This page is under construction...
Illustrations and minor re-writes are planned for this page, although everything here should be safe to read and remain accurate to canon.
It just might not be as fun to go through as it'll be after illustrations are created, is all!
It just might not be as fun to go through as it'll be after illustrations are created, is all!
Etherheim: Home of Magic
Etherheim is a world of magic, mind, and perception of which we humans can only observe second-hand through a mysterious book and set of cards. Anything that exists there is alive with magic, including what would traditionally be considered lifeless objects, materials, forces of nature, and even intangible things like concepts and thoughts. To explain in detail how this world works, the types of magic and spirits need to be explained:
The Five Elements and Environmental Spirits
Etherheim itself is culmination of all five basic elements, resulting in the world that other spirits reside. This category of spirits includes the aforementioned elements and anything made up of those elements, including places and objects. These spirits can be manipulated (usually passively) by the influence and expectations of non-environmental spirits, with mixed results.
First, lets go over those five basic elements. Think of these the same way you might think of colors: there may only be five elements listed, but they can overlap each other and combine to create innumerable other elements.
Earth
Solids, especially in the form of dirt, stone, and metal. Users specializing in this magic can alter the composition of solid materials in various ways, such as strengthening or weakening them. |
Water
Liquids, especially in the form of water. Users specializing in this magic can manipulate the flow and qualities of liquids, including purification, or instilling them with blessings or curses. |
Air
Gases, especially in the form of air. Users specializing in this magic can change the properties and movement of surrounding gasses, like increasing or decreasing oxygen levels, for example. |
Fire
Energy, especially in the form of heat and flames. Users specializing in this magic can summon and control fire and other energies, such as electricity. |
Physics
Space and time, and the behavior of matter through it. Users specializing in this element can alter how the a target/area is affected by universal forces. Examples include speeding up, slowing down, or stopping time; manipulating gravity, weight, density, and size; and rapidly changing location i.e. teleportation. |
To recap, things made with the five basic elements are also considered environmental spirits themselves, this includes physical places (locations). Locations are especially influenced by the memories and expectations of other spirits, constantly warping and changing in layout unless multiple spirits have strong memories of how the location 'should' look. Whether or not the place is remembered by other spirits also determines the type of location it's considered to be, which is usually one of the following:
- Dungeons - Any area between stable locations that is only remembered vaguely, and is susceptible to the conflicting memories/expectations of multiple spirits. The results are a generally consistent type of environment (a forest will always be a forest, for example), but with a layout that perpetually changes. If it helps, think of these like dungeons from a mystery dungeon game, the overall qualities of the dungeon stay the same but the layout itself is different between each visit.
- Radius of Influence - The area surrounding a spirit, where the environment temporarily stops shifting and becomes stable. The range (how big the radius is) and duration (how long the effects of the radius last after the spirit moves away from the area) depends on the type of spirit, and how powerful the individual is.
- Paths - Areas between landmarks, dwellings, and other stable locations that are traveled through often, giving them a fairly stable and consistent layout. Although paths are the safest and quickest method of travel, they can only be used after the spirit has physically visited the landmarks or dwellings before. Think of paths as the ability to warp after you've been to a place.
- Landmarks - Locations that are memorable enough that many spirits remember them, giving them a fairly stable and consistent layout between visits.
- Dwellings - A special type of landmark, the home of a spirit or multiple spirits whose innumerable memories keep the place very stable. These places are vital to the spirit(s) who live there, and can only be entered if the resident spirit(s) allow it. If a spirit's physical body perishes, it's soul will return to it's dwelling and eventually be reborn again. Awakened spirits can typically choose where to revive if they have access to multiple dwellings (except in rare circumstances), but familiars almost always revive at whichever dwelling that their contracted spirit asks for them to. Examples of dwellings include animal dens, houses, villages, towns, cities, ect.
- Headquarters - A type of dwelling, used as a base of operations by a group of one or more awakened spirits, their companions, and familiars. Headquarters require a good deal of magical power to create, but are extremely useful to use for adventuring guilds and similar organizations.
Living Spirits
Individual spirits that live within an environment (as opposed to being a part of it) and have a will of their own are known as living spirits.
They can be categorized by their power and abilities, including the following:
They can be categorized by their power and abilities, including the following:
Passive Spirits
Spirits whose radius of influence are limited to the dimensions of their physical form, which means they can't manipulate the environment around them, it will continue to shift and place them in different locations/positions. They are sometimes confused with environmental spirits (objects), since their form can be manipulated by the will of active and awakened spirits. The key difference is that they, if given enough magic and certain care requirements are met, can further grow into an active or awakened spirit themselves, thus proving that they do have a will of their own and are a type of living spirit. Examples of passive spirits include plants, fungi, stones, ect. |
Active Spirits
Spirits with a regular radius of influence, usually stretching as far as it's vision can focus. Most spirits in this category are different types of creatures or simple beings who haven't yet awakened. |
Awakened Spirits
Spirits who possess a high enough level of sentience/sapience to comprehend how the world around them works on a level that non-awakened spirits can't. Being awakened means the spirit's influence is particularly powerful, allowing them to create new landmarks or dwellings, and form contracts with other spirits. Naturally occurring awakened spirits, otherwise known as awake at birth, are very rare (examples include potion sippers and carnibunncles), however non-awakened spirits can actually become awoken if certain conditions are met, usually with the assistance of an already awakened spirit via a contract. |
Contracts
Contracts are partnerships formed between an awakened spirit and others, intangible but very real. Many non-awakened spirits form these contracts in exchange for safety and basic needs. They're able to absorb energy through the contract to become more powerful, which is what sometimes leads to them becoming awoken themselves.
- Contracts with passive spirits are formed when one is placed in a stable environment (oftentimes a dwelling) that allows it to thrive, which yields many different results depending on what the spirit is. For example, stones placed in favorable patterns such as circles and triangles will express their gratitude by giving enchantments to the surrounding area. Plants and fungi will grow in abundance and produce better crops if nurtured within dwellings as well. Stones, plants, and fungi may also awaken into golems, mandragoras, and faeries respectively if certain conditions are met, which are all very helpful in their own right!
- Contracts with active spirits can be a bit trickier to form, since consent from the spirit itself is required and thus it's favor must be earned. This can be as simple as giving a gift of it's favorite food, but is usually a more specific and difficult task. Caring for and bonding with contracted active spirits allows them to grow, which can change their appearance (color, markings, and other physical details), and may even awaken them in time. Active spirits can possess compatible objects, changing the object's appearance and abilities (for example, a hammerbeak can possess a hammer to create a kelenken hammer) During this process the active spirit's physical body is absorbed into the object, although it doesn't feel pain and can't be harmed, and breaking said object will simply free the spirit. Spirits possessing objects are still conscious and can see the world around them through their contractor's eyes, but can only perform actions that their current form allows them to (it depends on what the object could do beforehand, and abilities gained upon possession) For example, many possessed objects cannot physically speak.
- Contracts with other awakened spirits, otherwise known as companionships, are less binding than contracts with other spirits and can be formed or severed at any given time, at the discretion of either party. Companions can't possess objects and only gain power from the contract if one member is far more powerful than the other. However, companionships have other benefits useful for adventuring together, such as being able to easily locate each other within dungeons or large locations when separated. Think of these as party members, or a pool of characters that you can form a party from.
Mortality, Revival, and True Death
As mentioned briefly above, spirits in Etherheim are capable of living beyond the expiration of their physical form, although they aren't necessarily immortal. Memories and identity are vital to spirits as losing them can lead to true death, and reviving can eat away at both. Life in Etherheim is still precious, if not more so than what we're familiar with in our own world, since truly and permanently losing someone to death is a rarer occurrence. That being said, life tends to be a little more chaotic (yet at the same time, more peaceful) when you're not afraid of dying every now and then. Dangerous tasks such as adventuring are more common, yet the struggle for survival doesn't weigh on everyone quite as much, so serious conflicts over resources (war) aren't as likely to occur.
Physical bodies that no longer hold a spirit don't stick around for long, although how exactly one disperses depends on what the spirit was (the body of a sipper, for example, flakes away into colorful dust after a few moments) Certain parts of the body stay intact after dispersal, referred to as drops, which vary depending on the spirit and individual. For example, a dodo's body may leave behind feathers and meat, as well as anything it was carrying. If an adventurer is quick enough, they may be able to run back to where they died and recover most or all of the items they dropped.
Revival requires a safe location that the spirit has knowledge of (usually a dwelling of some sort) and can occur a few moments to a few days after the physical body disperses. Ideally, the spirit's new physical body will be of the same age, strength, health, and appearance that it previously had, and retain all it's memories. However this is rarely the case, there is usually some sort of drawback to reviving (common symptoms include feeling weak, regressing in age, or missing memories up to the point of their death) which will depend on a number of different factors including: what kind of spirit it is (passive, active, awakened); if it was under contract with another spirit; the strength of the individual itself; the events leading up to it's death; and how the death occurred. Usually anything that was lost during revival can be regained if given enough time.
Losing memories from death can be particularly dangerous, as a spirit needs to know of a safe place to revive, and remember who and what it was in order to do so. Those without a body who also lack the criteria for revival are known as lost spirits or ghosts, and will float around aimlessly until their energy disperses completely, otherwise known as true death. It's unknown what actually happens after true death, although it's comforting to imagine that perhaps they simply reincarnate as something else, rather than ceasing to exist completely. Being able to see lost spirits naturally is an ability only a few individuals are capable of, although some items and enchantments can temporarily allow for it, and most individuals can vaguely sense their presence regardless. These spirits are not usually dangerous or malicious (only able to interact in subtle ways, similar to the rumored ghosts of our own world), but do often evoke feelings of unease, fear, and sadness, and areas with high populations of them (hauntings) give a sense of dread and being unwelcome. Ghosts can be saved if they're brought back to a safe place for revival and reminded of who they are by someone they're familiar with. This, along with the fact that energies can take quite a long time to disperse (especially for awakened or otherwise strong spirits), means temporarily becoming a lost spirit isn't as grim as it might initially seem.
Physical bodies that no longer hold a spirit don't stick around for long, although how exactly one disperses depends on what the spirit was (the body of a sipper, for example, flakes away into colorful dust after a few moments) Certain parts of the body stay intact after dispersal, referred to as drops, which vary depending on the spirit and individual. For example, a dodo's body may leave behind feathers and meat, as well as anything it was carrying. If an adventurer is quick enough, they may be able to run back to where they died and recover most or all of the items they dropped.
Revival requires a safe location that the spirit has knowledge of (usually a dwelling of some sort) and can occur a few moments to a few days after the physical body disperses. Ideally, the spirit's new physical body will be of the same age, strength, health, and appearance that it previously had, and retain all it's memories. However this is rarely the case, there is usually some sort of drawback to reviving (common symptoms include feeling weak, regressing in age, or missing memories up to the point of their death) which will depend on a number of different factors including: what kind of spirit it is (passive, active, awakened); if it was under contract with another spirit; the strength of the individual itself; the events leading up to it's death; and how the death occurred. Usually anything that was lost during revival can be regained if given enough time.
Losing memories from death can be particularly dangerous, as a spirit needs to know of a safe place to revive, and remember who and what it was in order to do so. Those without a body who also lack the criteria for revival are known as lost spirits or ghosts, and will float around aimlessly until their energy disperses completely, otherwise known as true death. It's unknown what actually happens after true death, although it's comforting to imagine that perhaps they simply reincarnate as something else, rather than ceasing to exist completely. Being able to see lost spirits naturally is an ability only a few individuals are capable of, although some items and enchantments can temporarily allow for it, and most individuals can vaguely sense their presence regardless. These spirits are not usually dangerous or malicious (only able to interact in subtle ways, similar to the rumored ghosts of our own world), but do often evoke feelings of unease, fear, and sadness, and areas with high populations of them (hauntings) give a sense of dread and being unwelcome. Ghosts can be saved if they're brought back to a safe place for revival and reminded of who they are by someone they're familiar with. This, along with the fact that energies can take quite a long time to disperse (especially for awakened or otherwise strong spirits), means temporarily becoming a lost spirit isn't as grim as it might initially seem.