Life: The biology of all life forms (from simple viruses to the complexity of the human body) falls under this Sphere’s control. Biological functions may be sped up, slowed down or even completely rewritten at the whim of the Mage who masters this Sphere.

Specialty: Verbena

1 – Sense Life

2 – Alter Simple Patterns, Heal Self

3 – Alter Self, Transform Simple Patterns

4 – Alter Complex Patterns, Transform Self

5 – Transform Complex Patterns, Perfect Metamorphosis

Life is the study of Patterns which are constantly developing and changing – in other words, alive. Once a Pattern is no longer developing and changing, it becomes the realm of Matter – so corpses and wooden chairs deal with Matter, not Life.

Life is a versatile Sphere, not only allowing the Mage to heal and change his body, but to harm and twist the bodies of others. At higher levels, Mages can shapeshift into creatures unimagined by humans – or reduce their opponent to a pile of water and goop.

Life cannot affect anything other than living things, making it quite limited. It also cannot cause inorganic changes – you could turn your skin to bark, but you couldn’t turn it to steel without Matter. Likewise, you can’t alter someone’s emotions or mind without using Mind. Furthermore, drastic changes to Patterns cause Pattern Bleeding – if the Mage wants to stay in an unnatural form for more than one day, he takes one level of Lethal Damage each day. It may be easier to simply let the change fade, then suffer the Paradox of casting again, or make the extra push to make the effect permanent. Permanently changing his body can cause the Mage to risk forgetting who he really is, however.

Apprentice Life: Sense Life

The Mage can feel the flow of life around him. He can sense injury or sickness in a subject, and can feel how much life is around him, and where generally it is. With practice, he can focus on a single life pattern to learn its type, sex, health, and age. Although he cannot yet affect this flow of life, just feeling the presence of living things can be comforting. Correspondence and Life together make a nice sort of ‘radar sense.’

Initiate Life: Alter Simple Patterns, Heal Self

The Mage can now exert some control over the life around him. Healing himself is simple – he knows his own body, how it should be, and how to fix it. Dealing with other life is more difficult, and the Mage must follow the path of evolution. At this level, he can only affect plants, invertebrates, algae or fungi, coaxing them to move and grow in certain ways. However, causing an enemy stronghold to crawl with deadly bacteria is quite a useful feat in and of itself, and it only takes one quick-growing plant to cripple the delicate insides of a machine.

Disciple Life: Alter Self, Transform Simple Patterns

The Mage now understands himself better, not only able to repair his Pattern, but to alter it as he wishes. He must remain fundamentally human – altering oneself into a bird or a fish cannot be done yet – but could grow gills or flaps of skin for gliding, deadly claws or tough skin. With simpler Patterns, a Mage can make more drastic changes – turning a crawfish into a clump of grass, or making a simple bacteria into a deadly killer. He might also strike at his foes, twisting their Patterns to cause damage. With the aid of other Spheres, a Mage might create life out of nothing, or turn rocks into mice. However, it is important to note that without high levels of the Mind Sphere, these creations will have no thoughts. Furthermore, the crawfish turned into grass will still think it is a crawfish, and a Mage growing flippers won’t instinctively know how to use them. At this level, a Mage can also heal other humans, although with a lengthy process, as her understanding of human Patterns is lacking.

Adept Life: Alter Complex Patterns, Transform Self

The Mage now has enough expertise to work with humans and larger animals. He can heal with a touch, gift an ally with great strength, or cripple a foe. He can perform anything he could do with Alter Self on others, although with the same restriction that they must remain fundamentally human. As for himself, the Mage can transform his Pattern into anything he desires, keeping roughly the same size and mass. But he still gains no instinctual use of his new body, and must spend time becoming accustomed to not being human.

Master Life: Transform Complex Patterns, Perfect Metamorphosis

The Master of Life can now alter life at his whim. He can reshape any creature into any other, as long as the mass remains similar, or he uses another Sphere to account for it. A group of enemies can become large, flopping fish. The Mage can make himself immune to age, disease, hunger, and injury, and quickly regenerate nearly any damage. His self-transformation is perfect, allowing him to alter not only shape but size and mass, and to instinctually gain some measure of control over the new body. Perhaps most impressively, a Mage can create complex life from nothing, with the aid of the Prime Sphere. With mastery of Life, Prime, and Mind, a Mage could create from nothing an intelligent human being. Of course, creating life raises all its own ethical and spiritual questions…