Spirits
From Ardesia
- This page is out of date, though substantially correct. Consider it provisional but still broadly conceptually sound.
Spirits inhabit all things in the world. They are the essence of a thing, the part that makes the thing what it is. A tree has a spirit that is the essence of tree-ness, as does a sword, a stone, a wind, cloud, valley, and anything else. Spiritcraft is a relatively unknown form of magic that involves recruiting and working with spirits to achieve effects.
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[edit] Spirit worship
Spirits are often given thanks or gifts out of respect. Travelers might leave a small offering of food or drink at a prominent spot in the place they pass through for the spirit of the place. Offerings vary and are usually chosen to suit a spirit's tastes if known, but even the meagrest offering is acceptable if offered with suitable reverence or humility.
[edit] Spirits' nature
The activity of a spirit (quite naturally) reflects the nature of the object it inhabits. For example, the spirit of a flame will be more active than the spirit of a rock.
Spirits come into being in unison with the object they inhabit. Similarly, the spirit of a thing changes and grows as the object changes and grows. A grand old tree with a wise and complex spirit will have begun as a sapling with a young, simple spirit. The spirit of a place abused and torn by war will be similarly twisted and harrowed.
A spirit is both unitary and fragmented. The more whole an object is, the more whole the spirit is; conversely, the more fragmented the object is, the less well integrated are the spirits who make up the parts. A house, being an artificial thing held together loosely by human ingenuity is a mass of spirits in an uneasy marriage. Conversely, a steel sword masterfully formed will have its own, new spirit forged from the lesser spirits that inhabited the iron, flame, air, gemstones, wire, and leather that went into its creation. The great stones that make up a ancient keep will have settled, over the years, into an in-between thing that is both the spirit of the walls collectively, and the spirits of the stones individually.
[edit] Interacting with spirits
Apart from the little-known art of spiritcraft, spirits rarely interact directly with people. Partly, they are limited to the forces natural to their form: fire can spit and crackle in reflection of the angry spirit inside, but the flame can only do what flames do. An angry mountain is more dangerous as it can throw an avalanche down its slopes, but then again it takes much more to rouse a mountain's ire than that of an inconstant fire spirit.
Spirits can be influenced, but it is harder than most who ask them to intervene believe. Spirits are generally indifferent to the plight of humans; they usually feel that the current state of affairs is as it ought to be and deign not to interfere. Similarly, a slight to a spirit will often be ignored simply because it does not care enough to pay it any mind. Most people choose not to run the risk that a spirit is in a bad temper, though, and diligently make the small gestures of respect that are its due.
A wise and observant person will sometimes learn to read the moods of spirits. Some of these see omens or signs. Others can read the temper of a familiar spirit like they can read the face of an intimate; they might read the mood of the river on which they have fished for fifty years in its whorls and eddies. There are even those few who have earned the spirits' respect or fear, and who can ask or command them with some degree of success. Some have learnt the individual natures of spirits so closely that they know what will motivate them, and can incite them to do their bidding by working with them in a common cause. All of these are examples of spiritcraft, though a practitioner may not call it such or even recognise their talent as anything uncommon.
[edit] Maturation
A spirit will grow and mature as it participates in events.
