Spirit Lore

## Post-Death

Not all mortals who die become spirits, but when they do become spirits, they often appear in the Spirit World at the same place they died (though sometimes they will appear at a train station). Sometimes, mortals who become spirits immediately fall to despair and become demons. Spirits also will not remember how they died (nor the circumstance around their death) and have personal inventories like Proto.

## Physiology & Appearance

Many spirits tend to incorporate the way they died into their look subconsciously and they *ususally* take on a different form from their mortal form, their new form usually being symbolic for their personality and/or unfinished business. They can be reborn as objects, animals, plants, fictional creatures, etc. Their bodies are also a direct manifestation of their beliefs about themselves (e.g. military spirits with their mechanical arms and Kad believing he can purr).

Generally speaking, the way a spirit looks reveals what their fundamental self is like. If their fundamental self were to change, so would their spirit form. The prime example of this is falling to despair and becoming a demon.

Spirits also do age, but at an extremely slow pace. For example, Solo has stayed around 16 for 400 years while Lepida has grown from a child into a young adult over thousands of years. It is seems that the conversion rate for spirits aging is about 1 human to 1,000 spirit years.

## Magic

Though it is rare, spirits can sometimes be reborn with elemental magic that correlates with their personality:

* Weaker & Common: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Earth
* Stronger & Rare: Push, Pull, Stasis, Void

*For more information on magic, see Spirit World.*

### Personality

* Fire is passionate
* Lightning is erratic
* Earth is steady and optimistic, and can relate to growth

## Unfinished Business

Every spirit in the spirit world has unfinished business (though most of them do not know what it is), but it is considered impolite to discuss it with others. Usually someone's unfinished business is learning something deeply personal about themselves. However, most spirits do not end up passing on by resolving their unfinished business, mostly because they do not want to pass on. It is unknown what happens when a spirit passes on, but rumors say it involves wings.

## Demons

### Falling to Despair

Sometimes, a spirit may fall to despair and become a demon, and they cannot return back to their spirit form. There are signs before a spirit falls to despair, but the actual process itself happens very quickly in a moment of crisis.

### Behavior

So far, demons seem to be more hostile and less intelligent or aware than their spirit form. Though they can move anywhere they want to, but usually seek out a safe place.

### Appearance

When a spirit first becomes a demon, they start out rather big and dangerous. Their new forms tend to take on a more visceral and primal look as well (ex. Hephaestus taking on a more horrifying boar-like appearance). Overtime, the demon becomes smaller and less dangerous, turning into a slug demon. However, despite how cute and little they are, they can still hurt you.

## References

1. ↑ "*Sometimes spirits will appear at a train station, but usually it’s just wherever they died*." Rebecca Harrison on Discord. March 6, 2023. Retrieved on March 8, 2023.
2. ↑ ""*Do they like.... panic?"" Sometimes yeah. There have been instances where spirits have even Fallen To Despair immediately upon waking*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. March 6, 2023. Retrieved on March 8, 2023.
3. ↑ "*Another one of those small mercies, like not being able to remember how you* died" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. March 6, 2023. Retrieved on March 8, 2023.
4. ↑ "*All spirits get Inventories like Proto does*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 13, 2023. Retrieved on March 9, 2023.
5. ↑ "*Many spirits incorporate the way they died into their look subconsciously*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 17, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
6. ↑ "*A spirit's body is a direct manifestation of how they believe they should look in their heart of hearts, with some animal/object stuff thrown in. That's why the military spirits still have their mechanical arms, because they have accepted them as a part of them*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 23, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
7. ↑ *"I don’t know if rabbits can purr, but Kad can because he thinks he can /* *Spirit physiology is based on belief haha* */* *Like if you think you can breathe underwater then you can*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 18, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
8. ↑ "*It is absolutely possible for a spirit to change their appearance of their fundamental self changes. Becoming a demon and Passing On are aspects of this*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 26, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
9. ↑ "*Well Solo has been 16 for 400 years haha*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 9, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
10. ↑ "*Most people believe spirits don’t age past what they were when they died, but that’s not strictly true. It just happens extreeeeeeemely slowly. For example Lepida was a child when Beta adopted her, but now thousands of years later she’s a young adult*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 9, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
11. ↑ "*Yes you age very slowly, like a year every thousand years ish*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 26, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
12. ↑ "*There are several types of elemental magic a spirit might be reborn with depending on their personality:* *Weaker/common: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Earth Stronger/rare: Push, Pull, Stasis, Void*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 19, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "*Lightning is very erratic, whereas Earth is more steady and optimistic*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. March 17, 2023. Retrieved on March 18, 2023.
14. ↑ "*turns out, of all things, it's Earth. / He helps her grow a little flower in her palm*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. March 17, 2023. Retrieved on March 18, 2023.
15. ↑ "*it's considered impolite to discuss the specifics of your Unfinished Business in the Spirit World. Very private.*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 15, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
16. ↑ "*usually someone's Unfinished Business is learning something deeply personal about themselves, and not something specific like most people think it is*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 15, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
17. ↑ "*I’d say most spirits don’t really want to pass on, which is why it almost never happens.*
*The unknown, and Death, are impossibly scary. It’s not surprising that almost no one has ever even seen someone leave the Spirit World that way*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 22, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
18. ↑ "*It’s extremely rare. Like most spirits have never even known anyone who’s known anyone who’s seen it happen. But… Rumour has it… That Passing On involves wings*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 8, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
19. ↑ "*it is a gradual process up to a point. A spirit might notice that they feel different, or even begin to look different in some cases as they get closer and closer to the limit of what their soul can bear.*
*However,  the actual Fall to Despair happens in a moment of crisis, and the transformation happens in less than a minute*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. March 11, 2023. Retrieved on March 11, 2023.
20. ↑ "*No, sadly once a spirit Falls to Despair and becomes a demon there’s no coming back. They can’t be reasoned with anymore than a real boar could*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. February 14, 2023. Retrieved on March 4, 2023.
21. ↑ "*They can move anywhere they want just like spirits, but yeah they usually seek out a safe place.*" Rebecca Harrison on Discord. March 18, 2023. Retrieved on March 18, 2023.