The Phantoms of Old Irumi

Tsaru chased a phantom.

It was a weak one, a Mushin in the form of a bamboo sprout that floated just above the ground, lazily drifting just beyond her reach. Tsaru wouldn't have noticed it, except it had rooted itself to a boulder.

"Oniyo!" Tsaru yelled. "Come help me catch it!"

"Tsaru," a weary voice called out from behind her on the path. "You're going to get hurt."

"Am not!" She dove for the phantom, getting a small hand around the stalk of bamboo.

In response, the stalk split along a segment and bit her hand.

Tsaru cried out in pain, but didn't let go. Weaker phantoms could only give illusions of pain, not actually harm her.

The bamboo shoot, evidently out of ideas, resolved upon becoming very still.

"See?" She stood up and held out the phantom to Oniyo. "I'm not hurt."

"You tore your dress."

A tall young man with dark skin walked up to her and knelt down, setting aside a blade sheathed in a black and gold case. His stubbly face crinkled with worry as he examined her knee.

"I'm not a baby, Oniyo. Besides, I'm fine." She pushed the bamboo at his face. "Look!"

"I see it." He frowned at it. "Just a spore-pod. It grows up into a Whispering Gill."

It hissed at him suddenly, and Tsaru jerked it back from his face.

He shook his head. "Not dangerous. Just intent on surviving, like most of us phantoms are."

Oniyo stood and dusted off his red robes, covered with a ginko-leaf pattern.

"So is this one useful?" she asked him. She had been hunting all week for a good one in preparation for the shaman's visit.

"In its adult stage, yes." He tapped his chin. "I think they help keep a river from overflowing during floods."

Tsaru smiled. "We'll take it home to the shaman, then. He'll give us something good for it."

"If your parents allow you to visit him again." Oniyo shouldered his sheathed blade and ruffled her hair. "Let's get back."

The pair walked along the mountain path, enjoying the sunlight. It cast a dappled pattern on the ground as it filtered through the thick leaves of late spring.

The mountain was lush with life this year. After a smoke-filled autumn and a terrible winter with snow so deep she hardly remembered the colors of the earth, Tsaru was glad to see the plants and animals doing so well.

Of course, where life was abundant, phantoms were too.

Tsaru looked at the bamboo sprout in her fist. "Will Me-me and Che-che be able to see this one, like they can sometimes see you?"

Oniyo grunted. "I doubt it. It's only at certain parts of a phantom's life cycle that they manafest in your world."

"What about your life cycle?"

He looked annoyed. "I am not a Mushin. Kiniko are a little more complex mentally, and less complex developmentally."

Tsaru rolled her eyes. "You phantoms are so weird. And vain."

Basic Information

Anatomy

Main Sequence (from weakest to strongest): Mushin, Kiniko, Noshen, Otaazu

Divine: Tamiki, Ranu

Contested: Biroche

Main Sequence phantoms are the most varied in morphology, ranging in manifestation (both physical and metaphysical) from ordinary items like a cup or cloud to more advanced manifestations like animals and occasionally humans.

Tamiki are rarely seen and have very little form. They are generally regarded as the gods of the afterlife, though they see themselves more as gatekeepers of the Borderlands. When seen they resemble shifting mists that envelop the observer from all angles, occasionally having a multitude of glowing pairs of eyes.

Ranu are almost always an animal, larger than their mundane counterparts and containing some distinguishing mark such as glowing light that hovers above them or plants growing from their body.

Biroche are not always recognized by academia as "Phantoms," since they arise as vengeful spirits of humans. They resemble the human they once were, twisted and malevolent. They often reflect the manner in which they died through symbolic morphology (e.g. glowing eyes and black nails for fire, bloody footprints for an executed murderer, lacking a mouth for drowning, etc). There is one notable exception to this, a class of Biroche from the souls of those who died in the heat of hatred. They imitate not the people they were in life but instead the people they most hated. These phantoms have not been directly observed by academics, who currently classify them as myths...

Genetics and Reproduction

Main Sequence phantoms have as varied of life cycles and means of reproduction as natural species do. Only Biroche do not reproduce, being formed solely by the death of humans or other sentient species, occasionally even Ranu.

Growth Rate & Stages

Main Sequence phantoms vary in lifespan and developmental phases across and within all four classes, though they tend to share some similar characteristics. They fade into existence as they slowly grow in strength and die in like manner when they are not killed, slowly losing their power and eventually dissipating entirely.

Ranu have a slightly longer lifespan than the animals they appear to be, and reproduce asexually by laying an egg when nearing the end of their life. If killed prematurely or if the egg is destroyed another Ranu will come across the Borderlands to replace it, though this can take months or years, during which time the area can experience extreme conditions and even become barren. Otherwise Ranu grow and develop rather like a normal animal.

Biroche are born within ten days of their predecessor's death. They are immediately fully grown and do not age during their life. They will only die when killed by other phantoms or by a shaman's intervention. Thankfully the death of one Biroche never spawns a new one.

Ecology and Habitats

Phantoms originate from the Borderlands, according to the ones who retain some of their memory from the crossing. Most phantoms never leave the Borderlands and never interact with the physical world except to draw sustenance from the life-force it produces. Little is known as no human has ever journeyed there. Tamiki, who exist somewhere between the two worlds, say little about it but hint that it contains more life in more variety than has been cataloged by human scholars.

Phantoms who cross the Borderlands to enter the physical world more fully (a spiritual rather than a physical journey) do so for a few common reasons. First is to fill a niche that optimizes their survival, not so much a conscious choice as one of habitat (e.g. Mushin and Otaazu). Second is curiosity about the physical world and the desire to study it more; in spite of the great risk they take in losing much of their memory and exposing themselves to perils, most sentient phantoms such as Kiniko and Noshen fall into this category and they are as numerous as they are varied. Third is from being bound to the physical world in some way, whether through a shaman's actions (any phantom) or from their very nature (Ranu, Biroche, and some Kiniko).

Dietary Needs and Habits

Mushin, the lowest form of phantom life, absorb their energy from the abundance of life-force around them in the natural world, usually plants and groups of animals. Most higher order phantoms either consume lower order phantoms or absorb the life-force of individual animals, including humans. The further they are across the Borderlands into the physical world, the more they subsist on physical nutrients, though they always require some form of spiritual nourishment.

Biroche, however, do not need to eat at all and can survive without any spiritual or physical nourishment for years. In spite of this they will often kill whatever phantom is unlucky enough to cross their path, and will target humans for their life-force preferentially.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Phantoms have the ability to sense any form of life within a given proximity, depending both on their level of personal power and the power of the individual they are sensing. Those further across the Borderlands into the physical world experience a reduction in this sense and gain stronger powers of perception appropriate to their form. Humanoid and animal manifestations gain sight, hearing, etc, while more mundane objects and plants gain chemical perception and touch.

Genetic Descendants

• Biroche: the False Earthstalkers