The Spirits in the World
In addition to the Powers That Be, there are a host of other folks and spirits and such one needs to be wary of. The world is alive, in the sense that there is a spirit located nearly everywhere, a fashioning of the world through the Pale into a sentience and will that has its own rules and ways of being. A few of these can be found in the Bestiary. Some, like Chicory or Acacia, you will not find there. These are the Spirits in the World, Extradimensional Sorcerers, Immortal Black Knight bridge guardians, and of course the ones we call the Spirits of the World. Yes, it is a lot of things in and of the World. I said and thought that too.
These Spirits are classified into five rough groupings: The Numen, the Jinja, the Oloshe, the Halaso, and the Qira. All of them are immortal, but they are also spectral, and can be dispersed for a time; all of them have types within them, and all are protean, and half seen, peculiar and particular.
The Numen are the Wee Folk, who dwell among those things made by People, called into being by wonder and awe and family.
The Oloshe are a darker spirit, more violent, less kind, and given to the harder edges of life.
The Jinja are spectral, wispish, seen out of the corner of the eyes when sensed, can be malevolent or benevolent, are concerned with pleasures that can be varied and wild, and delight in involving themselves in the affairs of mortals. Shamans are most famous for their bargains with Jinja.
The Halaso are brought into being by strong emotions and portentous events, thereafter remaining and defining a space. It is said that they are psychic emanations by some, and others, such as Shamans, just say they are the force behind psychic spaces.
The Qira are nature’s presence, the things that dwell in the wild places and the special places, often acting as Shrine guardians and just as often the way that a Shrine is identified as suitable.
These Spirits are a part of the Wyrlde – killing them kills the world, a little bit at a time. Killing the world kills those who live and dwell within it, like us. As a result, these Spirits have significant capability to defend and protect themselves and the world.
Perhaps it is best explained using a phrase that Chicory often mutters before losing her temper, though why she of all people would reference Gaea is beyond me. She often says, “You don’t want to mess with Mother Nature, do you?” For that is what these Spirits of the World, the Powers, represent: the planet’s will and life and sentience, all as a single thing.
Shamans
The Powers in the World, the Spirits of the World, are all typically served by those folks who have risen over the ages to fill in the gap that was left when the Clerics went away. Speaking with these spirits, learning their secrets, sharing their knowledge – these are the tasks known to be undertaken by Shamans.
Shamans are often confused with Witches by most folks and can be found among all the assorted peoples and realms of the land – even the Dread peoples. Shamans terrify people, in part because of the totems and fetishes they use, the nature of their magic, the fact they will speak to things unseen by others and be answered. Shamans speak of the magic of blood, the trading of life, the needs of things that are not people, and they carry the stories and the dreams of the people they are beholden to – the dead know Shamans, who are not always known to get along well with Shrinewards, for often the two will find themselves at odds. But Shamans have skills and abilities no Shrineward ever will.
