Metaphysics

The Cycle of Life

  The world of Koru, and everything on it, is made up of three parts An, Na, and Ur. An is its physical essence. Na is its spiritual essence. Ur is the divine energy that forms it. Of the three, An is the most fragile. When something's An dies or is destroyed its Ur and Na remain. During the First Age, the Otherworld was much more ephemeral that its later form. During that time, it was known as the Twilight. It was not a clearly defined realm. Instead, places where destruction had occurred were wreathed in smoky images of the destroyed objects. These images where only apparent to those who let their minds wander in these locations. The spirits of the dead, or Anath, wandered freely across Koru. There was no cycle of reincarnation at this time, and the dead remained mindless and incorporeal (at least until Katşetzekzalana taught Koruani mystic techniques to return memories to the dead).   During the reordering of the world, the Korsamu built the Twilight up into the Otherworld and erected the Nuar to separate it definitively from the Mortal World. From this point on, when the An of an object or construction was destroyed, its twilight afterimage would appear exclusively in the Otherworld. When a living being was killed, Kuru would ferry its Na to Muara's palace in the Otherworld. In time, the being's Ur would shape An into a new vessel and Kara would ferry the Na back to be reborn in the new body.
Most beings lose all memory of who they were when their An dies, however, beings with very strong Ur--such as the Leru and Makar--keep their minds and their Ur always builds the new Na into a vessel identical to their previous lives (unless their Ur or Na are somehow altered).
Now, with Nu dead and the Pantheon riven, Muara and her remaining loyalists are struggling to maintain the cycle of death and rebirth. The Nuar has become thin and, in many places, porous. Nama and Anath are freely crossing into the Mortal World. Furthermore, many of the dead are not crossing over. Sometimes this is because of a pact made with Siyr or a curse placed on the deceased binding them to an object or location. Other times the spirit itself refuses to go. Very strong emotions leave a residue on a being's Na, such that, when the An dies, the Na may linger, attracted to whatever emotional locus binds it (e.g. the furious spirit of a being that dies full of rage might linger until the cause of that wrath is undone. Such spirits are more-or-less mindless and are unfocused in their quest for vengeance). Traditionally Kuru had the power to pull these reluctant spirits away from their obsession. However, she no longer has the strength to dislodge them.
Kuru's job is further complicated by the fact that other actors have begun pulling on the spirits of the recently dead. The spirits of dead Haborians cremated with a Zahar are sent to Hanaq for judgement. The Dark Mountain has become active again, calling souls of the wicked towards it to fuel the hunger of its Makar. Luminous Shrines pull the spirits of dead Luminaries towards their rebirth in Tisserian. The Night's Huntsman also has been seen abroad collecting Anath.

Magic

  The essence of working magic is using your Ur to manipulate Na and An. An is much harder to mold as it has physical presence and is easier to break than bend. Na is ethereal and is the primary power manipulated by most magic users. By manipulating something's Na, the magician can affect its An as well. Blood witches work their power using blood, which is the An with the highest concentration of Na. Sorcerers manipulate Na directly. Invokers use the power of the Sigils to manipulate Ur directly allowing them to control An and Na as they wish.   Animism: Communes with the spirits. May ask Nama to lend him/her power in the form of raw Na. Can also be used to bind spirits into items or tattoos.   Blood Magic: Uses blood (An saturated with Na) as a power source; bends the Na but does not break it. Less raw power can be tapped than through sorcery, but it does not pose the same risks for the user as sorcery.   Enchanting - Similar to Witchcraft in that it extracts Na from various sources. Instead of creating a potion from it, the enchanter infuses an item or place with the power.   Invocation   Old Magic (the Druidic Arts)   Sorcery: Manipulates raw Na. The Na being drawn upon is weakened in the process and can be annihilated if too much power is drawn. Sorcery can, and often does, lead to the destruction of Na. The destroyed Na will reconstitute as ether, but without its Ur to guide it, it will remain shapeless and inert in the Otherworld until some other force acts upon it (such as Ur finding it and binding it into new An; thereby making a new being that has never participated in the cycle of rebirth). When sorcery goes wrong, it can damage the Na of the sorcerer using it. Should this damage occur regularly, it will begin manifesting physically as bleaching, mutations, and more.   Witchcraft - Creates magic potions using Na distilled from different reagents and combining the different flavors of An into a potion.   DEATH RITUALS:   Ritual of the Sun: used by priests of Habor to guide souls to the Sun's Cradle. Upon arrival, Hanaq judges the souls based on their life, and this decides whether they can ascend to the Radiant Citadel or are reincarnated to try again.   Ritual of Binding: binds a soul to something, preventing it from passing on   Call to Kuru