Kami
The ancient beings created by the Old Gods to watch over the natural world and protect it
Description
One of the oldest types of beings in existence on Zheng-Kitar, Kami are a unique breed of creature that are unique to the land of Zheng-Kitar - they are not found anywhere else in the world or in reality, as far as modern scholars can determine. In truth, Kami are ancient, mystical, and otherworldly spirits created eons ago by The Old Gods that were originally intended to be as guardians to those parts of nature that could not protect themselves, and to all the areas that The Old Gods themselves could not reach. Ever since their creation long ago, Kami have proven remarkably adaptive and have spread and grown to take on all sorts of shapes and sizes over their eons of life - as the nature of reality changes, so too have the Kami. There are countless species of kami—in theory, every type of animal, plant, object, and location could be served by its own type of kami. These are collectively called “wards” by kami, who often think of them similar to how a human might think of a young child placed into his or her care. In practice, there are far more wards in creation than there are kami, however, and while they may be relatively common on most parts of mainland Zheng-Kitar and nearby islands such as Myrkheim and Tarthus, they have yet to spread beyond these places. As such, all kami seek to reproduce and thus expand their influence—the more kami, the more wards what benefit from their protection. Accordingly, kami influence is usually regional in nature and locked to the continent of Zheng-Kitar and sometimes even then to specific regions on that continent(Though they have a presence almost everywhere, they are rarer in some places compared to others)—the kami simply aren’t numerous enough yet to protect all of creation, though they dearly wish to one day. They are also beings of notorious neutrality - Kami are generally a peaceful and amicable people, often cohabitating with the likes of friendly fey and other magical beings that reside in natural environments. Dryads, Treants, and other beings of nature find the company of Kami to be quite favorable, as these notable spirits are often and eagerly willing to defend their lands and wards to the death. However, more troublesome, wrathful, and/or destructive creatures or evil Fey find themselves wholly unwelcome in lands and wards overseen by Kami, who use the power of nature itself to obliterate intruders who make a nuisance of themselves. Most notably, though they were created by The Old Gods and as such have some preference and small allegience to The Spirit King, the eldest Kami have long taught their lesser kin to stay neutral in the age-old conflict between them and the evil Yema - foreign gods who seek to destroy Zheng-Kitaran ways of life. To the Kami, such struggles are beyond their care and means - nature lies at the core of their lives, and as long as they are left to care for it, they hold little care for either side. Kami’s peaceful nature never vanishes quicker than when they face the vile oni, however, for no other creature is as hated by the kami as they. Kami view oni as defilers of the natural world and monsters whose goals and actions are in direct conflict with those of the nature spirits, and when oni are spotted in areas guarded by kami, all kami alert each other to this intrusion, and band together to root out the dark presence. The fact that when a kami falls from grace it runs the risk of becoming an oni has much to do with this hatred—essentially, kami see oni as physical proof of their race’s capacity for failure and shame.History
From what has been gathered by Modern Scholars, Kami were created by the The Old Gods at the very dawn of reality that went mostly unrecorded in all official stories and texts - originally, they were a servitor race created by the Old God Ianerin-Dahmu, predating the Feywilds as beings created to watch over and shephard the natural aspects of reality, and all the parts of reality that The Old Gods themselves could never hope to truly reach - guardians of the small corners of life, and the nooks and crannies others might overlook. Though once, in their heyday, they were said to be so prolific as to have a kami for each blade of grass on the ground, each tree in each forest, and each mountain on every continent, these days have long since faded from memory and history - now, all that remains are those Kami which have remained on Zheng-Kitar - the birthplace and cradle of their people. For all their neutrality, they were victims of the fall of the Sapphire Elves, and when the Yema cast down The Old Gods and eventually laid low the Sapphire Elves, the Kami were made victims of a misunderstanding that lumped them in with their creators, deserving of destruction alongside them. So it came to be that over the course of eons the Kami were slowly wiped out until only those on their home continent remained - and with the Advent of the Spirit Kings at the hands of The Six Great Ancestors, they were thankfully spared complete anhillation and given a new lease on life on the newly rebuilt land of Zheng-Kitar. Ever since, they have been slowly expanding their wards, reproducing, and attempting to regrow their numbers - and while most of the untamed wilds of Zheng-Kitar have returned back to the influence of the Kami, much of the rest of the world as well as its more civilized areas have all but forgotten them - and thanks to the ongoing cold war between The Spirit Kings and the Yema, they are victims of a conflict they want no part in - lumped in with their creators and labeled enemies by the Yema, and treated as allies by default by The Spirit Kings, who respect them and treat them with reverence but consider their allegience par for the course, owed to those who created them.Appearance of Kami
Kami exist as ever-morphing spirits rather than souls trapped in concrete forms, and most exist to watch over a single tree, stone, or bend of a stream, and can have no more influence on the world than a single insect. A kami spends the majority of its existence merged with its ward—in this shape, it has no ability to interact with the world at all, but it can observe its surroundings with ease. There is no reliable way to determine whether an object, plant, animal, or location is protected by a kami, so those who travel or live in regions where kami are common generally assume that everything has a kami guardian. The kami do little to dissuade this, since the belief that kami are present is often just as potent a protection as having a kami in the first place. All kami can assume physical form. Most somewhat resemble their ward, but again, in apparent eagerness to baffle and frustrate scholars, this is not always the case. When a kami assumes physical form, it always initially appears adjacent to its ward, manifesting suddenly as if teleporting. It is considered impolite by kami to pop into view, though—most prefer to manifest bodies while hiding, such as behind a tree, then step out of hiding to reveal themselves to those they wish to speak to.Basic Information
Genetics and Reproduction
None know how the Kami reproduce - and many scholars believe the methods of reproduction are in fact unique to each breed of Kami. Some, such as the Fukujin, leave the seeds of bonsai trees in their wake as they move, which in time bud and grow into new trees which attract new Fukujins...while others, such as the Suiijin and Dosojin, mate with others of their kind to somehow produce offspring.
Ecology and Habitats
Kami exclusively inhabit the wild areas of the world - though the specific habitat of each individual Kami can vary between them, they are universally guardians and protectors of nature. Specifics on the environments of the Kami can be found in the 'Types of Kami' section at the bottom of the page.
Biological Cycle
Kami are not known to age in a significant manner - though little research has been done in this department to prove it one way or another. They are believed to be immortal, though they can also somehow 'fall from grace' in some way and either 'die' or transform into one of the terrible and horrifying Oni, demons bent on the destruction and enslavement of all living things.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Kami only have a physical form when they deign to take one, and as such their physical appearances can vary wildly. See 'Types of Kami' at the bottom of the page for more details on their appearances.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Kami are typically found in the untamed wilds and rarely rural areas of Zheng-Kitar and its nearby islands, though some Kami are known to frequent civilization(Such as the Shikigami and Dosojin). The Distribution of each Kami type depends from type to type - refer to the 'Types of Kami' list at the bottom of the page for more info.
Average Intelligence
Kami, even the lowest kinds such as Shikigami, at least as intelligent as Humans, while the more powerful Kami can be greatly and incredible intelligent far in excess of the norm.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Kami do not typically even understand the meaning or purpose of 'names' as other cultures understand them - their type of kami is the closest 'name' they take, though some types of especially Social Kami such as Fukujins(See below for more info) are sometimes inclined to take a name at the request of a close humanoid ally - in such a case, they tend to accept any name that sounds at least somewhat pleasant to their tastes. For especially sentimental Kami such as Blossom Kami, they may treasure a name given to them by a past lover or fond humanoid companion who died long ago.
They watch over us - over the world and its beasts, over nature itself. Our guides, and our guardians - and already, there are people who can't hear them anymore. Even worse, they don't even realize how sad that is. We're killing them. Each city, each wall, each brick - each expansion of civilization done without nature in mind is killing them, like slow but lethal poison. And one day, we'll be all that's left, in a world that's lost its guardians.
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
Unknown - believed to be immortal unless corrupted.
Conservation Status
Kami are somewhat plentiful throughout the continent of Zheng-Kitar and its nearby islands, and tend to be concentrated in its wild and untamed areas(though exceptions exist). Most commoners know about them one way or another, and ALL pay reverence to them at least in passing, but they are extinct and unheard of outside of Zheng-Kitar and its nearby islands.
Average Height
Varies extremely, from barely 1.5ft (.45m) to over 40ft(12.19m). This is specific to their physical forms.
Average Weight
Varies wildly, from 30lbs (13.6kg) to 30,000lbs (13607.7kg) or more.
Average Physique
Kami only have a physical form when they deign to take one, and as such their physical appearances can vary wildly. See 'Types of Kami' at the bottom of the page for more details on their appearances.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Kami only have a physical form when they deign to take one, and as such their physical appearances can vary wildly. See 'Types of Kami' at the bottom of the page for more details on their appearances.
Related Myths
The Birth of New Kami
Further complicating attempts to catalog and categorize kami is the fact that there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to what sorts of wards get specific types of kami. The jinushigami, for example, are a race of kami that associate with all manner of regions, while the kodama concern themselves narrowly with the protection of specific trees. To the kami, these apparently arbitrary classifications make perfect sense, and their attempts to explain the reasoning to others generally result in confused listeners and frustrated kami. One thing that does remain constant, though, is the relationship between a kami’s size and the import of its ward. A kami associated with a knife, frog, or single pebble in a stream would generally be quite small and unimposing, while a kami associated with a mountain, redwood tree, or elephant would be proportionally larger and more powerful. Of course, even here there seem to be exceptions, and frustrated scholars often wonder only half-jokingly whether the gods themselves vary these rules only to cause scholastic arguments and frustration. Kami come into existence either as a spontaneously manifesting spirit or as the reincarnation of a particularly noble soul - Souls of creatures who died to protect an element of nature are particularly prone to returning to life as a kami. In this latter way, many kami arise from the souls of dedicated rangers or druids who perished while defending their homelands, or monks who spent a lifetime meditating on the serenity of nature. Once reincarnated, however, few kami remember any of their former lives, and their forms never resemble their former bodies. The rare kami who do recall their prior lives are the kami most likely to become more than mere guardians—these kami often take class levels and grow quite powerful.
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