Spirit Worship

Another common belief to the Tribes of Men, some believe that all of exisitence is home to a myriad of spirits—those of trees, animals, and the earth. Shamans believe that they can communicate with these spirits and influence them into helping and protecting their families. The rituals shamans use to achieve this vary widely from tribe to tribe. Occultists believe they can draw upon the power that flows through the simple living things. And while not necessarily a religion, many do have a reverence for the natural world and a keen interest in understanding its mysteries.

Arcanists, Occultists, and simple shamans know this incomprehensible spiritual force is beneath and between the perceptible realities of the planes. These forces shape and manipulate perceptible reality in strange ways, and many darker colleges believe mastering them can teach them hidden truths about the universe and grant mastery over life after death.

Some believe that the mortal realm is merely a veil for the true reality that is the Otherside. And some religions believe that Old Gods dwell within this realm, their life force flowing from the Wraith-World into Ulgrotha. The gods aside, the denizens of the Otherside are mischievous and drawn to power, always seeking to intrude upon the mortal world, but fail to stay for long. Trapping their worshippers and warping thier very flesh. Some maintain enough of their former personalities to simply be pathetic — mentally ruined and reduced to shadows of their former selves, sporting horrific physical mutations.

Variations & Mutation

Primal Spirits

It is believed the moment that the world came into being, so too did the primal spirits. Primal spirits are aspects of nature that flow through the world and its inhabitants, they govern natural laws and the natural order of the world - lacking a name before the Second Coming of Men, who gave them a worthy title; Gods.
The primal spirits are guardians of the world and figures of change. they inhabit everything in the mortal world from the tallest mountain to the smallest stream. Yet none of these elder spirit in omniscient or all-powerful, but then again, there is a reason why the decree of the primal spirits has never been contested by the Nerathilords.
The disinction between a Local Spirit and a Primal Spirit can be difficult to see. Local spirits inhabit a particular geographical region. These regions can be as small as a lake or forest, or as large as an ocean or continent. The local spirits can inhabit a particular landmark such as an ancient oak tree or a type of animal that hunts in the region. Most primal tribes venerate the spirits of their region and know how to differentiate between a normal geographical feature and the home of a mighty spirit.
Primal Spirits are not constrand by such limitation.

Known Primal Spirits

Always Falling

A great spirit of water in motion, strongest around rivers and waterfalls. Those who commune with Always Falling find it is easier to learn of a location's various local spirits because Always Falling interacts with all water spirits and anything that interacts with water. It is said the spirit as met everyone worth meeting.

Blood Cousin

An elder spirit dedicated to maintaining harmony between disparate tribes. She is regarded as a force of innovation amongst followers of the spirit way and new primal traditions are usually accredited to her. In her name friends of different families, tribes or races sometimes adopt each other as "blood cousins", pledging cooperation and support amongst each others people.

Carver

Carver lives in the final moments of each wave as it breaks upon the shore. His name is evoked far from the ocean though, because he represents the ceaseless power of nature as it carves the world into its ever-changing shape. Coastal tribes count Carver as a symbol of bounty and change because the ocean is constantly wearing away the land even as it supplies sustenance and casts its treasures on the shore.

Earth Wheel

Some followers of the spirit way are migratory, staying constantly on the move and subsist only on what nature has to offer. Earth Wheel provides for these tribes, offering bountiful food to sustain them on their journeys. When these tribes are in harmony with Earth Wheel's turning, their travel becomes part of the area's natural pattern. With the spirits of that area in harmony, whole fields of berries, herbs and fruits ripen just in time for the arrival of the tribes that depend upon them.

EverFlame

Most primal spirits of flame are young. They burn bright for a time, then flicker away to be replaced by new spirits. But not all flame spirits are so ephemeral. EverFlame is an ancient flame spirit who has taken on a unique protective role. This guardian spirit ensures that great fires blaze strongly enough to eventually burn themselves out.

Fate Weaver

This great elder is also referred to as Grandmother Spider. Those who face great challenges or have to deal with a perilous or uncertain future call upon her as Fate Weaver. Those who are content with their prospects or those who are intent to look at the future through an optimistic lens think of her as Grandmother Spider. Aside from her role in weaving the webs of fate, she is also a protective spirit and is often called upon by shamans who know the evocations, Fate Weaver's Shield and Tendrils of the Fate Weaver.

The Grandmothers

An extended group of female ancestor spirits. They are treated as a single elder spirit because almost all tribes who follow the spirit way call upon them with the same name, and because the grandmother spirits of any one tribe are capable of sharing information and memories from any other tribes grandmother spirits. The Grandmothers are on good terms with most other ancestor spirits, but are often at cross-purposes with Old Grandfather.

Great Watcher

Great Watcher is an enigmatic formless primal spirit who is said to to see and hear everything that takes place on the surface of the world. She carries the winds of change across the world and is an harbinger of Autumn. Shamans often call upon her because she is known to bring omens and signs of the future to those that know how to watch for them.

The Monster Slayers

The Monster Slayers are a group of heroic ancestor spirits that warriors and heroes of all tribes look up to and claim as their own. When a primal child turns his or her eyes to the threats of the wide world, parents remember Monster Slayer ancestors and support the child's dream of adventure. The Monster Slayers represent heroes who fight for the security and preservation of the world.

The Soul Serpent

A great snake said to guard the Gate of Dreams. The Soul Serpent has gleaming iridescent scales and glowing eyes which constantly shift color with its everchanging mood. Mortals who pass through this gate become like dreams and can freely see and interact with the primal spirits. Some primal evocations draw spirits through the gate and give them physical form for a time. The Souls Serpent watches over these passages, coiled in a perpetual state of watchful dreaming.

Whisper

A great elder spirit that goes by many names. Whisper is a capricious trickster spirit who is known to play tricks on deities, primordials, mortals and other elder spirits.

The World Tree

The most ancient primal spirit of the forest. The World Tree is closely associated with Tree Father but they are not one in the same spirit. The roots of the World Tree extend to the foundation of the earth, circulating life and primal power throughout the whole of the world. Some shamans say that the World Tree is not an aspect of the world like most primal spirits but the spirit of the world itself, the entire creation, its interconnected inhabitants and balanced environments.