[Chronicles of Darkness] The Shadow Realm: Part III - Denizens

((In Character (IC) Document:
Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen

Venue: Chronicles of Darkness - Mage: The Awakening (Fallen World Chronicle)
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler
Cannibalized from multiple sources such as the Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Ed and the Chronicles of Darkness Corebook))

THE SHADOW REALM

A Pentacle Academy lecture series by Anton (MD), Dean of The Adamant College.

Part Three: Denizens

THE HUNGRY SHADOW

Animist religions describe the world as being full of spirits, every object, animal, and place hiding a spirit within it. They’re partly right; everything in the world apart from humans does cast a spiritual reflection, even transitory events and strong emotions, but all spirits apart from the cunning or a powerful few are confined to the Hisil, and most never achieve self-awareness. Spirits come into being alongside the thing they’re a reflection of, but they’re dormant, barely-living, tiny lumps of ephemera at first. As well as creating new spirits, actions in the physical world and any emotions associated with them create Essence in the physical world, some of which crosses over into the Shadow.

Once enough Essence crosses the Gauntlet near an embryonic spirit, that spirit rouses into activity. By absorbing Essence, the spirit remains active. By consuming other spirits, it merges those spirits into itself and grows larger and more powerful.

As spirits become more powerful, they become less pure as reflections of their origins and more thematic in nature. For example, the spirit of a single owl grows by consuming other owl spirits. As it consumes spirits of the night, hunting, the prey its owl eats, and other owl spirits, the spirit subtly changes.  By the time it becomes an independent, thinking being that no longer follows around the physical creature that created it, it has warped into an exaggerated spirit of silent nocturnal hunting. The Essence it consumes also has an effect — an owl spirit evolving in an urban area feeds on different Essence to one in the countryside, and its diet colors its appearance.

SPIRIT NAMES

Mages aren’t the only beings to know the ways of spirits. Human occultists and dupes alike have some contact with the Shadow, though they do not speak the First Tongue. They do, however, talk to one another and write books. Over thousands of years of contact with the spirit world, humans have built their own language to describe spirits.  Werewolves have a more codified system in First Tongue, reflected below.

First Tongue              Oxford         Slang              Diamond                   Mysterium       Muthurum                 Essence        Motes             Resonance

Muthra                                      Wisp                                           Rank 0 Spirit

Hursihim - Hursih         Lesser Gaffling                     Squire/Page                 Rank 1 Spirit

Hursihim - Hursah        Greater Gaffling                    Knight                  Rank 2 Spirit

Ensihim – Ensih           Lesser Jaggling                      Baron/Baroness          Rank 3 Spirit

Ensihim - Ensah         Greater Jaggling                     Count/Countess            Rank 4 Spirit

Dihirim – Dihir           Lesser Incarna   Minor god       Marquess/Marchioness     Rank 5 Spirit

Dihirim - Dihar           Greater Incarna   Lesser god       Prince/Princess             Rank 6 Spirit

Ilusahim – Ilusih          Minor Celestine  Greater god      Duke/Duchess              Rank 7 Spirit

Ilusahim - Ilusah        Lesser Celestine   Planets         King/Queen                 Rank 8 Spirit

Unknown                  Greater Celestine Platonic Forms  Emperor/Empress          Rank 9 Spirit

Unknown  (Beyond manifest )      

                         

SIX COMMON URBAN SPIRITS

Blightlings - (Iri Thim) are spirits of urban decay, feeding on the Essence of once-proud cities rotting. They resemble street people with broken, ruined bodies made of torn asphalt and garbage.

Glass eyes (Anzah-Haz) are spirits of surveillance cameras, serving as lookouts and watchdogs for more powerful spirits. Each resembles a tall, thin human made of steel with a cyclopean glass lens-eye, looking down on passersby. Glass eyes are notorious gossips and snitches, always eager to offer up things they’ve seen in exchange for Essence.  These are favored minions of Panopticon Spirit mages.

Vermin (Nihhilim) are rat spirits, gathering in huge broods beneath the streets and behind alley fences. Many suspect that Nihhilim serve the Beshilu (The Rat Host), but they’re too cowardly for that. They prefer to avoid trouble, creeping into the aftermath of combat to pick at the remains.

Travels Below (Thifulmatha) are the spirits of subway systems, resembling skeletal, steel serpents with wide eyes. They are punctual to a fault, forcing anything that tries to delay them aside.

Allholders (Gibsur) are the spirits of big-box stores and supermarkets, the corpulent landowners and slum-lords of the spirit courts. Unlike their smaller, shadier cousins such as the spirits of gas stations and quick-marts, the spirits of out-of-town mass retail pride themselves on fair dealing, and see themselves as genial hosts for lesser spirits of money, family, and the many goods that pass through their doors. Packs more often see them as parasites, extorting Essence from the hursahim too weak to escape their clutches.

Darkenings (Uthsu) are some of the most common emotion spirits, drawing Essence from human grief. They congregate in hospitals, graveyards, funeral parlors, even war memorials. They appear as dark fog banks with churning black coils barely visible inside.

SIX COMMON RURAL SPIRITS

Wolf-Brothers (Uralath) are the half-siblings of werewolves, the ilthum once ruled by Father Wolf and now led by the Firstborn (the first legendary children of Father Wolf). Appearing as large wolves with minor variations depending on which tribal totem they serve, packs of Wolf-Brothers are among the Uratha’s greatest allies in the Hisil, teaching Gifts and sometimes joining the hunt of their related tribe.

Swift Waters (Dagukurum) are river spirits, among the most approachable elementals. Usually appearing as the waterway itself, Dagukurum are highly sensitive to changes in their physical counterparts, changing personality in response to events on their banks or courses.

Old Men (Kur-Abha) are among the oldest and most powerful spirits that mages may encounter; the spirits of mountains. Appearing as giant faces formed out of rock formations on the Shadow forms of their associated peaks, the Old Men don’t move — supplicants have to go to them. Mountain spirits are Ensah at least — Everest, K2, and other globally-famous peaks are Dihirim, if not more powerful. Fortunately, the mountains are content to watch millions of years go by for the most part, but the exceptions are dramatic and extremely dangerous. The spirits of mountains that have killed too many mountaineers hunger for death-resonance, and packs in volcanic regions struggle to placate the spirits of fire-peaks that threaten to bathe the Hisil in lava unless their demands are met.

Those That Wait (Hiri Hufesi) are the spirits of oak trees, with a reputation among mages for wisdom, impartiality, and patience. Those from regions where humans worshipped oak trees remember the sacrifices and prayers fondly, and Spirit mages can convince them to act as mediators in spirit court disputes by paying the proper respect.

Beach Carrion Thieves (Bisugin Lagah) are the spirits of gulls, opportunistic hunters who consume smaller spirits along the Shadowed coastline. Because of the proclivity of their physical counterparts to eat anything, these bird spirits can safely consume a wide variety of Essence without becoming magath, meaning they can force other spirits out of their hunting grounds through the strength of numbers.

Iron Horses (Anfarsisu) are the spirits of trains; half-horse, half-snake monsters made of dark steel. Long since usurped as the ruling ilthum (Descant) of the Vehicle Umia (Chior), they are single-minded in purpose and obsessed with traveling down the lines from city to city. Anything in their way gets crushed beneath their hooves or swept aside as they pass.

SPIRIT POLITICS

Once they evolve into independent beings, spirits enter into the complex society of the Hisil as members rather than resources. Spirits of similar natures pay fealty to more powerful spirits of compatible resonance, tithing a small portion of their Essence, and those lords tithe in turn to even stronger spirits, all the way up to the distant, mighty gods of Shadow. In any given area, the handful of high-ranking spirits who are actually present dominate the Shadow landscape, cutting across the hierarchies of type to commanding other spirits in the region in courts.

RANK

Spirits are all inherently aware of their relative power to one another, intuitively comparing hundreds of tiny differences. The Oxford system group them into five main ranks:

Muthra (Rank 0) - Wisps are barely formed, new-born spirits, with no minds of their own and no rank in the umia. They aren’t even powerful enough to awaken from dormancy, and simply settle in the Shadow close to a source of

Essence. Other spirits feed on them with no more care than a human shows toward fruit.

Hursihim (Rank 1-2) - Gafflings are the weakest spirits to awaken and hunt for Essence. Many Hursihim are still bound to a single place, creature, or object, and act more on instinct than abstract thought. Although they have a place in the umia (Choir), higher spirits think of Hursih and Hursah as children or animals; useful, but not full participants.

Ensihim (Rank 3-4) - Jagglings are fully independent spirits, evolved beyond their ties to a single source of Essence. They make up most of the spirits involved with Hisil politics, furthering the agendas of their umia (Choir). Mages deal with Ensihim to learn secrets, gain informants and make alliances among the umia in their hunting grounds. Ensihim are powerful enough to be dangerous; they make up the majority of spirits that flee the Shadow into the world of Flesh.

Dihim (Rank 5-6) - Incarnea are potent spirits, fed on the Essence of wide-ranging phenomena and paid a steady stream of Essence from their lessers. Even the weakest Dihir dominates the Shadow around its lair, and Mages with Hallows or Sanctums including those lairs have to take the Dihir into account as a central figure in Hisil predation. Someone might seek Dihim — or Diharim — for the most potent of boons, or to use their influence among other spirits. When a Dihir breaks through the Gauntlet, its cause for alarm and a call to arms by the local Arrow.

Ilusahim (Rank 7-9) – Celestine - are the aloof and distant gods of Shadow — spirits of global or universal phenomena, and rulers of entire umia (Choirs). The “weaker” Ilusah are spirits like the Firstborn of Father Wolf. Mother Luna and her brother Helios are the best-known greater Ilusahim. Spirits of this rank are almost never seen in person, preferring to make their lairs in deep, protected Places-That-Aren’t, and are too powerful for the world of Flesh to support them—they can’t cross the Gauntlet. Their servant umia of Dihim, Ensahim, and Hursahim enact their will across the Shadow.

CHOIRS (Umia) & DESCANTS (Ilthum)

Spirits of similar resonance feel kinship and rivalry with one another; they’re born in response to the same circumstances, can consume one another in a bid for higher rank and feed from the same Essence. Magi, especially among the Thyrsus, describe umia of broad similarity and ilthum of more focused kinship within them. They don’t see the fundamental difference between the two — that spirits must actively join an ilthum, but are part of an umia just by existing.  Spirits themselves use the terms only rarely, preferring simpler descriptions like “those born of rain,” or “those of darkness.”

Nature Spirits

Nature spirits represent every living thing in the world of Flesh, taking on archetypal and metaphorical resonances and influences as they develop.

Umia                                      Ilthum

Animals                                  Horses, Wolves, Bovines

Fish                                                   Salmon, Sharks, Eels

Birds                                             Gulls, Raptors, Eagles,

Reptiles                                  Snakes, Crocodiles, Lizards

Trees                                      Oaks, Pines, Birches

Plants                                     Vines, Crawlers, Grasses

Fungi                                      Molds, Mushrooms, Yeasts

Insects                                               Flies, Ants, Cockroaches

Artificial Spirits

Artificial spirits are born from humanity’s influence, children of plastic and metal. Despite their origin, they’re still spirits and hunt for Essence through their resonance. Car spirits, for example, are the herd “animals” and predators of the roads, crash-killing prey spirits for sustenance. The spirits of big-brand supermarkets “hunt” money spirits in the manner of anglerfish, luring prey into their gaping maws with bright advertisements and discounts.

Umia                                      Ilthum

Vehicles                 Cars, Trains, Boats

Structures                              Houses, Shops, Offices

Tools                                      Knives, Hammers, Drills

Weapons                               Pistols, Missiles, Swords

Information                           Books, Televisions, Computers

Objects                                   Toys, Statues, Street Lights

Elemental Spirits

Elementals are primal spirits, relatively straightforward and patient. Their sources of Essence are either more fleeting or long-lasting than other umia; transient phenomena like flames, rainstorms, and gales spawn spirits that have to adapt quickly or starve when their source of Essence ends, while rock formations, lakes, and oceans last a relative eternity. For this reason, elementals that survive to be Ensihim have a longer life expectancy than other spirits. The Elemental umia regard other spirits as passing concerns at best, and are unimpressed with the brief lives of fleshy beings.

Umia                                      Ilthum

Air                                             Wind, Cold, Pressure

Fire                                                Flames, Explosions, Lava

Earth                                      Granite, Sandstone, Basalt

Water                                     Rain, Rivers, Lakes

Celestial Spirits

Lunes and Helions are the servants of Luna and Helios, spirits of moonlight and sunlight. Ithaeur suspect that rather than being two umia, each is actually a collection of related umia and ilthum, emissaries from the alien Shadows of the Moon and Sun that cross the void with the light of their Ilusah. Of the two, Lunes are the less dangerous but they aren’t safe to deal with. Cabals who persuade Lunes into a Fetish role may go mad with the changing influence of the moon’s phases, and warlike Lunes make formidable foes. Helions range from disdainful to hostile in general and can be a lot of trouble to work with.

Conceptual Spirits

Conceptual spirits are born from actions or reactions rather than physical phenomena. Most lead fleeting lives as muthra before starving, as temporary as the events that spawned them. Sustained or heightened resonance allows a few to merge and grow strong enough to break free of their -birthing Essence. Conceptual spirits are rarer than other umia, but perhaps understand humanity better than their cousins— and are better at manipulating humans into feeding them.

Umia                                       Ilthum

Emotions                               Fear, Love, Joy

Ideologies                                             Obligation, Faith, Work

Reactions                                              Pain, Lust, Hunger

Hybrid Spirits

Magath are shunned by the umia, exiled from the spiritual hierarchy for their twisted resonance. The result of a spirit feeding on improper Essence through starvation, desperation, or accident, magath are crossbreeds and amalgams of wildly different concepts, fitting into neither umia. Many magath hunt and consume other spirits, evolving even further away from their former umia.