dead by seeing a faint green aura around them, even underground.
  
  Stage 4:
  
  Reanimation: The power to reanimate corpses using the nectoplasm of a trapped soul. When the soul enters the empty vessel, it awakens the mindless dead and gives them the ability to move and react. Though Alivina can usually maintain control over the walking corpses, they are mindless and therefore need to be carefully monitored. If Alivina reanimates more corpses than she can handle, she could lose all control over them or the connection between master and puppet could be severed, emptying the corpses once again.
  
  Life-Force Absorption: The ability to absorb the life-force from a living target. This has become Alivina's primary means of feeding the amulet since she doesn't need to kill in order to consume. Alivina may absorb a person of their life-force by inhaling it, taking years off the victim's life but not killing them. This only sates the amulet briefly, causing her to feed more frequently with this spell.
  
  Stage 5:
  
  Death Empowerment: The passive ability to gain strength from the death of others. Though this most commonly takes the form of mending her own scarred soul, lengthening her life span, and rapidly healing her wounds, it can also impact her strength, speed, and agility.
  
  Disease Generation: The ability to induce affliction in the form of an invisible cloud of disease. By generating this spell, which requires a large source of nectoplasm, Alivina can spread a plague across a small village, or even expand it to an epidemic. The disease may vary base on the spell's strength and Alivina's intentions.
  
  Stage 6:
  
  Pain Inducement: By using the negative energy of nectoplasm, Alivina can inflict agonizing pain similar to pain she can invoke through Curse Inducement. Only, the maximum potential of this spell is heightened tenfold, can inflict mental or emotional pain, and could even lead to permanent damage (nerve, brain cells, organic)
  
  Pain Suppression: The active ability to neutralize her sensitivity to pain. This is only temporarily and can only reduce the pain levels slightly. If she was experiencing an immense amount of pain, this spell would not remove all of it, but just decrease it so it was semi-tolerable.
  
  Stage 7:
  
  Rot Inducement: This power rots organic material such as flesh, fruit, or plants. Alivina can cause the organic material to rot, decay and eventually disintegrate, whether living or dead. She may only target small forms of organic life and if she were to inflict this spell on a human, she could only affect half a limb, or a whole limb tops.
  
  Stage 8:
  
  Death-Force Manipulation: This spell creates an aura of Death. Where Life-Force is the essence which life flourishes, Death-Force is that which causes things to wither, rot, weaken, and eventually die. Alivina can sense and manipulate the aura that allows Death, Destruction, Decay, and Corruption in the world, allowing her to control decayed matter.
  
  Stage 9:
  
  Advanced Reanimation: At this stage, Alivina would retain a sense of mastery over her necromantic powers, which is most notably seen in her ability to reanimate the dead. She is able to reanimate more corpses than before, perhaps expanding into the hundreds if she were to drain most of the amulet's energy. In addition, she has learned how to fuse a soul's identity within a corpse, making them sentient or semi-sentient, though this spell could only be cast limitedly.
  
  Stage 10:
  
  Undead Manipulation: At stage 9, Alivina learns to reanimate a legion of the dead. This stage is where she learns to master her control over them. Where before the corpses could potentially attack her, now they are completely subservient. Though most are mindless, except the few she would make sentient, she can control their actions and reactions as if she was a puppeteer controlling them by strings.