Ghost

The so-called "ghosts" residing within the heart are of little concern. They have never been spotted from a distance closer than a jhosophant long, and their intangibility suggests they are a mere trick of the light. The only danger they pose could be that of causing a heart attack through shock of seeing it... but that is only a matter of concern for the unprepared, which would not make it deep enough to encounter one in the first place.

— Excerpt from An Assessment on the Threats Posed through Travel to the Heart

Ghosts are mysterious creatures that can be found at the Heart of Etharai. They manifest in the form of blurry silhouettes, far in the distance from any observers. They are a well-document phenomenon, of which no surface scholar has been able to find an answer for. Some argue that the ghosts shouldn't be considered a species at all, thinking of them as a hallucination, shadows, or reflections of light.

Average Height

Varies; typically between 3-9 feet

Geographic Distribution

• The Heart of Etharai

Appearance

Ghosts appear as shifting and blurred grey-white forms, in vaguely humanoid shapes. When spotted, they are difficult to focus one's eyes on, and almost always appear across caverns or otherwise uncrossable areas. If approached, they dissapate, appearing as though they were blown away by the wind.

Knowledge of the Keepers

Ghosts are well-studied by the Keepers living in and around the Heart, as they are closely tied to its magic. Ghosts are the remainders of those who have died - magical imprints, so to speak. They are given form through their proximity to the heart, but they exist across the rest of the planet, giving off soft and hard-to-detect Auras. These Auras are often the source of interference in certain fields of magical study, which researchers chalk up to chance or experimenter error.

Ghosts and the Keepers

Historically, these ghosts have helped to provide magical insights to the Keepers. They feel the magic around them, and are hyper-aware of it and its changes - even more so than the keepers. The ghosts are behind many magical discoveries made by Keepers across the centuries.
Because of this, the Keepers are reverent of these ghosts, paying their respects whenever they encounter one. They are known to send soft magical pulses in the directions of the ghosts to help guide them, since their only method of seeing or interacting with their surroundings is through magic. Sometimes, the ghosts will send a similar pulse in response. These pulses are near-indetectible unless one is specifically aware of and looking for them. They see this as a way to guide the beings that aided in guiding them.