The Big Book Of Spirits

Chapter 4: Spell Spirits

Element(s): Light (Major), Magic (Minor)

Habitat(s): Do Magi live there? Yes? Then they definitely live there. No? Then they still might live there. Honestly, they're one of the single most wide-spread species.

Size: (excluding tail) 6-12 inches (15.24-30.48 cm) long.

Social structure: The Symbol is their leader and their only form of hierarchy, otherwise being entirely equal and not even having family structures. Spells are incredibly loyal to each other, and getting shunned by literally the entire species for wronging one of them is most certainly a possibility.

Reproduction: The main population were created a VERY long time ago, in the same event that separated Koraz into a pocket dimension, though none can remember how or why. Recently, baby Spells have begun to show up in magic-rich areas, but no-one knows the reason. Whether they are capable of any type of mating or reproduction is unknown.

Body Type: Highly energy-based, but incapable of intangibility. Levitation is its main method of transportation. Rarely sleep and even more rarely require it. Do not need oxygen and don't feel temperature.

Diet: Ambient energy and light, unless absolutely starved.

An incredibly helpful species of Spirit, they get their name from their important place in Magish society. Healing, guarding, transportation, mail delivery, construction — they have their claws in every pie, to be honest. They're happiest when helping others, but Magi know better than to treat them as sycophants or servants; being rude to or harming a Spell is a good way to be shunned by the whole until you make amends, rendering you nearly incapable of functioning in Mage society.

A Spell's most impressive ability is the power to create Copies. A Spell's main body is called the Core, where its mind and soul reside, but they can create identical copies of themselves. At any given time, a Spell will have dozens of bodies doing a wide variety of tasks, its single mind experiencing it all at the same time — enough to drive most species insane, but a Spell handles it easily, with staying in one body too long being enough to traumatize them and break their minds.

If a Copy gets destroyed, it's painful, but does not harm the Core. If the Core is knocked out or deprived of energy, the Copies will disappear. Every body can absorb light and energy, so a Spell will usually leave at least one in an area where they can absorb a lot, letting them maintain more Copies at once. The record for most Copies active is several hundred, though that was with access to an unusually high amount of radiation.

Spells often have many different jobs, needing more mental stimulation than most species, and rarely take a day off from every single job at once. They are multitaskers and love a challenge.

Another interesting ability of Spells is their ability to create Portals — swirling vortexes the same color as their body — between different bodies, which is one of many reasons for them to spread their Copies far apart from each other. These Portals can get pretty big depending on how much energy is available to the Spell, and can be used to transport others as well as themselves. Being Light-based, these Portals are highly dangerous for Shadow beings, but are otherwise safe. They're as well good at maintaining Portals they didn't create, though they have a little trouble with Shadow Portals, making them a top choice for staffing Portal Stations.

The final ability of note is the harnessing of energy or light around them to create small blasts. They aren't very powerful, usually, but can cause fires.

Spells start off completely white and barely glowing. They gain a color when they reach maturity, based on which Caste they are. Every Caste has additional abilities.

🔴 Red — Cooking Spells, capable of speeding up food growth and telling the freshness of ingredients. They burn up energy faster than most Spells, but can as well create hotter fires.

🟠 Orange — Building Spells, they have a small level of conjuring ability. They're stockier and stronger than most Spells.

🟡 Yellow/tan — Sandstorm Spells, they're unusual among Spells, able to move around sand in big bursts but unable to anything constructive with it. They can destroy and distract, but can't create.

🟢 Green — Healing Spells, who, well, heal. They can't heal Shadows, though, due to their Light. They are the only Spells who will ignore a Shun.

🔵 Blue — Seeking Spells, capable of tracking most things and portaling to them even if they don't have a Copy there, provided they have something or someone connected to the object near them. They are faster than most Spells.

🌸 Pink — Helping Spells, known for bonding with specific people and creating a psychic connection. They can read the emotions of their chosen person, meaning they always know what they need.

⚫ Black — Extremely rare and only come about accidentally, rather than by choice. Their inner Light is replaced by Shadows, leading them to being the only Spells capable of creating Shadow Portals, healing Shadows, and shooting off bursts of darkness rather than fire. They crave Shadow Energy and can't handle the Light Energy of their fellow Spells, leading them to usually banish themselves to the Shaderelm.

Then there's The Symbol, Kimilil. She stayed white, with swirling markings over her body. She was their leader until she was lost and presumed dead, reappearing thousands of years later with amnesia. Kimi is capable of calming her fellow Spells, and is the only Spell to desire leadership. Her fellow Spells have a strong instinct to listen to her, but she doesn't actually have any ability to force them to do anything. She can absorb energy more efficiently than most Spells, and can share her energy, but is bad at utilizing it.

Spells have an unusual connection to a Nisprit (non Spirit) species known as Stone Guardians. They don't actually have any relation, but look identical, except their skin resembles stone. Their abilities and social structures are entirely different, and the reasoning behind their superficial similarities is still unknown.