Insubstantiates

Species without solid bodies.

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The Contagion / Venomir

• Alignment: Infernal

• Lifespan: 10 years (metahuman) / 160 years (insubstantiate)

• Diet: Health

• Habitat: Anywhere

• Socioeconomic Status: Ruling class / oppressed

Venomirs are people infected a sentient disease called the contagion. They experience an intense version of the disease the individual contagion represents. If they die, their body becomes a vessel for the contagion, gaining an eerie green tinge to their flesh. If the disease they died of caused disfiguration, that disfiguration remains, but they otherwise appear healthy.

Each contagion represents a different disease. Disease can be a bacterial infection, a viral infection, or some other physical malady that afflicts mortals, but it has to be understood as a disease. It cannot be a symptom - fever, headache, etc. - nor is it a mental illness like depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder. But cancer, HIV, flu, tuberculosis, COVID, syphilis, and so on are all possible.

Each individual contagion represents a specific disease, but they do not infect people in the same manner as the disease they represent. Instead, they operate as a miasma, a disease elemental that is airborne and can infect a mortal via any form of contact. They succeed in infection based on fighting different aspects of a mortal’s Name, depending on the contagion’s type. There are four types of contagion:

• Vile-crawler: a contagion that floats close to the ground and infects people through an assault on their physical form (they roll their power vs. STR).
• Vile-diver: a contagion that floats high up in the sky and dives at mortals, infecting people through an assault on their metaphysical form (they roll their power vs. WIL+STR).
• Vile-flier: a contagion that floats around head-height to most mortals and infects people through an assault on their mental form (they roll their power vs. WIL).
• Vile-spinner: a contagion that floats around chest-height to most mortals and infects people through an assault on their emotional form (they roll their power vs. PRS).

The contagion will then subject their target to the disease they represent at an amplified level, continually fighting the stat they challenge, until the target has failed exceptionally six times, specially 12 times, or normally 24 times. They re-roll every day. If the reverse is true (if the target succeeds at the same rate), the contagion is weakened and expelled.

A mortal who dies by the contagion becomes a vessel for the contagion in a physical form. The body of that mortal becomes their body and their invisible form takes the place of the soul. These infected beings are often called “venomirs”. Their touch infuses any targeted living thing with a powerful toxin (always roll vs. STR), but the contagion themself does not get transferred unless they intend to. If they transfer themself over (fully infecting the target, roll vs. the stats of their type), their previous vessel becomes an empty corpse and begins to rot.

All contagion prefer not to be known by other mortals. If they take a body, they pretend to be a being of that species who has suffered an illness and lost most of their powers. They will sometimes use the names of the mortal whose body they have taken, and sometimes, they will take a new name at random, based on their skewed perception of mortal society. Their own names are always in reference to the disease they represent, but in their own language.

The original nation of the contagion is the Envish in Fennvell. Unlike their cousins in Vendale, they prefer to remain invisible. They take bodies, then release them on death. They are more interested in studying esoteric arts, creating new diseases, and plotting to spread disease for the sake of spawning new contagions. The people of Fennvell who are not infected and not contagions have a twisted view of disease, believing that being sick is a sign of weakness and surviving illness is a sign of strength. Those who come close to death in illness but recover are seen as sages, prophets, and mystics. Those who survive disease easily are considered warriors.

Fennvell is ruled by a council of the contagion who gather invisibly and consider how they will influence the other mortals who believe they are the rulers of the country. The ostensible rulers are kings and queens of a feudal society. The contagion manipulate and control them, encouraging them in both external and internal warfare, horrific health practices, and general misinformation to keep the population seriously ill but still producing new victims. They view the non-contagion mortals in Fennvell as a form of very clever livestock.

If not for the fact that the contagion are constantly struggling with one another for more “livestock”, they would have conquered the world. Instead, they war with one another.

The contagion of Vendale prefer to infect mortals and use their bodies, and thus, the ruling class of Vendale is made up of venomirs. Their culture is a machiavellian nightmare of backstabbing, political machinations, evil schemes, and treacherous plots.

Vendalian contagions run a brutal society that is a mixture of feudal power and early capitalist power. Their rural regions are very feudal, and their cities are run by powerful guilds and quasi-capitalist enterprises. Both vie for complete control via two political entities: the crown and the sceptre. The crown is the king and their court, and the sceptre is the high guildmaster who runs the council of guildmasters. The former is hereditary, the latter is bought.

The contagion keep up a constant ruse of “families” within their society, but they have no concept of being related to one another. They define “family” as a group of contagion with a preference for the same kinds of bodies. They maintain a set of mortal bodies to use by breeding these mortals, and thus, the outside world thinks the Vendalian aristocracy is made up of families of a handful of different incestuous species with a weakness to certain illnesses. As contagions don’t really recognize relationships between each other, a contagion may switch families by taking on a new body and proving their loyalty to the family by some task set by the family.

Amongst the guilds, there is a preference for bodies that make them good at the various crafts they represent or the roles they take within the guild, which makes Vendalian guilds very confusing to outsiders. It seems that deaths happen often and new people take up roles, and that names are based on roles and refer to diseases.

In the colonies, they hide the fact that they are the contagion, existing as venomirs with wealth and power, living among the elite but spreading their diseases among the enslaved and oppressed.

PRO 9 ATH 11 STR 6 AWA 11 WIL 14 PRS 10 STH 9

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Elimo

An insubstantial being manifested by a mortal’s intense beliefs. Pl. bilimu.

• Alignment: Unaligned

• Lifespan: As long as they are believed to live; this varies by culture or individual; the Elili are believed to live for 200 years

• Diet: Belief

• Habitat: Varies

• Socioeconomic Status: Enslaved

When mortals began to put their faith in concepts higher than themselves without a concept of the Divine, bilimu began to manifest. Bilimu take the form of what they are imagined to be. The originals were all imagined to be invisible, shadowy figures whose eyes glow pale yellow, but those formed in other cultures might have different forms, though all take on some kind of shadowy substance.

Bilimu have the powers those who believe in them believe them to have. This varies drastically by culture, individual, and time period.

Bilimu exist because they are believed in, and once they are manifested, they must find a way to absorb enough belief to exist independently of their believers. To do this, they must appear before those who do not believe in them, preferably beings of entirely different communities or cultures. To do this, they must influence their believers to interact with others in a space or way that allows them to appear. Until this happens, they are bound to their believer and can only manifest near to them.

Once freed, they may believe in themselves and manifest individuality. They will retain any powers they had at the time they broke free.

Almost all bilimu are believed to have insubstantial bodies but still be able to interact physically with their hands, if they are believed to have them.

Some bilimu are known to have certain powers because of the culture that believes in them. The main example is the original bilimu who are believed to have the power to complete almost any simple task for the believer if the proper ritual is performed. Some have the power to steal the souls of anyone who threatens their ward, as they are the imaginary protectors of children. Others believe them to be imaginary monsters, boogeymen, who take children away to the Nether Realm, and others still believe them to be invisible servants who take care of various tasks while the believers sleep.

They existed at first as shadows that followed nomadic tribes, but as these many different tribes interacted and developed technologically, as they began to settle in one place, they began to coalesce into a distinct people who began to drift and dwell independently in the deep rainforests there.

The local nations - of many different species - still create new bilimu all the time, and they welcome them to their homes. They often travel into the spaces of these nations to recruit new bilimu, and for the most part, they are welcomed, for it is believed that the permanence of an elimo is a sign that the needs that manifested them in the first place have been met. They are also believed to be able to create new bilimu on their own, so they can and often do.

Their communities are built to foster shadows. Canopies and tents (often made with leaves or animal skins) with openings to the sun are used in every structure; there are no glass windows, but there are openings for light to come through when heavier materials (such as wood) are used for the structure. Every room has many nooks and crannies where they might lurk, which is how they rest.

Their communities are led by their spiritual leaders. These leaders guide the community in everything, not just religion, but their spiritual guidance is their primary role. Usually, the leader is the wisest and eldest of them, but not always. They are believed to center their whole culture on their faith. Every member of the community’s role ties into their faith somehow.

They fear fungi and never kill it. The power of belief from fungal beings is overwhelming to them.

They are believed to have clawed, shadowy hands that allow them to rend the flesh of animals or the bark or leaves of plants. They use these not for food, but to gather materials for their communities - leaves and skins used for canopies and tents, bones and branches used for support structures, blood and sap used for rituals, flowers and eyes used for ornamentation, and so on. Every animal or plant killed must be ritually honored.

They wear clothing only among their own. When they leave for other mortal communities, they go naked so that they can hide more easily. Amongst their own, they wear desiccated animal eyes as amulets, believed to allow them to see better, and dried and pressed flowers as crowns, believed to make them prettier to one another. To give one a flower is to tell them they are ugly; to snatch a flower from them is to tell them they don’t need ornamentation to be beautiful.

PRO 9 ATH 9 STR 9 Insubstantial form n/a AWA 8 WIL 10 PRS 8 STH 12

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Hinkypunk

Motes of light that embody the wetlands.

• Alignment: Elemental

• Lifespan: 200 years

• Diet: Moisture

• Habitat: Wetlands

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Hinkypunks are also called by many other names, including the following: will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp, ignis fatuus / ignes fatui, foolish flame, jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, hinkypunk, feu follet, irrlicht, irriwsch, naga fireball, paulding light, spooklight, abu fanous, Sainte Glorie light, hob lantern, corpse candle (erroneously), luces del dinero, luces del tesoro, fifollet, boi-tatá, luz mala, la bolefuego or candileja, aleya, spunkie, or min min lights depending on the area they are from.

They appear to be floating lights, usually a soft greenish white, though some vary in color depending on location. Some may take more solid forms for specific purposes.

All hinkypunks have the ability to sense when someone has entered their territory, usually within 500’ of their homes. More powerful hinkypunks can sense anyone within their entire wetland. They have some control over the wetlands they dwell in, being able to open paths through them for others or influence animals and vegetation around them. They also have excellent memories and know their territories in great detail.

A hinkypunk can blind someone by “taking the light from their eyes” if they are able to touch them. They can fade away at will, becoming invisible for up to five minutes while in their swamps, and for 30 seconds outside of them. They can see further at night.

If someone is a threat to the wetlands, they will lure them into dangerous areas to kill them or scare them. Anyone they kill, they will leave to the wetlands to decay, unless the body is toxic for some reason. Then they will expend some power to turn the body into a simple copper coin.

They float about 3’ off the ground. Because they are made of light, they can enter structures through the smallest cracks. Though they are made of light, they do not give off heat unless they choose to. If they choose to, it is a soft warmth that cannot cause harm.

If they leave the wetlands, they must find sources of water or moisture or they will die within a day. When they leave, they sometimes take on a human-like form that is surrounded by smaller lights; they cannot hold this form for long without returning to the waters of their home unless they have been given power from their entire community to go on some sort of quest for some purpose.

If the wetlands are in danger, they grow in number.

Hinkypunks live in small communities in deep wetlands. They consider themselves the souls of their territories, and they take protecting it very seriously. They do have a mischievous streak in their culture, but they are rarely malicious toward anyone who is not a threat to their homes. Some who see them catch them as they dance with one another or mistake them as they move about as offering guidance, and thus get led into danger, but if they are aware someone is nearby, they will usually do their best to help them through their territory unless they pose a threat. Their dances sometimes include long lines of hinkypunks that others believe to be a fiery serpent.

They view graveyards and burial grounds as sacred and will often shine more brightly within them.

Ancient tales claim they originated from people who were cursed or doomed to haunt the wetlands, but in truth, they were formed as elemental, protective powers. Because they sometimes lure rich and powerful polluters to their deaths, they end up having troves of treasure in their territories.

PRO 8 ATH 8 STR 8 AWA 10 WIL 8 PRS 9 STH 9

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Jiknjon

Elementals made of freezing air.

• Alignment: Elemental

• Lifespan: 50 years

• Diet: Heat

• Habitat: Polar regions

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Jiknjons appear to be hominid figures made of blue or white air. They are made of freezing vapor.

Every jiknjon has the power to draw heat from anything they touch, leaving it frozen and nourishing themselves. If they do not do this every day - always from some physical, solid object - they will themselves become solid and frozen, dying.

They can float, but they do not have defenses against the high-strength winds and currents of the atmosphere, so most remain close to the ground.

If they are breathed into someone even partly, they can freeze that person and take over their body temporarily (for about an hour before they must leave).

Physical weapons cannot harm them if they are in vapor form, unless they are dispersed by them.

The average temperature inside a jiknjon is -400 degrees.

Jiknjons live in small family groups, surviving off the literal land, keeping it frozen solid for miles around as they nourish themselves. If the group gets too large for their territory, the most able will separate and either find a new group or form one. They have an egalitarian culture, not needing shelter and having no fear of food scarcity, but they are under constant threat from other living beings who blame them for the cold weather or area.

PRO 8 ATH 10 STR 8 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 9

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Mahpiyatuwawa

Living storms.

• Alignment : Elemental

• Lifespan: 40 years

• Diet: Water

• Habitat: Wide plains

• Socioeconomic Status: Native

Maĥpíyatuwáwa are living storms, massive, towering walls of dark, thunderous clouds that form anthropomorphic or therianomorphic forms within their bodies.

Maĥpíyatuwáwa draw in water in the same manner as mundane clouds, but as they do, they convert any elemental energy within it into usable energy. They are living storms; they can control where their bodies go, though they are susceptible to winds and weather patterns that can push them in certain directions - it takes more energy to go against the air currents. They can control when they unleash lightning, rain, sleet, hail, tornados, gales, and so on, but all of these take energy that they must recharge.

Maĥpíyatuwáwa create and influence weather patterns, usually to cultivate areas and protect and preserve nature, while still respecting weather cycles worldwide. They are able to sense and predict the consequences of any alterations they make to the weather in an area and act accordingly, unless the area is polluted, which disturbs their senses. They create patterns by forming their bodies (with one or more maĥpíyatuwáwa) that draw in weather magic in massive amounts, then unleash it into the atmosphere in order to alter the climate.

Maĥpíyatuwáwa can absorb other forms of weather and mimic it in their form so long as there are clouds involved. Though they expend much energy with the more violent forms of weather, they also find themselves expending energy to diffuse their cloud forms to mimic clement weather as well.

Maĥpíyatuwáwa can absorb other forms of weather and mimic it in their form so long as there are clouds involved. Though they expend much energy with the more violent forms of weather, they also find themselves expending energy to diffuse their cloud forms to mimic clement weather as well.

Maĥpíyatuwáwa can shape their cloud forms into almost anything, and they often take the form of a face or even a mortal body in order to communicate. Because they do this rarely, when they do, they are often misconstrued as Divinities by those who have never heard of them.

Sometimes, individuals enjoy the reverence they receive and make a habit of it, which leads them astray of their cultural prerogative to protect and preserve nature. Instead, they become influenced by the culture that worships them, often becoming warlike or dominant until their arrogance gets them driven away, sealed or bound, or destroyed. Other times, they choose to bind themselves to an anthropomorphic form in order to pursue relationships with other mortals (platonic or otherwise) or for some other purpose.

Maĥpíyatuwáwa belong to a single nation in western Palhur, the Oyate nation, which is a nation of many species. While there are other maĥpíyatuwáwa in the world outside this region, they are individuals with no specific cultural identity.

Among the Oyate, the maĥpíyatuwáwa are respected as protectors, guides, and experts on nature and weather. They warn the people of coming storms and floods, protect the animals and water the plants, and bring their wrath upon the enemies of the nation. The maĥpíyatuwáwa stay separate in their cloud forms for the most part, living in valleys and near river sources or over great lakes.

They raise their young, who grow to maturity within months, collectively, then introduce them to other mortals carefully. By the time a maĥpíyatuwáwa is an adult, they are encouraged to explore the world - as clouds, they can travel rapidly - and many do, spending a few years wandering. Most return home and rejoin their people, coming back with stories they share to the community, trinkets or treasures for the non-maĥpíyatuwáwa in the nation, and usually a gift of water for the other storms.

They play certain common roles in the nation - warrior-protector, water-provider, guide, weather-sage, druid, and - but in their own ways. As protectors, they hover around the borders of their nation’s territory and maintain menacing but not storming forms, unleashing their power only if a major threat approaches. They often flow near patrols and provide them cover if they need to rush back and use their extended senses to communicate with them. Water-providers serve as living irrigation systems. Guides disguise themselves as mundane storm clouds and lead mortals on the ground to good hunting spots or other resources. Weather-sages make weather predictions to the community and dance in the skies to communicate it. Druids - called yuwakape - commune with the weather patterns and bring religious guidance to the people.

The maĥpíyatuwáwa are considered conduits to the god(s) and spirits of weather and storms among the Oyate, and they themselves honor Ošíčeča, the Great Storm, who guides all weather. They honor Ošíčeča by offering him discharges of lightning into the sky, leading the mortals below in dances and festivals, and creating cloud patterns that are aesthetically pleasing.

PRO 9 ATH 15 STR 15 AWA 15 WIL 9 PRS 11 STH 9

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Nalukneng

Living energy beings who possess megaliths.

• Alignment: Celestial

• Lifespan: 1,000 years

• Diet: Energy

• Habitat: Anywhere

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Naluknengs are living souls with no substance. They are embodiments of equilibrium who are only visible as a vague light brown light, unless they have possessed something. They cannot possess anything small because what they possess must be equal to the power within them. Thus, they only possess megaliths and large stones. Most possess carved megaliths, which they then reshape to have arms and legs.

Naluknengs have the power to possess stone and bring it to life if the stone is of sufficient size. Once possessed, they can alter it to take certain shapes reflecting their essence, usually giving it mobility and some kind of grasping ability, usually hands. They can see the souls of others if their stone form has eyes or if they are in their insubstantial form.

A nalukneng can absorb other energies directed at them and turn them into celestial essence if they have as much energy of their own to do so. They can only absorb and transform as much energy as they themselves already have, not more and not less. If they choose to wield some of their energy for something other than sustenance, they can unleash a blast of light that can alter the stats, abilities, powers, or skills of everyone in range, equalizing them.

Naluknengs live in small clusters, often found in secret places where people have been living in matriarchal, communal, egalitarian cultures for very long periods of time. When they form, they seek out physical forms that can hold them, then seek enlightenment and peace within themselves before seeking to see the world. Those who travel the world are outraged by what they find and often seek to fight for equality.

PRO 8 ATH 6 STR 14 AWA 9 WIL 10 PRS 8 STH 6

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Smokeling

Elementals of living smoke.

• Alignment: Elemental

• Lifespan: 30 years

• Diet: Wood

• Habitat: Temperate to subpolar regions

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Smokelings appear to be smoke in a vaguely human shape, sometimes with no legs, often with elongated features like ears, fingers, or toes that extend disproportionately. Coloration, composition, and size vary greatly, being any color smoke can be, any composition of smoke (so long as it is elemental smoke produced from elemental fire), and ranging in size from a few inches tall to 20’. They have two burning embers as eyes.

Smokelings have the ability to draw any form of smoke into themselves. They can create heat from their bodies by expending some of the smoke within, using this to burn wood, which they consume as fuel. They have the ability to see heat. They move via flight.

If they are breathed in by someone, in part or in whole, the person breathing them in will be severely burned.

As beings of smoke, most physical attacks do not harm them unless it completely disperses their bodies. The only exception is their eyes, which are solid enough to be damaged and destroyed. If this happens, they are blinded, and may die if they do not replace them within a week.

If they get too cold, they die.

Smokelings form in places with natural sources of smoke, usually wildfires or volcanic areas. After they form, they find others like themselves to band together for survival, seeking fuel together and comfort. They are often captured and enslaved to work in high-heat environments or be used as sources of heat, which they despise and rebel against. Commoners fear them because they are associated with uncontrolled flame.

PRO 8 ATH 9 STR 6 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 6 STH 10

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Ssthesseme

Living steam.

• Alignment: Elemental

• Lifespan: 30 years

• Diet: Moisture

• Habitat: Springs and geysers

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Ssthessemes are elementals of vapor and steam. They appear to be anthropomorphic silhouettes within clouds of steam. They have two motes of blue light for eyes. Most range between 4’ and 7’ tall.

Ssthessemes have the ability to control water vapor. They can draw moisture out of the air and absorb it for nourishment, or they can alter its temperature or density. They are immune to physical attacks unless it completely disperses them. If they are afflicted with too much cold or too much heat directly, they will be condensed or eradicated. They move via flight.

Ssthessemes exist in places where steam forms naturally, such as natural hot springs, geysers, and similar locations. They form small communities for survival, seeking moisture, living in egalitarian groups. Many are enslaved and used to produce steam, like small batteries that are used up rapidly. Those who live free in the colonies are misunderstood as ghosts.

PRO 8 ATH 10 STR 6 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 10

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Vox

Living sound.

• Alignment: Elemental

• Lifespan: 200 years

• Diet: Echoes

• Habitat: Canyons and caverns

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Living sound, vibrations, only visible when interacting with visible matter; voxes take up about the same volume of space as an average human. They can control their shape, insofar as they have one, to some degree if they wish to, often forming anthropomorphic forms by drawing the vibrating air together. Usually, however, they are amorphous, conscious vibrations in the air.

Voxes are living sound. They build size and volume by absorbing other sounds that echo within the areas they dwell - they can only consume echoes, not original sounds. Many sounds echo in ways that others cannot perceive, a bird’s trill echoing off a branch infinitesimally or the click of a bug’s foot against a leaf on the forest floor nearly silently bouncing off the crack in the leaf. Voxes can absorb these if they can perceive them, which they can as living sound. It takes thousands of these to make the vox grow.

Any sound a vox produces will echo as well, and they can consume these echoes. But in order for this to be worth it, the echo must be more substantial than the original sound, which is extremely rare. Therefore, voxes find places that amplify sound to dwell in - usually echo canyons, caves, and special buildings.

If a vox fills solid matter with their vibrations, they may possess and shape it, sometimes using it as a surrogate body if need be. This lasts as long as they wish or until the material is vibrated to pieces.

Voxes can control the sounds generated by other things, as long as the sounds are either unaligned or aetherial (celestial, infernal, and fey sounds are much more difficult to influence). Some sounds that may seem mundane - a person singing a beautiful song, a story being told, a command being given - are actually aligned - beautiful song may be celestial, stories may be fey, commands may be infernal. Context matters, including the purpose and source of the sound.

To a vox, sound is as solid as stone is to a human. Their control of it is “manual” in that they do so by bodily interacting with it, their living sound touching it and moving it by wrapping around it. If they choose to consume it, they surround it entirely and absorb it. If they choose to control it, they handle it and alter it by altering its shape and speed (pitch and rhythm, frequency and volume, amplitude and intensity).

Most voxes in the region dwell in the wilderness in their own small communities or embedded with native nations. Those who are in the actual colonies are usually enslaved and captured in some kind of magical device.

PRO 8 ATH 10 STR 10 AWA 8 Hearing 14 WIL 8 PRS 9 STH 7

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Whisp

Living air.

• Alignment: Elemental

• Lifespan: 100 years

• Diet: Energy

• Habitat: Atmosphere

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Whisps are figures of living air, nearly invisible anthropomorphic outlines in the sky. They are made of all the things that exist in air except pollution. Most are very faint in color, but have some sort of visible tinge, usually blue, grey, yellow, or white. They have no discernable facial features.

All whisps have the power to fly. Their bodies expand and contract with atmospheric pressure. They cannot live if they go above the exosphere, and even within the exosphere, they are very weak.

Whisps can sense movement of gases within a mile of themselves so long as there are not too many solid objects to distract them, meaning it mostly works higher up in the atmosphere. If the gases are within 25’ of them, they can sense their movements so long as no solid object surrounds the gases (i.e., they can’t sense gases moving within a boiler or jar, but they can sense air moving around them).

If they choose to create wind, they must sacrifice part of their bodies temporarily to do so.

They absorb radiation and sunlight as nourishment.

Whisps live in nearly invisible communities in the skies, mostly around Gyrah or on clouds, which they sleep on. Their communities are simple and egalitarian, small and tight-knit. Those in the colonies are mostly enslaved, used for air-cleansing or -moving purposes in cruel fashion. Those few free ones in the colonies are often confused for ghosts.

PRO 8 ATH 13 STR 4 AWA 9 WIL 7 PRS 8 STH 12