Spirit Realm

The Spirit Realm is where spirits dwell separated from their bodies. This is most common during sleep but also occurs after death. Most spirits then pass on into the Realm of Unlife after a short while, although some may remain for centuries if they have a strong will.

Description
To access the Spirit Realm one would only have to go to sleep. In this state the spirit forgets its earthly bonds and wanders naturally in the world of dreams and thoughts. To gain more control over the visions and to be able to more consciously control ones actions it is necessary to travel to the Spirit Realm in a waken state. This can be achieved either through meditation or drugs but the earthly bond is usually too strong and it is difficult to visit the Spirit Realm for more than a few minutes at a time.

The by far most efficient, but also dangerous, way to enter the Spirit Realm is through the use of magic. Magic can allow the soul to travel to the Spirit Realm fully conscious, at the risk of forever losing itself in that strange land, leaving a dead body behind in the Mortal Realm. The alternative approach is to travel body and soul to the Spirit Realm through a dimension portal. Such magic is very powerful and therefore rare and instead of the risk of death one risk to be trapped forever in that strange place. A portal will also allow spirits to enter the Mortal Realm, should they find it.

The most constant thing in the Spirit Realm is the mist. It might be as bright as daylight, trees and birds may be all around but always the light is through a pale white mist and always the horizon is hidden behind a thin veil of fog. While this might eventually irritate the person perceptive enough to notice it, it would likely be far more disturbing to know the truth. In the Spirit Realm everything is made up from the thoughts of the spirits that dwell there. Beyond the mist there is nothing, for the Realm cannot exist where no spirit is close to perceive it. Thus travelling in the Spirit Realm is journeying into one’s own mind. The landscape perceived will be plucked from the memory and painted before the unsuspecting brain. But other spirits also affect the landscape with their thoughts and since they can choose to remain unseen it is very difficult to know if one is perceiving oneself or something else. Many have gone mad trying to find out.

The secret to travelling in the Spirit Realm is not to trust the senses. Eyes and ears can be deceived but the soul belongs here and it knows the truth. Thus following one’s heart is the only way to get anywhere in the Spirit Realm.

Characteristics
Trauma and injury don’t exist in the Spirit Realm, although a living person might still believe they are experiencing such effects. Any injuries gained in the Spirit Realm are immediately lost when returning to the Mortal Realm. As a consequence, when fighting in the Spirit Realm all weapons deal no damage and is only experienced as pain, unless they ethereal or silver weapons are used.

Inhabitants
Within the Spirit Realm countless spirits dwell. They may have been human once, or another race or perhaps they haven’t lived at all. Nevertheless all spirits can communicate within the Realm, but while the brain usually hears words and language there is actually no such things. Spirits communicate through emotions and so the words simply become what the character would associate with the emotion perceived.