Miran's Magnificient Monster Manual

[Togetak]

Interlude: Spirit Creatures

 

While spirits, as entities of mana and soul, are not necessarily ‘creatures’ or ‘monsters’ under the metrics I have used to categorize all other entities catalogued so far- there are a number of more niche manifestations of such beings, which I do count amongst the Daemons and Magimals of Esshar.

 

These creatures are not born of one another, definitive species that breed true, but rather spirits manifesting in our world through bodies we can broadly categorize. As such, I offer the pre-emptive apology that I can only speak for the entities i’ve witnessed- and in some cases, created- rather than offer universal truth as I have with beasts of flesh and blood.

 

Wisps

 

 

Ubiquitous creatures within the spirit world, Wisps are the souls of mundane animals and otherwise magically impotent non-human entities that roam the spirit world as human souls tend to. There, I have read, they take a variety of forms, most content to live out post-life as they did in the living world, some even taking spectral forms of their living bodies.

 

When they manifest within Esshar- generally unkowingly wandering from the ethereal wilds of the spirit world, in places where the barrier most porous- most simply see them as flickering orbs of mana, or floating spectral fire. 

 

Those blessed with Spectral Sight, such as Druids, or those who have hotwired their mana circuits to obtain such an ability, such as witches, are capable of seeing them as they were in life- ghostly forms of the creature’s true self surrounding their flaming core in a similar manner to a Daemon.

 

As in the spirit world, the behavior of a Whisp is generally reliant on what the creature was in life. Domestic or urban creatures tend towards being affectionate or playful creatures- flickering around urban areas in ethereal play- while those more suited to the wilds tend to be more reserved, and wander around pieces of the natural world that most resemble their old habitats.

 

Regardless of original species, however, all Wisps are inclined to stick close to people, creatures or locations of great magical power. Whether that be an individual Wisp hovering around a specific Magi, a number of them making their homes within magically potent groves, or congregating within the nests of particularly powerful Magimals- it is the power that draws them.

 

As with all sentient creatures, obviously, such attraction can form to genuine bonds- be it of companionship with living creatures, or of territorialism with locations- however the radiant mana from these bonds are what sustains the Wisps upon the material plane. Without such a connection, a Wisp will slowly fade, either slipping back into the spirit world when weak enough to phase through the barrier, or simply dissipating into nothingness altogether. 

Such eventualities are generally unlikely, however, unless a Wisp is intentionally starved- given the wide abundance of such places, creatures, and Magi within Esshar.

Wisps, and bodies of flesh?

 

In the course of my travels as a Druid I have uncovered a… rather strange method of engaging with Wisps.

 

My first act following being gifted the responsibility of the title by the spirits was to assist a Daemon with a specific defect within its core, a normally inconsequential flaw that was exacerbated to significant damage when it consumed enough magical energy to ‘evolve’ into a larger form. 

 

As a desperate measure to ease the creature’s suffering, I channeled the mana out of the Daemon core through my body and into the earth. The process stabilized the Daemon for a time, at the cost of merging part of the crystalline core into my body, but it quickly became apparent the psychological and physical toll of such a thing was too much for the creature. In an attempt to do the reverse- to channel my mana into the flickering Daemon as it’s core failed- it seemed to decide to merge the entire core with the shards previously attached to my mana circuit, and entirely merge with my body.

 

Such a change rooted the creature’s soul to the physical plane through my own flesh and blood- maintained by my own mana, through the core becoming part of me- and allowing it to manifest itself as a sort of Wisp-esque creature, becoming quite the wonderful travelling companion.

 

Such a process- while obviously uniquely situational- does raise a rather vital question of whether such a thing could be further refined. Utilizing a living Daemon’s core to power some kind of artificial body, and root the soul to the physical plane without the need for a Magi’s assistance? Utilizing a dead Daemon’s empty core as a way for other spirits to root themselves to reality, through the same method? Perhaps even allowing human spirits to re-enter the world, through the flesh of others?

  

Such things could be dangerous, if used a form of roundabout necromancy (although… such legends of that magic- perhaps it was merely dark practitioners of the methods I have theorized here?) and yet also vitally important for conservation, and perhaps for understanding the world around us? To form an emotional bond with a living creature is a wonderful feeling and educational experience that too undergo, to make that bond maniest in such a visceral way- imagine what more we could learn? 

 

Mandrakes

 

 

Much like the above, Mandrakes are lesser spirits rooted into the physical plane through an inhabited body. Unlike Wisps, however, the spirits of the forest are in a more precarious position- they are not the souls of living creatures, but rather one part of a natural dyad.

 

Each tree, each river, each element of the natural world exists in tandem with their spirit world counterpart. Such spirits are not the soul of the tree, the river, but instead simply the spiritual reflection of the physical natural world- the death of a tree kills the spirit, just as the death of the spirit kills the tree.

 

Mandrakes as such are the will of the spirits, of nature itself, made manifest by a Druid- or other similarly aligned practitioner of natural magic.

 

Maintained by the mana of the Magi that calls upon them for aid, the bodies the spirits inhabit do not truly represent them as the bodies of Wisps do- instead, they are simply vessels representative of the Magi's power. 

  

My own Mandrakes, for example, are.. tubular creatures, fruit-like, and reinforced with crystalline flowers and twigs sprouting from their stems, reflecting my crystaline magic intermingling with the natural powers I weild. Similar variance exists in historic sources of the creatures, although such historians generally tended towards attributing these differences to interpretation, as they did not understand the true underlying mechanics of these creatures.

  

Being temporary vessels for a myriad of spirits, the temperament of Mandrakes are similarly dependent on their spiritual pilots. Calling upon them in Osrona, a place of spirits emaciated by decades of overfarming, where nature is confined solely to well manicured gardens, the Mandrakes I called upon were skittish, curious, and generally unassuming. Theria on the other hand- a harsh mountainous land of ice and snow- summoned similarly hardened spirits to my aid, creatures accepting little nonsense and leaping to violence the moment I allowed it, rather than requiring me to specifically ask it of them.

 

Mandrakes in the wild?

 

I have read strange, unconfirmed reports that Mandrakes have been seen to manifest in the world without the aid of Magi. While such thing does not sound outlandish- a location seeped in sufficiently powerful nature-aligned magic could theoretically maintain Mandrake bodies in a semi-permanent way- such a thing perplexes me, as a Druid and a person.

 

To enter a physical body for an extended period of time would require simply abdicating the spiritual responsibilities of a nature spirit for that amount of time- a necessary part of maintaining their physical counterpart, and thus their own life. Perhaps in time of great need, a warhost of the forest could assume mandrake form under those circumstances to fend off those who would bring them ruin, such coordination between individual lesser spirits without outside influence sounds incredibly unlikely.