Editing Spirit world (section)

==Spirit World of Narcissus:  the Other Side==

The Metropolis of [[Narcissus]] is stalked by creatures that live entirely in the reflected world, similar to our own but warped by mirrors of imperfect craftsmanship. The mirrors reflect the worst aspects of the person, or amply fears of the onlooker, and over time, feed a desire for perfection leading to strange alterations. A person can inadvertently become the city's namesake, looking helplessly as every flaw and fear are amplified, until slowly starving to death. The spirit of the person then roams the mirror world forever. The only known non-magical way protect oneself is to catch the creature with it's own reflection in a crystal of fine quality. The resulting crystals are used to power some of the more hidden aspects of the city.

The other world is the world of the reflection, a place embraced by the narcissistic faction and declared heresy by the other. It reveals truths, but ones that are altered or slightly warped, and is inhabited by things other than the mirror wraiths. It is not a true world, but rather like a shadow, existing only as a reflection, but can be used to travel great distances if one is willing to risk the passage from one mirror to another.

--stephen_dean

To enter the spirit world from [[Narcissus]], one does so through mirrors and reflections. Indeed, there are so many mirrors in Narcissus that the borders between worlds have grown thin -- it is possible to enter the Other Side easily, or for things from the Other Side to come through unaided. There are many wonders and horrors on the Other Side, though, which are exploited by the Mirror Fisheries. The mirror-fishers use silver fruits from the mirrortrees to bait their lines.

--Kakito Kojiro

====Mirror-Wraiths.====

Mirror-wraiths are spirits created by the reflection of a person focused on one desire or emotion. They may be created inadvertently from imperfect reflections in places where the mirror-world is easily entered (as in Narcissus). They are also created deliberately by mirror-casters, using reflective magic. Although they are similar to ghosts and specters, they are all different kinds of spirits, despite speculation by theorists such as the Invisible College that they are somehow congruent.

Sorcerers categorize mirror-wraiths by emotion or desire, for each mirror-wraith is utterly focused on only one emotion or desire. Often the way this emotion or desire is expressed is in a distorted form of the personality that the mirror-wraith was cast from. As normally intangible spirits (Insubstantiality), mirror-wraiths usually cannot satisfy their one emotion or desire. They can possess anyone whose reflection is within their grasp of the mirror-realm, and they can also be caught into mirrors or reflective crystals.

Mirror-wraiths who possess people influence them to act out the spirit’s one emotion or desire (Possession). Eventually the will of the possessed host drives out the spirit, or the mirror-wraith is sated and fades away. They require regular experience of their driving emotion or desire, or they will fade away. Although their motives may be predicted by their one emotion or desire, their utter focus is easy to misjudge.

Mirror-wraiths are used in many ways. Narcissus uses them to imbue their soldiers with indomitable emotions for battle, and to afflict enemies with fear. They are also used in Narcissus to temporarily focus on one goal or task. People often use them to explore novel emotions or desires – either as a form of self-exploration, or decadent entertainment. Sorcerers also make use of appropriate mirror-wraiths as messengers to other mirrors, spies to peer through mirrors, scouts into the mirror-world, or for other esoteric tasks.

Skills: Area Knowledge (other side)
Advantages: Insubstantiality (affect substantial, usually on, 128 pts), Possession (spiritual, access only through reflections, sense-based sight, 40 pts), See Invisible (15 pts)
Disadvantages: Dependency (common, -10 pts), Easy to Read (-10 pts), Obsession (-10 pts), Low Empathy (-10 pts), Magic Susceptibility -3 (only vs. reflective magic, -5 pts)

--Kakita Kojiro

=====The Capture and Care of Mirror Wraiths=====
''So you finally caught a mirror wraith in the crystal caves, or perhaps you inherited one with you new Wizard tower. The first question you have to ask yourself is, what is the nature and possibilities of your new boon/problem. The key to understanding the Wraith is that, first, you cannot grasp the motives of an entity focused on one desire. If it is vanity, your wife will certainly look better for awhile, or your husband might head to the spas more, but eventually they may not be the person you fell in love with. If it is anger, well, lets just say that is easier to notice. The key to keeping a Mirror Wraith is a careful and regular mixture of emotions. If well fed, the Wraith can act as a useful source of information, advice and potential favors. The more affuent among you may even have a crystal tree sapling. Now I know your asking youself "why can I not just feed that Anger Wraith to my crystal tree, whats the problem?" Just look to the first shattering. The Crystal trees are clear because they are given only the purest of souls. A wraith is a twisted shard of a person. One aspect of the whole. Feed a Crystal Tree this and you have a real problem on your hands. How do you suppose these laws came into being my good sir. The ruins of the Immaculate Concave make it clear. A crystal tree fed an unwilling supplicant or an impure soul, one who has fear in its heart, or one with hate or spite, will warp the trees into those strange obsidian trees that litter the ruins. Those glass valleys in the deserts of Hubris were once cities of great power, now they are only places without even grass. The madness that comes from these places can be prevented by you. Remember, only you can prevent [[Cities_of_glass_history|Shatterings]].''

--stephen_dean

====Mirror-Wights====

A mirror-wights is much like a normal person's reflection, but of a normal person who had never existed to cast that reflection, but it is rather like a person otherwise. Albeit one that is probably left-handed and writes backwords in mirror-writing. But they can often be hired for work in this world, and blithly ignore mirror wards and suchlike, so they make good spies and thieves.

--Kakita Kojiro

====Doppelgangers====
Dopplegangers are a spiritual "twin" of an individual. They are usually dangerous spirits. Each year, several children die because they summoned a doppleganger in a darkened room.
 
At other times, they spontaneously appear in a crowded area. When they do this, they do not wantonly kill. Some occultists suspect that they are omens of their human "twin's" death. Some occultists believe that they cause the death of their human counterpart. Yet, other occultists believe that dopplegangers wish to replace the human, whether or not the human lives.

Some citizens suspect that there is one doppleganger for every individual. Anyone who has actually visited the spirit world seriously doubts this.

--shanoxilt