Re: "Proactive" spirits?

Sam asks:

> Animists seek to bind or otherwise persuade spirits to work with them. It is
> not beyond the realms of possibility that sometimes spirits look to animists
> to work with them.
>
> Beyond aggressive attempts at possession by malignant spirits, and things of
> that ilk, are there any instances where the spirits seek the animist out?

I say yes, but . . . .

The easiest path for a spirit with an agenda is to possess someone, so that it has an agent.

The next best way is to become a guardian for a hero band. In Prax, the White Bull spirit is one such. It has an agenda.

I would imagine that smaller spirits may also have agendas. They can be plot hooks, either to pull the characters along or to present challenges. The wood spirit calls all the children into the woods. Why? Is there something we need to do, or was it going to kill them?

Even smaller, you may think about cases like the entity in the sword Stormbringer. OK, obviously that one changed the world, but in the very first book, it seemed like something one could deal with. Likewise, a shaman could link up with a practice spirit with significant personality and an axe to grind.

> The motives I can think of are wishing to achieve something in the mundane
> world (not sure what), repaying debts of some sort (say to ancestors) and
> seeking refuge in the mundane world (from big hungry spirits).

I would say that, at a mininum, they have nearly the full range of human reasons. Some may be trying to make the just from being a heroband guardian to being an independent practice. Others may be like a ghost -- trying to achieve that one thing that drives them. Ancestor spirits, in particular, have grudges to fulfill, obligations to meet, etc. They may be looking to restore something from long ago, or ensure its destruction.

Was that any help?

Chris             Received on Sun 08 Jul 2007 - 21:14:56 EEST