Anima

For the Mists of Pandaria life energy, see Anima (blood fluid).

File:The Cycle of Anima Etherwryms.jpg

Etherwyrms in Bastion.

Stream of anima

Zone influence on the Anima concept art.

Bastion Anima concept art.

Proof of concept for the Bastion zone.

Anima is the essence of mortal souls that enter the Shadowlands, the product of all of the soul's experiences and actions in life. Great souls—good or evil—have a lot of anima, while those who have lived humbler lives have less. It infuses the Shadowlands and acts as the lifeblood of the afterlife, making trees grow and rivers flow, flowing through creatures, and connecting all the realms of the Shadowlands together.

In recent years, however, the machine of death has been broken. All souls who enter the Shadowlands now pour directly into the Maw instead of being distributed between realms, making the Maw grow larger and more powerful. As a consequence of this anima drought, the realms have been cut off from one another, breeding fear and distrust among the inhabitants - and with no incoming anima, the other realms of the Shadowlands have started to wither. Many creatures relying on anima have also started to starve, sometimes becoming aggressive in their search for anima.

In-game, anima is a resource gathered from various sources and can be used for different game mechanics, such as powering up one's Soulbind, sending off adventure companions on missions, or other features and upgrades specific to a covenant sanctum. It is also present in mounts, pets, and other vanity items, such as the [Ensorcelled Everwyrm] promotional mount.

Uses

• Anima is the source that is drawn upon when using death magic. It is comparable to mana.
• In Oribos and the Shadowlands as a whole, this "soulstuff" is used as a currency, traded, bartered for, and fought over.
• In Bastion, the stewards create anima-fueled guardians known as Centurions.
• In Ardenweald, anima is drawn in by the region's massive dream trees and subsequently infused into nature spirits awaiting rebirth. Ardenweald has suffered more keenly from soul-drought than any other realm in the Shadowlands, and the night fae's Winter Queen must now pick and choose which groves and souls will be fed the last precious drops of anima and which will wither away forever.
• In Revendreth, the venthyr harvest anima from prideful and sinful souls. They use it as sustenance, currency, and a power source to animate their various Stoneborn units.
• The representation of Maw anima in the concept art implies it is the same as stygia, indicated in the various Covenant Campaigns as well, produced from the violent destruction of a soul.

Notes

• Mists of Pandaria featured another substance also known as "anima". Although it was initially said that "there are definitely ties between the anima of the Shadowlands and the anima of Pandaria", it was later stated that they are different.
• Legion featured  [Twisting Anima of Souls].
• Battle for Azeroth featured [Anima of Life and Death].
• Anima means soul in Latin, a translation of the Greek psyche (ψυχή) (same root as psychology), from the Hellenic Jewish septuagint, translated from the Hebrew nephesh (נֶ֫פֶשׁ). This lineage refers to the rational, sentient, living aspect of the soul, different from the Latin spiritus/Greek pneuma/Hebrew ruah that is traditionally the life-giving and life-sustaining aspect of the soul. This could be related to Blizzard's use of manifestations in Revendreth, Bastion, and the Maw being tied to emotions and memories.

See also

• Artifact Power
• [Azerite]