Spirits

Spirits, Fetches, or Daimons. Every culture has a word or myth for the otherworldly forces that govern portions of the natural world. Some folktales claim that a spirit tends to the wellbeing of every forest, river, and mountain. These spirits are often portrayed as eldritch amalgamations of multiple animals or monsters, often appearing with a humanoid face, further adding to their ghostly mystique. Despite the cornucopia of stories passing by word of mouth or the written word about them, almost nothing is actually known of their origin or alignments; no god or faction has made substantial claims to them, and there are many who chalk it all up to "some folks imagination gone wild."

Summary

Every Spirit is widly different, with some being mostly benevolent while others are outright territorial. A Spirit of a small forest will look, act, and manifest itself in completely different ways to a Spirit that watches over a vast mighty desert. While the physical presence of a Spirit may be somewhat up for debate the cultural and spiritual impact is irrefutable, they change the way cultures interact with nature. Some countries such as Riel even have laws which dictate the ways in which society interacts with Spirits or areas they are believed to inhabit.

Historical Basis

The first instance of Spirits is detailed in a popular collection of short stories titled Tokens of the Fetch published circa 345 PCE, the first popular written work to feature the word Fetch. In the story a shaman of nature details direct interactions with Spirits, calling them Fetches in their native tongue, the stories detail full conversations and even a battle with a unruly mountain spirit ending in a standoff. This short anthology hit home with the wholesome lessons learned from each encounter, but also seemed to ring true with many others who seemed to share similar experiences in the wild places of the world.

Many worshippers of nature gods such as Hertha or Obleck believe these Spirits to be Avatars or Chosen of the gods, tasked with protecting the natural world and to remain shrouded in mystery. The Waldwächters even gave the namesake to one of their ranks within their order, the Daimonurgist is a rank only bestowed unto powerful shamans.

Spread

"I have no desire to define that which is undefinable, to implant my ego into the world of Daimons. So long as the leaves sway and the harmony of my voice mingles with wind, so long as the bed of hay which awaits is soft, so long as the beasts remain safely beyond the threshold, so long as all balance can be assured.
 I have no desire to name the nameless, the Daimon has no need of a name, only to be as it is, so long and so still, so long friend and guardian, so long fur and feathers, so long branch and stone, so long..."
-Riellan Poem 

The folklore of Spirits is a widespread phenomana, as common as aany bedtime story or cautionary tale told to children. Some countries have embraced the tales more than others, like for example The Fallish People are more likely to write off stories about Fetches as mere hearsay or babblings, while the Riellan Elves have made entire laws to keep a strict balance with the Daimons of their nation. Mostly told through word of mouth or local fables people talk about the Spirits like they would anything else they dont understand, either with caution or with the reckless abandon of someone who never believed the tales to begin with.

Cultural Reception

From the first text to mention Fetches to the modern day, Spirits have shifted in power and purpose a great deal. Originally spoken of more as sprites of the woodlands or mere tricksters, nowadays many of the fables told of Spirits spins a tale of hulking ghostly creatures with the features of local animals or other creatures.

For example in Mahaan it is commonly believed that the entire Mahaan Desert is protected by the will of a single godlike Spirit that shares the name of the desert.
Many empire citizens will say prayers or make offerings to the desert itself in the hopes of keeping its guardian Spirit happy. This belief is only strengethed by the desert shamans who are able to summon sandstorms to defend the city, the physical manipulation of nature through devout vessels only provides more credence to the belief of the desert as a thinking entity.

Meanwhile in Wai-Paku the tribes close connection with nature makes for a peaceful symbiotic relationship wherein the people who live there hardly feel the need to seperate Spirits from the lands they supposedly protect. An average village of this realm likely uses pronouns or humanizing language when refers a natural region, rather than saying "the woods are calm today" they might say "he seems to be in a good mood today."

In Literature

In the centuries since Tokens of the Fetch many more fictional works have been published with stories of the Spirits, some scholars have even taken a stab at making full Bestiarys of the Spirits. In the final chapter of "Tea Time with the Gods" the author describes an encounter with a strange entity in the mountains of Fal that could potentially be a Spirit as well.

Popular Literature about Spirits

Riel	Tales of the Western Reach	The Last Bloom of Eldamar
Fal	Tokens of the Fetch
Mahaan	Voice of the Wind	The Other Kahin	The Living Desert
Wai Paku	Mate Tetahi	Paku Te Nui
Baowé	Beneath Blue Sails
Issik	Seekers Guide

In Art

In Riel most visual artists have done some sort of portrayal of a Spirit within their region and the distinct similarities between many of the different artists works lends a lot of credence to the Spirits actual existence. Beyond this poetry, paintings, songs, and short stories involving Spirits are common in every culture of Petria.

Titles:
Common Name- Spirits
Riellan Name- Daimon
Mahaanision Name- Hayalet
Fallish Name- Fetch
Baowéin Name- Roho
Wai Paku Name- Pono
Iskan Name- Atma