The word "Animism" has many meanings within Avalon, whether you refer to the Guild of Animists, the original pacifist profession - protectors of life in all its forms, and guardians of the natural world; or the concept, generally tied in with the divine Orders of those deities residing within the Life or Nature realms, recognising the primacy of all living entities (be it flora or fauna) as holy and perceiving the Animist role within as guardians of life in all its forms. To those within the druid profession, however, it is also the name of the highest tier of attainable skills: the crowning achievement of an empathy with Nature garnered over years of tending the forests, nurturing the creatures of the world, and preserving or restoring life to the fallen.
The route to acquiring Animism is no short, ephemeral road. It is a journey undertaken with a long-term perspective as prerequisite. It requires the aspirant to have pushed all of their guild skills to the crowning point, and then to have acquired a close sympathy with those mediums of nature - the birds - via Ornithology (see HELP ORNITHOLOGY). This will have provided the aspirant with an insight into the ways of the forest and its affinities. It is through building affinities with Avalon's woodlands and, in particular, focussing on reaching such closeness with specific forests to be considered 'one of the five most beloved' individuals active in the land, that steady progress towards Animism is made.
Every Avalon month the forests of the land will register their affinities and, depending on the size of the forest, any member of the druid profession in the top five 'highest affinity' also satisfying the criteria detailed above will advance a little further along the road of Animism acquisition. The druid professional will be informed, each Avalon month, of the state of their progress towards Animism; and the elders of the profession - those with Animism already part of their repertoire - have ways of assessing everyone 'on the path' and how far they have travelled.
It is possible to increase one's affinity in a particular ancient woodland by tending the forests directly, using lessons and taking time out of your busy Avalonian day. This is achieved via the TEND FOREST command, when in certain locations of the various ancient forests. You can also use darsurion to speed the acquisition of affinity-for-Animism. WARNING: be wary of cynical tending, for this will be costly in forest affinity: burning woodland and defoliated locations should not exist within the tending region.
There will come a point when the ongoing advance consequent of the highly placed forest affinities crosses a certain threshhold; and then the druid professional will step into the land to finally receive the fruits of their long labours. They will gain the Animism specialisation and be free to explore the wonders entrusted to the very pinnacle of the profession.
Once acquired, Animism will become a permanent part of the druid's repertoire - but its potency is slightly different to regular skills. Animism can be learned using lessons, to advance it up the skill levels (like any specialist skill). This permanent learned level is boosted by forest affinity - probably different from one ancient woodland to the next - if it ranks in the top twelve active sylvan specialists. The rank number defines a maximum Animism the Animist can use, in a particular location, based on which forest. The affinity points gained in that forest will define the actual boost, e..g. affinity of 6000 would boost Animism by the equivalent of Competent+50% level on top of the learned SKILLS level.
NOTE: use the "robins" ability in Ornithology to judicious place these delightful birds so your affinity-gain is heralded from forest to forest, so each act advances your affinity in not one but many of the ancient woodlands of the realm.
