Touch: The Magic of Ghosts

Touch is how ghosts interact with the environment of the Evenacht. Without it, ghosts simply would not exist.

orig image by wimage72, Adobe Stock

In this document:

All art by Shanda Nelson
unless otherwise stated.

What is Touch?

Touch is the magic that allows ghosts to interact with the Evenacht. There are many types, but Ether Touch, Physical Touch and Mental Touch are the most commonly used. Ether Touch is the manipulation of the ghostly essence, Physical Touch is the manipulation of a solidified form, and Mental Touch is the manipulation of magic. The general term for this manipulation is Touch. Every ghost, regardless of magical ability when alive, can use Touch; after all, essences are basically magic, and what is a ghost but essence?

Ether Touch

Ether Touch is the first Touch a ghost learns after entering the Evenacht. It allows ghosts to:

alter the transparency of their aspect
move through solid objects
touch other ghosts who are in Ether form
change one's appearance
float through the air
use ziptrails
see and speak
absorb mist

Ether Touch is the manipulation of a ghost's ghostly essence. It is the most important Touch to learn because this manipulation allows ghosts to absorb the mists. Mists are ghost food and provide energy for them to exist. Without mist, ghosts fade away into the Final Death. It is why, even if the newly deceased are reluctant or uncomfortable, that they must learn Ether Touch. Spirits unaccustomed to magic find Ether Touch an unrewarding learning exercise. To combat this, someone in the far-distant past developed a way for them to use incantations to focus their will, and therefore be able to more easily employ Touch. It is a simple way for the uninitiated to use magic without needing years of study. The official incantation language is Recant, but more modern spirits just use the Reckoning for the words. Recant has innate power backing the words, but Reckoning is familiar. Some aspects of Ether Touch, such as appearance manipulation, require practice and study, but, unlike Mental Touch, more spirits are willing to put in the time involved because vanity is a thing (and a lot of spirits want to look like wolves and large cats). Ether Touch has its downsides as well.

Ghosts employing Ether Touch are more prone to discorporation if caught in a windstorm or downpour
Ghosts employing Ether Touch are more prone to discorporation if they remain too long within water (which is a danger for spirits who come from faelareign populations that prefer a watery home)
Restricting oneself to only using Ether Touch prohibits most interactions with natives
Because ghosts employing Ether Touch take up little to no space, certain entities have decided a coffin against a wall is an adequate 'home' for them. It is difficult for the average spirit without family connections to find a more expansive place in larger cities, which leads to depression and listlessness

cloaked woman by captblack76, Adobe Stock
lightning by Keli Black, Pixabay
All else by Shanda Nelson

The scant historical evidence indicates incantations began as a way for the previously unmagical to more easily use Ether Touch. Incantations then made their way into other forms of Touch. While they make magic easier for the once-unmagical, ghosts who had the Gift while alive rarely use them.

Nymphs excel at Ether and Physical Touch because they are the faelareign most obsessed with appearing alive. Nymphs, being the longest-lived on Talis, want a continuous existence with the perks and pleasures they had while possessing a body. This includes being able to eat, sleep, mimic breathing, as well as more physically exerting activities like running and sex.

The sense of sight should be a Physical Touch, but it's Ether, like speech. Why these two are purviews of Ether rather than Physical is much debated, with no definitive answer. It could be as simple as the fact ghosts want to interact with their environment after death, and the easiest way to do so it to view it, with speaking coming in a close second. Still, the why of it eludes researchers. Sight and speech are an innate part of a spirit, to the point that beings who were unable to see or speak when alive (for whatever reason), are able to do so after their death.

Artists of all stripes and ghost who want to bake/cook are among the most proficient at Physical Touch. Cooks learn a special type that lets them taste food again.

orig by captblack76, Adobe Stock

Physical Touch

Physical Touch tends to be the second Touch ghosts learn. Physical Touch allows ghosts to:

alter the solidity of their aspect
touch solid objects
touch other ghosts who are in Physical form
change one's appearance
perform physical actions like walking, running
interact with natives in a way more familiar to them
regain senses
eat and absorb energy from food

Physical Touch is a more difficult Touch to learn. It allows ghosts to become more solid so they can interact with their environment like a living presence, but that is not a simple task. A greater understanding of intonation and manipulation of energy is required, and knowledge of magic, while not necessary, is extremely helpful when reconstructing essences to resemble living flesh. The simplest explanation of how this works is to think of Physical Touch as the creation of a magical shield, only a ghost uses their essence as the base of it. Unlike shields, however, ghosts, with enough training, can replicate living senses, like the sense of touch or taste. This requires a depth of magical understanding most beings refuse to put the time and effort into, so not as many ghosts are able to feel cold or heat, smell, etc. That being said, ghosts who look and behave alive are held in higher esteem by both spirits and natives. These ghosts combine Ether and Physical Touch to create a more 'living' countenance, which leads other beings to view them as social superiors with greater power and prestige. This holds true across every generation. Physical Touch has its downsides as well.

Ghosts employing Physical Touch are more prone to discorporation by physical and magical attacks
Ghosts employing Physical Touch are more prone to discorporation because it is easier to misjudge energy reserves since Physical forms cannot as easily absorb energy from the mists
While ghosts in Physical form tend to have more congenial interactions with natives, they also garner more suspicion because natives feel they are hiding something
unable to use ziptrails or other ghost-centric modes of transportation
Physical forms need more space, so certain segments of the spirit population believe 'lesser' ghosts should leave Physical forms to their betters and resign themselves to an Ether existence with only a coffin as refuge
There is a strain of thought among certain religious types that spending too much time in Physical form is a personal failing; ghosts, after all, are not alive, and should behave as such. While not a popular belief, those who hold it are fanatic and can cause great mischief towards those employing Physical Touch

Mental Touch

Mental Touch is how ghosts use magic outside their essences, as the living do. Mental Touch allows ghosts to:

perform elemental, syim-based, item-based, prayer-based magics
create shields against both physical and magical attacks
heal
change one's appearance

Mental Touch is the most difficult of the three major Touch forms to learn because it is the manipulation of essences to produce magic effects. Beings born with magic typically had some sort of education concerning the use of it while they lived, and find Mental Touch an extension of what they already understand; those born without must go through the same rigorous training once they reach the Evenacht, and not all want to. While only around 20% of living populations are able to use magic (having been born with the majapholua gland), all ghosts can wield it. This is linked to the fact essences are magic in nature, so all ghosts have an energy reserve to use to wield spells. That does not mean every ghost wants to cast fireballs at someone else, especially if it means going back to school. Mental Touch has its downsides as well.

Ghosts employing Mental Touch are more prone to discorporation by draining their essences of energy
Ghosts employing Mental Touch are more prone to Final Death because, once drained of energy, they have a more difficult time deflecting physical and magical attacks
Both natives and ghosts can be suspicious of those with great Mental Touch
Missteps in practice and training can lead to damaged essences and Final Death
As with all magic, complicated Mental Touch spells can be dangerous, to both the ghost casting them and unfortunates caught in the mix
Rigorous study is needed to properly control it

While incantations are used in all Touch, they are not as integral in Mental as one might think. Beginners use them to hone intent, but practiced ghosts rarely employ them. That being said, a very powerful subfield exists that combines syim and elemental magic by way of incantations. Spiritesti use a living-centric form of this subfield to interact with ghosts, making them must-hires in certain native circles. Because the spells are complicated and a sophisticated understanding of magic is necessary to intone them, mafiz, whizen, and curios are drawn to them. Since these beings are known for their strength in magic, they bring that to the intonation sphere. It is through them that we get Great Seals and other powerful spells.

orig by qunica.com, Adobe Stock

Scholars quibble about accurate categories, but in general, there are five magical schools under which all magic falls.

hands by Gilles, Adobe Stock
magic by lucszczepanski, Adobe Stock

Syim-based

Syim-based magics are the spells that syimlin use, and sometimes pass on to their acolytes. Of all the magics, this is the least understood by the non-religious because, for some reason, syimlin and acolytes are loathe to give up their secrets. There are many subfields of syim magic, which include syim-elements, transversals, and devotions. There are Evenacht-specific syim-related magics, including certain Great Seals, the Shades of Darkness chains, and great lake dams.

Prayer-based

Prayer-based magics are related to syim-magic, but can be practiced by anyone who wants to offer up a prayer and hope that the syimlin answers. Like intonations, there are set phrases used to attract the attention of the relevant syimlin, though strong emotion can be just as effective. This is the least used magic because of the rarity of answers.

Elemental

Elemental magic is the most ubiquitous of magics. The name is misleading; this is the catch-all category for magic that does not fall neatly into other places. This includes offensive and defensive magics, hearth magics, common magics and the like. Yes, one can use elemental magic to cast fireball spells and shapeshift, but one can also use it to preserve books, create light, and press linens.

Item-based

Item-based magics are those associated with imbuing an inanimate object with a spell. The strength of the spell is based on 1) the power of the person casting it, and 2) how it recharges after use (if at all). Staves are historical elfine enchantment receptacles, but anything can be imbued. Intonations are the most common way to set a spell to an object, with a prescribed word order that precludes most mistakes.

Healing

Healing encompasses all magic used to cure another living or deceased being (yes, while less common, there are ghostly ailments, as damaging and existence-ending as those associated with life). Healing magics are closely associated with Zibwa, to the point one might as well call them a syim-based magic. Many protective magics are considered healing-related. So is alchemy, despite the fact many potions are not directed towards healing.