The Big Book Of Spirits

Chapter 2: Hypnos Spirits

Element(s): Hypnosis (Major)

Habitat(s): Populated areas.

Size: 1-2 ft (30.48-60.96 cm)

Social structure: By themselves or in small Gangs, they seek out a leader of another species. Different individuals have different requirements for a leader.

Reproduction: They spawn as an occasional side effect of some spells, and as the specific purpose of a certain enslavement spell. They are incapable of other types of mating, though can combine energies in some circumstances (this will create a random Spirit, rather than a Hypnos).

Body Type: More energy-based, yet weak. Requires regular food, water, sleep, and even oxygen. Can levitate, but is not good at it.

Diet: A wide variety of vegetation and minerals. Occasionally fish, if they're low on options. They have surprisingly sharp, retractable teeth with which to eat.

Neat-freak Spirits with a tendency to latch onto others, they aren't well thought of by most Spirits. Servants by nature and often enslaved, they struggle to balance between freedom and their overly helpful instincts.

Their hypnotic powers are consistent but weak. A full-grown Hypnos can hypnotize nearly anyone who isn't a strong Hypnosis or Dream Elemental, but what exactly they can make their targets do is limited. They can make a thief steal or a programmer hack, but they can't make someone do something they have no experience with, even if the Spirit themself knows how to do it.

Other issues with their powers include the fact that they usually cannot hypnotize more than maybe a few people, cannot keep it up for long, and can lose their abilities if overrun with fear or doubt. One excellent strength is that they can use bursts of strong emotion to create a brief illusion of a much bigger and more frightening version of themselves, sending out psychic pulses that fill others with terror. This is tiring but affective.

Hypnos typically match the magical color of whoever created them. Their creation as a side effect of a spell is rare, making their creation via *joint spell* even rarer — when it does happen, it can create beautifully multicolored or even color-changing Hypnos. Despite the rarity of their birth, they have a relatively large population, growing over tens of thousands of years with few deaths.

The spell to create them is illegal in many places, considered an enslavement spell due to the near-total control it affords the spellweaver. There are those that argue you cannot enslave a creature that instinctually desires someone to command it, but the Hypnos themselves would be the first to argue against this. They desire leaders, not Masters (most of them, anyways).

Hypnos are known for purring, cooing, rumbling, and chirping. Lesser-known sounds include hissing and screeching.

Some Hypnos have minor or even major secondary Elements. Usually Light, Emotion, or occasionally Dream.

Their eyes always glow brightly, but their skin only gives off soft light when its dark or they feel extreme joy/contentment.

They are protective of children and hateful towards dirt or mess. They find strange joy in busy work like cleaning, organizing, or even paperwork. They detest physical fighting but will if they must or to protect someone they like, though their physical weakness makes it difficult.

Their hypnosis only works if their target looks in their eyes, which pulse when using their powers. Sunglasses can interfere with their abilities, and blindness in the target (or in them, honestly) renders them powerless. However, they do not need to maintain eye contact once the target is hypnotized, and can get around this if aided by certain types of psychic.

Hypnos created via the Hypnotic Slave spell have a secret name used to control them. Even after gaining freedom (upon the death of their creator, release by their creator, or very rare circumstances), they can be controlled by someone saying their name, though every command must include their name to work if they're 'free'. Telling someone their Name is a sign of complete trust, and most never do it.