Anilatus (Orphans)

“But I don’t wanna be forged! I can do whatever I want!" BOOM!

Despite the harsh conditions of the Shadowlands, there seem to be an ungodly number of small children running around. The reasons: kindly wraiths take pity, wraiths with prestige need slaves, or the kids somehow can outsmart most of the adults. Anilatus is an Arconoi that is practiced only among the children of the wraith world. A mix of several ideas, some highly specialized from other Arconoi, it creates ideal conditions for a child to survive in. Legend has it was created by a kindly Heretic leader who gave it to children to ensure their survival. He ended up on the wrong side of a child with these abilities, but that is another story.

Only wraiths who were children when they died (read: 12 or younger) may take this Arconoi. Teenagers do not qualify for this Arconoi except under special circumstances. Children who do not start out with this Arconoi may add it for 5 instead of 7 points, but it must be taught by someone who knows of its powers.

Happy Birthday: Orphans can use this art to find out the true age of any target Wraith; the true age is the age at death plus the number of years they have survived in the Wraith world.
System: Roll Perception + Anilatus (difficulty 5). Only one success is needed to determine the target’s true age.

Sympathy: This art is similar to the Proctor’s Whisper, except it may only be used on children. Children who hear wraiths using this art remain calm, however, as opposed to being frightened.
System: Roll Charisma + Anilatus (difficulty 6). For each success, the user may whisper one sentence to the target child.

Level One: Tag
Wraith children always seem to slip in and out of danger with ease. Little do most grown wraiths realize this is the reason the children always seem to get away unscathed. This art allows the user to run at three times the speed of the average wraith; it also increases the user’s ability to navigate through crowds and obsticles for brief amounts of time.
System: Roll Dexterity + Anilatus (difficulty 6). For each success, the user may run through a target area and encounter no obsticles that turn.

Level Two: Innocent Face
An Orphan with this ability can use this to plant the idea in a wraith or Spectre’s head that they are to be left completely and totally alone; the target will then ignore the Orphan for the rest of the scene. This art is a favorite of mischevious Orphans, although resourceful children have put it to good use as well.
System: Roll Charisma + Anilatus (difficulty 7). One success is all that is needed to convice the target to leave the user alone. This can be used on more than one target at a time; each success can count towards a target.

Level Three: Eyes of a Child
Somehow, children always see trouble coming. In the case of Orphans, it’s this art that grants them this power. This ability allows the user to see through walls, armor, the Tempest, etc. If it is solid, the child will see through it.
System: Roll Wits + Anilatus (difficulty 7) For each success, the user can peel off a “layer” off of a target. Thicker barriers will require more successes; a brink wall will need more successes to see completely through than a paper screen.
This art costs 1 Pathos.

Level Four: Hide and Seek
This art is used by children to scrouge anything up, from friendly wraiths to treasure hoards of money. The user is able to find anything they desire; however, searching takes time and the user must also know exactly what the item looks like, such as through a picture or a stolen memory. Vivid desriptions may also be used, but going by one will add to the difficulty.
System: Roll Perception + Anilatus (difficulty 7 for pictures, 9 for described). Each success allows the user to come one step closer to narrowing down the location of that item. If it is something simple, such as a lost toy, only two successes may be needed. If it is more difficult, more successes will be needed.
This art costs 2 Pathos.

Level Five: Temper Tantrum
There is nothing more frightening than a child in full-blown loss of control. In the case of Orphans, the idea can be downright deadly. A Orphan who throws this Temper Tantrum emits an enormous blast of emotional energy, capable of damaging wraiths, buildings, and even the Quick. It is possible to calm a child enough to avoid this, but do you really want to try, or do you want to run for cover?
System: Roll Stamina + Anilatus (difficulty 8). For each success, you may roll a set of damage die that are equal to the user’s Strength (difficulty 6). Each success here is worth 1 unsoakable Corpus level of damage to surrounding wraiths and damages nearby objects and buildings.
This art costs 3 Pathos and gives the user 3 Angst.