Lingerlight

Lost souls, set adrift from their former homes and lost before the River takes them...

— scholar

Lingerlights are small, incandescent balls of floating soul energy... to some. To others, lingerlights are small flitting creatures that shine brightly in the night, powered by their own luminescence. The name is used for both interchangeably, often because it can be incredibly hard to distinguish between them; for the purpose of disambiguation, scholars use the terms 'lingerlight energy' or 'lingerlight spirit' versus 'lingerlight creature".
Found most commonly in Vuorenmaa where death must be handled by the Caretakers, but common to anywhere where necromantic energy is dominant, lingerlight energy represents a fallen soul that, for whatever reason, has not moved on after their death. They are not yet undead creatures in full, though respond to effects sending them to judgement as if they were.
Lingerlight creatures, meanwhile, lurk in dark, shadowed areas as glittering sources of light. They are fondly referred to as 'orbs with eyes' by those who see them, given the way their legs fold up into their bodies when observed, and their eyes - if caught open - are large and luminous.
It has been speculated that lingerlight creatures originated from experiments to recreate souls, or that they originally had abilities to allow them to mimic other creatures that were lost over time, locking them into the shape of lingerlight spirits. As they have some innate magical ability, it does stand to reason that their shape is supernatural or in some way related to lingerlight energy - however, no actual link has been discovered. The two do cluster together at times, however, seemingly unperturbed at the mixing of living and dead.
As souls, lingerlights may be captured and used as light sources, or may be used for all sorts of horrific necromantic experimentation. For this reason, both forms of lingerlight often hide from view and seek to evade capture.

I'm not sure I'd be so cool with a dead version of myself hanging around.

— concerned cleric

Basic Information

Anatomy

They're... incorporeal? I think? Wait, are they? Which one is that?

— puzzled researcher

Both species of lingerlight are approximately the same size, but have extremely different anatomy. The lost spirits are entirely incorporeal and may regularly phase through objects or walls, and do not have any capability to turn into other creatures. Their movements are often erratic or aimless, and if they have abilities, they are very minor. They should not be confused with the more dangerous will-o'-wisps, or corpse candles, that haunt dangerous areas to lure innocents to their deaths.
Lingerlight creatures, by comparison, have an internal core that represents a translucent blob containing their organs and foldaway legs. This is rarely visible around their glow - the blue light and eyes that largely represents them is instead generated by this core, powered by sunlight and passive magic the creature absorbs whilst it is not active.

Supernatural Abilities

Lingerlights

Whilst lingerlight spirits are entirely supernatural entities with occasional necromantic abilities of their own, lingerlight creatures are mortal entities with a far more limited set of abilities. They are considered magical beasts in classification, meaning they are similar to animals but with supernatural or extraordinary abilities of their own, and potentially also including far greater intelligence.
Lingerlight creatures are naturally able to see in the dark and have greater vision in low light conditions. As they are nocturnal creatures that recharge during the day and are active at night, this serves them well.
They can use brief periods of incorporeal shape to phase through solid material, and may turn off their light entirely - something they also do during the daytime - as a method of hiding.
They may also create additional floating lights around themselves, and if attacked, may flash their light to blind their attacker or drain their life energies. However, they are pacifistic and rarely use these abilities except to defend themselves.

Daaad! I don't care if they're dead people! Or weird bugs! They're cute!

— determined child

Lingerlight creatures

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Magical Beast

Scientific Name

Lampyridae diutornus

Origin/Ancestry

Lampyridae

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Average Height

5 - 25cm

Average Weight

0.1g

Average Length

5 - 15cm

Lingerlights by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

So... they're named lingerlights because they're lights that linger. But did you know their scientific name translates to about the same?

— dual entomology & etymology nerd