The Condemned

Description

The Condemned are a classification of spirits who have been cut off from the afterlife for committing one of the cardinal sins of the Seven Sisters. The form these spirits take is dependent on the sin they committed in life. These spirits have limited interaction with the world, and those interactions are generally meant to punish them further or help rehabilitate them. The Condemned are punished in this way with the hope that they will one day learn from their mistakes. However, the Condemned can not enter the afterlife until specific conditions have been met, which can vary from spirit to spirit.

Cardinal Sins

Each of the Seven Sisters has a cardinal sin which will prevent those who commit them from entering the afterlife, dooming them to take the form of one of the Condemned.

• Deception - The cardinal sin of Astix, Deception is the act of providing false witness, or scamming, cheating, or otherwise defrauding others.
• Profanity - The cardinal sin of Aellor, Profanity is the act of dissemination or practice of forbidden knowledge or magic.
• Desecration - The cardinal sin of Quen, Desecration is the act of destroying or polluting nature, animal cruelty, or killing for sport.
• Rapacity - The cardinal sin of Umos, Rapacity is the act of being greedy, selfish, or gluttonous -- taking and consuming in excess.
• Violation - The cardinal sin of Lekaris, Violation is the act of rape, infidelity, or magical coercion, such as using love potions or enchantment.
• Malice - The cardinal sin of Lys, Malice is the act of murder, wrath, and excessive violence -- those who inflict their rage upon others.
• Perversion - The cardinal sin of Estrea, Perversion is the act of desecrating the dead, abuse of necromancy, or attempting to subvert death.

Classifications

There are seven classifications of the Condemned, each having their own unique appearance, punishment, and worldly interactions.

• Vapors - This spirit, having committed the sin of Deception, the cardinal sin of Astix, is condemned to take the form of an ethereal cloud of gas. With all sense of their former identity stripped from them, they roam cities and villages forced to feel the emotions of those around them. This punishment is intended to teach the spirit empathy for those around them, as they have spent their life scamming, defrauding, cheating, or otherwise providing false witness at the expense of others.
• Unraveled - This spirit, having committed the sin of Profanity, the cardinal sin of Aellor, is condemned to take the form of themselves, with their form having been cut to ribbons, giving them the appearance of a vaguely humanoid shaped cluster of ribbon or cloth. Their identity is stripped from them and they cannot remember anything of their former self, nor can they retain any new information. They will often listen when mortals are talking, unable to comprehend anything they are saying, desperate to learn some new information, but being unable to. They have the ability to be heard by mortals, which takes the form of incoherent whispering. This punishment is meant to teach the spirit that knowledge is a privilege, and intentionally seeking something which has been forbidden them has consequences.
• Strays - This spirit, having committed the sin of Desecration, the cardinal sin of Quen, is condemned to be bound to an isolated place in the wilderness, far away from mortals. They are placed in areas unlikely to ever see another person, and prevented from leaving that small area. The limit of their interaction with the world is to produce soft gusts of wind within their bound area. This punishment is intended to teach the spirit respect for the nature around them, as it becomes their entire world.
• Wretches - This spirit, having committed the sin of Rapacity, the cardinal sin of Umos, is condemned to take the form of an emaciated version of themselves, looking much like a zombie -- a withered husk of their former selves. They feel exhaustion and a constant hunger, barely able to pull themselves around on the ground. This hunger can never be satiated no matter what they do, as their punishment is to feel the hunger they denied themselves in life, and the hunger which others were forced to feel because they took in excess what could have been provided to those in need. They can occasionally be seen by the living at night, and the living are absolutely terrified of them. Wretches are one of the most likely spirits to have spiritual exorcism services called for by mortals whose homes these spirits haunt.
• Bogans - This spirit, having committed the sin of Violation, the cardinal sin of Lekaris, is condemned to take the form of a disgusting, tiny gremlin creature. They are able to be seen at all times by the living, and often hide in basements and cupboards. They are seen as similar to rats by the living, and are reacted to with revulsion rather than fear, with mortals often reacting by throwing pots and pans or trying to stomp on them. They are impotent and only able to flee, as their punishment is to be seen for the disgusting creatures they are and feel the fear or worthlessness they caused their victims to feel in life.
• Shades - This spirit, having committed the sin of Malice, the cardinal sin of Lys, is condemned to take the form of a shadowy, featureless version of their former self. Their former identity taken from them by erasing all hints of their appearance and ego, the shade is the number one spirit to have spiritual exorcism services called for, as mortals believe Shades to be dangerous -- and they are not wrong, for their corrupted forms can kill the living. Their punishment is to be seen, but they feel the fear they instill in others when they are, and they cannot be heard or touch anything. They are given their terrifying form specifically to motivate mortals to exorcise them, so the Shades can live in fear of Astix or Lys' clerics.
• Remnants - This spirit, having committed the sin of Perversion, the cardinal sin of Estrea, is condemned to take no form at all. They can exist only in presence, and remain only to watch everything they sought to build and strive for in life disappear. Those who sought to live forever must watch the things they built disappear to the march of time. They are the only one of the condemned who are unable to interact with the world in any way. Their punishment is meant to teach them that death is inevitable, even if they remain forever. They remain until they stagnate and beg for the release of death.

Corruption

All spirits can become corrupted. Spectral Flow and Charged Flow do not mix well, and when spirits are exposed to areas of concentrated Charged Flow, such as Wellspring anomalies or eruptions, it can damage their spirit and corrupt them, transforming them into a worse form of themselves, and enhancing their worldly interactions. When the Condemned are corrupted, they can gain the following abilities.

• Vapors - When a Vapor becomes corrupted, their ability to feel the emotions of those around them becomes an ability to sense their thoughts instead. Additionally, they can plant false memories into people's heads and make them believe things that aren't true.
• Unraveled - When an Unraveled becomes corrupted, their ability to whisper to the living is enhanced, and the mortals forced to hear their whispering are compelled to investigate, often believing there to be some hidden meaning behind their incoherent words. Mortals affected by this will lose themselves trying to decipher the meaning of their words, driving them insane.
• Strays - When a Stray becomes corrupted, they can taint the area they inhabit, spreading infection to the plants and even the wildlife around them. This can become a severe issue, and Druids often search out these small pockets infested by Strays to exorcise them so they cannot spread their corruption.
• Wretches - When a Wretch becomes corrupted, they become able to be seen every night, but their mere presence begins to spoil food and crops in a large radius around them.
• Bogans - When a Bogan becomes corrupted, they gain the ability to manipulate the emotions of the living, causing them to feel negative emotions such as anger, fear, or sadness. They tend to target the victims they tormented in life.
• Shades - When a Shade becomes corrupted, they gain the ability to drain the Animate Flow of mortals, severely weakening them. This ability can kill a mortal. They are the most dangerous of the Condemned, and are actively hunted by the living.
• Remnants - When a Remnant becomes corrupted, they gain the ability to direct the actions of mortals through the use of a Geas that they can place on those around them. They will often compel the living to do things to preserve their memory or legacy.