A treatise on the Nature and Dissemination of Spirits

It is universally believed and proven that spirits exist in this world and others. From the oral tradition of the elvish peoples, to the stoic manuals of the dwarvish enchanting guilds, to the frank and scientific methods of our own magister arcanists; it is clear that spirits exist, both naturally occurring entities and constructed thoughtforms. In this paper I will attempt to a) categorize the naturally occurring spirit-forms; as well as explain their existence and b) explain how it is they exist.
1. Fey

Fey spirits are the most common class of spirit encountered. They tend to inhabit living plants and sometimes animals. Thus we need to catagorize them into two families: Herbiformes and Aniformes. Herbiformes are often found in old trees, in dense ancient forests. Younger fey tend to move from plant to plant in an effort to find one that fits properly. Often this leads to them becoming weakened and they end up taking a host out of desperation and necessity, with some making the leap to possessing an animal or rarely a person. The plant begins to exhibit mutations, as the spirit begins to merge with its host, resulting in curious and fantastic colour morphs. A good example is the famous White Oak of Kellogen, which is host to a 632 year old Dryad by the name of Sylanna. Some of these Herbiforms are able to mutate the plant to such a point as becoming mobile, although these are rare indeed. Aniform fey are less benign then their herbiform kin, especially the ones who attempt a possession of a person. Like the inhabited trees, mutation occurs as the spirit merges with the hosts own spirit. It is worth noting that these spirits are often motivated by a desire for procreation, and thus make use of the humanoid reproductive cycles to create more of their kind. Hags are one such creature, although it is believed that werewolves and lycanthropes are also a form of dark fey. Benign aniforms do exist. These usually are young herbiforms that are too weak to choose a proper tree and thus resign themselves to some shrub or even grass. If a creature goes to consume that plant, the spirit in an effort to survive, shifts into the creature. This is the origin of many stories pertaining to fairy deer, blink rabbits (which eventually become blink cats, dogs or wolves) and even the rare undine(a human in possession of fey magic after sleeping in a fairy circle).

2.Jotunn

Perhaps the rarest form of spirit, Jotunn-formes are on the verge of extinction. Indeed, the last documented encounter with a Jotunniforme was an expedition to Stygland. The specimen documented was in poor health, it's body in varying degrees of necrosis. Jotunniformes possess humanoid bodies, although their aura is insufficient for the natural entropic forces inherent to our world. I certain academic circles Jotunniformes are discounted as a form of spirit, however, I posit that they fill a niche similar to the fey. There are several bloodlines that contain Jotunn markers of spiritual energy.

3. Jinn

Jinniformes are found in Al-Siddig. Like Jotunn's, they possess a physical presence in the world, also insufficient for the world. They counter this shortcoming by finding a vessel to preserve them. They interact with humans more than any other of the spirits, forming the core of the Bedouin society in southwestern Al-Siddig. Due to the aggressive nature of the Bedouin peoples, study of these spirits is limited. Accounts from Lord Therin Greystones travels through the region reveal that they can interbreed with humans to produce hybrids.

4. Dragons

Dracoforme spirits are the most difficult to study as the Primal Dragons avoid sharing their lore. Draconyt priests assert that the ten are complex spirits that are tied to the world, using large crystals to monitor their strength. The rest is conjecture.

5. Outsider/Other

Some spirits defy classification. Accounts of a dreamstalkers, angels, demons, gods; even a shapeshifting crows. These things defy explanation, and tend to effect from afar. They therefore are not subject to the entropy. Their power is potentially limitless.

Excerpt from James Knotting's Treatise on Spirits