The Wayward Archon Spirit

Summary

The Wayward Archon Spirit is a tale from Raldmar, though variations of it may be found all over the binary planets. It tells the story of a lone Archon Spirit who attached itself to the enchanted circuitboard of a starship's navigational system. As it fed on the system, it slowly consumed the code itself. Each rune of enchanted code could sustain it for days, but it ate ravenously, and soon enough, the ship could no longer navigate. It drifted through space with no guide. The ship's crew saw the navigational computer had failed and assumed it was just a short circuit. They switched to manual controls, none the wiser of the true culprit behind the failure. The spirit, however, was not sated, and moved on to the starship's batteries. Still ravenous for more, it grew reckless and the crew discovered the spirit, but not before it had eaten straight through the ship's power source. The crew only just managed to contain the spirit, but it was too late, the damage was done. The emptiness of space finished off the crew, and in time even the lonely archon spirit wasted away as well.

Historical Basis

Archon Spirits feed off of magic, and will attach themselves to magical items, especially enchanted technology. Though they are very rare, almost myth, modern ships have ways of detecting them. In the past it was possible for an archon to hitch a ride unnoticed and leave a ship stranded in the vastness of space, just like in the myth.

Variations & Mutation

Most Raldmar versions of the tale are similar, and believed to be truer to the original tale. Versions coming from Ithamar tend to be more varied, including some in which the Archon Spirit is intentionally lured onto the ship by a competitor.