Spiritism

From Mizahar Lore

Revision as of 18:44, 23 March 2014

"Threatened with expulsion from the Academy if my grades did not improve, I finally took Spiritism 1. I thought of the training ghosts as nothing more than an easy six credits. That was until I found out they had attended the same course in the last semester." - Vuld Shaik, "Magic and I"

Spiritism

World magic
Full name	Spiritism
Availability	Throughout Mizahar
Learned from	Users, books
Key concept	Interacting with ghosts and, to a lesser degree, undead
Uses	Combat, manipulation, various
Risks	Death or worse

Spiritism is an ancient branch of world magic that deals with ghosts and, at high levels, undead. Born as a shamanistic form of magic, it was developed by Alahean wizards into an effective combat and support tool. A spiritist is a "medium" who can understand ghosts better than most, but he can also fight and enslave them if he knows how. He can withstand possession much better than a regular person, and actually turn it into a powerful symbiosis with the ghost. A Spiritist can summon ghosts and try to make them do his bidding, hiring them to defend him or carry out other tasks. They can generate Soulmist, the substance that makes up a ghost's shroud - often from the Spiritist's own body. By dressing a ghost with Soulmist of their creation, the Spiritists can gift the ghost with more powers or replenish their strength. They can also damage ghosts by shredding their Soulmist with suitable tools, forcing them away and giving them great pain.

Overview

Spiritists are a very old cadre of wizards, probably because unlike most world magic, their tools are simple to craft and use. Ghosts are a normal occurrence in Mizahar; people know they exist, and in many cases coexist, with the living. Ghosts are souls that extended their stay past death to take care of unfinished business, choosing not to reincarnate in the afterlife. Some ghosts, however, would do harm upon the living, and human wizards specialized in hunting them. This basic need led to the birth of Spiritism, though the discipline soon evolved past simple spiritual fighting as wizards realized that ghosts could make very convenient allies and servants.

Spiritism is a more social discipline than most, except perhaps Summoning. The two disciplines are similar in that negotiation and charisma are crucial to the successful medium. While they can engage ghosts in spiritual warfare, talking it out is often a more convenient avenue as it means acquiring a potential ally in the future. Of course, the Spiritist must take care not to be fooled by the ghosts he deals with, many of which are deceivers bent on his ruination.

Spiritists are not necessarily religious people, though they may act out of religious desire to liberate ghosts from their torment. Personal ethics range from total benevolence to malice, with every shade of gray in between. Every town and settlement tends to have at least one, and he is often called upon when an unfriendly ghost overstays its welcome. Spiritists are feared and respected, more so than most denominations of wizards, due to the creepy nature of their business. However, they also tend to make enemies in the spiritual world, whose inhabitants are known to hold endless grudges.

A majority of Spiritists can only affect ghosts, but experts and masters are also useful against the undead, especially those bearing the marks of their patron Uldr. The god of undeath has been known to send his minion after certain Spiritists who had incurred his wrath.

Soulmist

Soulmist is the matter ghosts are made of, replacing the astral body of a living soul. It is normally ethereal, though the ghost can make it corporeal through materialization when it needs to interact with the environment. When it becomes material, the ghost can, in turn, take damage and shed its Soulmist, which brings it great pain and cripples it. A ghost without Soulmist cannot do anything, not even be seen. The substance will eventually regrow, but this can take a long time, like wounds for the living.

Soulmist is the key to the Spiritist's power. These wizards know how to produce Soulmist and use it to their advantage. The material is created from food and a vial of blood. Spiritists have different recipes and methods, but the most common way is the following. The wizard will take an egg, flour and soft cheese (three foods from different sources) as well as the blood, and create a dough either in a bowl or directly in his own mouth. The dough must spend time in his body for the process to work; some just chew it for a duration, others will swallow and regurgitate. The wizard must concentrate and focus on what he wants to achieve.

In the end, the wizard will emit an off-white gel that can be shaped in his own hands or stored in a clean container for later use, though it will decay after a few days. This is Soulmist: the slight glow, as well the unnatural coolness of the material will signal that the operation was a success. Especially good Soulmist is made from the Spiritist's own blood, and it is said that pure creatures yield the very best Soulmist.

A ghost needs the Spiritist's permission to absorb his Soulmist. Ghosts can tell its quality from the smell and will be much more interested in rarer, high-value Soulmist. Absorbing Soulmist replenishes the ghost's strength, undoes damage (whole or in part) and is a soothing, pleasant experience for the ghost - one of the few it can ever experience. This means the Spiritist can trade it with favors and services from a freelancing ghost. It can also improve a sour ghost's morale, though care should be taken not to strengthen a hostile ghost that will find nasty ways to use the newfound power.

High-level Spiritists can make even better use of Soulmist: they can imbue it with a part of the skills and powers of the blood's owner. A ghost eating this Soulmist will then acquire these skills and abilities as long as the effect lasts (which is a few days).

Spiritual weapons and armor

When Soulmist is smeared over an item or body part of the living, it is quickly absorbed, disappearing from view. The object can then interact with ghosts and ethereal undead for a few hours. Weapons can then wound a ghost, and armor will prevent them from passing through, even though they are not invulnerable to a ghost's attacks. An experienced Spiritist has created so much Soulmist that his body gains the same ability at all times. The very best Spiritists can render the effect on items permanent.

Safe zones

A Spiritist can set boundaries that ghosts will be unable to cross, thus creating safe zones. Again, this is the work of Soulmist. The Spiritist will smear it on a series of small items connected through string (made from the Spiritist's own hair, if possible, or someone close to him otherwise). A popular choice among Spiritist is Ghostbeads, pebble-sized stones of considerable weight. These beads form a ring resembling a giant necklace. When thrown on the floor, the area inside the beads is off-limits to ghosts. The bare minimum is three beads charged with Soulmist, but the more, the better; seven is a favorite. The same principle applies to any closed shape and set of tokens.

Ghosts and their soulmist can't access safe zones (in theory; in practice, a motivated powerful ghost can eventually break through), but they can throw a knife from the outside into the safe zone. A Possessed person would either lose the ghost upon entering one, OR the ghost could hide inside but be unable to manifest or take over control while in the safe zone.

The reason ghostbeads are rather heavy is that an intelligent ghost may try to push or move them around with its powers. When the enemy is especially vicious, some Spiritists resort to driving stake-shaped pegs (Ghostnails) into the ground for better protection. In general, no defense is absolute against a resourceful ghost, though every little bit helps.

The Lie

In Spiritist jargon, it is called the Lie, as in "giving them the Lie." This can be a powerful tool, especially in a pinch, though it is still a form of bluffing. By smearing Soulmist over his face and deeply concentrating on a name or person, the Spiritist can make ghosts believe he is that person. Similarly, ingesting a tiny amount of Soulmist can make the ghost believe the Spiritist's voice is someone else's. This only affects ghosts, but will usually affect them even if they have special detection abilities, as they will want to believe the Lie. If the Spiritist does not concentrate on a specific person hard enough, the ability does not work.

Graceful possession

Possession is an ability that allows a ghost to take over a living creature for a duration. Spiritists undergo possession routinely as part of their training. Through this constant exposure to being possessed, they gradually acquire finer control over their state. While at the lower levels the Spiritist can only freeze and prevent the ghost from doing anything with his body, more experienced wizards can share control with the ghost or kick it out at will. Possession becomes less and less traumatic, and the Spiritist can even enter a symbiotic relationship with the ghost in which their skill sets and knowledge merge seamlessly. This state also makes it much easier for a ghost to acquire experience and progress in Skills other than ghostly racial skills.

At very high levels, the Spiritist can hold or trap a number of ghosts inside his own body. He can then communicate with them in his mind, and release any and all of them on a whim. This may have long-term adverse effects on his health, however.

Souldarts

High-level Spiritists are notorious for carrying creepy-looking arrows or bolts fletched from weeping willow and raven's feathers. They apply tiny incisions and fill them with high-quality Soulmist, thus creating Souldarts. The weapon of choice is often a light crossbow, though any ranged weapon works just as fine and the most adventurous wield them as melee weapons. If a Souldart hits a ghost, not only will it cause it pain and damage, but it may also pin the ghost to a wall or surface. Lesser ghosts can be blocked with a single dart, whereas greater ones can quickly break free and may require three or an entire quiver. Once blocked, the ghost cannot use any of its powers anymore. At this point, the sufficiently prepared Spiritist may proceed to dust the ghost.

A powerful enough ghost may be able to deflect a souldart by using Soulmist Projection.

Dusting ghosts

Dusting is the process by which a ghost is turned to dust. This can be done to get rid of the ghost, or to store them for later use. Dusting deprives ghosts of the ability to reincarnate in the afterlife as long as they remain in a dusted state; for this reason, it is said by many to be an immoral, unethical practice, but still widespread. The servants of Dira, the goddess of death, will pursue any who make use of dusting, and try to liberate dusted ghosts so they can reincarnate.

Dusting is performed by the expert Spiritist cutting his palm open and plunging his hand into the ghost once it is incapacitated or willing. Through the blood connection and deep concentration, the wizard sucks the ghost dry of any remaining energy, and the ghost will turn into a pile of cold ashes whose appearance depends on the ghost's soul. At this point any flask or vial will store the ghost. Weak ghosts are unconscious, but stronger ones can still weakly communicate by having their voices heard within close proximity.

Mixing a dusted ghost with fresh Soulmist will return it to its normal state instantly.

Evocation

A Spiritist of sufficient skill can 'evoke' a ghost. It should be noted that there is no 'spirit world' in Mizahar. The only places where a ghost can be are the physical world, the Void and the Ukalas. It takes a master to evoke a ghost from the latter two, but just an expert for the first.

Evocation is much like Summoning. For a normal evocation, the ghost "blinks" to the Spiritist's location wherever it may be at the time. The Spiritist must possess a vial of the ghost's Soulmist willingly offered. He will draw a small circle with a sixteen-pointed star in it, using his own blood, then place the Soulmist in it and call upon the ghost's name. If the evocation is successful, the ghost will then appear instantly. The Soulmist is then lost, so the Spiritist cannot evoke the same ghost again unless he is given more of it.

Masters can evoke a soul from the Ukalas, as previously stated. This is perhaps the most powerful ability of a Spiritist, as the souls in the Ukalas are those who have perfected themselves through countless lives, finally leaving the cycle of reincarnation to follow their patron deity. To a single man and woman, they are much more powerful than the average ghost and possess Gnosis powers of their god. This evocation does not require Soulmist, but it does require a pint of the Spiritist's blood offered in a cup in the middle of the circle, followed by an invocation. The souls of those who joined their deity in the Ukalas are not ghosts even though they can be called upon by a spiritist. They are more like ascended beings without a body.

• If the Spiritist possesses one or more Gnosis marks from the god whose souls he is calling upon, then one or more will always answer the call; the more marks, the more souls will show up.
• Without Gnosis marks, answering the call is entirely voluntary. The souls will do it if it benefits their patron god.
• Evocation with negative Gnosis marks of the deity involved means asking for trouble.

The souls will stay for a short while, attend to their business, and quickly return to the Ukalas.

Skill progression

		Part of a series of articles on Death, undeath and the dead
		Concepts	Afterlife · Soul
		Gods	Dira, goddess of death · Uldr, god of the undead
		Ghosts	Spiritism · Possession · Materialization · Soulmist Projection · Black Rock
		Nuit	Daek-nuit · Sahova · Zarik Mashaen
		Other undead	Chained One · Wretched One · Desolate One
		Factions	Returned
		Other	Embalming