A I: Spirits

Written by Neons-Mindrealm

Spirits
Mysterious Entities of Alterna I: The Lands of Paradise

Origins:

Unknown, as it is believed that the Spirits came into existence long before even the most primitive of life forms were born, and that like ever present, ethereal deities, they are the origin of not only life itself, but also of the sheer endless landscapes of Narcana, and maybe even other worlds as well, out in the Vast Unknown.

Current Habitat:

Wherever life can exist, Spirits are believed to float around through the air in abundance.

Average Size / Height:

It is believed that most Spirits are around 60 centimeters in length, with a width of approximately 30.
But it was never able to be proven if these sizes were actually true or just a rough guess based on the great alchemist Madamah's millennia old research.

Diet:

What, and even if the Spirits consume anything, isn't known.
Some believe that they simply life of air, and only breathe. While others are convinced that they feast on the dwindling life forces of dying organisms, and cause the decay of death whilst completing the circle of life.

Physical Appearance:

Since the ability to be able to see the Spirits is a gift that is wildly unheard of, most who claim to know what they truly look like are just disregarded as false prophets, who try to lure people into a false belief.
The only believable depiction of what they might look like, is a crude drawing from the well-known alchemist Madamah, who does not claim for his research to be accurate, but as close as one could ever hope to get.
His drawing of a possible Spirit shows a thin, elongated body, with a dense array of delicate feelers on its side, which move gently in a wave-like motion, and become shorter as they get closer to the Spirit's tail end.
However, even with research as thorough as Madamah's millennia old work, the true image of what these elusive creators of life and nature really look like, might never be discovered.
All we know for sure, is that the bodies of these mysterious entities are entirely intangible, and unable to be seen. Whilst they restlessly float through the air, and constantly emit arcanic energy, to adapt the land and life, in order to balance out the ecosystem.

Behavior and Social Structure:

Similar to most primal animals, Spirits act solely on pure instinct.
Although, their instincts do not consist of acquiring food, or the repopulation of their own kind, but more on providing the conditions for other beings to live and thrive.
They also seem mostly uninterested in how other beings behave around them, or if multiple ones of their own kind are present near them. Which makes them neither a pack nor solitary creature, but a freely roaming entity, traveling sheer aimlessly around the Lands, in an endless pursue of creating life.
However, if a corrupted Spirit, or simply known as a “Fallen Spirit” comes into contact with one, both entities will start to violently swirl around another in the air, which, of course, can't simply be seen by the naked eye, but felt as a small electric shock within one's veins, if one tries to channel the arcanic energy of a fighting Spirit.
Furthermore, if one or more Spirits start a conflict with their fallen counterparts, their ethereal clash can produce small sparks of lightning, which in higher concentrations may lead to a devastating thunderstorm, and a darkened till fully black sky.

Role in the Food Chain:

Given their mostly passive nature, and desire to create life, Spirits do not rank as predators in the food chain. And since their bodies are entirely intangible, it is also strongly believed that even if a predator were to try to consume a Spirit, they would just simply phase through their jaws and body. Which also does not rank them as any sort of prey.
However, whilst may not be preyed upon for their ethereal flesh, on Narcana, their constant emission of arcanic energies did attract a small handful of unique creatures. Who sort of hunted down medium till large-sized groups of Spirits, to then fully absorb their arcane essence, and leave them lying on the ground, drained and exhausted, until they would eventually recover.

Special Abilities and unique Physical Traits:

Known for their unique ability of constantly emitting a steady flow of arcane energy, the Spirits are the very core of our daily lives, as well as the evolution of nature itself.
Seeming like they are simply exhaling these powerful energies, arcane energy is also referred to as “The Spirits' Breath”. Which is used in various forms of Channeling, either primitively by animals, to aid their natural survival, or in a more advanced form by sentient races, to be used as tools or weapons.
Ironically, even though the Spirits are the very origin of these mysterious energies, they do not possess the ability to channel them themselves.
However, they are capable of a much more powerful version of Channeling. As they seem to be able to channel nearly every material, from a solid to gas like state, through their ethereal bodies, and transform them into something new.
A prime example of this awe-inspiring display of godlike powers, are the Lands of Paradise themselves. Which started off as nothing more than a giant open plain from the Evergreen Veldt, before it was transformed over decades by the Spirits, into a diverse and self-sustaining ecosystem, where now many new life forms thrive.
Furthermore, thanks to the abundant supply of the arcane energy they provide, the natural cause of evolution also seems to be accelerated quite drastically.
With land dwelling creatures adapting to a life underwater in mere decades, or primal animals evolving into sentient beasts, through the Spirits breathing their arcane essence directly into their forms.

Additional Insights:

Since most of the information we have on these ethereal beings is based on guesses, it is believed that other similar entities may also be related to them, or perhaps even could be considered a subspecies of these elusive creatures.
With one example for this theory being Light Spirits, which appear to only emit about half the amount of arcane energy as regular Spirits, but seem to possess a glowing core, to illuminate darker areas like the Endless Forest. Or, in higher concentrations, are even able to mimic a small version of the sun, as seen in far up in the sky of the Lands.
Another, quite rare and also dangerous example, being the Fallen Spirits, which appear to primarily focus their unique Channeling on living creatures, and either forcefully try to change their evolution, or just take over their bodies entirely.
So in many cases, Fallen Spirits are seen as worrisome anomalies in the ecosystem. And cause otherwise passive Spirits to become hostile, and violently attack their corrupted counterparts in a furious manner.
And lastly, out of all the so far speculated variants of Spirits, there are the Great Spirits. Which unlike any other form of Spirits seem to possess a unique and almost clearly visible body, as well as a sentient mind, and the ability to communicate with other creatures.
On top of that, Great Spirits also seem to possess a mixture of arcanic and material-based Channeling. Which not only gives them the ability to alter the environment and evolution of species, like normal Spirits, but also enables them to use their own arcane breath as a weapon.
With which they defend the land they claimed as their territory, like the ethereal deities they are.