Lorgan's Notes: evenachtis ryiam (ev-en-acht-is rih-am)

Evenachtis ryiam is the fuel that keep ghosts from succumbing to the Final Death. Without it, spirits would not exist.
It is no accident that communities tend to congregate in areas that are mist-heavy, and therefore ryiam-heavy. Both the living and the dead require it to function, making it the most invaluable resource in the Evenacht.

Research:
Evenachtis ryiam

by our overly curious Finder hero,
Lorgan the Inquisitive
In this Research Document:

Evenachtis ryiam

The mists in the Evenacht are special. They are the reason spirits can thrive here. We absorb the mists and the magic inherent within, which allows us to function.
They are, like any other mist, created from water droplets suspended in the air. The droplets, however, carry magic within them. This magic is called evenachtis ryiam, and it is found everywhere in the Evenacht.
Evenachtis ryiam is nearly identical in nature to reign ryiam, the substance that the majapholua gland secrets in the living beings born with one. Reign ryiam allows faelareign to use magic while alive, and the same goes for evenachtis ryiam while dead--only every ghost can absorb this althermineral, rather than only 20% of the population.

Distribution

While evenachtis ryiam is found everywhere, it is not evenly distributed. Drier areas of the Evenacht have little of it, while wetter places have an overabundance. It is very closely linked to water, so the relative wetness of an area will indicate how plentiful it is.
Some areas where it once naturally occurred are barren due to the damming of the mists, which has interfered with natural distribution processes,

Evenachtis ryiam
by Anthony :), Pexels

Scientific name:


Found:


Appearance:

evenachtis ryiam


throughout the Evenacht

clear particles

Flavorless, odorless, with a coolness even ghosts can sense. Can take on properties of its surroundings, so may appear purple, or taste like berries.
Most often found in the ubiquitous mists of the Evenacht, but inhabits plants, animals, and the very soil.

How It Works

Mist energy, or evenachtis ryiam, is familiar to Sensour natives because the same substance is found there (it's called reign ryiam). Only those who are Sun-touched are able to interact with reign ryiam (there are many reasons for this, but that is not the scope of this article). Suffice to say, reign ryiam is produced internally, and therefore limited to those born with the magic gland (inventive terminology, I must say. Please refer to it as the majapholua).
Not so with evenachtis ryiam. It is everywhere. It seeps up from the soil, it inhabits the atmosphere (in fact, the constant cloud cover may very well be an artifact of the mist energy found there). It rains down from the clouds, it fills lakes and rivers and streams and the seas. It is carried into the air by wind, where it combines with droplets and forms mist, just like dust does (there is some evidence that evenachtis ryiam piggybacks on dust particles, helping in the formation of clouds, mist and rain).
Raw evenachtis ryiam is quite the potent stuff. In large quantities, it can make natives sick and tear a ghost's essence apart (don't think so? Then peruse the news on all the ziptrail accidents). This is why the beings who dam the substance take precautions in taming the magic so it is usable by a general population.
The mists, however, naturally soften this sting. Water draws evenachtis ryiam, and when combined, the potency gets watered down (this is not how reign ryiam behaves, but why the difference developed is still under investigation). This mist is absorbable by all ghosts, regardless of their living ability to use magic.
Ghosts can absorb this substance in many ways. Greeters tend to teach newly deceased ways to mimic breathing, so they can suck in the evenachtis ryiam-laden mist. Since breathing is familiar, it's a good place to start. More advanced techniques will allow spirits to absorb the mists through their essence, like skin absorbs lotion. Both ways lead to the same result, but the advanced techniques take far less time to energize a spirit.
Those who used magic while alive have developed numerous spells to draw out the evenachtis ryiam from the water as well as the earth (soil, I should say. Rocks and minerals and the like do not retain it, though it will meld with dust on the surfaces of exposed stone). Some can even suck it from foliage, but this usually kills the plant, and the wrath of many communities over that is not worth the bother.
Zibwa acolytes grow plants called suckerduns. They are waist-tall bushes that use their leaves to absorb evenachtis ryiam from the mists, and house it in their yellow berries. Some very powerful concoctions are distilled from these berries, including a juice that, using a special evaporator, can become mist and re-energize a healer who needs an extra boost during their healing. The juice, called 'for suckers' (don't even get me started about healers snickering at that) packs a punch, and if used in excess, packs an equal low that can discorporate a spirit.

Suckerdun
by Anna Guerrero, Pexels
fog by Philip Ackermann, Pexels

Suckerdun grows wild in the plains of the Evenacht. It is considered a sacred plant for many cultures, even those outside the grasslands, because of how ryiam-laden the berries are.
The initial way the Astri became wealthy was trading this commodity to non-plains umbrareign for religious ceremonies. They were the ones who first domesticated the bushes, and even now maintain huge fields whose produce go to various religious entities throughout the evening lands.
The selling of the berries has put the Astri at odds with the plains' peoples who gather the wild variety. They complain that the Astri have purposefully diluted the ryiam in plants so more produce is needed to maintain potencies. This has affected the reputation of all berries.

Importance

Natives' bodies need evenachtis ryiam like they need vitamins, and denying them this nutrient can cause numerous health issues. Flora and fauna also use it as a fundamental energy source, and they will quickly wilt and die out without it.
It is typically ingested by way of water, but eating plants is also a way to acquire it. Some plants, like the needlespires and the Carewelde dartberries, hold enough evenachtis ryiam in their fruits, a few pickings exceed the daily needs of natives and fauna.
Evenachtis ryiam powers essences. No ghost can last long without re-energizing. This is why so many ghosts go to the Voidlands to meet the Final Death; the place is practically devoid of the particles, and one quickly succumbs to the winds.
Re-energizing happens as regularly as eating once did, though some prefer different schedules. Multiple types of containers can house mists, so a ready source of energy is available to ghosts who need a quick pick-me-up.
Ghosts who do not properly understand how to absorb mists, and therefore acquire evenachtis ryiam, have a listless existence, without the energy or motivation to do much of anything. They can fade away and become greddels. Greddels are the sad remaining essence of a ghost who has met the Final Death. They have no thought or direction, just a nasty lust for energy. They will suck any source dry to get it.

Mist container
by Matheus Bertelli, Pexels