Mask of Anima

Description
Mask of Anima (アニマのマスク; Anima no masuku): a name given to the particularly totemic masks used by Jahara people, which every warrior or shaman of the Isle must wear once they have completed a certain initiation rite to find the deepest manifestation of one self. While these concepts are anything but new- such “coming of age” ritual are integral part of the culture of almost every tribal civilization, and the animistic concept of totem is hardly less common- Masks of Anima are powerfully magical artifact which acts as catalyst between oneself consciousness and their own physical body, granting them powers which corresponds to their ideals and personalities. The amount of magic usable, however, is as always strictly dependent on the user emotional and physical state, with Mask of Anima giving only a “psychical” boost via the strong connection between the magic and his user. The most relevant surplus of this kind of Mask of Anima lies actually in how the derived magic are performed: since it comes from the user very soul, the holder will know how to performs spells related to the magic almost instinctively, as easy as the breath. Provided their limits in power, the user’s applications are bounded only by their imagination.

Before conquering a mask, all Jahara must find his own “role” or “purpose” in society and the world alongside him in an initiatory journey of self-discovery in the sacred near Altum. Sometimes this journey requires months of deep meditation or deep prayer, other times can happen through prophetic visions and dreams; to others, even an encounter with a revered spirit or the manifestation of a deity. Regardless of the path, any Jahara must understand his own vocation and what his is purpose in the life of a tribe. After being enlightened, the young adult must carve his own masks within the trial, then performing a ritual that involves a conspicuous blood sacrifice. One the sacrifice is completed, the Jahara returns to his tribe with a mask that looks different from the one of everyone else. That Mask would be the expression of the user soul- hence why the scholars of Alikitasia have called those masks of “Anima”, a word that means soul- so Jahara considers it as the new true face of any tribesman, the one the dictates whose life adults will live in society from this point onward. No Jahara will ever show his face to any living or dead being, except in two occasions: when he makes love with his spouse, has Jahara believes he becomes an entirely new being with his loved one; or whenever a priest tries to ritualistically channel the spirit of a god, as for Jaharas anyone must “empty” oneself to accept the true essence of a deity. One mask can also be removed by the elders if one Jahara is found guilty of horrendous crimes like treason of or blasphemy: in that case, he is disgraced and considered no longer part his people, and his faith of always death or exile from the Isle.

Aside from their anthropological values, its actually surprising how much actually those kind of magic are apt to be “classified”, thus as regarded by many mages as underwhelming or even “boring”, since people who performs the same profession will always have similar masks- but never exactly the same one-  and they will be endowed with similar kind of magic, often differing by some details and, of course, potency between user and user. This should not come as a surprise: Jahara have such a strong sense of community and connection to the nature that every tribesman regards himself mostly by his roles within society and the world outside, rather than giving emphasis to self-expression. That is not said that Jahara despise uniqueness, as they are all very perceptive of the subtle details that differences mask from mask; they just do not feel the need to stand out from the crowd.

Even so, there a few cases when the sense of oneself emerges powerfully, and the Mask of Anima reflects such. It is a concept very difficult to translate in our language, with anthropologists referring as “Id-Out”, or the traumatic expression of their true and hidden desires and impulses, radically alien from how they perceive them within the Jahara people. Those individual must have faced further challenges during their adult ages, ordeals which have deeply affected themselves and have made emerge parts of their personality that were hidden much deeper inside their soul. During those “epiphanies”, which generally bring the user to unleash an incredible amount of their own magical power, the Mask of Anima is radically altered, gaining abilities that are entirely new and often very powerful, though always with comparable level their normal capacity. Since the great amount of stress, mastering the Id-Out form is arduous task; to do so, someone must fully know that side of oneself and embrace him. Very few people have reached this status during the whole history of the Jahara civilization, since doing so means to be radically “special” from any member of the tribe. Those individual are often venerated or venerated by their clansmen, often both; regardless, they are almost always legendary figures which have shaped the future of their people, either in good or in evil. Since the destruction of the Mask Isle, Tamo’ei Garif is the only user of this magic alive.

Type of Masks
Warrior Mask(戦士マスク; Senshi masuku): Used by warrior such as Tamo’ei, they reflect and enhance everything a good Jahara warrior is believed to be: swift as a snake, quick as lighting, observant as a hawk. In the case of Tamo’ei, his mask is of a white color, with a bright red incision that goes from its chin to his forehead, where it is carved in a way that reminisces an angular spiral. The mask is shaped in a rectangular form, though it a has horn-shaped protrusions at the side of their temple, markedly curved at their end; they continue with two ringlets at the back of his head. The Mask covers Tamo’ei entire face, with no apparent opening for his mouth: only his eyes are shown, marked by two bloody red lines that go down to his chin. Due to his magical nature, it seems that the mask can somehow phase at Tamo’ei command, acting like an opaque glass where everything that enters becomes invisible from the outside. This allows to Tamoi'ei to eat or wash his face in public without removing his mask, something his culture is strongly opposed to.

Warrior Spells:
perception of all five senses, enabling them to read lips, mimic movements and hearing faint sounds. Tamo’ei mask is so powerful that made him able to see on a cellular level or hear a drop falling behind a near bulletproof wall. In combat, this allows him to see fast-moving objects and, once fully developed, offers some amount of predictive capabilities: they can anticipate an opponent's next move based on the slightest muscle tension in their body and act accordingly to dodge or intercept. Although a Warrior Mask user can see these things, also need the physical ability to actually act on the information: if they input are too fast, the user cannot react. The perceptive abilities of this mask can allow the user to see through mirages and illusions, even the magic ones; in the latter case, the power of the mask must be in the same league of the illusion. For this reason, Face of the Insight is countered by Face of the Illusion.
 * ·        Warrior Mask: Face of the Insight (戦士マスク：インサイトの顔;Senshi masuku: In saito no kao): The user is granted incredible clarity of

abilities, that makes him almost totally untraceable by enemies. All light-waves, sounds and odors from the user are clouded by the magic, so that the user cannot be found using any senses except for the touch. All objects kept by the user are also hidden by magic, as long as the user touch them. This illusionary magic perfect for the people in the jungle, where perceiving everything without being perceived can be the difference between life and death. Jahara people become akin to chameleons, defending themselves like them or becoming deadly assassin, who can strike down an opponent before he could ever fathom. Such illusionary magic is the perfect opposite of Face of the Insight: when the two magic are faced, they cancel other. So, when two Jahara warriors fight against each other, they must entirely rely on the “normal” sense, without any kind of enchantment; it is said for this reason that only a true Jahara can fight against a true Jahara.
 * ·        Warrior Mask: Face of the Illusion (戦士マスク：イリュージョンの顔;Senshi masuku: Iryūjon no kao): The user is granted by exceptional camouflaging