Spiritual Unbinding

The iron amulet settled against her skin, the metal almost shockingly cold. But she didn't have time to feel the cold. It was as though she was cast out, shot into nothing. She was falling back, something pulling her down. As she sunk she watched herself - her body - crumple. They caught her, her name on their lips, called with desperate fear. Oh, she thought. Oh. This was what it was like to die.

Causes

A "Soul", or a being's essence/essential energy, can be severed from its physicality through a variety of rituals or forms of necromancy. This "soul" then becomes a spiritual entity, devoid of physical being. However, it will still have an affinity or longing for the particular physical form from which it was severed, and, if there is nothing to stop it, will repossess this form. Thus the individual's entire essence is present, but no longer bound together into a cohesive whole. The affected individual is unlikely to remember the experience of their "soul" being unbound, as it is extremely traumatic. This amnesia can extend back over several days before the actual event.

Symptoms

The "soul" can be banished at any time by any banishing ritual or object, putting it on a level with a ghost or demonic spirit. The affected individual will sometimes experience dreams in which they walk in a strange nether realm, and sometimes report experiences in which they are looking down at their sleeping bodies but cannot wake up, try as they might. There are other accounts of spiritual encounters and experiences in this state, but their credibility is doubtful.

Treatment

The "soul" can be re-bound by the same rituals a necromancer or cultist might use to bind a "soul" to a body that has been prepared for possession.

Prognosis

The condition can either go completely unnoticed, or result in the possession of the individual by a more powerful entity. Many of those affected could likely live their lives undisturbed, and possibly even unaware. Some however experience pain, or gradual disassociation from physicality till they drift into a dream state, their spirit lost in The Strata. It is unknown if it affects the experience of death in any way. Once the soul is re-bound the individual will be as they were before, though some report feelings of undefined discomfort.
However, if the spirit is lost to The Strata, either by disassociation or banishment, it will be nigh impossible to get it back, or for it to find its way back on its own. There have been reports of individuals with an extraordinary connection being able to "find" each other in The Strata through some unknown mechanism, but these reports are unconfirmed.

Sequela

Those affected can become detached from reality, suffer from nightmares, and sometimes experience inexplicable pain. Sometimes the re-binding ritual results in a coma and physical weakness lasting anywhere from a day to a month.

Prevention

Spirit magic and necromancy are discouraged, but sects and demon cults still exist on the fringes, and thus the occasional unlucky traveler can fall victim.

Cultural Reception

Those affected are usually seen as the victims of criminal magic, however, since they are vulnerable to possession, they are viewed with some trepidation.

Type

Divine

Origin

Engineered

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Rare