Spirit

The heathen fiosaiche [fisichu], (a Gaelic term for spiritworker) understands nature to be spirits which vitalize the various phenomenon of the world. There are spirits of the various winds, of trees, of animals, even of the sun, moon and stars. Some spirits are easy to contact, while others are more remote and require more effort. All things in nature have spirits, and sometimes the fiosaiche may contact a specific spirit, such as the spirit of the chief's dog. More often, the fiosaiche will contact the spirit of all dogs; the dog samhladh. Each samhladh represents a general phenomenon or species, such as the dog or eagle samhladh, or the north wind.

The spirits of these animals live on the Tree of Life. The Middle realm is where humans live. The spirits of mountains and rivers live in the lower reaches of the Tree, and fire and earth spirits live even lower yet. Spirits of the winds live in the Upperworld, closest to the Middle Realm. Above the winds live the spirits of clouds and storms, and above them the spirits of the celestial phenomena. Spirits "closer" to the Middle World are easier to contact than those farther away.

Animal spirits are the easiest to contact. Of animals, domesticated animals are the easiest, followed by mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and insects, in that order. Animal samhladhs make up the majority of clan samhladhs and ysbryds among the heathens. Powerful fiosaiches can sometimes contact the spirit of a geological formation, such as the spirit of a mountain or loch; or a weather spirit that touches the ground; like the four winds, lightning or fog. No fiosaiche has ever claimed to have contacted the spirits which reside in the extreme ends of the Tree of Life, those of fire, earth, water or air, or of the celestial bodies.

## Spirits in the Otherworld

### Upper World

**Sun, Moon, Stars:** Cannot be Contacted

**Spirits of Storms, Clouds, Thunder:** +200 Life Force to contact

**Spirits of Low Weather Phenomena:** +150 Life Force to Contact Rain, Mist, Lightning, etc.

### Lower World

**Animal Spirits, Samhladhs:** +0 Life Force to contact

**Plant Spirits:** +50 Life Force to contact

**Spirits of Geographical features:** +100 Life Force to contact

**Spirits of Fire, Earth, Water:** Cannot be contacted

## Spirit Days And Seasons

Each spirit has times of the day and year when its powers wax and wane. The hour of a spirit is the time of day at which the spirit's powers are at its peak, and when it can be summoned or contacted most easily. The day of the spirit is the time of year which corresponds with the hour, with winter solstice corresponding to midnight, and summer solstice equaling noon. The other days can be found by mapping the hours onto the circular yearly calendar. The quarter of the spirit is the six hours surrounding the spirit's hour, and the season is the days between the two nearest holy days. (The quarter for midnight spirits is 9 PM to 3 AM, the season is the days between Samhain and Imbolc). The opposite times for a spirit are the hours, quarters, days and seasons diametrically opposed to the spirit's times. The spirit is at its weakest at these times, and is much harder to contact.

## Contacting Spirits

Fiosaiches requesting aid of a spirit must first contact or summon the spirit. Fiosaiches may walk the Spiral looking for spirits. At other times, however, the fiosaiche may encounter a spirit without looking for one, or may encounter a different spirit than the one they are seeking.

Fiosaiches may almost always contact their samhladh. The notable exceptions are when trying to contact the samhladh in the wrong season, day and hour. At these times, when the spirit's energies are at their weakest, it takes a powerful fiosaiche to contact the spirit. At all other times, and especially when the spirit's powers are at their peak, the samhladh may reach across and summon the fiosaiche!

### Childhood Initiation

Heathens meet their clan samhladh at the coming of age ceremony around their 14th birthday. The ceremony is held on the day when the clan's samhladh is at its most powerful. The fiosaiche leads the children to a special house, where they stay for three days, performing a number of rituals to breach the barrier between this world and the Otherworld. The power of the samhladh adds to the efficacy of the rituals, and allows the fiosaiche to accompany the children across. Once the children have made the transition to the other world, they are tested by the samhladh. After the group has returned to the mundane world, the fiosaiches tattoo each child with the symbol of the samhladh. These tattoos help the Pict focus his energies to contact his samhladh.

If a child fails the test of the samhladh, he or she is ejected from the Otherworld. A child that fails may try the test again the next year. If a child fails the test two years in a row, he or she is exiled from the clan.

### Warrior Spirit Friends

Warriors may walk the Otherworld, usually with the aid of a fiosaiche. There are a number of rituals to aid the warrior, some specific to a particular samhladh, others known to all. All involve privation of some sort such as fasting, abstaining from sex, or staying awake for days on end. The warrior must have a particular spirit in mind that he wishes to contact. The ritual must start on the spirit's opposite hour, and each day on the spirit's hour the character must roll against the trait favored by the spirit. On a critical roll, the character has entered the Otherworld, in the presence of the spirit he is attempting to contact.

Here the warrior must wager a Trait or Passion of his choice against the spirit. Each spirit accepts only one Trait or Passion. The warrior then is tested by the spirit. He must again succeed in a use of the spirit's favored Trait or Passion. If the warrior passes the test, he can then call on the spirit once a day (much like his samhladh). He returns to the real world, and a fiosaiche tattoos him with a pattern which serves as an external representation of his internal compact with the spirit. In this way tattoos serve to pin the mind, body and soul together at one immovable point, thus reminding the recipient of his experiences.

If the warrior fails the test, he permanently loses 1d6 from the "staked" Trait. In the case of a fumble, the wagered Trait is permanently reduced by half. He may try to contact the spirit again at some later time, but now at the reduced trait value.

### Spirit Gifts

Any heathen character with the tribal samhladh tattoo may call upon his tribal samhladh for aid by rolling against the spirit's favored Trait or Statistic. This statistic or trait is determined by the samhladh, as are the benefits of a successful appeal to the spirit.

Spirits other than the tribal samhladh may also be contacted, although the usual benefits granted by these spirits are less than for the tribal samhladh. A warrior may only contact those spirits, whether samhladh or ysbryd, for which he wears a tattoo, and therefore has previously encountered. To summon the essence of the spirit, he must roll against the spirit's Trait or Statistic.

A fumble means the tattoo fades, and the warrior must re-enter the Otherworld to plead with the spirit. Spirit gifts may only be rolled for once a day.