Aspects

## Totems

Totems (toe-tems) are the spiritual manifestation of an individual. They're measured into three aspects: soul, spirit, and beast. Different aspects may be taken, affecting their owner. They're represented in art and crafts, such as effigies, masks, jewelry, makeup, and tattoos.

The soul is akin to saturation. It is the energy of life, it is what makes life as it is. The intensity of energy is proportionate to body size, which can be measured by a definable number. Being undead is like being a cracked vial; your soul slips out. Physically, this is shown by the presence of a pupil. Your soul leaves your body once you're brain dead.

The spirit is akin to value. It is what makes the individual who they are. Physically, this is shown by the presence of an iris. Your spirit leaves your body once it decays.

The beast is akin to hue and form. It is a translucent beast with a single bodily color that glows. The beast is born with you, and grows with you. The discovery of what beast it is comes at a time of self-revelation, whether that be sixteen or sixty. It may be who you once were, who you currently are, or who you will be. Physically, this is more difficult to tell, however it leaks out of people's personalities. The beast holds a deep meaning across a surfeit of sicarith races. Nolarith races seldomly discover their beast aspect, due to the direct link with magick. The color of the beast is the color of your casted magick. Nolarith mages do discover theirs, yes. It's often more difficult for them.

## Familiars

Familiars (fuh-mill-yee-urrs) are beasts with a connection to its owner, often via a spiritual tether or by trading shards of one another's spirits.

You do not choose them, they choose you. The most common are domestic: cats, dogs, owls, toads, rats, snakes. Often times, it is possible to summon a being, such as a demon, and bind it to an animal body to be used as a familiar.

## Shifters

Shapeshifting is the ability to morph your body into a different creature. To be able to do so, you must acquire a spirit from your desired creature. Your own spirit and this acquired spirit sit in the same body, like pants in a drawer. You may acquire as many spirits as you desire, freely wearing whichever you desire.

However, the energy of a soul is its capacity. The more spirits you have, the more taxing it is on your soul. Humanoids and other medium-sized creatures are an energy of twenty-five. Thus, you may only have three other medium spirits.

It's also taxing on your body itself, as you are morphing your own flesh into something else. Stretch marks, muscle soreness, outright disfiguring your body, or breaking a bone. Shapeshifters unfortunately have shorter lifespans if they aren't careful. Attempting to wear multiple spirits, even only partially, can cause too much stress and kill you.

Genderbending is the ability to bend your spirit, to tap into its energy in order to morph not your species, but your sex. Due to the nature of dichotomy, it's significantly less taxing than shapeshifting. You're significantly less likely to disfigure yourself or break a bone.

## Undead

*Ressurection itself is covered in spells.*

When a being dies, they have a chance to be brought back to life. This is dependent on succeptibility, carried diseases, and any diseases in the ground. Undead are sustained through souls or blood, being pneumavores and sanguivores. According to Adelmarr Thorsen, souls do indeed have a taste that differs on the being they're from.