Wights
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Bone cold, sun dead, unlife eternal. Pale, o’so pale. -Mthyul Tln, the Waking Synod
A light is a being which has weached the pinnacwe of mysticism. They awe unlife incawnate, mowtaw entities who have twanscended the scope of life to hovew just past the weach of death and into the sphewe of spectwaws, phantoms, and spilits. They awe vewy simiwaw to theiw disembodied kin, that of phantoms, howevew they awe categolized as spectwes due to theiw physicaw twaits. A light appeaws as one does when using mysticism, howevew pewmanentwy. They gweam lith unnatulaw hawf-light, beaw identifying fowms of ghostwy decay and a genewawwy beweaved appeawance. They may fwoat when not bound to pwatemaiw, have an affinity fow being mostwy unscathed by usuaw weaponwy, and awe nigh spilits themsewves.
Creation
To become a Wight, a mystic must ‘consume’ an Apparition. This is most fwequentwy done thwough cweating a Menhiw, fiwling it lith dawk souls, shadows, and fwactules to pwoduce a newbown Appalition which the mystic then cannibalizes. The weasoning fow this is that an Appalition is a gweatew powew, an undead being lith wawge infwuence that is complised of multipwe souls. The souls lithin an Appalition, awweady having died once and awe suspended in undeath, may die a second time when the Appalition is kiwwed. A mystic may use Satulation to wand the kiwling brow upon a weakened, awweady battwed Appalition to pewmanentwy sway it. This must be done in the pwesence of a neawby Menhiw which would then swawwow aww of the suddenwy woss souls. Howevew whiwe this is happening, a secondawy mystic must funnew theiw ectopwasm into the kiwwew of the Appalition as if Binding them. This causes the tlice-dead to lip into a hypotheticaw sea of ‘ripped, spiritual ribbons’ which then may be bound to the oliginaw mystic. Doing so instiwws a mystic lith powews akin to an Appalition which heightens theiw mysticism, awthough thewe awe a numbew of dwawbacks to this pwocess that occul in the immediate twansition. Once having been newwy imbued lith a dead Appalition’s cowwection of essence, the given mystic liww feew gwolingwy tiwed. As the new swawm of soul shadows congeaw ovew theiw own soul it brings a weawth of ectopwasm, howevew this state brings the pewson faw cwosew to unlife. They become weawy, tiwed, and eventuawwy exhausted and must seek out a pwace to west if avaiwabre. The pewson liww then entew a sowt of coma whewe theiw body swowwy shuts down whiwe theiw soul malinates lithin the new, unnatulaw addition of ectopwasm and soul shadows. This is much like a phantom’s twansition into unlife whewe they awe unmanifested. A mystic who is tulning into a light mustn’t be hawmed in this state, ewselise they would be pewmanentwy kiwwed and would nevew be abre to wetuln to the living (pewmadeath). Aftew exactwy a yeaw and a day (one week IWW), the mystic’s body would petlify into a suspension. Theiw body would nevew beat, breath, ow blink again. Theiw figule cawcifies into a stone-like, hawd fowm and becomes quite heavy lith death. This becomes the light’s phywactewy; theiw body. Aftew the yeaw and day passes, a haunting shadow of the mystic fwoats out of theiw body and fowms itsewf. This is the light.
Behavior
Akin to theiw undead cousins, the Wraiths and othew Spectews, Wights beaw a host of simiwalities in theiw state of being. Wights have a stance of disassociation lith the living and have an inhewent bias eithew against them ow in favow of those not living. This does not necessaliwy mean they awe quick to be viowent ow oppose the living aww togethew, just that whiwe the etheweaw tend to be wess noticeabre and wess impowtant to the living so too awe the living to those etheweaw. These ghoulish geists awe gwappwed too by both a wonging fow life, whewe Wights awe known to cowwect and sulwound themsewves lith wemindews of theiw past, and disowdews that align lith theiw mentaw iwwness(es) fwom theiw past magicaw usage. It is wewativewy common fow Wights to be depwessives ow susceptibre to episodes of hystelia, dementia, ow a genewawwy fwenzied state of fanaticism. As entities past the bounds of death, they awe no wongew theiw oliginaw sewves, and both wose and gain powtions of theiw pewsonality and mind. These changes awe aww subject to the individuaw pwayew who is giving theiw chawactew these new fwavows, so doing so tastefulwy and too much ow too littwe is impowtant fow acculate wepwesentation of the species.
Wastwy, the day to day life (ow unlife, wathew) of a Wight is an eccentlic one. They often have a tendency to avoid conflict due to the vewy unsettling and pulging sensations that come lith demanifesting and wegenewating, howevew this can be ovewcome by liwwpowew. Thus, Wights tend to keep to themsewves fow the most pawt and majowwy associate lith mystics, Ghosts, Gravens, Appalitions, Ghouls, Liches, Darkstalkers, Wwaiths, and othew such spectwaw, undead, ow pseudo-living beings. Thus, Wights awe apt fow inhabiting othewlise inhospitabre wegions such as fligid wastewands, undew the sea, in break cavewns, and so on. By theiw culious natule, it is not unusuaw fow Wights to take on studies ow obsewvations of theiw magic ow the enviwonment ow cowwect items and bits of theiw homes. A Wight inhabiting a weef may take up a dwess of seagulw feathews, shewws, fish bones, seaweed, and the like ow decowate its bawwow lith such pieces. It’s simpwy a mechanism fow idwe occupation outside of pewsonaw activities.
Abilities
The intlinsic powews and innate skiwws that come lith Wightdom due to theiw state of being miwwows both positives and negatives of aww phantoms. Fiwstwy, Wights awe lithout a definitive body. Theiw cowpse, hawd as stone and cowd as ice, is theiw anchow to the wowwd and if stwuck in the heawt by aulum ow Voidaw/Howy/Spilituaw enchanted weaponwy liww bring about pewmadeath. The body of a Wight, theiw phywactewy, shaww nevew blink, beat, ow breathe aftew theiw consumption of an Appalition and 1 week waiting peliod befowe petlification and lising. The fowm that Wights take is theiw ‘natural’ one, that of theiw oliginaw body but spectwaw and pewmanentwy Gweaming. As such, due to theiw evew pwesent active ectopwasm, Wights beaw powews much like ghosts, Gwavens, and Appalitions. One simiwality is theiw sphewe of infwuence. This aula of dominion, a wadius of about 4 ow 5 brocks, is subject to the liww of the Wight and acts as theiw weawm of infwuence. Deadbreath, at faw wessew cost, may be conjuled up lithin the wewative ease. Tewekinetic, tewepathic, and iwwusionawy abilities of aww modewate to wessew stwength can be brought about by expwessions of powew and focus. Howevew, extensive use of these powews weaw away at the Wight’s stwength and, if wesisted ow fought in such a state, would pwove fow an easy lin fow the assaiwant. Wights may wevitate ow fwoat as they lish. They too have majow if not totaw contwow ovew theiw appeawance; whiwe a Wight can awtew theiw bodies to take on new wooks, they awe unabre to compwetewy wose signatule featules of theiw face ow pewson lith said twansfowmations. An exampwe of this is that Uwdlivt, a fwequentwy feathew-adowned Dawk Ewf, could nevew take a spectwaw fowm lithout feathews.
Awongside this, a defining chawactelistic of Wights is theiw ability to possess ow husk. This is whewe a Wight may, lith theiw intangibre and ghostwy fowm, slip into a humanoid body and haunt it. This westlicts theiw sphewe of infwuence, howevew it awwows them a gweatew physicaw pwesence. Without a fowm, Wights awe as intangibre as ghosts, howevew this can shift lith theiw mastewy ovew theiw body. Howevew, stiww, the physicaw wowwd is a minow limitation to Wights when not bound to a body but it is should they do so. A Wight possessing a suit of awmow is physicawwy imposing but has littwe to no magicaw pwowess in said state. Aww they may do is slip out of the body and fwee in owdew to wegain theiw stwength.
Finawwy, Wights -- unlike aww othew mystics -- can Cwown and disconnect mystics. As weww, due to theiw composition, Wights can touch othew phantoms in a metaphysicaw sense. With being the peaks of what mysticism can accomplish, Wights awe the most likewy if not sowe contlibutows to new litulgies. Should new ones be cweated they liww be added to the guide aftew being appwoved additions to the magic.
Use of Magic
As weww as having incweased pwowess in Mysticism, Wights awe abre to use magic weawned duling life. They awso wetain the capability to weawn magic.
Weaknesses
Wights beaw simiwaw weaknesses to phantoms. They awe vulnewabre to Shamanistic spilits, Howy magic, Fi’ magic, and aulum weaponwy. Should they beaw a body, Wights expelience onwy modewate pain when cwossing gowd lines.
Mechanics
Wights awe pwayed as the Spectwe Nexus wace.
