Umbral Contract
Contract of Nature Spirits
There are creatures that have exhibited the ability to harness contracts and deals since the beginning of recorded knowledge. These range from the Ancient Fey that can compel a creature into legalistic agreements to Demons that compel creatures based upon a contract signed in blood. Even the connections between a summoner and a creature that has pledged its loyalty qualify an arcane deal wherein both parties have entered an agreement. Scholars have come to agree that when two or more creatures enter into a contractual agreement using the arcane as a medium, it creates a bond similar to that between the natural entities that exist within the world.
The Fairies of Isekai appear to have inherited a similar understanding of this magical tether that can exist within two creatures but instead of mimicking the Ancient Fey, they have adapted it over the years. The phenomenon of the Umbral Contract is one that tethers a spirit of nature to a mortal in the physical world. Scholars have noted that there is a difference between this interaction and that of a summoner, as summoners enter into willing contracts with spirits of nature. Then when the spirit is called upon, it will manifest its essence as an extension of the summoner. The essence of a spirit will often lack direct will of its own and has been likened to a shadow, which led to the widespread moniker of the Umbral Contract.
Umbral Contracts are popular for Fairies that spend time in the Wandering Forest because they invoke an anchor to their homeland that can range in power with little risk. Some Umbral Contracts can manifest as full body coverings, others as weapons or mystical powers but regardless of the form that these summons take, the actual spirit that provides the source of the contract is never in danger. The power of nature of the spirit determines how it will manifest and how powerful the effect will be, as long as the spirit providing the contract remains well and the item symbolizing the contract is in one piece, the contract can be called up. The length of time that a contract can be used and how often varies based upon negotiation between the Fairy and the spirit in question.
Manifestation
When an Umbral Contract is made three steps must be followed: Negotiation, Pact, and Initial Summoning.
Negotiation is the act of a summoner seeking out a spirit and establishing terms for their relation. Spirits vary in temperament based on their lineage, associated elements, and life experiences. Some spirits make continual contracts with specific lineages while others will reject all summoners except for a select few based upon criteria that are all their own. During the negotiation, the spirit will often give parameters for what they are willing to offer a summoner in exchange for some sort of task or ongoing price that they will pay. As long as a summoner keeps the contract, the spirit has never been known to forfeit the contract on its own, though it would be unwise to provoke a powerful spirit either before or after the Negotiation. This step ends when both parties either part ways or agree to terms.
The Pact is the actual ritual that solidifies the agreement between the summoner and the nature spirit. This involves the spirit making an imprint upon an item while the summoner offers a portion of magical power to act as the tether. This tether is highly resilient and has been noted to function across planes and other unconventional separations making it quite reliable. As long as the summoner upholds their end of the agreement that came out of the negotiation, the pact will remain in place. A common requirement for a pact holder is to perform a daily ritual with their item or store it in a particular way, the rituals can range from simple to complex.
The initial summoning is often dictated along a timeline or a set condition from the negotiation. It is an important event for any summoner because they will often have no idea the exact conditions or form that the spirit will offer their aid under until they call upon it. These initial summonings have revealed titanic forms that encase the user in the spiritual shell of a bipedal tree or they give the user a set amount of mystical flames to wield and attack their foes with. The aid that a spirit gives will always relate to their form or their innate element in some way, these manifest differently depending on the summoner and the spirit involved.
After these steps have been observed the contract may be modified by participating in it again and there is typically nothing that prevents modification of a contract between two willing parties. Some summoners have a variety of low to mid-level contracts though contracts with higher-level entities become scarce, some demand exclusivity while others will only remain under contract for a specific period or until a certain goal is accomplished. Persuading a powerful nature spirit to participate in a contract can often be a labor-intensive or dangerous task depending upon their personality. It is not unheard of that particularly prideful spirits will outright refuse a summoner or challenge them to single combat to prove their worth, which has the potential to end in a fatality.
This is a really interesting. I love the idea of Faeries making use of these contracts to keep themselves safer in the world.
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