Vesanmer
Even the un-Sighted can notice the major highways. Look for a shimmer in the air, like the sun baking on a roof, but stretched long and thin across the land.
The power source that fuels the world. When a person dies, they must make the journey to the nearest gateway to the afterlife. It might be quite far - hundreds of miles even. A Soul Guide will show them the way, following familiar paths. Eventually, the paths begin to meet up. Ghosts from all over the region slowly converge on well-worn roads on their way to the afterlife. Hundreds of souls passing along a road makes the air shimmer with their energy.
This energy can be harnessed. Though a single ghost's energy is barely enough to make a spark, the energy of hundreds amounts to significant power. This power is called vesanmer.
Vesanmer functions similarly to electricity in some ways. It can be moved from one place to another via copper wires (or other conductive metals) and when released, can be used to power machinery. In its purest form, it is energy. For most of history, humans could only use vesnamer within a small distance of a highway, limited by the length of copper wire. This changed in the 10th century, with the invention of Pathstones by Muslim scholar Al-Zahrawi.
Pathstones are crystals that can store vesnamer and transport it to distant locations. The crystals are left on the highway for the dead to walk over, gradually charging them up. Then they are taken to be used in industry, lighting, heating, or so much more. The study of vesanmer and pathstones is known as wlzamastry , from the Arabic الزمرد (al-zamarad, emerald, the original pathstones).
Etymology
From Latin vis, "force, energy" and anima, "soul", via Old French. Known as vis animārum in Latin texts.
Type
Metaphysical, Supernatural
