Spirit
Every living thing has a spirit, and those spirits are meant to traverse to the otherworld upon death, referred to by various names including heaven, paradise, astral plane, the garden, and vosculhu. These spirits are known by different names in different regions, and by different powers. The Church of the Great Mother calls them souls, the Ban Fellowship calls them essence, the Druid Circles call them wisps, and the Colacho call them anima. Regardless of what they are called, they are regarded as otherworldly and mostly dangerous to the uninitiated.
Sometimes the spirit can't make the journey and is trapped in the physical world. That spirit is an ethereal being of pure Vita. They must maintain their forms and existence by feeding on vita, emotional energy, and life's very essence, or fade into obscurity. There are those anchored to a specific location, called a haunt, and those who can freely traverse the physical world, called a specter. A starving spirit will be driven mad eventually and turned into a wraith. Starving and hungry, it will attack the living. Once they become a wraith there is no turning back. Wraiths can further devolve into a poltergeist, a lustful and envious spirit that can affect the physical world. Or it can become an apparition, completely insane and plainly visible for the world to see. Rarely, a spirit can become both.
Basic Information
Biological Traits
When visible, they appear as a gaseous form, glowing blue in the night. Leaving cold spots wherever they manifest. Lights pulse as it feeds and uses gases for propulsion. Leaves a faint sulfur smell wherever it goes. Requires 100 square yards of sustenance to keep a single form well fed.
Ecology and Habitats
Aside from the shores of the Adi River, which are rich in vita, they can be found mostly around swamps, churches and graveyards, the site of a terrible tragedy or great loss of life, but anywhere that has an abundance of energy and continued life is sufficient. The sorrowful wails of the grieving and the jubilant praises of the faithful are like a beacon to their kind, drawing them in. Any strong emotion can lure them.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Those who made the journey into the other world subsist off nectar made of pure vita, provided by the gods. Those lost in the tumultuous current along the way must feed on whatever energies they can. Those who remain on the physical plane consume emotion and Vita from living beings and the environment, gases from decomposition can also maintain their own form. Specifically, they feed on the entire emotional spectrum, everything from joy and love to despair and sorrow. As such they are known to feed on the overly emotional.
The benevolent congregate around positive emotions and tend to the living, allowing them to believe them to be their departed family and friends. The joy and love serving to feed the spirits appetites. They receive offerings of food and drink, consuming the affection attached.
The malicious lure unsuspecting victims into bogs and swamps where they become entangled and trapped. Once the ensnared being starts to panic the spirit can begin to feed. Once dead, the gases from decomposition continue to provide sustenance. A strong enough spirit is even able to possess the living, using them as a host as it slowly drains the life and vita out of them while it brings pain and suffering to those around it. They have been known to drive a person to their own death.
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
The gods choose their champions from among these beings. Spirits serve at the pleasure of the divine.
Among the cirvaeon there are halls to which spirits are bound to serve. How they reach this position varies greatly. Losalf are the chosen of Erasteus, Dokkalf are the chosen of Cateus, Maralf are the chosen of Stuhumena, and Svartalf are the chosen of Amalius. They can find themselves fulfilling many tasks, from messengers and spies, to smiths and tinkerers, to healers or poisoners, to soldiers and guards, and everything in between. Any who do not serve in one of the four grand halls is simply referred to as an alfsir.
Among the baalim there is but one hall, that of the Saligia. These spirits serve in vosculhu and can be called upon to serve in the flesh once again, by those who know the correct rituals. Within this hall there are three crypts where the spirits sleep until called upon. They are the avernad, lampad, and nergalad crypts. Crypts are assigned based on which Gabyun they sought power from in life.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Drawn to the emotions of others. They can also affect the emotions of those nearby, instilling feelings ranging from hope to dread.They can also see the vita flows and vita points in all things. And can feel vita levels around them.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
Until its vita is exhausted or dispelled
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Residence in the various halls results in a varied appearance. The Losalf have very fair complexions with blonde hair and gray eyes. The Dokkalf have olive complexions with dark hair and eyes. The Maralf have a medium complexion with a blueish tint, with green hair and eyes. The Svartalf have black complexions with reddish hair and eyes. The Saligia have deep red complexions with rust colored hair and eyes. They are draped in shadow with scales like armor, venomous bite, and fiery claws.
Related Organizations
Comments