The magic of form is the manipulation of shape, mass and volume. Like Sentient Thought, it is a dangerous ability to admit to, since the thought of being turned into a flea send most normal people into a panic that can be immediately detrimental to the mage.

Form is most often awakened as a type of healing; 'restoring of shape' is the most basic Form ability and the easiest. It is often also awoken in times of sheer emotion, when the mage may change himself into something or may change the shape of something else.

Form Scars are usually a permanent change to mage reflecting the change he was trying to create. While this may seem an 'easy' way to permanently change into something, that would be a terrible mistake; for the Scar is hideously painful for the rest of his life, or is twisted in some way.

Appropriate focuses for Form include things that are malleable such as clay, or models of the form that the target will be turned into.

LEVELS OF ADVANCEMENT:

None: As with all sorcery talents, Awakening graduates a mage almost directly into the Apprentice level of skill.

Apprentice: The mage is able to perceive the 'true form' of something...he can thus see through all shapeshifting spells and detect when disease or a wound has changed the body from the 'true form.' That knowledge can then be used for first aid or medicines if necessary.

Journeyman: The mage can begin to restore a 'true form' depending on the extent of the change; healing is the easiest manifestation of this ability. The mage can also begin to force an outside form away from a 'true form' with inanimate objects of about half his body-size. Note that inanimate nonliving objects have no residual 'true form memory' so such changes are more or less permanent.

Mage: The mage can begin to force changes to the form of living creatures; beginning with himself, he can learn to shape-shift to a living creature of his own mass, and with others, he can make minor changes to their appearance such as making them fatter, taller, or with extra fingers. Such shapeshifting is not 'true' shapeshifting...one does not actually turn into another being, one merely assumes the form. Note that living creatures have a sense of self that will actively resist changes to their form--the longer a mage actively maintains a spell, however, the more likely the creature will become resigned to its new shape and 'grow into it.'

Adept: The mage can do anything with a shape...he can turn himself into something of much greater or smaller mass, or even into something that is non-living...he can change other living beings into different living forms, and non-living matter is his plaything.

LOST ABILITIES: It is said that once mages could perform perfect metamorphoses, but true shapeshifting can now only be done with the aid of the Lifesong skill.