Completed Chasing Phantoms

[Anders]

"How odd," Anders thought, silently. He was surprised to hear that she hadn't had a great deal of experience in world travel. Her aura had seemed quite self assure. He naturally assumed that she had seen and survived a great deal. "It's funny, I took you for an experienced traveler at first," he told her. "I wouldn't have known unless you told me."

His head cocked back as he started thinking about his passion for "ghost hunting." He loved talking about the subject. "For me its always been about why one soul is able to transition into the next life and another is not. It's well known that ghosts tend to have an obsessive, passionate fixation; one compulsive desire keeps them tethered to Mizahar in a fruitless battle to tend to their final wishes. This is all common knowledge... But why? Everyone has hopes and dreams. Plenty of people suffer unfortunately short lives and yet they are able to pass on. Regardless of age, death always disrupts some passionate desire or another. Why can some people let go and others get stuck in the ethereal madness of undeath?"

Anders stopped his romantic staring toward the sky to look Ivandra in the eyes. "As I subtly mentioned before, I am an ethaefal. It is typical for our people to distract ourselves from melancholy by traveling the world. There is a sharp pain at being so wholly separated from Leth. I feel it with every step I take down the trail, here. Perhaps the journey is an ill-fated attempt to find somewhere closer to our patron deities. Perhaps its just the restlessness in being alien to all of Mizahar. Maybe its just a curious quirk of our people which has nothing to do with our collective history. Either way, we need a distraction. Clearly we seem to need something to push us through the day. For most Ethaefal, its moving from place to place. For me, it seems to be pouring all of my time into learning about ghosts."


He chuckled, somewhat humbly, somewhat self effacing, after his romanticized monologue. "That's what happens when you get me talking about my passion for finding spirits. I ramble on and on. But onto more meaningful subjects of discussion, I hope that all continues to go well with your mother. It's very noble of you to hold back your own desires to care for the ones you love."

[Ivandra]

"Yeah, I've been told by several others, including you, that I seem like one as well. As to why, I'm not completely sure, but I do hope to leave Syliras as soon as I can. Life's simply too short to sit around without doing anything meaningful. Even though I've never actually traveled anywhere far before and I don't know what it's really like, I took an interest in it the first time I went out into the marketplace. There were so many different people, so many different smells and sights that I'd never seen before. Ever since then, I already made up my mind on exploring. It's a passion I haven't delved deep into, yet I already know I want to do it." She gazed at him, wondering if she made sense at all.

Ivandra watched Anders as he spoke, fascinated by the animation and passion in his voice. He clearly loved the subject and could just ramble on and on about it. But what he said did make sense. The few Ethaefal she'd met in her life had always been ambitious travelers, the kind she wanted to become. They always seemed to need to channel their energy somewhere, to direct their attention and focus to a single passion. It almost seemed to be a trait of the race. If Anders wasn't the avid traveler, it still made sense that he devoted his time and passion to another subject which seemed just as interesting: spiritism. "Do you have any theories for that question that you posed? I'm curious. What do you think is the reason that some souls are left behind while others are able to move on? Could there possibly be an unearthly being controlling this selection, judging the beings during their lifetime and later deciding their fates after death?" It seemed like a reasonable possibility to her, but she was unsure about what Anders would think of it. He was more knowledgeable in the subject, after all.

"And thank you. She should be fine now; the healers have said that she's on the path to recovery." Ivandra subconsciously touched the opal colored sigil on her forehead, a mark from the goddess Rak'keli she'd obtained just a few days earlier. It had given her the power to heal, but it had still been too late. Even though the ability she had probably hadn't been advanced enough to completely cure her mother's disease, she likely would have at least been able to use it to ease some of the pain she'd been going through. Straightening herself again however, she pushed the thought out of her mind and glanced down at the map again. They were on the correct path, but it would still be a little while before they reached their destination.

[Anders]

Anders relished in having someone interested in his musings on the afterlife. The only problem was that they weren't very developed quite yet. More than any real principles, Anders just had hypotheses. His work was not to observe his theories in action, it was to test his hypotheses.

"I honestly have no idea, he chuckled. "I'm a scholar in the sense that I have a curiosity, not that I have any particular expertise. I'm still in the process of finding my answers. In unison with any good researcher, the ethaefal had more fun talking about what he didn't know than what he did. "The common conception is that it has something to do with the circumstances of the ghost's death. Maybe this widespread belief became popular because it is true. I, however, like to think that it has more to do with the person's personality in life. I like to think that we choose our own destiny in the afterlife...not that it is haphazardly thrust upon us by chance.

I don't know though, I certainly realize that less romantic options may prove true. For example, what if it was left only to Uldr's judgment. What if one's passage to Lhex's judgment was due only to the success of Uldr' s machinations?"

He smiled grimly as he said this, visibly not truly believing this last sentiment. This last point was less scientific exploration and more 'food for thought.' Either way, the ethaefal didn't have all the answers and he wasn't ashamed of it.

"Shyke, if I already knew everything this wouldn't be nearly as fun, right?" He smiled warmly as he said this, walking on and excitedly anticipating the dark, mysterious descent into the earth to which they were heading.

[Ivandra]

So there was no particular answer. Ivandra hadn't really expected any; after all, the topic of selection for the afterlife did seem like a debatable one. Thinking about it a second time, she realized that there probably would never be a set answer. Even if one scholar found what appeared to be an answer, there would still be questionings and debates on that information. But it did almost make it more interesting in her eyes. It was like traveling in the sense that there was no right or wrong way to go, or a set way of interpreting things. It was much more subjective than objective. "So about that widespread belief that it has to do with the circumstance of the ghost's death. According to those who believe in such things, what types of circumstances would lead to what outcomes? For example, what would be the fates of those with violent endings? Or those who died of sickness, or old age?"

"But who are Uldr and Lehx?" Upon hearing them for the first time, she simply assumed that they were gods. There were so many different deities in Mizahar that it was difficult to keep track of them all. But they must hold a certain significance if Anders had specifically mentioned them as the possible gods who judged and not others.

The Kelvic smiled at his enthusiasm again and his desire to discover the unknowns. "I suppose so," she conceded. "If we knew everything, it wouldn't be fun anymore. It is the same with exploration. There would be no point if I'd been born already having seen all the cities in this world." She paused a moment, remember something Anders had said earlier. "How are you planning to find out those answers? Are you just going to observe them or are you actually going to try to speak to them?" The latter certainly sounded like it would be more interesting.

[Anders]

"Well, there is certainly no pattern," Anders admitted. "There just seems to be some correlation between extreme situations at death and the prevalence of ghosts in any particular location. I've never heard of a theory that attempted to predict what kinds of situations create what manner of personalities but things like murder, suicide, or severe emotional loss seem to disrupt the transition into the next life."

Anders noticed the crowded, rocky forest floor give way to gentle slopes. The tree line was beginning to thin out as they began to pass through less and less even ground. He could tell that they were getting close to the cave. His verbal tone and cadence started to hasten and to amplify as the anticipation began to develop in him. His speech even took a flare for the dramatic as he began to discuss the two gods.

"Lhex and Uldr are two of the gods whom I have to be quite familiar with for the sake of my profession," he smiled. "Lhex is believed to rule over the domain of fate while Uldr is the lord and master of the undead. It is said that upon death, souls are brought before Lhex for judgment and direction into the next life. Uldr looks to disrupt this process while simultaneously creating a sort of cadre of undead creatures."

"To watch or to participate?" he smiled at her. "Well that all depends on what happens when we get in there, my friend." Anders thought about some of his previous encounters. There had been moments when he spoke to ghosts. He occasionally held long discussions; he questioned them, sometimes even performing tasks and favors for them. In extremely controlled situations he even poked at them, taunted and flustered them at times.

It was always an option and it was an engaging way to learn about his craft. Sometimes, however, he knew better. Sometimes his wisdom and his insight barred him from action. There had been many volatile, potentially dangerous situations where he could do nothing but watch. Sometimes the ghost railed against his protective barrier to exhaustion. Sometimes the ghost had a mad ritual that he or she performed whether in company or alone. Sometimes, he need, for the sake of his safety, to remain utterly hidden from the spirit whom he was observing. It all depended on the environment, the ghost's state of mind and the general affect of the ghost.

[Ivandra]

"So you're saying that those with violent deaths would more likely become ghosts. That would make sense intuitively," Ivandra conceded, dipping her head. But then, thinking about it again, not all ghosts she'd heard of seemed distraught as she imagined they would have been if their endings in the real world had been harsh. The theory didn't account for that aspect, but she didn't voice her thoughts. Nobody really knew the answer after all, and she was sure that that point would already have been addressed elsewhere anyways. At his explanation of the two gods, she shuddered. The god of death. Being a partial healer, her job had always been to battle against death, to oppose it. "A combination of the gods of death and fate," she murmered. "Ominous."

She left it at that, then, as the terrain they were walking on gradually emerged from a narrow trail to a much gentler, wider slope. The Syliras city walls were clear behind them now, and in the distance she could spot the gaping entrance of the cave. Ivandra glanced sideways at Anders, hoping at a glimpse of his reaction as they neared the destination. Anxiety was starting to crawl into her stomach, mixing with the feeling of excitement and anticipation.

Even though the prospect of crawling through pitch black caves didn't exactly appeal to her, if she saw a ghost, it certainly would be worth it. Even more so if she and Anders would have the opportunity to actually converse with one. This was bound to be interesting.

[Anders]

Anders decided that now, as they were walking into the dark, mysterious cave, was not the best time to discuss Dira or to announce that Uldr was the god of the undead, not death.

As the light started to abandon them, Anders reached for a torch which he had been carrying in a bag slung around his back. He stooped down among the dim light and took a few minutes to set the torch blazing.

"Ivandra, would you mind leading the way?" Anders asked. "Spirits can be rather eerie but a startled bear could maul us right to death; its a threat I can only assume that you are better equipped to handle."

There was a moment of brief panic as he entered an isolated cave in the wilderness with a complete stranger. The tiny moment of worry passed quickly. He trusted Ivandra, trusted her enough not to slit his throat in the darkness, anyway. She seemed rather pleasant. He peered forward, as far as his eyes could strain to see. Trying to make out the features of the cave from inside the bulb of torchlight, he focused his mind on identifying high activity areas.

[Ivandra]

Ivandra barely hesitated as Anders asked her to take the lead through the cave. "Yes, of course," she responded, nodding. It made sense, since she indeed was better equipped to handle any possible dangers. Even so, she had to admit that she did start to feel apprehensive. Jagged rocks rose through the ground in the most unexpected spots, and if it were not for Anders's light, she probably would have tripped. Her eyesight was also limited in the darkness, and it wasn't as far reaching. The only sense she had that was still working as it regularly would was her sense of smell, which was sharper than that of a regular human's due to her animal form. But she wasn't even sure if ghosts would give off a smell, being a part of the supernatural realm. She picked her way through the rocks, eyes peering into the darkness. "Anders," he whispered, "is there anything you could use to attract ghosts? Or are we just going to keep walking through this cave until we stumble across one?" Even though she would never admit it, she was starting to feel fear creeping in. The cave felt so small, pressing in and preventing escape in the case that there really was danger in the cave. As if to reach for comfort, her hand reached up to touch the opal gnosis mark on her forehead. If it came to it, at least she could be put to ease, at least to some extent, with the knowledge that she could heal basic wounds. Surely the huge monsters wouldn't choose such caves to dwell in.

[Anders]

Anders continued in his baby steps through the darkness. This was the first time that he had ever been inside of a cave; it was the first time that he had explored a cave, at least. And it was certainly the first time that he had ever been inside a cave of any significant size.

It felt strange to the spiritist; it was only because of the unique history of the caves, during the Valterrian, that he had chosen to come from. Typically, caves were places of wilderness and isolation. They were the homes of beasts, not of civilized citizens of Mizahar. Anders was more used to working in buildings. His job required these hallmarks of the tame world of infrastructure and community, not in the more wild realms of the natural world.

"Well," he chuckled. "This is the unfortunately common part of the job... The boring part." He didn't have to talk particularly quietly. It wasn't as if there had been a risk of "scaring off" any ghosts. Sure, there was a certain element of shyness and a reluctance to interact with the living. But the presence or absence of language wasn't going to change a spirit's distaste of living creatures.

"There is no particular way to 'lure' a ghost," he told her. "But fortunately, there are skills that I can use to track one. Temperature, emotions, the humidity in the air, very feint sounds. Even little tricks of the eye, though a common fact of life, become somewhat... Anders paused as he struggled for the right words. "More common, I suppose, around the supernatural."

Anders stopped a fork with 3 possible corridors, including the one on which they had arrived. "For example, there appears to be a chill fog coming from this left tunnel," he explained to her. "But before we continue twisting and turning down various hall ways, I must ask. Do you have a rope or something by which we can mark our trail? I would hate to get lost in a large system such as Aylasa," he explained.

[Ivandra]

Ivandra continued picking her way through the cave, skin prickling at the shadows looming in the corners. Any one of those crevices could hold a ghost. It was even possible that one was following them now. She instinctively turned her head to look behind her, but her eyes couldn't spot anything past the glow of the light Anders held. She continued to move forward, but paid close attention to what her companion was saying all the same. So ghosts could be detected through humidity, temperature, and faint sounds. She lifted her hand slightly into the air, but she couldn't sense anything too different. Probably no ghosts around here then. But even so, she couldn't be too sure. There was always the little margin of doubt in situations like these. At last they reached the end of the narrow straightaway which diverged into three tunnels. She stopped, glancing back at Anders. Now that he mentioned it, she did notice a faint chill coming from the left tunnel. "Yes, I see what you're saying. But no, I haven't brought anything with me. Maybe..." Her eyes flickered to the surroundings of the cave, "we could use some sand or small stones and lay a trail behind us."