Ghost Sight
Cultural Views
The Vatican: Official doctrine teaches that Ghost Sight is a “divine burden and tool” gifted by Infinite Grace to fight the "corruption of the dead." In practice, children who display the gift are taken and trained as hunters, regardless of their will. To the public, the Vatican frames them as holy protectors; the truth is, it's pure exploitation.
Common Folk: Rural communities are divided; some fear those with Ghost Sight while others seek them out. Everyone believes they are dangerous intermediaries with the dead. Many folk traditions, like in the Grand Duchy of Tacia, whisper it is both a curse and a gift, often passed down through generations marked by tragedy.
Nobility: Families touched by Ghost Sight often hide it to protect reputation, as the trait is linked to whispers of illegitimacy, blood curses, or ancestral sins.
Supernatural Beings: Ghosts recognize the Sight instinctively. Some are drawn to it like moths to flame, while malevolent entities often view it as both threat and lure.
Manifestation
Ghost Sight manifests as a shifting of perception in those born with the trait. The eyes of the gifted often change hue (in Lyra’s case, a permanent purple) or take on a faint glow when the veil thins. To the bearer, the world flickers between two overlapping realities: the physical plane and the Ghost realm. Shadows move where no living thing stands, whispers crawl along the edges of silence, and the dead can sometimes be seen in fractured glimpses — incomplete, disjointed, or fleeting.
For outsiders, witnessing someone using Ghost Sight is unsettling. The bearer’s focus drifts, their eyes seeming to pierce beyond walls or into nothing. Prolonged use often leaves them pale, shaken, and exhausted, as if drained by unseen forces.
Localization
Rare and hereditary: Ghost Sight appears sporadically in bloodlines across Caelum Prime. It is neither bound to class nor geography, but families touched by the supernatural — through curses, bargains, or violent deaths — seem more likely to carry it.
Table of Contents
Veil Awareness: Detects thin places between the worlds.
Residual Impressions: Can sometimes witness echoes of past events.
Recognition: Able to distinguish between benign spirits, malevolent ghosts, and Vampyres.
Drain: Extended use causes fatigue, migraines, trembling, and disorientation. In extreme cases, unconsciousness or collapse.
No Control Over Interaction: Ghost Sight allows vision and hearing, but not command.
Attraction: Using the Sight too frequently risks drawing spirits toward the bearer, some benevolent, others dangerous.
Mental Toll: Nightmares, paranoia, confusion between living and dead. Some bearers have been driven to madness, unable to distinguish one world from the other.
Spiritual Risk: Each use leaves the bearer’s soul “brighter” in the ghost realm, making them more visible and tempting to restless spirits that seek to anchor themselves to the living.
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