Animus

The Animuses are a race of creatures created through the seperation of a being's mind and soul. Animuses are the half that represent heart, emotions, and the conscious mind. There are two types of Animuses: natural and artificial.

Physiology
Animuses can take on almost any form, though they usually stick to approximately the same size and structure of the form they took on before splitting. Most Animuses have a blurred body, emmiting an ether-like substance which is usually black or dark in coloration. The more unstable the Animus, the more ether that Animus will emit. The ether can also take on a lighter color, usually signifying a particularly strong Animus. However, it's somewhat unclear if the commonality of dark colors is due to the extreme susceptablilty of corruption, rather than the Animus' natural color.

Artificially created Animuses tend to be much more stable, and thus emit far less ether, if at all. They also come in a larger variety of colors.

Origins
An Animus can be created naturally in the wild, though it is uncommon. A high-powered magical artifact is needed as a catalyst for the split, and as such wild Animuses are generally only found near such artifacts. In addition, the target must also be in a certain state of mind. The exact circumstances are unknown, but distress appears to be a common factor. Due to the instability of many naturally occuring Animuses, overpopulation is not a problem.

Psychology and Habits
Animuses represent heart, emotions, and the concious mind. Like their counterparts, the Phasti, Animuses tend to react rashly. However, an Animus' actions are dictated by their emotional drive. This can come off in many forms, depending on the subject's emotional depth. Though they represent the conscious mind, Animuses are far more likely than their counterparts to display irrational and self-destructive behaviors.

Few case studies on human Animuses reveal that they're typically in a state of overdriven thought process, and experience frequent mood swings.

Differences Between Natural and Artificial
An artificially created Animus can be achieved by crafting the creature from scratch, rather than splitting an existing living being. The exact science is difficult, and has only been achieved by researchers in Nintendria and Shadowrian, as well as the Darkness Requiem.

While the exact details of an artificial Animus vary widely depending on the quality of the experiment, a well crafted Animus is usually much more stable than a natural Animus. This results in a more solid appearance, longer life span, and a more stable emotional system. A good quality artificial Animus can have a thinking process nearly identical to that of a human's.

Relations to Other Creatures
When an Animus is made, a Phastis is created as a biproduct. The two tend to avoid each other upon creation. Though it's possible for one's Animus and Phasitis to work together, their opposite ways of thinking and usual distress at the time of creation tend to make them enemies. Both Animus and Phastis appear to be equally strong.

Notable Animuses
Denzia, Purple, some possible minor characters...