FAMILIARS

It's not uncommon for someone with arcane abilities to have a familiar. Simply put, a familiar is a spirit in animal form who aids a practitioner of the arcane arts. There are plenty of ways for an arcanist to come across a familiar, the situation and timing being entirely up to fate. It's most common for familiars to appear when the arcanist is still rather young.

An arcanist and his or her familiar are bound together by unseen magic from the moment that they first meet until the end of time. It's said that, whether their spirits are condemned to eternity in Mourinor, or eternal life in Eldenar, their spirits will remain side by side until the end of time. That being said, arcanists and their familiars have a strong, eternal bond, no matter how benevolent or corrupt they may be. The form of a familiar reflects the personality and the potential abilities of their arcanist. For instance, someone with a rater dull or iffy personality and little potential abilities may have a toad as a familiar.

Though it's extremely rare, familiars have been known to change their form as time wears on. This can occur as an arcanist ages, growing stronger and wiser. It's said that Arniel Faebane's familiar started out as little more than an orange cat before one day evolving into a powerful lion. As stated before though, this takes much power and a very decent level of intellect on the mage's side. Other than that, a mage has no control over when his or her familiar might evolve. Days before this evolution, the familiar, who always appears healthy, will start to show signs of being ill. Formages who know little about familiars, the sudden onset of "illness" in their familiar may come across as shocking or upsetting seeing as they might believe that their beloved "pet" is dying.

There is only one way to kill a familiar and that is to kill the familiar's "master." When a mage dies, it's said that his or her familiar may appear out of nowhere before curling up beside them until their own life energy fade. This usually takes only a matter of minutes.

It is the job of the familiar to act as their master's protector. For instance, if a familiar doesn't trust someone, it's for good reason and their master should be wary of that person. A familiar is never far behind when their master is in need. Though a familiar and his or her master have a deep understanding of one another, both inside and out, a familiar does not speak. There is no need for them to do so. Instead, the connection between them is on a mental level. Though they may not converse in words through thoughts, they have a sense of each other's emotions, whether the arcanist realizes this or not.

For various reasons, we ask that you not go overboard when choosing your arcanist's familiar. For instance, we don't want a bunch of children running around with a tiger as a familiar. Think of it this way... there are two levels of familiars. In order to get a second level familiar, your arcanist needs to be exceptionally strong, skilled and wise in way way or another. We won't accept any level two familiars for arcanist who are younglings, students, or apprentices. In order to have your level one familiar evolve, you must seek permission from the staff. The same is required if you wish to create a character who already has a level two familiar.

These are examples of level one and level two familiars. Please note that you are NOT limited to these animals, they are merely here to serve as an example. If you don't know whether an animal not listed below would be level on or two, please ask a staff member.

LEVEL ONE FAMILIARS

-Dogs
-Cats
-Any type of rodents
-Small birds
-Snakes(smaller to medium sized)
-Rabbits
-Foxes
-Small reptiles

LEVEL TWO FAMILIARS

-Lions
-Tigers
-Bears
-Wolves
-Large birds(falcons, eagles, etc.)
-Large snakes(pythons, anacondas, etc.)
-Large reptiles