All mages have an Awakened Avatar, and through that Avatar the mage alters reality. However, not all Avatars are created equal. The strength of your character's Avatar affects her Quintessence score directly. It also determines how much Quintessence your character can reabsorb at any one time. It is wise to put at least one dot in this Background. Mages with extremely weak Avatars cannot channel Quintessence at all, which can make many magical feats difficult or impossible.
Whenever your character's Quintessence score drops below her score in this Trait, she can meditate at a Node, for at least one hour, in an attempt to rebuild her Quintessence levels. You roll a dice pool based on Meditation (Perception + Meditation; difficulty 7) for each hour spent at the Node, and the number of your successes determines how much Quintessence she regains. No matter how many successes you roll, however, your character cannot reabsorb more Quintessence than the number of dots you placed in her Avatar Background. Her Avatar score serves as a ceiling to the Quintessence points she can soak in through meditation at a Node. For example, if she has an Avatar score of three, she cannot absorb more than three point of Quintessence per sitting, no matter how many successes you roll. If no Node is available, the Mage may still attempt to gather Quintessence, but it is much more difficult without a ready source (difficulty 9 or 10, depending on circumstances).
The Avatar rating is also the limit to the amount of Quintessence that a mage may channel for an Effect. A mage cannot channel more Quintessence than her Avatar rating, so mages with weak Avatars are limited to smaller Effects.
Quintessence stored in the Avatar is 'personal' and inviolable; it cannot be taken from the mage with Prime magic.
The stronger a mage's connection with their Avatar, the more vocal that Avatar tends to be. With only one or two ranks in this background, the Avatar might rarely manifest, usually in dreams or subconsciously. At higher ranks, however (4+) the Avatar is almost always a self-aware and sapient entity, with its own personality (and sometimes its own agenda).
• May rebuild a pool of/expend one Quintessence.
•• May rebuild a pool of/expend two Quintessence.
••• May rebuild a pool of/expend three Quintessence.
•••• May rebuild a pool of/expend four Quintessence.
••••• May rebuild a pool of/expend five Quintessence.