Spirit: The Keepers of Memory; Spiorad

Spiorad:

Image by Cloudpaws

Colors:
Main: grey, white, cinnamon / Sub: black, red, brown / Eye: amber, blue, gold

Image by Cloudpaws

Pack Base:
The Spiorad live on the Carnelian Isle, which is attached most of the time (ie. low tide) via a land bridge off the southern coast of Paragon's mainland. The pack focus is a great shimmering fountain in the midst of their packlands -- a strange creation that is made out of the very stones of the earth, who's waters are always crystal clear and seem to hold some sort of special sense about them. The wolves of spirit must return to their packlands at least once every 24 hours to maintain their abilities. At the current time, the pack Alpha is a wolfess by the name of Spectral Starlight, the previous Alpha for the 50 years prior having been her mate, Branchwraith (Wraith); but as Spiorad do, he left to explore the Shrouded Lands during mid Nua (oocly May 2008, Spring) and left his pack in her capable paws.

Special: Spiorad have the greatest affinity for other elements, greater so than all other wolves. It is quite possible for a spirit wolf to wander off of the packlands and become part of another pack, absorbing the elemental focus of another pack's within 24-48 hours of being within. (If a Spiorad displaces they still must undertake the ritual of another element however!) This is quite dangerous for the wolf, as they do not "unabsorb" as easily, meaning getting back into their pack is a fair bit harder.

Celestial & History:

Image by Tabatha!

Meabhair is the wolven Celestial of Memory. She rarely has reason to speak with any wolf aside from the Spiorad. When she manifests, she remains hidden and unseen; her words merely form within the wolf's mind. Under more dire circumstances, she will visit a wolf in his or her dreams, there often taking the shape and color of a grey wolf. In dreams and in the Shrouded Lands, she has the capacity to open the door of history to any wolf she chooses, replaying past events to demonstrate a lesson that this wolf may need to learn. Within the lands of the spirit, it is said there is a great fountain that holds the wisdom of the wolves, a gift from Meabhair herself. However, something about Meabhair that proves interesting is that no Spiorad truly knows how she came about, it was as if she'd always been there, a part of their very beings. Unlike the other Celestials, Meabhair's presence cannot be tied to one specific event or timeline, and as thus, this causes the Spiorad to have even more of a strong faith in her, as if to prove that she does not need to provide her presence as proof.

The spirit wolves have existed since the beginning of the entire elemental experiement. These wolves, having in the past, been cursed with their lands continually "blinking" between the Shrouded Lands of spirit and the Material Lands of Paragon, are long-lived and have long memories. Recently, they did aquire the stability to keep their home on the Material Lands, however, some of the individual pack members are still appearing from the Shrouded Lands as some had still lost their ways.

Greatest of the legends of the Spiorad is the one that has been lived by it's oldest members; Branchwraith and Spectral Starlight. The legend tells of a being, a pelt so smooth that one could not see the individual strands of fur, that had arrived on the world and begun to unleash magicks into the land. These magicks did not always wreak rewards, and at times, wolves lost their lives as they became subject to workings of it by this creature. However, this strange being, the only one of it's kind that has ever been seen on the lands, seemed not to mind these losses, and continued to elude any whom hunted it, in an attempt to remove it from this world. Finally, it seemed to choose four different territories of Paragon, and cast a magick upon each of them, and the release of that magick sent a backlash to the isolated wolves whom had gathered as if to protect themselves from these magicks, removing them from the world. In this way, these wolves were cast into the spirit realm, and from that rude awakening, became the wolves of the Spiorad.

Abilities In General:
The Spiorad, like spirits, have bodies similar to smoke or fog; they are substantial, but parts of their anatomy fade in and out of existence intermittently. At any one time, part of a Spiorad could be material, and then that same part could dissipate as if mist or smoke. This ability is able to be controlled by the wolf, and though they cannot cause themselves to become wholly invisible, they can make large portions of themselves fade for a time. While "fading", however, they may not pass through solid objects. Having become very skilled at this type of thing, the wolves of spirit, when walking through an area, may pass through any land type without leaving tracks or remnants of their passing!

Spiorad are also mute, and communicate by mind-speech and body language only, making no noise at all. Other wolves do not have the capability to put up a "barrier" so as not to "hear" a Spiorad, the mind-speech simply flows as if it is a part of the wolf that is hearing it. Other wolves still respond to a Spiorad physically, with sound, as they do not have the same capability for mind-speech, though Spiorad can talk to one another solely in the mind, and Spiorad themselves can block their speech so that it only goes to one or a few recipients and not to the masses, being able to direct their speech where it needs to go. Even though they are mute, they can still *hear* and detect subtle nuances of the spoken and mind-speech, such as gender and emotions, making them perhaps some of the best listeners. It is also known that spirit wolves do not age as normal wolves do -- as long as they return to the packlands once every 24 hours, they become timeless.

As well, all Spiorad know of the spirits that rise from Infernum or fall from Elysia, which gives them a leg up on most other wolves! Any Spiorad can see and speak with a spirit, though only a Shaman (or the Alpha) can truly understand what they speak back. They also are the only ones that can actually destroy a spirit that has returned, sending it to an eternal rest, as described below.

Charms:

Image by Tabatha!

Lethe: (The Birthright Charm) The spirit wolves are mystical beasts that have mastered the art of being forgotten. A spirit wolf using the charm of Lethe becomes a shadow on the verge of perception: eyes slide away from the wolf; paw steps fade into the distance.
Extrasensing: (The Landright Charm) Their mastery of mind-speech also enables them to have a unique ability that other wolves do not. Spiorad, if they give a gentle push into another mind with their own, can glean whether a wolf is telling them a truth or a falsehood. Most wolves will not notice this push from an experienced Spiorad (An Alpha or Beta). However, an inexperienced (Omega) or rushed Spiorad, or even one that is careless, can cause a wolf to notice that something is going on, providing a very uncomfortable feeling. This ability does not give them a way to "read" minds, though Spiorad are much better at picking up nuances of sound and expression than others are.
Blink: (The Starfall Charm) They are able to "blink" in and out of existence at will. Movement can also happen during this "blink", making it easy for them to flee or travel quite long distances. Movement takes place as a function of the hierarchy of the Spiorad in the pack: An Alpha can travel up to five times their normal land speed in one blink, whereas a Beta only four times the normal land speed, and finally, an Omega three times the normal land speed using blinking as movement. To blink, however, a Spiorad must either have been to the area they are blinking to, or have a very good description of it in their mind's eye. Otherwise they risk blinking in error and arriving somewhere that they did not try to go!
Dispatchment: (The Spiritborn Charm) This Charm that the Spiorad have learned allows them to successfully "eradicate" a spirit, whether it be good or evil. By channeling their own spiritual element through their own attacks, or by using their minds in a more psychic battle, they are able to destroy spirits that have risen to the lands of Paragon. However, this charm must be used carefully, as dispatching a spirit takes quite a bit of energy from the wolf, and in some cases may render them near helpless for several hours while they recuperate. An omega Spiorad may only attempt this charm twice in a 24 hour period and a beta Spiorad can attempt this charm twice as much. A Shaman Spiorad may attempt this charm, per their rank, twice as much as a normal Spiorad and tend to be more powerful while doing so as they can use a spiritual companion to aid in their fight. There is no "limit" as far as size of a spirit or power level of a spirit, but a smart Spiorad knows that one must rest in between "banishings".
Cloak: (The Samhain Charm) The wolves can gather bits of darkness, causing the area immediately around them, up to a wolf length away from their bodies, to become dimmer almost to complete darkness depending on how long they spend gathering said darkness about them. They can do this even in a well-lighted area.
Wraith: (The Eclipsed Charm) A Spiorad calling this charm will cause himself to fade into a "ghost form" of himself. Still visible to the eye, but insubstantial, they cannot be physically affected in this form. In this form, they may "pass through" objects or even another being. Any being that they pass through in this manner, however, will feel a pain as if their very heart is stopping for a beat and their lungs unable to take air. This sensation lasts only for a few small moments, and would not be enough to slay another outright, but it is very shocking to those that have felt it. A Spiorad's length of time that they might stay in Wraith form increased with rank. Alphas may do so for up to an hour at a time, Betas for half of that, and Omegas for a mere ten minutes.
Shapeshift: (Charm of the Shifter) The wolf can shift into one of these spirit-related shapes including his own form; eagle, fox, bear (no larger than half the size of the wolf shifting), crane, owl. When in this form, the wolf acts as one of those creatures would, and has the abilities that one of those creatures would have; which means of course, they lose access to the other charms and abilities of their own shape. They are able to communicate with other creatures of their same type, as well as still with their own pack. With others of their own pack, it is assumed that through body language and the connection with the elements that this is still possible. As well,the shifted wolf is never larger than their original form in their shifted form and any debilitations that they might suffer in one form are directly transferred to that same area on the other. No "natural healing" is given by the ability to shapeshift. Finally, a wolf has a choice on how their pelt colors appear in this form. They may retain normal coloration that they had while a wolf, or a wolf may choose to simply manifest as a normally colored animal of that type. The eyes of the wolf never change color, however, to symbolize the ties that remain with the element.
Rite of the Spiritwalker: (The Sacred Rite) To gain such a thing, a Spiorad must make his journey to the waters where the land meets the ocean off of the eastern coast of Carnelian Isle. They shall then dip their muzzle into the water and catch some within their mouth, holding it there until it becomes almost difficult to breathe. After which, they must swallow, and a bitter taste will follow, a strange stench invading their nose as they consciously think of the Shrouded Lands. They must then continued to stand in the water until the world pulsates in a vision for a moments time, seeming to turn all around them into mist and fog. Suddenly, they will realize that they no longer are in the material world of Paragon, but in the Shrouded Lands in the mist and the fog. This rite in effect, allows the Spiorad to leave the material Paragon and arrive in the Shrouded Lands with merely a thought. They may also return to the material world of Paragon with a thought as well, allowing voluntary travel between the two. Another Spiorad also using this charm may join them, of course, but they may take no other wolves without the charm, or even objects, with them either to or from the Shrouded Lands. This charm causes the Spiorad to lose the charm of Lethe. A Spiorad may do this at any time, for any length of time, but it is known that in rare cases, if a wolf spends too much time in the Shrouded Lands, rather than that of Paragon's material plane, they can start to believe that they've never left the lands of mist and fog, even while in the land of the material! This does not happen to all Spiorad of course, but the ones with a weaker mental state are especially prone.

Hierarchy:
These wolves follow the "normal" hierarchy of wolves of Paragon, as stated here: About Paragon Wolves

The Shrouded Lands:

The Shrouded Lands are an unique "parallel" of Paragon's material lands. They are a dark, ghostly replica of the world that most are used to. Shadows stretch across the landscape; mists conceal everything save the blackened trees. It is an ever shifting landscape that one moment may look familiar, and the next, quite foreign. The spirits call, luring the unwary further in as this is also the home to ghosts and apparitions. Spiorad, for the most part, even though they have no trouble navigating these lands, nor any trouble dealing with the spirits, find this land unsettling. In truth, these lands were the result of the "being of magick's" blast of wild magicks that had long ago (AE -5) sent most of a pack of wolves away from the material lands. They ended up here, in the lands of mist and spirit, and it is a constant struggle for the most part, for many of them to now return to the place that their pack has settled in Paragon on Carnelian Isle, as many did not make it back when the packlands were reattuned to the Isle in AE 50. Some Spiorad have taken the "Rite of the Spiritwalker" to be able to travel to and fro the Shrouded Lands.

Joining As Spiorad:

When you join as a Spiorad, your history has to be solely within the Spiorad pack, and includes times of living in the Shrouded Lands as well as on the mainland of Paragon as the lands shifted through the years. (Please check the timeline of Paragon to accurately complete your history) Of course, when your wolf shifts, they retain all of their abilities, as the Shrouded Lands is similar to a packland for the Spiorad, but simply does not include the Spiorad Sanctuary, or "pack base". It is well known that many Spiorad still remain in the Shrouded Lands, either lost within it's mists or merely having been left behind during a shift from Shrouded Lands to material plane. All Spiorad when they are accepted into the pack have recently "Returned from the Shrouded Lands", meaning that prior to that, your Spiorad has been stuck in the mists of spirit, and they will have been greeted by Spectral Starlight upon their return (this does not need to be rped, it is assumed to have happened when your application is accepted!). Your wolf will be no older than 45 years of age, and no younger than 20 years of age, being one of the third generation or later generation of Spiorad. Please be sure to reflect this in your history, as your parents and their parents will have been Spiorad, but may as well have been killed or even lost along the way.

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