Elementalist Clarifications {And Spirits}

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Elementalists

 

Shamanism is an ancient artform- perhaps the most ancient, in fact, of the mortal races. It lies inherent in the culture and the history of the group of tusky descendants dubbed the Orcs, and it will always be so, from now until the end of time. Of all of the subtypes of Shamanism, Elementalism is rawest, and oldest, form. An elementalist is connected, in a primal pact, to both the mortal and elemental planes in a way unheard of any other natural magic. Not only can they form bonds and true, lasting relationships with spirits, they can use their power to alter the very structure of the world around them. Under their command are the elements themselves; a spirit’s will personified.

 

The Pact

 

An elementalist’s journey begins with his pact to a spirit. It’s no easy task, mind you- if the Shaman’s quest is to be a twisted staircase, the first step just so happens to be one of the biggest, and one might do well to expect it to be booby trapped with all manner un-expectable things. To make a pact, an elementalist must first find a spirit, and for that they must know what they’re looking for. Often, a teacher takes a student elementalist through trials to discover which of the four elements they’re most in touch with, which will be the easiest for them to bond with. It’s always either Fire, Earth, Air or Water, since no novice elementalist has a hope at achieving a pact with a Metal or Lightning spirit. Once that’s been decided, a student will be lead through the steps of connecting to the Elemental Realm. The first journey always consists of a pure, empty void for the student. A sort of ‘white noise’ is often described by shamans. This is the true essence of the spirit realm; every aspect of their spirity experience delivered to the mortal visitors in a way which they have no eyes, ears or body whatsoever to comprehend it with. Over time, and training, senses can be extrapolated from this fuzz, and the traversal may begin.

An unguided elementalist can wander the elemental plane for weeks without finding anything of note. Landscapes of great majesty pass them by, but never shall they see any sign of a spirit. As it is often so in life, a bribe will go far in this respect. Elementalists must gather together trinkets and relics representing the type of elemental spirit they wish to make a pact with, and plenty of praising phrases in old blah aren’t unheard of in these first rituals. Soon enough, one way or another, an elementalist will approach, or be approached by, a curious spirit.

It’s never the case that a spirit will agree to a pact without giving the elementalist a test, of course. Often, these consist of odd liturgies involving foreign ingredients which require a large dose of intuition and imaginative thought on the part of the aspiring shamans. Skulls made from ice, a phoenix’s feather; all the types of things people write about in fairy tales, which they supposed must exist, but didn’t think anyone would interested enough to go to the effort to investigate. Patience and an inventive mind are a must in these trials. Should the spirit be pleased with an elementalist’s performance of their trial, they’ll accept, and the pact may be made.

It’s no simple trading of words, however; many old texts describe this process as spiritually altering, if not emotionally. The elementalist gains no true, inherent power from this unity; no part of a spirit’s power is gifted to their bonded pair, yet a part of them and a part of the shaman becomes linear, and should one call for the other, the reflex to aid would be akin to a mind snatching its hand away from a hot stove.
After the first bond has been made, the bonds to spirits of other elements tend to go more smoothly, too. Don’t be hasty in assuming that they’ll skimp out on the initial trials, but the process of both making a connection to a spirit and strengthening it through time will come quicker to the more experienced Elementalists, much in the same way as the manipulation of the elements becomes more natural.  

 

Summoning

It’s a fancy title, however it’s a bit of a lie. An elementalist cannot summon a spirit, strictly speaking; instead, a pinprick of the spirit’s power over its element is syphoned through the shaman, who may utilise it bare the rock, water, fire, air, or any other such element about them (Depending on which bonded spirit they call upon) under their control. It’s not really so simple, though, as all elementalists will attest to. Although an elementalist and their spirit are bonded, there’s no constant physical link tying them together. Instead, to call upon the aid of their spirit, an elemental shaman must connect to the elemental realm.

It’s not as elaborate a connection as when an elementalist is travelling to the spirit realm themselves, but instead requires them to project their calls about the elemental plane- there’s no need to extrapolate senses from the white void or to search for their spirit. In this respect, an elementalist’s connection is rapid compared to that of a Witchdoctor or Farseer, though to other magic users it’s somewhat laughable. With practise, and as the spirit and elementalist grow closer, the bridging comes more naturally to the shaman, though it’ll always take longer than any void-slinger’s spell. Thankfully, there are upsides of this. Once connected, a trained elementalist won’t need to constantly prepare spells like a void magician, and their tie to their spirit won’t weaken from more difficult manipulations. It will, however, falter as the concentration of the shaman does. This concentration wavers in itself as they handle more complex forms of elements and as they continue into the connection itself. Remaining in contact with a spirit requires a constant consciousness on the part of an elementalist, and over time a lax in focus causes it all to fall apart. Training in one’s sole-mindedness and in their reaction to both their bond to the spirit and the world around them can lead to a longer connection, though these bridgings are nowhere near long lived, and an elementalist’s fatigue from their connection takes a toll through the entire process.

 

 

Additionally, since it’s common enough for elementalists to be bonded to more than one elemental spirit, the swap between connections to certain spirits is a process practised by most of these shamans. Often, in the combat situations elementalists constantly find themselves thrown into, they must adapt to a changing environment. To access the control of another element, they must effectively go through the entire process again. Though it’s quicker, since they’re already connected to the spirit realm, they must first break their link to one spirit and then take one up with the other. It’s often in this way that battles between elementalists go- whoever is the fastest to call upon their needed element is often the victor in these vicious spirity klomps. With that said, it breaks a great deal of a shaman’s concentration, and such measures are practised only by more advanced elementalists.

 

A call to Gnozh- Roleplay Example

The Shaman bowed his head, letting out a short, snuffling breath of air as he began. Shakily at first, then more steadily, the Orc’s chest began a slow, practised rise and fall; his eyes drifting shut as his thoughts wavered from the mortal plane. From cracked lips, he started his hymn.
“Frum, Gnozh… Frum… Frum… Frum… Gnozh, ah bugd, Gnozh, koz… Koz, Gnozh, ah bugd! Koz, koz, Gnozh! Frum… Frum… Frum…”
With each passing mumble, the Uruk’s breaths grew sharper and quicker. His body began to sway and tremble in place, as if prompted by some unheard ramba. His arms twisted and splayed about in odd, tribal movements, and his eyelids fluttered in sporadic fits of ecstasy. As he continued on with his mumbling, the ground beneath him seemed to hum with the warped beat of this odd melody. Pebbles shook at the soft stamp of his unadorned feet, and mushroom clouds of dirt poofed and died at each snap of his joints and muscles. Crying out, the Shaman’s entire person shuddered, and the lids of his eyes snapped open, revealing the sand-speckled pupils of an aged Elementalist.He froze, and the beat of the earth about the Orc came to a sudden, lurching halt. His hands clenched, he slowly brought his arms to his side, drawing his focus to the pebbles around him. With a cautious, deliberate movement, the Shaman carefully lifted his arms to his chest. Around him, the stones and debris rose up in kind- loyally following the Elementalist’s moves. He was now in control.

 

Spirits

 

Phantom Spirits

The Spirits- of all realms-, have often been ordered as Greater or Lesser. For Immortal spirits, their power is dictated by their aspects’ prevalence in the mortal realm, such as fear, hope, or celebration. The Ancestrals, the honoured souls of the great deceased mortals of our realm, hold age and honour as their ranking system; the older and wiser of these spirits often disappear altogether, unseen by the mortals of today, who have no hope of harnessing their power. The elementals are ordered purely by the amount of other spirits under their power. Elemental spirits are in a constant state of war, ended only by domination, and on top are the respective greater spirits of Earth, Fire, Water and Air. Beneath them, countless spirits of various aspects of their element serve. Unknown to the Uruks, however, there’s another form of order.

 

 

Stagnant Spirits

The spirits of Apohet’s realm- those which Shamans of all sorts call upon- settle purely in their respective planes. These phantom spirits are separated from the mortal realm just as all other realms of the Seven Skies are, and by themselves they have no true control of their aspects, other than that which is ingrained in their own planes. Stagnant spirits, however, are another story. It’s unsure how exactly they became inherent in the mortal realm; it’s unsure-er still whether or not they are spirits at all. In basic terms, they can be described as the process by which phantom spirits act upon the mortal realm. They reside- Completely unnoticed, completely sessile, and completely innate- within every aspect of the mortal realm. Stagnant spirits are, as the name puts forth, purely stagnant without outside influence. They have no intelligence or instinct of themselves. It could be hypothesized that they’re simply a useful byproduct of the disposition of the AenguDaemonic Aspects; the forces of nature given form.

 

A phantom spirit whose aspects in the spirit planes are equivalent to a certain stagnant spirit in the mortal realm may, in practise, imbue some form of power into a stagnant spirit. This is not to be mistaken for control- A phantom spirit cannot control a stagnant spirit, but may instead give it potential. In the case of elemental spirits, this potential comes in the form of unexpected natural phenomenon. It accounts for the spirits’ wrath which Orcs and shamans alike seem to fear- with good cause, indeed, as very few individuals enjoy their farmlands being plagued by the sudden arrival of several angry looking tornados. The aspects of the Immortals are subtler than those of their elemental counterparts, though nonetheless they can be influenced by the phantom Immortal spirits. A good example of this are the spirits of mental instability which serve those such as Ikuras and Ixli- influencing the stagnant spirits of mental illness that dwell in their hosts. Naturally, it should be noted that not all of these phenomena are caused by the influence of phantom spirits- more often, conditions present in the mortal realm brew up these circumstances of themselves, through the patterns and complexities of nature. Through Shamans, however, phantom spirits can gain a sense of pseudo-control over these stagnants. Elementalists, connected to both the Spirit Realm and the Mortal Realm, act as the Elemental spirits’ hand; being able to convey a limited amount of the spirit’s power while being able to direct and control these stagnant spirits- giving them the purpose that the spirit could not.

 

An acceptably lengthy Tl;dr

This post was written up to clarify some aspects of the Elementalist subtype. Although it doesn’t make any major changes, hopefully it’ll generally improve our ability to monitor and direct the roleplay of Shamanism.

 

The Pact

~ To make a pact with a spirit, an elementalist must find and impress the spirit of their choice in the Elemental Plane.

~ An elemental spirit gives the Shaman-to-be a trial to prove if they’re worthy.

~ After the first bonding, learning to control new elements becomes a smoother process. It still requires a similar amount of time to master, however,

* An Elementalist can have any number of bonded spirits, but bonding with two spirits of opposite elements results in both becoming weaker.
 

Summoning

~ Summoning and using elemental spirit’s power requires the shaman to have a constant connection to the spirit realm.

~ The connection is faster than travelling to the spirit realm, but it will always be slower than that of a void mage’s connection to the Void.

~ Once a Shaman is connected to their spirit they don’t have to prepare individual spells like void magicians.

~ As the complexity of their casting increases, their concentration wavers. If their concentration is broken the bond and their magic falters.

~ An elementalist can’t be connected to more than one spirit at one time, but switching between spirits/elements is faster than the original connection.

Spirits
~ Phantom Spirits comes as Greater or Lesser, inhabiting solely the Spirit Realms.
~ Stagnant Spirits inhabit the mortal realm, and come inherent in all of its physical aspects.
~ Stagnant Spirits aren’t necessarily spirits by definition.
~ Phantom Spirits can imbue power into the stagnant spirits of the mortal realm, however this only gives them wild potential, and offers the Phantom Spirit no control.
~ Through Shamans, control of stagnant spirits is possible, though much less power can be syphoned through a shaman than directly into a stagnant spirit.

Edited October 1, 2015 by The Allusionist

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Shoutout to Booger, Hugo, and the rest of the crew working on the Shaman Reforms, a lot of my ideas came from their own, especially on Spirits. Keep up the hard work!

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