Elemental Spirits

Beings based on legends, myths, stories, or folklore from Earth.

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Bolotnik

Bolotniki (bolotnitsa, bolotnitsi - female) are swamp spirits. They have bulging, ranine eyes, green hair and beards, and a body covered in dirt, vegetation, and fishscales. Some have reddish fur. Their bellies and legs bulge as well. Many lose their eyes and hide in the muck of the swamp, where the eyes regrow eventually. Some have longer arms or even tails. The bolotnitsi have pale white skin, brown or black hair, green or blue eys, and goose legs. They sit onw ater lilies. They often are found weeping to lure prey in. They like to drag prey underwater and tickle them so they drown. Some powerful bolotnitsi can cpontrol storms. They are territorial and will kill those who infringe on their swamps. They also lure animals into the depths of the swamp to drown and eat. They lure targets by quacking like a duck, playing a shepherd's pipe, mooing like a cow, gurgling like a rooster, or screaming like a person. They grab prey by the legs. They grow ledum, an herb that dulls the mind, and create lights on the waters. They can make logs rot and inflict misfortune on them. They buuild beautiful homes for themselves and play music, have dances, and share gifts with those they like. Sometimes the gifts are not what others would like - mold, algae, duckweed, or other things from the swamp. They gather iron from the swamps to trade. They are immune to lightning. If their swamp is drained, they will die, and they hibernate in the winter. They often carry special swamp lanterns.

PRO 9 ATH 9 Swim 11 STR 6 AWA 8 WIL 7 PRS 7 STH 9 ESS 9

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Ezherinis

(female Ežerinė) Ezherinises are spirits of lakes, watchers from the waters. They are protectors who aid fishers, sailors, and others crossing icy or frozen waters in winter. They have charms offering safe travels or a good catch. They simply required the person be respectful of the lake; anyone who harmed the lake would be destroyed. Greeting the ezherinis before dawn is customary. They can give or withhold fish, calm or disrupt the waters, strengthen or weaken the ice, sink or float a boat. They cannot leave their lake without some powerful spell or support. If the lake dies, so do they.

PRO 8 ATH 9 Swim 11 STR 8 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 8 ESS 9

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Karzelek

Karzeleki, sometimes called skarbniki or dzedkas, are mining spirits who protect gems, crystals, and precious metals. They protect miners and help them find their way out of the mines, and they will lead them to rich veins if they are honored correctly. If they are insulted or find someone to be their enemy, they will push them down deep holes or cause a cave-in over them. They hate when someone throws rocks, whistles, or covers their head. They give one warning with a handful of thrown soil.

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

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Lozovik

Lozovik or lazavik (pl. lozoviki) are vine-like spirits that entangle people in bushes and help them out.

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

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Manalane

Spirits from the Nether Realm, manalane are servants of Death Herself. They are considered very wise. On Shem, they burrow under the ground to protect themselves. They can breathe underwater. In the Nether Realm, they try to protect the souls of the dead in their journey, but sometimes they get a little mischievious.

PRO 8 ATH 9 STR 9 AWA 9 WIL 9 PRS 9 STH 9 ESS 11

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Metsik

Metsiki are spirits of the forest with hats of leaves and twigs and long facial hair that is unkempt.

PRO 8 ATH 9 STR 6 AWA 8 WIL 7 PRS 7 STH 9 ESS 9

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Nakk

Nakki, knuckers, niskies, nixies, and by many other names have several forms: a humanoid form with fish-like features, a reptilian form (snake or crocodile) with great wing-like fins (knucker or nihhus), a brook horse form that is a beautiful white horse, and a water-humanoid form made up of rapids. Their humanoid form usually has a fish tail, slit ears, fins, or scales. They always have wet hems on their clothes if they are out of water. They can change their natural shapes by scrubbing with algae. They have several forms: brook horse, knucker, figure in rapids, and fish-like human. In brook horse form, a nisky binds a person to them until they choose to let them off if the person gets on willingly. In brook horse form, a nisky can go anywhere there are rivers so long as the rider wishes them to. They can only come ashore during heavy fogs unless called. Niskies can speak to many but not all freshwater animals: crocodilians, water snakes, hippopotamuses, most forms of fish, otters, dobhar chus, etc. are most common. They are excellent musicians and singers. A nisky's music will lure mortals in. It can also make trees dance and stop waterfalls. They can control the currents slightly by humming. The song of a heartbroken nisky will cause others to weep for a year and a day. They are also supernaturally beautiful. Niskies can sense where someone will drown within the next month. They are compelled to cry like a loon at the spot when they sense it to warn others. If a nisky dies young, their voice will echo along the banks of their home. Their blood spilled on the ground will cause water lillies to grow. Niskies can glamour themselves using certain ancient rhymes. They use their glamours to look like treasures under the water or floating objects, to lure people in or make them go away.

PRO 8 ATH 8 Swim 11 STR 9 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 8 STH 9 ESS 9

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Planetnik

Planetniki (or chmurniki, obloczhniki) are range in size from 3' to 7'. They wear wide hats. They are beings who can control the weather. They can make clouds into hail storms. They are at home in clouds. They are drawn to places where someone has died suddenly, especially by suicide. They often work as mountebanks, shepherds, or healers. They hate vampires and often gather the souls of the recently deceased, those who died unexpectedly, to keep them from the clutches of vampires. If one throws flour into the wind or a fire, the planetniki will see them favorably. If they liked you, they will warn you of storms and keep drought away. They might also give people the power to control weather.

PRO 7 ATH 8 STR 5 to 9 AWA 9 WIL 9 PRS 9 STH 5 to 9 ESS 9

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Povitrulya

Povitrulyas are spirits of the wind. They are able to float about easily. They have wings and dress in flowers all over. They have fair hair and can appear young or old at will. They assist those in love and can see into dreams, honoring those who dream of those they love. If their wings are stolen, they are bound to the one who stole them. Kordonian men often use this to enslave them.

PRO 8 ATH 9 Flight 11 STR 7 AWA 9 WIL 7 PRS 8 STH 8 ESS 9

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Varjuline

Varjuline are Survan shadow spirits, sometimes called shadowlings. They are about 4’ tall, have forms entirely of shadow, and can control shadow with a touch. They are elemental spirits and very potent.

PRO 8 ATH 8 STR 5 AWA 10 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 10 ESS 10

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Vilbus

A tiny spirit dwelling beneath the leaves or in the wind. They cause the wind to change and the leaves to rustle.

PRO 8 ATH 14 STR 3 AWA 9 WIL 7 PRS 8 STH 11 ESS 9

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Virmalised

Virmalised are the spirits of the northern lights. They take no form but descend from the lights or ascend to them, coming and going, causing strange phenomena around them. PRO ATH STR AWA WIL PRS STH ESS

PRO 8 ATH 12 STR 3 AWA 10 WIL 8 PRS 6 STH 10 ESS 9

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Vodyanoy / Vodyanitsa

Vodayanoy (f. voyanitsa) are shapeshifting water spirits of great power throughout the region of Ranu. They dislike wearing clothing.

They have many forms. Their most common is a pot-bellied, bald-headed figure with a hat and belt of reeds and rushes, a swollen face, with green hair and (if they grow beards) beards. Their hair turns white when the Grey Moon wanes. They may also take the form of an anthropomorphic frog covered in slime, weeds, and scales. They are usually wearing a boyar hat and belt made of green club-rushes. They can shift their size to be big, covering themselves in grass and moss as they do. Other forms take on black scales with red eyes and a long snout, a human face with huge paws and toes and horns, a tail, and eyes that burn red. Or a human with a ram’s head covered in filamentous green algae. Others might be a giant moss-covered fish. Some might appear to be swamp detritus. Some might even be a flying tree trunk with tiny wings. Vodyanitsy have gold-finned fish or white swan forms. They prefer forested lakes, mill pondsm, wells, or seas. If they take a form that wears clothing, it will always drip with water.

They live in sloughs, kettle holes, whirlpools, rivers, lakes, ponds, or near water mills. They have great control of their watery realm. They can break down dams, destroy water mills, and drag people under water. Those they take underwater are granted the ability to live there while they serve the vodyanoy if they are worthy of redemption.

If someone runs a water mill that harms the waters, they will break the wheel inside. Mills must make offerings and respect the waters. The offerings must be a pig, cow, sheep, chicken, or bad person. Fishers must offer libations, melted butter, or oil for a good catch. Beekeepers near their domain must offer a swarm of bees in a bag for good water, then dip honeycomb into the water, speak an incantation at midnight, and honor the feast days of the vodyanoy. If a proper offering is made, a vodyanoy may offer a foretelling of the coming harvest.

Their power waxes and wanes with the Grey Moon. On nights of bright moonlight, they slap the water with their palms to create powerful ripples. All the fish and aquatic creatures in their waters answer to them. They ride sheatfish (wels catfish) as mounts. Other spells they might have include making invisible nets over the surface of the water, instant net mending, or tearing nets. They are known to lure people in while pretending to be innocuous, often putting up peddler’s ribbons to trick people.

They are sometimes found combing their hair, if any, on the edge of the water. Vodyanoy will not allow children to be harmed and will free them from fishing nets. Sometimes they will lure cattle or horses into the waters to punish their owners. If a vodyanoy goes into a mortal town, they will wear a long coat that is soaked at the edges. The locals pay attention to what they buy to know what the fish harvest will be. They have their own mock tsar called the Vodyan Tsar, who has a mossy club and sits on a black cloud as his throne in his underwater crystal palace. Their floors are riddled with dust of gold and silver. Often poorer vodyanitsi will hire on as housekeepers for nearby landdwellers, but they are treated badly by them, though they care for children and homes well. Poor vodyanoy keep vast nets to catch fish to sell.

All vodyanoy are territorial and do not share territory with another vodyanoy unless they are related. They like to play cards, smoke pipes, and sit in warm springs. They love to lounge about. An offering of tobacco overjoys them. Those who live in the sea are much more aggressive and sink ships.

PRO 9 ATH 10 Swim 12 STR 9 AWA 9 WIL 9 PRS 9 STH 9 ESS 9

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Yaksha

Powerful nature spirits from the southern continent. Many are connected to a specific place and have powers over it, while others vary by culture and location. Read about yakshi online to learn more. [Hindi]

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Žiburinis

Žiburinis are forest spirits who appear as skeletal figures wreathed in viridian flame. They can understand the language of nature - rustling leaves, the wind, the babbling streams, these speak to them. They are aware of everything going on in the part of the forest they protect. They cannot leave their forest unless they are hunting someone or something that harmed it. If their forest suffers, so do they. A player who chooses to be a zhiburinis will have to be hunting someone or something that harmed the forest. They will need to work with the GM to determine who or what, and be ready to change characters if they resolve this earlier than hoped. They will also be weak due to the damage to their forest, something they must overcome or deal with as a character.

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