Editing Spirit world (section)

= Spirits in the Physical World =


In the physical world, followers of the spirit paths learn to understand some powers through their mysteries. Such phenomena are ghosts, the walking dead, and the seita. These are seen throughout the Icesus valley, though not all people will see them.  

 
== Ghosts ==


Ghosts appear when something so ‘wrong’ happens in the community such that the community ‘breaks’--something revolutionary, or something terrible happens within the family or the community--and the people most closely involved in the situation cannot handle it. Major tragedies (eg. sickness, accidents) and breaking taboos (e.g. murder, incest, adultery) in the community are the most common causes of ghost appearances. 
 
Once it manifests, a ghost will persecute the community until the injustice or transgression has been remedied. Over time, more people will be able to ‘see’ the ghost and they will talk of it amongst themselves, which makes the ghost stronger. 
 
Example:  A Khatun leaves her khan and he hangs himself using a belt she left behind. The Khatun moves back into the manor and several days later an eerie character resembling the the former khan begins to circle the empty halls during the night.  Servants and family members see the ghost and say he is seeking his lost love. A solution must be found which will satisfy the ghost to have it stop wandering and possibly move on. The khatun may seek out the ghost and apologize to it, promising to keep company with it one night a week for the following months.  A more resourceful khatun might seek out a willing ghost (from another tragedy in a different manor house) that will ‘join’ with the dead khan in a ritual matrimony.   
 
Most of the pagan peoples in the northern lands are afraid of ghosts.  In Valkor, the Templars consciously include the ghosts of their ancestral mothers alive in their worship rites. They believe an ancestral mother who is honored with appropriate rites will reward her descendent(s) with a share of her own knowledge of the afterlife.

 
== The Walking Dead ==


Almost all cultures of the north know the concept of the living dead who have risen from the grave to steal the vitality of the living. The Gaesati call these the ‘vuovru’, the [[Eskara|Eskarans]] call them ‘strigo’, and the [[Wilders|Wilders]] use both words.  In [[Valkor|Valkor, the Children of Light]] call them ‘dhampirs’. 
 
Unlike other undead, the walking dead have a physical craving for blood and they can become a physical threat as they seek to satisfy this thirst. Otherwise, the walking dead are similar to the ghosts described above. They arise from crime, injustice, and tragedy, and can only be overcome by identifying the wrong and rectifying it.

 
== Seita ==


Where ghosts and the walking-dead are human-born, the Seita are born of nature itself. By time it is a century old, every forest has a seita, and the nature of that seita reflects the nature of the forest. Similarly, the mountains, marshes, lakes and hills have their own seita.
 
A seita is not so much a person or a mind but a ‘being’ that reflects the surrounding nature. Seita do not interact directly with people, there are no discussions or exchanges, but in the physical world there are sensitive people who can sense its essence. 
 
Each seita has a holy place for worship rituals. There are rituals that are spiritually connected to the seita, and if a traveller has acted in the seita's domain with respect for nature in balance and harmony with environment, they may learn some new abilities. A seita exists only through the wellbeing surrounding nature; if the surrounding nature changes or is destroyed, the seita will be changed or destroyed as well.