Magic Avatars or simply Avatars are humans that have been infused with natural magic by way of a special type of Magic object. Though often referred to as Avatar Totems these items have the properties of both Totems and Artefacts. This means as well as acting as a source of magic they can also channel magic.
It is believed that the Totems used by Avatars are amongst the oldest “human” created magical objects and the accepted belief is that they were all formed by Ancient mystics attempting to control nature by creating a Magical Artefact to focus their control. Natural magic, like nature is self can be both powerful and unpredictable and the assumption is that in trying to create such an artefact the wielder became consumed by the very power they sought to control. This resulting object that then forms afterwards then gains properties similar to an Active Totem and a Magic Artefact. This makes them the most powerful magical objects in the mortal realm.
Through the passage of time an Avatar will often lose much of its distinct personality as what remains of the human psyche contained within merges with the natural magic. All that usually remains is a will to survive and sometimes the appear to have distinctive moods. Whereas an Active Totem will seek out particular individuals, Avatar Totems only look for an individual that can link them to their native magic source. They therefore do not necessarily have any predilection for choosing a host that is good or evil, which means they can be aligned with anyone.
Unlike Active Totems which can choose to abandon the wielder, once an Avatar Totem links with a host they become bonded for life. This link is so strong that if an Avatar Totem is taken from its host it will invariably find its way back. Stealing such an item to gain power does not work but killing the host would. That however is far more difficult since an Avatar Totem will protect its host from any threat. Once bonded to host the Totem uses host’s body acts as a conduit for the magical flow. The greatly extends the life span of the individual.
Whilst Avatar Totems are a great source of magic in their own right their greatest strength is their ability to channel massive amounts of natural energy and convert it to magical energy. Each Avatar Totem derives its power from a distinct natural source. This could be an element, a time period or something else. Whatever the source is the magic generated is strongest whenever it is close to that source. Conversely it is at its weakest when it is disconnected from that same source. Though it can still produce large amounts of magical energy when disconnected that power starts to fade. This is one major difference between Magic Totems and Avatar Totems for the former is less powerful but has a constant power whilst the latter needs to be “recharged” at regular intervals if the host is to stay protected.
Once aligned with a host an Avatar Totem has the means to change its shape, usually to an item that is suited to the needs of its host. When active, just like “normal” totems, an Avatar Totem has the means to completely change the clothing and/or appearance of its host. At the same time it can also change its own form but this is not always true in every case. There are many variables and the only constant is that Avatar Totems simply equips their host with the means to fulfil all of their needs.
When a host eventually dies, just like an Active Totem, an Avatar Totem will go dormant and wait until the next suitable being claims it and becomes the new Avatar.
The Watchers and Splitting Avatar Totems
As Avatar Totems can give a user power beyond belief, in the wrong hands they can cause great harm. Some of the most powerful Avatar Totems have the means to effect change on a global scale. This power is so desirable that they are greatly sought after. Even Demons and rogue Angels in the mortal realm have shown desires to obtain such totems. As they are based in “natural” magic the Totems have the potential to protect them from harm from either the light or dark realms. An immortal being with access to a great source of power would make such an entity unstoppable.
Since destroying Magic Totems is nigh on impossible, especially the AvatarTotems those that fight against evil have long sought to avoid them falling into the wrong hands. The obvious solution would be for a “good” person to claim an Avatar Totem but some of the oldest ones were so powerful that the power they possessed could send an ordinarily sane person completely mad. This threat changed when an order of mystics, the Watchers, discovered that the power of an Avatar Totem could be split which would not only temper the power but greatly reduce the chance of an individual losing their mind.
The Watchers as a group were not directly interested in fighting evil but were interested in maintaining the balance between good an evil. They believed that both were needed for stability since if everyone was “good” society and growth would probably stop and if everyone was “evil” then society would be reduced to chaos. Since magical Totems would be used to shift power in either direction they kept watch on whom was in control of such items and intervened only when there was a major shift in the magical balance.
As some of the Avatar Totems could empower people with more magic than the combined might of the Watchers they sought ways in which they could make the most powerful Avatar Totems “manageable”. Eventually they solved the problem after learning that when an Avatar Totem host, if more than one person claimed the Avatar Totem at the same time the power would be split equally between them. A new Avatar Totem would then be “created” for each of them, and when two new people became Avatars they would possess half the power of the previous “single” Avatar.
Once this knowledge was acquired the Watchers decided to “split” some of the most powerful Avatars Totem. However there was a catch because they first of all needed to claim an Avatar Totem and become the new Avatar whilst at the same time employ great mental discipline to avoid being tempted or driven insane by the power. If that was not hard enough, in order to complete the task and split that power the new Watcher/Avatar would then need to die. To solve this problem those that were charged with finding a powerful Avatar Totem and splitting its power would claim the Totem. Before they absorbed its full power and lose their mind they would encompass themselves in a field of mystical energy and then kill themselves.
The Avatar Totem would then be left in a status of needing a new owner but the power could only be claimed when the correct number of people were available to split that power, the number chosen by the mystic who had sacrificed his or her life. Anyone that tried to breach the mystical field to claim that power would become “frozen” within the field. If three people were required to receive the power then the first person would only remain trapped until two others had become frozen within the field, at which point the spell would be broken and the Avatar Totem would become split between all three.
