Tethers

*Not yet-- not before I see this through. Death can wait.*

Tethers are bonds between Earth and a soul in Olympus. They allow for fabrication on Earth, as well as provide a way to resist dissolution.

* Mechanics
	+ Creation
	+ Abilities
	+ Resisting Dissolution
	+ Limits
* Severing
* Entanglement
* Examples

### Mechanics

While alive, beings may develop a strong attachment to any number of things-- a child, a cause, or a location, among others. These attachments may remain, even through death. When a soul clings to their duties, disdains, and affinities, they retain an "anchor" to Earth. This is a tether, a connection spanning between Olympus and Earth. It's important to note several details:

##### Creation

1. Tethers may be created to almost any conceivable concept or thing so long as there is an attachment to the anchor in question.
2. Tethers are only possible to create or modify during a brief span on Earth, during one's original lifespan. That said, they may be severed any time, see Severing below.
3. They must be made by the soul in question, no other being or force can create an attachment for you.
4. They may also not be made post-mortem, the anchor can only be "laid down" when the soul is in the plain of existence that the anchor is to be placed.

That said, this set of laws concerning the generation of tethers implies the possibility of a tether *from* Earth *into* Olympus, during the brief span of voluntary evacuation of the soul via entanglement (see Entanglement below). Such an attempt would be jaw-droppingly ambitious and prone to failure, but not inherently impossible.

### Abilities

Tethers, at their core, function as a link between Olympus and Earth that allow for the soul in possession to "pull" on their tether in specific ways, allowing for manipulation of the anchor (and thereby the Earth at large). In general, the formula for what is feasible for a soul to accomplish via their tether is as follows:

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{\displaystyle Expense=e^{\left(Magnitude\*Scope-Expertise\right)}}

Where the expense of any given feat for a soul to affect their anchor(s) on Earth is proportional to the degree of change they wish to affect, coupled with the span of influence for that change, benefited by their expertise. While small "tugs" on the tether is effortless, the ability to create greater impact becomes immensely draining as the scale increases. Consider it similar to how your muscles are technically in constant exertion by having you walk and articulate yourself beyond being entirely limp, to no apparent drain on your stamina throughout the day, yet tire much more immediately upon a divergence from the norm in the form of intense exercise.

1. At the most basic level, a tether provides a certain cognition of the state of the anchor. A parent may sense a child's well-being, a haunting soul may sense when the location they are tethered to is disturbed, and a god of summer may feel invigorated when their season rolls around.
2. At a mild level, a soul may fabricate details directly relating to the tether: a sensation of a comforting hand on your shoulder from an ancestor, a looming sense of dread from the victim of a murder imposed on the culprit, an afterimage of a spirit in the location they passed away in, or an especially vibrantly blooming plant which once was cared for by that soul.
3. At a moderate level, circumstances surrounding or adjacent to the tether may also be affected by fabrication, or may be affected in a higher magnitude. Apparitions may coalesce as a complete image of a being, items may be directly moved, heated, or damaged. Sounds, including voices, may be transmitted genuinely, rather than as a hallucination, and significant impact might be felt on the body, such as pains, inflicted moods, healing, scents, or tastes.
4. At a higher level, tethers are capable of allowing fabrication in locations or manners unrelated to the anchor, but are bound nonetheless by correlation to what is in-line with the tether's importance. For example, a god of war may be capable of almost any action, granted that it accomplishes the goal of directly furthering, substantiating, inciting, or proliferating conflict. Alternatively, a patron over a region may be especially liberal in their capacity, with the ability to accomplish any number of things confined to their locale.
5. At the highest level of spectacle, feats and miracle may be accomplished, with the only correlation between the soul in Olympus and the action on Earth being that there is a tether whatsoever, or the feat may be tightly correlated, but with incredible scope or magnitude. In cases like these, almost nothing is impossible, though the expense on the stamina and/or health of the soul is immeasurable, especially if continued-- these may be corporal manifestations of matter assembled as a temporary vessel, a storm, a region rejuvenated with an abundance of wildlife, lesser constructs of animated matter, etc.

### Resisting Dissolution

Tethers, in an more abstract sense, are connections between the land of the living and the land of the dead. For as long as the soul maintains control over these tethers, they are able to erect just one more obstacle in the way of fully abandoning their corporality.