Ghost

Some people find ghosts off-putting, but I enjoy their company.
— Shiv Moonsong

A ghost is the lingering spiritual consciousness of a dead person. While they can be seen, they cannot be heard and have limited ability to interact with the world. Traditions and taboos regarding ghosts vary wildly from island to island, and sometimes, from community to community.

Transmission & Vectors

When life ends by any means, death begins. Sometime soon after, the remaining spiritual consciouness manifests as a ghost. As with other biological processes, this has the same sort of imprecise timing as puberty or pregnancy. Generally speaking, a deceased person's ghost will usually manifest within the first week after death. Violent death seems to prolong the process, though not always.

Causes

Argentian science has not yet been able to determine the nature of consciousness. Therefore, they have been unable to formulate any cohesive and observable test regarding the origin of ghosts.

Symptoms

Lingering ghosts often seem to be a small cloud or plume of mist.

Ghosts have the ability to coalesce and look in death as they did in life, except translucent and washed-out. They can have definition and form, but lack cohesion or much in the way of color.

Communication is limited; ghosts do not speak nor are they particularly emotive. When they communicate -- and it is not often -- it is with gestsures and other body language.

While ghosts lack the ability to interact with the physical world, they can interact with fire, air, and -- of course -- water.

Although they cannot create fire, they can cause small and modest flames -- such as candles, stove fires, and campfires -- to flicker, billow, or change colors.

They can move air hard enough to slam a door or knock things from desks, counters, or shelves.

A common superstition among islanders, sailors, and fliers is that storms are the rage of an angry spirit.

Treatment

Because ghosts linger with their bones, it can take anywhere from generations to ages for a ghost to dissipate through natural means. This is due to the effect of climate and environment on the decomposition of a person's remains.

The village where I grew up was on the edge of a bog, and that was where they buried people before the United Era. To this day, it's still haunted by the wandering spirits of the people whose bodies have yet to be reclaimed and cured.
— Islander from the Peatmouth district of Capitalla

Curing and Relics

Wandering ghosts can be put to rest by attaching them to one of their original bones through a process called curing. The resulting item, or Relic, is a reflection of the person's lived experience and personality.

History

There is no record of a time without ghosts. As with all such forgotten origins, it is simply assumed that they have somehow always been a part of the natural cycle of life.

The curing process relies on technoalchemy. Looking for ways to cure spirits through blood instead of bone led to the discovery and refinement of Theeksfur.

Cultural Reception

Across Argentii's countless islands, ghosts are treated with respect. However, the ways in which that respect is displayed vary wildly from island to island, and sometimes from person to person.

Ghosts are universally recognized as the spiritual essence of a dead person. In many places, they are simply ignored in the same way that one might ignore the people on the street as you walk through the city: not hurting anyone or being hurt, therefore, not worth bothering about.

The unnerving number of ghosts who wander the sea near the shipwrecks that house their bones has led to a great deal of superstition and folklore among sailors. Most view ghosts as omens of danger or conflict.

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Type

Supernatural

Origin

Natural

Rarity

Common

Affected Species