Spiritism

From Mizahar Lore

"Threatened with expulsion from the Academy if my grades did not improve, I finally took Spiritism I. 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).

WORK IN PROGRESS