Though the body was burned beyond recognition, the owner of the hotel claims to have witnessed the event. "The tattoos on his arms lit up," she said, "and then his entire body caught fire."
--from a 1960 police investigation, unsolved
Fire Spirits are not actually spirits, but people who work magic centered on light, wind, and fire, or as they know them, the three elements of illumination, breath, and heat. These are believed by Fire Spirits to be the three elements that make up everything in the world, and thus by manipulating these three elements, one can effectively manipulate the world around them. They do this through the use of symbols marked on different objects. By writing variants of the symbols of illumination, breath, and heat, Fire Spirits can channel magic through objects. By writing the symbols in something permanent, the magic can be activated over and over.
Training
Fire Spirits are raised in the tenets and traditions of the community, learning both the principles of their beliefs, such as the three basic elements, and basic magic work alongside "ordinary" subjects in school. Any adult in a Fire Spirit community is expected to be able to complete basic magic workings, and if they can't they are considered inferior to others. After completing school, a person can continue to study advanced magic, the same way they might attend college to study biology or literature. In advanced magic studies, students learn to use blood magic. Blood is considered to have the perfect balance of the three elements, which is why it gives life. This also makes is particularly powerful for channeling magic. Fire Spirits are taught to use their own blood, though some have been known to use the blood of others. The best way to heighten the power of a magical working, however, is to channel it through your own body, which Fire Spirits do by tattooing the symbols on their bodies. Therefore, someone who has many tattoos is likely a Fire Spirit of great power. However, if someone uses too much of their body's energy to channel a spell, they can be killed by the magic.
Structure
Fire Spirit communities generally have a political structure which resemble that of the country they are in. They do not have an umbrella structure, though internationally, the Fire Spirits tend to operate as a meritocracy, with those who are have proven themselves magically being superior than others. While these people usually overlap with those who are extensively tattooed, in some rare exceptions, this is not the case.
Location
The Fire Spirits are located all over the world. They usually live in small towns which they hide from outsiders using light magic. The magic makes the towns appear different from far away, usually as a run-down place that people probably don't want to visit. Interestingly, this magic is closely related to that used by the
Foxes to keep their communities hidden. In addition, they try to select places that are away from highways or otherwise off the beaten path to keep people from finding them.
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