Version 2 of Alric's outfit! Definitely like the black pants over the red ones from before. Also, added a wristwatch and glasses! Once again, shout out to Kat!
Background info:
Anima aren't able to use aether (mana, chakra, chi, qi, etc.) like many other intelligent races. One must be able to extend one's internal aether outside of one's body in order to connect with the world's ambient aether and manipulate it to cast spells or otherwise affect the world around them. Basically, their meridians (aether circuits), which are basically a person's circulatory system, but for aether instead of blood, don't have any exit ports on the surface of their skin, meaning, for the most part, their aether is trapped inside their bodies. This actually makes most people that can sense/measure aether to assume they can't use magic at all and even makes their presence harder to detect. In reality, they are internally saturated with vast quantities of aether, typically manifesting as physical or mental enhancement and regeneration, which is why Anima are such tough enemies to fight. Their lack of aether ports also make them excellent anti-mage troops, since it's very difficult for spells to directly affect them, and their toughness, agility, and regeneration are usually enough to allow them to either avoid or endure most forms of attack magic.
Thanks to their overlords, the High Elves of the Eldrich Empire, who desire to keep the Anima under their control, the Anima are never actually taught to actively use their internal aether and are instead forced to only use it more or less instinctively. Sure, there is some conscious direction for it, but it's largely unintentional. For example, if an Anima is trying to overhear a distant conversation, their internal aether will automatically act to enhance their hearing without the Anima actively manipulating it to do so. If an Anima needs to lift something extremely heavy, their aether will enhance their body's strength and durability automatically, up to the limit their aether reserves will allow.
This is where Blood Magic (Hemomancy) comes into play. Blood Magic is the art of both manipulating blood and using it as an ingredient or component in magic spells, potions, or devices. Normal mages can only do so much with their own aether reserves, so some more unscrupulous mages turn to blood magic, capturing people and creatures with unusually high levels of aether and using their aether-rich blood to supplement their own aether reserves. This is also the origin of blood sacrifices, with the ritual leader using the aether in the sacrifices' blood to power the ritual, while leader only has to use their own aether to control and manipulate the aether gathered from the sacrifices.
The problem with Blood Magic, aside from the obvious enslavement/murder of the mage's victims, is that the blood can only be stored for a short time before the aether inside of it dissipates. This is why the mage either has to continuously seek out other sources of aether-rich blood, or somehow keep their sources alive so they can continue to harvest blood from them. There is, however, a way to preserve the aether for long-term storage and use, and that's concentrating the aether-rich blood until it forms blood-red aetherite crystals, which is considered the pinnacle of Blood Magic.
An aetherite crystals is, essentially, aether that has saturated a specific area to the point where it starts to condense into solid form. They typically form naturally in aether-rich environments, and while they CAN be formed artificially, only the most accomplished mages can create artificial aetherite crystals without the aid of a large group of mages or some other external assistance.
It's actually easier to create aetherite crystals via Blood Magic (also known as bloodstones), because the aether is easier to concentrate and condense, seeing as it's already contained inside the blood, rather than flowing and spreading out through the air, though acquiring enough aether-rich blood to create a bloodstone generally requires draining all the blood from several magical creatures.
Aetherite crystals, including bloodstones, are basically aether batteries, storing large amounts of aether for long periods of time, and some can even be engraved with the runes of a spell, so, when activated as part of aether-tech or magic item, they automatically unleash the engraved spell, using the crystal, itself, as the power source for that spell. Pure aetherite crystals are completely clear, but most are tainted with elemental energy from the environment where they are found. For example, an aetherite crystal found in a volcanic region would be a translucent orange, while one from an aether-rich forest would be a translucent green. Only bloodstones are a deep crimson, making them easily recognizable as the product of Blood Magic.
While a normal person's meridians only occasionally overlap their blood vessels, Anima meridians follow their blood vessels almost exactly, so their blood is constantly swimming in aether, becoming saturated in the stuff. This, combined with the Anima's impressive regeneration, makes them uniquely suitable for Blood Magic, in that they don't actually need to use blood from an external source and can just use their own. An Anima Blood Mage can simply cut themselves just enough to draw blood and use that blood to perform spells much like a normal spellcaster, or they can add a drop of blood to a vial of water and turn it into a potion, or even add their blood to an existing potion to enhance it's effects or even add additional effects. Magical creatures can theoretically do the same, but, since they can use their aether in many other ways, they usually don't have a reason to resort to blood magic.
Alric was always interested in magic, though his interest was primarily in an anti-mage capacity, such as recognizing the effects of magic on a person or area and learning the best way to deal with a mage or disrupt a magic ritual. But, once he learned about Blood Magic, he finally had a way to actually use magic and even create his own magical items.
Outfit Info:
His outfit is one of his greatest products of his experimentation with Blood Magic. Because he uses his own blood, he has a connection to it, even when it's separated from his body, as if it's an extension of himself. So, his shirt, which is made of silk fibers dyed red in his own blood, can be regenerated and physically enhanced, just as if it was his own body. The vest, pants, and even the tie are made of a carbon nano-weave, making them naturally tough to cut, but the inside is also the same blood-red silk as his shirt, allowing him to use reinforcement and fabrication spells strengthen and repair the material (He can't regenerate the nano-weave like he can the silk, since it's not organic), but that's assuming an attack can actually make it past his reflexes and magical shields.
Each of the red gems, including the watch and lenses of his glasses, are all bloodstones, allowing him easy access to a tremendous amount of aether at an instant's notice, with no need to draw his own blood. However, the bloodstones aren't inexhaustible, so his outfit incorporates a series of strategically-placed, tiny hypodermic needles, allowing him to use his own internal aether to supplement the bloodstones and even create new ones if some get completely used up, though that process usually takes quite a bit of time and concentration. The bloodstones on the watch and glasses are primarily used as a power source for holographic displays, allowing for communication and data collection (watch), and enhanced observation and HUD (glasses).
