Apotheca - the Spirit Hosts of the Highlands, and the common House Gheist

An excerpt explaining the existence and nature of the common House Gheist, as well as a short history on the common appearance of spirits within the Windshorn Highlands

Written by David C. G. Thiessen

On House Gheists

House Gheists plague every land that has ever been lived in. Spirits end up lingering in a certain place or invade a home anywhere any race has lived at any time. Almost all religions have methods of dealing with these spirits, from binding them to cooperating with them to simply forcing them out or destroying them. In most lands, they are a rare phenomenon that generally evokes fear or wonder. In some lands, they are more common, and the people in these regions generally have developed more ways to deal with them. There is nowhere else on this side of the world, however, that has a ratio of the number of House Gheists to Houses within the scope of their land quite like the the Windshorn Highlands of the Cragsworn.

A short history

It was within the dark and desolate Windshorn Range that the Archangel Keltaren, the forefather of Mankind, was said to have made his dwelling. From these imposing heights he fine-tuned his fledgling race and planned his war upon the Dark God's. He made these dark mountains his place of strength. This was the birthplace of the Human Race who would eventually come to span the entire world around, though Keltaren would never see that day himself. War raged across the world, and many Celestials of the Light joined him - or sided against him - and even a few Dark Gods threw in their lot with him. This was the epicenter of a war that saw entire races become extinct, a war that damaged the Arcane Veil over the world and punctured holes in the sky. It was just another part of the Great Cycle of renewal that the world of Apotheca goes through, but it had the fates of billions of souls intertwined in its weaving pattern. As the Old Ones and their forces threw themselves in their assault upon these mountains, millions of souls belonging to the races of Man, Dwarf, Gnome, Troll, and other races - many now extinct or nearly so - rallied to Keltarens grey banner alongside their gods and defended their strongholds to the end. History unfolded, and they forced the aggressors back and even continued the fight in other lands. But the Cragsworn Range of mountains, or rather the collection of dark mountain ranges and the barren lands in between, had been fought over the most. Spirits of both sides of that war, including those who became extinct, still linger in the Cragsworn, and most especially within the Windshorn Highlands where Keltaren was said to have built his halls. Within these mountains, hosts and hosts of spirits still do battle with one another at times as mortal eyes warily watch.

On the abundance of House Gheists within the Cragsworn

This is not the only reason House Gheists and other spirits are that much more common here than in other nations. The Archangel Keltaren himself was cast down in that war. He was not killed, and so those of mankind who still worship him remain connected to his sustaining energies, but he was chained somewhere in the deepest reaches of the world, before the war was won, by the Old Ones. These very Old Ones were eventually cast down themselves by the human race, some even killed by mortal hands (which testifies to the strength of the mortal ancients), but their work was done. They had disconnected Mankind from its creator and managed to weaken the race to its current form. With Keltaren chained up, he cannot return the former power of his people to them, but with him still alive the Human Race remains alive and well, at least those who either have not abandoned him (and thus his Sustaining Spiritual Energies form which mankind initially stemmed) or connected themselves to to other celestials. Thus, human spirits do not have a direct path to their eventual destination, back into the Energy of Keltaren. Other races of man have connected themselves with other, newer and older celestials, and will return their life's energy to them when they die (if they do not linger in this world). However, the followers of Keltaren have no place to return to. They remain in this world almost indefinitely. Spirit Hosts are often seen making their way from various Keltar lands into caverns and caves, passages into the bowels of the earth as they search for the fabled entrance to the prison of Keltaren. Many simply remain in their old place of residence, until being forced out. It is guessed that many souls that linger in the land too long simply absorb into the World's Energies, though it is clear that not all do, considering the truly ancient spirits that have popped up within Theissiesc lands.

Theissiesc's Interactions with House Gheists and other spirits

The the Windshorn Highlands is not nearly as populated as it once was, though it still boasts booming populations. Many of its dark cities are abandoned or mostly abandoned. Most cities are not fully lived in and have large districts empty of people. The Life of a Theissiesc Highlander could be described as semi-nomadic - there is very little sense of "owning property", houses do not belong to specific people and are not sold once one they leave. If one wants a different house, they simply find an empty one or carve themselves a new one where they want as they want. There are many more houses than people in the Highlands, as long forgotten cities cover vast stretches of land on the mountains and plateaus, and almost every cave and nook in the mountains have been carved into some semblance of a house sometime in the span of ages that humans have lived here. Many of these houses, if not most, house some form of House Gheist or another. The citizens of the Highlands are well versed in mystical and spiritual arts and know how to deal with spirits. This ranges from bindings, cooperation, and exorcisms. It is a regular practice to go through the Spiritual Preparations before fully moving into a house, almost like a highlander's housewarming. The member or members of a household most well versed in these arts go in first, to ascertain what kind of spirits dwell in their new home, if any. They then proceed accordingly. Sometimes, spirits of their ancestors will be fully capable of understanding their situation and can live alongside their "new family" in complete peace. Sometimes, they do not fully understand and must be either bound into the service of the house. This is a matter of a simple invocation and enchantment to keep them from committing any mischief. Some very specific spirits can be appeased, and even bribed into protecting their house, or bribed away from mischief. It is up to the family whether they attempt to force such a spirit out or live alongside it. Some spirits simply must be exorcised out, however, or destroyed. The household seers are often capable of such a thing, but sometimes they encounter more dangerous spirits. They then either move on or call upon a specialist, whether it be a Priest, Druid, Mystic, or Witch Hunter. Sometimes a spirit will enter a house with a family already living in it, and in this case, the process is similar, but if a dangerous spirit enters the family must be ready to fight, flee, or be harmed. If the spirit remains, they must call upon the municipality priest or witch hunter.

On the Spirit Hosts

The Spirit Hosts of the Highlands are seen relatively often, but even the oldest of the Theissiesc say they still get the shivers and a sense of unease whenever they spot them. They are rarely a problem, though when they are they are often a very large one. Most are simply ancient bands of the Theissiesc' ancestors slowly drifting about, searching for an entrance into the bowels of the earth. Sometimes, they can be seen marching, their unison stomping strides heard from far away, as if ready for war. Some bands of spirits still linger on, still scouring the Highlands for any trace of their enemies. Such spirit hosts are a welcome sight, as they are, in some areas, even a relied upon source of protection, as they scour the paths through the crags putting to death any unclean spirit and many dangerous beasts they come across. Some Spirit Hosts belong not to mankind, but to dwarves, gnomes, trolls, or one of the many dark races that they warred upon. Such hosts never linger for any reason but war, as they are still connected to their God and thus must have a reason to remain on this earth, their spirits are not generally cast adrift without reason.

The Spirit Hosts of the Darker Races are always a threat, and only ever linger to cause harm to their enemies. Many of their Gods are dead, and they seek both vengeance and eternal rest, and in these cases, the only way to get rid of them permanently is to destroy such spirits. Exorcisms will often return a spirit to its source, but these spirits whose gods are dead no longer have a source, and so often end up appearing in the physical realm in order to seek peace, and revenge. There are historical accounts of entire armies of them besieging and assaulting villages, towns, and cities. Luckily, due to the abundance of spirits within their land the Theissiesc possess many methods of defending themselves against them and can imbue their weapons and armor to better deal with ghosts and phantoms. Against full invasions of spirits, however, this is often not enough. Few strongholds have fended off such an invasion on their own. Luckily, they are not alone. Through the intercessions of their priests and druids, the Theissiesc can call upon the spirits of their ancestors to defend them. Many such sieges have been broken by an army of ghosts answering the Theissiesc's call for aid, clashing upon the field of battle much like regular mortal armies.

Basic Information

Anatomy

House Gheist's vary in appearance depending on the type of spirit, and the race it was when it lived if it ever had a physical body.

Genetics and Reproduction

Ghosts are the spirits of once-living creatures that linger on in the physical world. Phantoms are spirits of other types, generally visiting this world from another plane of existence, or possibly invading or trapped. Some of these can take forms however they please. "House Gheist" refers to a ghost or Phantom that has tied itself one way or another to a home or property or other specific location. As such, there is no reproduction. They come into existence when a physical form dies, or travel here from other planes.

Ecology and Habitats

House Gheists live in or around a specific property for a myriad of reasons. Sometimes the spirit simply never realized it died and keeps on living as it did in its life until brought to the realization that they are dead, often by meeting a living soul and interacting with it. Such house Gheists can prove dangerous, as the realization that they are dead can trigger highly unpredictable and varying responces from ghosts.
Others tie themselves to a property quite on purpose, either unwilling to leave the world or possessing some willpower to remain for another purpose, whether malign or otherwise. This may include vengeance for death or completing some unresolved task, etc. In the case of the Old Races, many linger for the specific cause of wreaking their vengeance and death upon their enemies - i.e. the Human race, the Dwarves, etc. Those Old Spirits who retain their will to expunge mankind are the most frightening variants, taking the shapes of long extinct races from aeons ago, looking entirely alien to this world and possessing features that could make someone lose their minds. These Races that were long ago warred against were largely products of the Old Gods who stemmed from the Dark, and as such were formed in darker images.
Sometimes, though rarely, one will encounter one of the old, extinct Races of the Light, those who sided with Keltaren and the other Gods of Light in the Great Upheaval millennia ago. Many races on both sides of the conflict were annihilated as the Great Cycle came to it's apex, and ultimate war completely changed the face of the earth again with the arrival of a new very powerful celestial - Keltaren - and the race he created: that of Mankind. Many spirits from this time linger even still, fighting the same war world ages after its completion. Spirits from this time will often materialize in homes near to where they once lived in their lives, and often behave the strangest of any House Gheist.

Additional Information

Domestication

Priests, seers and mystics of certain faiths can often interact with and even bind spirits, in a multitude of various ways. Some will forcibly bind a spirit to its service or to some task using chants and invocations, or certain objects. Others do so with goodwill and cooperation with the spirits. Mages can do similar things.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The sensory system of Ghosts is not known exactly. It is known that various types of ghosts generally retain their old sensory methods, though they often seem quite altered, and are sometimes missing. Many also seem to have obtained senses not present in their race or species at the time of life. Spirits disconnected from any type of physical form vary even more and are known as phantoms.

"When I entered the house, all seemed quiet. Not a voice whispered to us, not a mouse scurried, not even a breeze followed us into the house to sweep away the stagnant air. We searched the house from end to end, but we found nothing. No trace of any type of occupation, of any living or unliving thing. We prepared to exit the house, I followed my wife up the winding stairs and into the entrance hall. This would make a great home to raise a family, and even start a community of our own in the sheltered ravine outside. Well defended, and the land around had an abundance of resources not seen anywhere else in barren Skelgard. "I guess that's the price of living so close to Clan Verkund", I had commented to my wife while surveying the land. If lucky, they would ignore our presence on their borders, seeing as we were Highlanders and not an enemy of theirs. They seemed to stay out of these mountains, so close to the Highspires.
I thought we had it lucky, but just before we exited the house, I froze. A searing pain shot up my spine, and I fell soundlessly to the ground. All of my senses were utterly dulled, but I made out a dark figure standing over me. It was mind numbingly horrible, and grotesque. It had antlers and a face like a deer's skull but with features that seemed alien to any form of life I had ever seen. I had never seen any specimen of any Older Race before, and from what little I knew and what I remember now it looked to be of the Precursor Race, the chief most enemy of Mankind in the last eon. I opened my mouth to scream, but instead of sound coming out I beheld my very life force draining out of me, as it's head opened into what I could only guess to be a great maw. I beheld my own death, but my wife must have heard something, for all I saw after that was a blinding light, and I heard through muffled senses someone chanting an incantation as if they were far away. I heard a sound like steel smashing through wood and bone, and quite suddenly, everything became clearer, and it was as if all color returned to the world. I passed out and woke up hours later. My wife had driven away the ghost and brought me back to consciousness. We sent word to Sternkhut' to send in a team of priests and witch hunters, and prepared to brave a night or two in the Verkund grasslands with our children - it was better to risk the clans and beasts of flesh and blood than to spend a dark moonless night in haunted mountains."

excerpt from "a Highlander's account, book 5 - the Land of Plenty"

Spirit Host

Within the lands of the feudal Flint Hills tribes of the Theissiesc, below the Highlands, Spirit Hosts are often much more problematic. The clans of that land fight amongst each other much more than the kingdoms of the Highlands, as did their ancestors. Spirit Hosts of one of the great clans sometimes march to war just like those of the Highlands, but they do not always march against the Dark Races, but against their clan enemies, or their ancestors. Luckily, most often Spirit Hosts encountered in the Flint Hills are traveling from the Highlands towards the deeps of the Labyrinthyyne, ever diligent in their quest to find Keltaren, and Spirit Hosts of the Clans are often like to do the same. But not always. Some clans will even call upon their ancestors to fight other clans, though disturbing them is generally greatly frowned upon if it is not in dire need.

Origin/Ancestry

the Ancestors of the Theissiesc, or those of older, darker races

Dark Fear of Evil Spirits by darkness

A very rare sight, the Ghost of a Titan. Titans were the original form of Mankind, before the Old Ones imprisoned Keltaren and endeavored to weaken humanity. Had they succeeded fully before being felled my mortals, Mankind would no longer exist. Luckily, that did not come to pass. Titans still exist to this day, though very few in number. For whatever reason, this tampering failed to transform all humans. All Titans, corporeal or incorporeal, exist in a state of eternal pain that wears away at them. The energies that sustain their mighty essences within their great bodies are damaged, and strain from the effort. One of the consequences of this is that they do not propagate nearly as quickly as humans and that their souls do not always remain "sane". Such spirits can be dangerous, sometimes they are completely normal, sometimes they are volatile and even hostile against Theissiesc that they encounter. These mad Titans can prove devastating to a region they appear in, and it takes a lot to cast them down, bind them or destroy them. Not all are mad, however.