67th of Summer, 513 AV.
There was something odd about the library that Anna had not noticed before, an artificial silence that hung over the place rather oppressively. It was an echo of the emptiness she had experienced weeks ago, before that time she wouldn't have even noticed it but now it was something much more noticeable. It would be accurate to say that day had changed Anna in someway or form, as her expression lacked its signature arrogance about it but was rather calm and subdued. The people there who knew something of her had given her odd looks and there were a few passing whispers exchanged. There was certainly a change about her that was undeniable, though whether it was for better or worse remained to be seen.
Anna possessed a couple of large leather bound books under her arms, both holding information she currently deemed worthy of study. Word had reached ears of a couple of roaming spirits around the city, nothing concrete merely hearsay as usual but it was enough to get her interest piqued. During her days as a student Anna recalled coming across the word spiritism, she was unsure exactly what it meant but considering the spirits in the city she considered it wise to at least research the subject.
The young professor swept through the rows and columns of books, searching for a good desk or table to sit at. When she finally found one that was relatively empty, Anna seated herself down at it and neatly placed both books out before her. One was a journal of so called spiritist, the other was a collection of notes on the nature of ghosts themselves. Both seemed like they would be sufficient for the research she had in mind today, so she decided first to start with the one on ghosts.
The young wizard carefully opened the book and started to read, her eyes lacking the ferocity most saw in her before and instead possessed a calculating gleam about them. Arrogance was the path of a fool and she saw now that rushing headlong into situations caused one to make mistakes. Mistakes were not something she could afford if she was to advance as a wizard, to truly become worthy of wielding power beyond the comprehension of most mere mortals. The more she thought she knew only revealed how very little she truly knew.
Her brain absorbed the useful information on the pages, finding interest in what exactly a ghost was. She had always thought them to merely be spirits of the dead with little to no significance or power, but the text here was refuting that.
Ghost, as we understand it, are the souls of the dead who refused to enter Dira's embrace. Their bodies have died but they linger on in a sad existence where they are unable to die yet unable to truly live. Some may be malevolent or helpful, most of the time it depends on how long they have been dead for and what kind of person they were in life.
Anna was intrigued by this book so far so she continued eagerly, seeking to make her knowledge on ghosts based on hard facts rather than rumors and conjecture. She spent chimes looking over single passages multiple times to commit them to her memory, nearly a bell spent on just looking into the nature of the ghosts, what they were and were not. It was extremely fascinating information, looking even more so than her research into the nature of Kelvics.
The section that she was most interested in detailed their supposed powers, which sounded incredibly potent. They made the prospect of encountering a ghost almost intimidating. However after meeting with a true god and looking into the very meaning of eternal nothingness, few things managed to intimidate Anna. Still they were troubling prospects if she ever ran into such a being, the wizard was left wondering if her magic would even be effective in stopping such a creature. Would Rhysol's blessing have any effect on a spirit... they were prospects worthy of study. Carefully Anna read over the passage again.
In order to interact with the world in a way similar to the living, ghost use a substance called soulmist by most spiritists. This substance allows them not only to interact with the physical world and can also be used to manipulate items they could not handle otherwise.
However the most feared power of a ghost is known as possession, which allows a ghost to take control of a person's body for a period of time. As such it is advisable to approach all ghosts with caution. Spiritists are known to allow possession, as it is said to increase their resistance to ghosts attempting to take control.
The last line caught Anna's attention and was read over a number of times, the idea that possession could be resisted. It seemed very much like something to look into, as being defenseless against a ghost was not something Anna regarded as a good thing. The young wizard continued to read through the pages, absorbing any more relevant information before snapping the book shut and moving it to the side. Perhaps the words of a practiced spiritist would provide more insight into the nature of ghosts.
Carefully Anna opened the aging journal and started reading the faded words as well as she could. This was a book she had claimed from the restricted section, and it had been rather hard to procure as she had needed to make a number of promises to return it unharmed. It was considered highly valuable to the library as it was the only written work of one Ricken Solivar, a so called master of spiritism.
I never was much one for writing, nor was I really the scholarly type in my youth. The same is true now. Ghosts and spirits are what I know, better than my own people sometimes. I know their names and how they act, I'm the chronicler of a hundred tragedies for all have had an impact on me. I never took apprentices, but I figure it would be criminal if I did not leave something behind. Something that might help folks know how to defend against ghost or even to understand why they do what they do...
There was something odd about the library that Anna had not noticed before, an artificial silence that hung over the place rather oppressively. It was an echo of the emptiness she had experienced weeks ago, before that time she wouldn't have even noticed it but now it was something much more noticeable. It would be accurate to say that day had changed Anna in someway or form, as her expression lacked its signature arrogance about it but was rather calm and subdued. The people there who knew something of her had given her odd looks and there were a few passing whispers exchanged. There was certainly a change about her that was undeniable, though whether it was for better or worse remained to be seen.
Anna possessed a couple of large leather bound books under her arms, both holding information she currently deemed worthy of study. Word had reached ears of a couple of roaming spirits around the city, nothing concrete merely hearsay as usual but it was enough to get her interest piqued. During her days as a student Anna recalled coming across the word spiritism, she was unsure exactly what it meant but considering the spirits in the city she considered it wise to at least research the subject.
The young professor swept through the rows and columns of books, searching for a good desk or table to sit at. When she finally found one that was relatively empty, Anna seated herself down at it and neatly placed both books out before her. One was a journal of so called spiritist, the other was a collection of notes on the nature of ghosts themselves. Both seemed like they would be sufficient for the research she had in mind today, so she decided first to start with the one on ghosts.
The young wizard carefully opened the book and started to read, her eyes lacking the ferocity most saw in her before and instead possessed a calculating gleam about them. Arrogance was the path of a fool and she saw now that rushing headlong into situations caused one to make mistakes. Mistakes were not something she could afford if she was to advance as a wizard, to truly become worthy of wielding power beyond the comprehension of most mere mortals. The more she thought she knew only revealed how very little she truly knew.
Her brain absorbed the useful information on the pages, finding interest in what exactly a ghost was. She had always thought them to merely be spirits of the dead with little to no significance or power, but the text here was refuting that.
Ghost, as we understand it, are the souls of the dead who refused to enter Dira's embrace. Their bodies have died but they linger on in a sad existence where they are unable to die yet unable to truly live. Some may be malevolent or helpful, most of the time it depends on how long they have been dead for and what kind of person they were in life.
Anna was intrigued by this book so far so she continued eagerly, seeking to make her knowledge on ghosts based on hard facts rather than rumors and conjecture. She spent chimes looking over single passages multiple times to commit them to her memory, nearly a bell spent on just looking into the nature of the ghosts, what they were and were not. It was extremely fascinating information, looking even more so than her research into the nature of Kelvics.
The section that she was most interested in detailed their supposed powers, which sounded incredibly potent. They made the prospect of encountering a ghost almost intimidating. However after meeting with a true god and looking into the very meaning of eternal nothingness, few things managed to intimidate Anna. Still they were troubling prospects if she ever ran into such a being, the wizard was left wondering if her magic would even be effective in stopping such a creature. Would Rhysol's blessing have any effect on a spirit... they were prospects worthy of study. Carefully Anna read over the passage again.
In order to interact with the world in a way similar to the living, ghost use a substance called soulmist by most spiritists. This substance allows them not only to interact with the physical world and can also be used to manipulate items they could not handle otherwise.
However the most feared power of a ghost is known as possession, which allows a ghost to take control of a person's body for a period of time. As such it is advisable to approach all ghosts with caution. Spiritists are known to allow possession, as it is said to increase their resistance to ghosts attempting to take control.
The last line caught Anna's attention and was read over a number of times, the idea that possession could be resisted. It seemed very much like something to look into, as being defenseless against a ghost was not something Anna regarded as a good thing. The young wizard continued to read through the pages, absorbing any more relevant information before snapping the book shut and moving it to the side. Perhaps the words of a practiced spiritist would provide more insight into the nature of ghosts.
Carefully Anna opened the aging journal and started reading the faded words as well as she could. This was a book she had claimed from the restricted section, and it had been rather hard to procure as she had needed to make a number of promises to return it unharmed. It was considered highly valuable to the library as it was the only written work of one Ricken Solivar, a so called master of spiritism.
I never was much one for writing, nor was I really the scholarly type in my youth. The same is true now. Ghosts and spirits are what I know, better than my own people sometimes. I know their names and how they act, I'm the chronicler of a hundred tragedies for all have had an impact on me. I never took apprentices, but I figure it would be criminal if I did not leave something behind. Something that might help folks know how to defend against ghost or even to understand why they do what they do...
