Spirit

A **spirit** is the locus of a person's perspective and identity which inhabits their body as long as they are living. When a person dies, their spirit leaves their body, and their existence continues as the spirit. The state of a spirit after death relies mostly on whether funeral rites were performed on their remains. If a body is left unburied and exposed, a person's spirit is likely to become restless or even hostile after some time. This has historically been a cause of hauntings and even the embodiment of once-inanimate natural materials such as stones, sand, or bones. Various languages across Hendar call such spirit-inhabited constructs a word similar to "monster". The destruction or disassembly of a "monster" may temporarily dispel the unstable spirit, but it their remains or significant belongings still require funeral rites in order for their spirit to become stable.

While the burial of a person's remains is an important factor in the status of their spirit, a person/spirit still has agency and may choose to engage in certain actions, though with very limited physical capability.

## Interactions with the Living World

Stable spirits can be found participating in natural processes or in the activities of living people. Due to largely unknown properties of individual spirits, they may be attracted to air of certain temperature or moisture, as well as exposure to sunlight or fire.

### Seers

*Main Article: Seer*

Seers serve as the primarily link between the living and the dead. In addition to healing, alchemy, and herbalism, a seer is trained in divination, and may be especially gifted in detecting spiritual activity. Such individuals are also capable of detecting nearby people who would be otherwise unseen, as a living person still has a spirit. Divination most often consists in casting lots or similar readings that engage in the miniscule physical forces that spirits exert. For example, a common practice is to place multiple leaves on water, and invoke a spirit to move them in some way.

### Seasons

Spirits may be more active during a time of year when the air is at a temperature they prefer. Spirits are also known to migrate between areas as the temperatures change throughout the year. The migration of spirits reinforces the natural human perception of seasonal atmospheres and ambiences.

Across Hendar, spiritual guides such as seers perform seasonal rituals to welcome, invite, or thank spirits for their contribution to natural processes. Such rituals most often occur during the spring and fall equinoxes, or during the summer and winter solstices.

### Music and Dance

It is known that some people continue to enjoy music and community after death. Those sensitive to spirits, including but not limited to seers, may detect gathering spirits during musical performances.

### Dreams

Spirits are also known to speak to people directly through dreams. The sleeping mind is more sensitive to spirits, and in some cases lends itself to direct contact from a spirit.

## Interactions with the "Other Side"

Spirits whose remains have been buried or otherwise honored with funeral rites may choose to visit the "other side". The only evidence that spirits can do so is that they can report seeing the "other side", but unknown forces prohibit them from reporting *what* they saw.