Totems

**Totems** are the embodiments of a location's history. Although most totems are confined to houses and the immediate surroundings, a totem can manifest from any location ranging from a single room to a large city. As Class D divinities, totems are capable of using miracles and are affected by the levels of ether in their area. The effects of a totem tend to affect those who reside in the building, though in the case of a commercial or industrial building, the effects spread to the workers within as the residents.

## Classification

A totem is considered a Class D divinity, and the area of influence for most totems seems to be smaller than other divinities of the same class.

## Abilities

A totem is particularly focused on the care of the structure and inhabitants of its area of influence. As most totems manifest inside houses and small buildings, their area of influence can be rather limited. Older totems are capable of influencing the environment just outside of their area of influence, but this ability is limited in scope and scale.

The inhabitants of a house greatly benefit from the presence of a totem. Totems create a moderate increase in ether conversion in the residents, and this effect increases with the length of time a specific person resides in the house. Non-magicians experience this as an increased level of health, while magicians have higher levels of mana available for use in magic. A mature totem is potentially capable of enabling a resident to survive life-threatening conditions

Intruders will suffer the opposite effect upon entering a totem's area of influence. Magicians experience a reduced efficacy of spells, and their mana is suppressed by the presence of the totem.

The totems of a commercial or industrial building are capable of affecting the workers within. The workers are seen as the residents of the building rather than the company that owns the building. As such for good or ill, the effects of these totems affect a larger number of people and can be more severe than those of a residential totem.

## Induction

The process of creating a totem starts the moment a long-term resident moves into the house. This person can be defined as someone who identifies the building as a place to live in and has a desire to live in that place. Although the effects of a totem is minor at the earliest stages, a totem can be identified after approximately a month. The totem is considered properly established and capable of offering proper benefits to the occupants after about a year.

A totem takes approximately 150 years to mature. After a totem matures, its effects are strongest, and its area of influence starts to expand. The totem can become capable of using stronger miracles that are capable of interfering with the physical world. More mature totems are able to proactively defend the structure and inhabitants against threats.

Many magical families use a special ceremony to jumpstart the creation of a totem. This ceremony involves the creation of an altar somewhere in the house. A small flame is taken from the town's sacred fire by the vestal virgins and placed in the altar. This fire spurs the birth and growth of a totem, and totems formed this way tend to be more powerful than other totems.

## Care of a Totem

Totems always exist within a building, and care for them is rather easy. Totems require ether to grow and use miracles, and the most efficient method of creating that ether is the movement of people within that building.

Even as a totem affects its residents, totems are in turn affected by the actions and behaviors of its residents. Totems react poorly to events of violence or anger and can cause them to become hostile to inhabitants.

## Neglect

Totems are relatively low-maintenance, only really require the presence of humans in the building. However, totems are also particularly susceptible to neglect. Although a neglected totem will not degrade, they can start to become hostile to human inhabitation.

Hostile totems can saturate the building in a sensation of not being wanted, and many future residents describe a sense of uneasy that can quickly drive residents out of the building. Should the person refuse to leave the building of a hostile totem, they may start to experience physical, mental, and magical effects that can lead to a state of poor health. This state generally starts with minor effects but can lead to severe health effects that may even cause death in the resident.

There are numerous reports of residents being affected by severe hallucinations and dangerous urges. These hallucinations can cause severe mental distress amongst residents, and the increasing stress combined with the hostile urges can lead to violence to other residents in the building. This violence generally manifests as either domestic violence in the case of a residential totem or workplace violence in the case of commercial or industrial totems.

It is not just health effects that can affect the resident of a hostile totem. There are several reports of people disappearing from inside the house without a trace. Some former residents of a hostile totem report that the layout and dimensions of their houses seem to change in the blink of an eye, seemingly with the goal of getting the resident lost in an endless labyrinth, but these reports cannot be proven, and there is little evidence that even mature totems are capable of changing the physical dimensions and layout of its interior.