Spirits History

[QUOTE=Sturs](what are these Spirits of which you speak?)[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Me]There's a lot to this answer so I may forget something/leave something out, I hope I can be [I]sorta[/I] concise but get the main idea across. x3 Remember, you asked for this. You poor soul. :P

The story goes that the world Earth (or "Gaia", just for our purposes of remembering it's an alternate one) was created by that universe's gods. Then they left their new creation with a system intact to ensure the balance of magic that filled the world--the Spirits. Namely, the first two beings who would become "Spirits", which are the deceased (more or less) human souls who had possessed enough power or enough of an affinity for a certain type of magic (say for example, fire) in life to be eligible to help control the balance of that type of magic after their passing. (Only three Spirits did not have to "die", those I will mention later.)

The first being created by the gods on this new earth was [B]Gaia[/B], who later on is often known as "the Mother", "the Mother of All", and so on. She, being the first being ever to live on this planet, became the Spirit of Life, and controlled life magic on the earth. All living things have at least a little bit of life magic in them. She made flora and fauna flourish and was to live eternally. She usually appears as an ethereally beautiful, almost elfish woman of indeterminate age, very tall, gentle and motherly, with white-blond hair with slight hints of greens and blues, green robes, and fair skin, and always wears a firefly pendant, her own personal symbol. She loves the creature for the radiance it brings to the world in its short life. She may also appear as an old, wise woman, also with the pendant, or a firefly when wanting to be at her most discreet. She has brilliant, lively green eyes that seem to peer deep into a viewer, but also soothe, creating sometimes a strange sensation--no Spirit (like in Discworld with their gods) can hide the true nature of their eyes.

The real world is one of her realms, as is a paradise-like place where fairies live, her own personal sanctuary when not on the mortal world. The Spirits seldom appear in person to handle mortal affairs, preferring more indirect and impersonal means for the most part. "Good" souls do not go to her paradise, but rather the Realm of Dreams, a joint haven looked out after by the Spirits of Life, Sleep, and Death together.

The second being ever to live, the last one the gods themselves created before they left, was [B]Morticus[/B]. He was Gaia's mate, and together they were parents to Chrono, a son. Morticus was the first being to die, and became the Spirit of Death, the Reaper. While a dark-skinned, somewhat elfish human to begin with, over time he would become more and more like the image of death itself, a skeletal specter. The longer one's soul is a Spirit, the more they become like the personification of their element (which often has some really sad results if others remember what they once were like as humans.) His eyes are coal black, almost lifeless.

Morticus and Gaia often disagreed and quarreled over souls, Gaia hating for her "children", as she thought of them as, to die, and Morticus insisting that it was a natural part of life and that all must go. They work together more peacefully as time goes on, but they always have that fundamental disagreement. His realm is a bleak place, his own personal sanctum. "Bad" souls do not go to his realm, but rather the Netherworld, a hellish, dark place, deathly cold, filled with torturous terrain and seas of bubbling acid and spikes. The gates are guarded by two Spirits at all times, currently Water and Fire (for punishment for their in-fighting and arguing. x3)

Their son, [B]Chrono[/B], as the offspring of Life and Death, becomes the Spirit of Time, and therefore exists outside of it, able to pass between ages as he pleases. He is the Keeper of Hourglasses, the measure of how much time on earth a soul has left, and keeps these hourglasses in his realm outside the passage of time (whee, more Discworld influences!) He most often appears as an ancient, wizened man with a long white beard, hair, and robes, and eyebrows that cover his oft-closed eyes. His eyes are a patient grayish hazel.

After these three, more Spirits were chosen as the need arose. As man as we know him began to hunt, one of these humans, Leo Troy, would become the Spirit of [B]Strength[/B]. The vitality he possessed as a result of his strength magic allowed him to live with nigh-immortality. His whereabouts at present are unknown to even the Spirits, as after a falling out with them, he took off to live among mortals for good, never to return to their realms. (More of this will be revealed on ZU later.) His eyes are a strong, warm brown.

The next prominent Spirit (probably the last I'll mention in detail) was chosen as a young boy, when man was first becoming civilized, long back in early civilizations before this world's closest equivalent to Rome (Remula.) His name was Ernesto Vertimiglia, and he was framed at the age of twelve for his father's murder, and convicted unjustly. The boy was the only one who could see the truth in the crisis. After he was executed, he was found to become the Spirit of [B]Justice[/B], and later grew into a strong, just, wise man who would judge the souls of the departed. In his realm, he reviews the lives of each deceased human, and ultimately makes the choice of whether they go to the Realm of Dreams or the Netherworld. His symbol are the scales of justice. His eyes are a earnest, intelligent hazel-brown.

Other Spirits to follow would also become very important in the world's functioning and history, many becoming the namesake for countries or continents altogether, (like the Spirit of Earth, Tierra Cordelius, who gives her name to the continents of South and North Cordelia, and who is one of the key ancestors of the many of the gypsy tribes), or ending disasters (such as Ivana Petrova, the Spirit of Ice, whose ascension prevented a possible Ice Age when the former Ice was weakened.) It is possible for Spirits to be replaced if they are weakened and wish for rest, but it happens [I]very[/I] rarely.

The gypsies of the world (largely settled now in Rubato but clinging to other traditions of their identity), as well as other magical groups (like the monks of Zhenghe), have created rules for their own communities in following with principles handed down by former Spirits to govern their use of magic. One of these is to not amass more spells than one can reasonably control (often two or three), especially if these spells are offensive skills. Those with more practical, everyday uses (like say a simple, small healing spell) are more leniently looked upon. If a mage from this earth goes outside their world, like via the Dome, they are like a magnet to magic of their kind, very attractive to the energies. A water magic-user, therefore, would attract otherworldly water magic energy to themselves, and possibly become more powerful if they can wield it. Not all magic users are created equal. "Enchanters" are considered to be the more capable and powerful human spellcasters. They are often frowned upon by many, seen as being greedy for power. The strongest mage in any one magic-practicing country (it is more mainstream/common in some countries more than others), is often the Royal Mage/Imperial Mage/National Mage (or whatever title they may give.)

Collecting too much magical power draws away that energy from other places in the world (like how water has been drawn away from Rubato, but there is also another reason to add to that one) and may cause shortages or natural crises, and also can weaken a Spirit's ability to prevent these problems, if one's influence becomes greater and greater (possibly even greater than the Spirit's.) Hence why Cadenza gets in such deep doo-doo when she goes to the Dome and starts attracting shadow power unawares, and gains too many spells during her quest for personal and familial revenge and emancipation during her early plots. The Spirit of Shadow seeks to... neutralize her. x33 Things go bad from there on.

(As mentioned before, Solomon "Sol" Rubaton, namesake for Rubato, and Spirit of Fire had a falling out with his constant bickering partner, Marina Aque, Spirit of Water. Because Marina saw Rubato as Sol's favored lands, she treats the place largely with disfavor. They are not above being petty like that. x3 Which makes the Spirits fun. They can be awfully human and flawed for governing magical beings.)

Piccy: [url=http://superaiko.deviantart.com/art/ZUBA-Spirits-of-Earth-174138592]ZUBA: Spirits of Earth by ~SuperAiko on deviantART[/url][/QUOTE]

Wheeee, infodump!