Soooo now comes the tricky bit. In the next chapter I'm going to be going into a bit more lore about demons in this setting, which is going to be a little tricky in itself. But luckily I think I've got it worked out, at least as far as this particular kind goes.
The really tough thing I have to work out is how our heroes are going to defeat Kairangi and Tuimana! To do that, they have to know some things about how the demonic pact they forged, the rules involved, etc. Unfortunately I'm still trying to figure a bunch of those details out myself! To defeat them, there's got to be some kind of trick involved. They can't take them head-on in a straight-up fight. I have on idea, but it's a little too... I dunno, bland maybe? I feel like I need to come up with something more clever.
I've already started writing the chapter, and I've got a good 2.8k in so far. But now I'm getting into the part where I need to have some answers about what the rules are surrounding these two antagonists' powers and weaknesses. Going to take some serious mulling over to figure it out, heh.
Following up on this, I want to go into a bit more detail about the lore of the setting that I could really use feedback and suggestions for. But be warned, there are some spoilers for things that will be brought up in the next chapter.
I ended up doing a full write-up on spirits and related things, so I figured I'd share it here. Again, check it out below the read more.
Spirits
Spirits are beings that are anchored in the spirit world, though many of them spend significant time in the mortal world. They vary in power and nature considerably, with the most common spirits being elementals. The most powerful spirits are referred to as gods in the mortal realm, or elder spirits/great spirits in the spirit world. The oldest and most powerful of all are typically referred to as the Ancient Ones.
Ordinarily, spirits change very slowly, if at all. But sometimes mortals begin worshipping or praying to them. This causes them to grow in power and size. Most use this power to expand the territory over which they have influence, further protecting it from chaos, and even bring more spirits into the mortal world to assist them. Some, however, become addicted to this and begin resenting their role in the world. This may lead them to becoming a demon.
The Spirit World
The spirit world is an exotic and beautiful world that exists at least partly alongside the mortal world. It is always in a state of mild flux, but where it contacts the mortal world, it tends to always at least somewhat mirror its shape. If a mortal gains the ability to see into the spirit world, they are initially invariably shocked at its beauty, but may soon find it very disorienting. Mortals also typically cannot fully enter the spirit world as long as they are alive, although powerful uses of soul magic (often referred to as "star" magic in many cultures that are aware of it) can skirt this rule. Notably, jarzin spend most of their teenage years in the spirit world, further growing their impressive familiarity with and mastery over the various mystical energies.
Spirits that spend all or most of their time in the spirit world tend to embody more abstract concepts and seldom directly interact with mortals (except certain kinds, like jarzin). The most powerful of them are often referred to as the Ancient Ones, with the oldest and most mysterious having ties to the creation of the mortal world. A number of them sit on the Spirit Court.
The elemental energies that flow forth from the Spirit World are the primary source of magic in the mortal world- albeit not the only source. The most common magic learned by most mortal species is life magic, due to the fact that life energy already flows through them and is thus the easiest to learn to sense and manipulate. Soul energy is unique in that, although it touches the mortal world, it never fully enters it.
The Spirit Court
The spirit court decides the rules for the spirit world, and casts judgement and punishment upon those that break them. They also settle disputes that may arise between spirits. The court is made up of an ambiguous and ever-changing number of ancient spirits that rarely, if ever, leave the spirit world.
The Primordial Weave
A potent but subtle system of rules and energy underlays the rest of the mortal world, upon which the rest of reality is built. Ordinarily, only the most ancient, powerful, and mysterious spirits lurking in the far depths of the spirit world can interact with this system. But certain ancient rituals can allow others to interact with it in various ways. These rituals are often forbidden and kept secret. This is also how the most common kinds of demons, pact demons and monstrosities, are created.
The strange nature of the Weave, and the fact that it is full of ritual-based loopholes, has led some to note its similarities to Sylthean magic. This gives credence to the theory, however controversial in the spirit world, that powerful Syltheans may have had as much of a hand in the creation of the mortal world as any spirits. The ancient ones are not inclined to answer one way or the other.
Elementals & World Spirits
Elementals and other similar spirits maintain the stability of the mortal/natural world, and protect it from the forces of entropy, demons, and other entities that would seek to unravel it. Most are made up of, and manipulate, a specific kind of elemental energy- fire, earth, stone, water, wind, wood, light, shadow, etc. (Sidenote: the elements themselves, and consequently elemental spirits, may evolve over time, occasionally leading to the splitting off of new elements.)
More powerful elemental spirits may combine two or more elements as they grow in power. Gods in particular often incorporate a number of elements, albeit usually in some kind of thematic manner.
Souls, Ghosts, Revenants, & Echoes
Mortal beings all have souls- even basic animals, though their souls are usually very simplistic and transient. New souls manifest regularly, but not all living beings are born with a new one. Ordinarily, when a mortal dies, their soul moves on to a mysterious, and largely unknown afterlife. But there are exceptions.
(Mortal) Souls
Souls can become damaged in various ways, including strong trauma in life, demonic attack, and chaos magic. This prevents the soul from passing onto the afterlife. As a result, damaged souls instead enter into the cycle of reincarnation, so that they may have a chance to heal. They will automatically heal slowly over a long time, but the process can be sped up in various ways, particularly the opposite of the ways they were damaged in the first place. Love and compassion can aid the healing process, and two or more souls that become linked through special circumstances or magic can share in both healing and damage. Sufficiently powerful soul magic can also heal them, though this has its own risks, depending on the circumstances.
When someone perishes and is sent into the cycle of reincarnation, it may not happen immediately. Instead, they may be held in stasis, not perceiving anything, for years or even centuries at a time before finally reincarnating. Most reincarnation happens within a year or two, however. Longer delays are usually only reserved for special cases, such as when the spirit court decides a character deserves punishment for something they did in life that isn't dire enough to deserve being sent to the hells.
There are three circumstances where a soul will neither pass on, nor enter the cycle of reincarnation- ghosts, revenants, and echoes. It is also possible, albeit rare, for a soul to pass on without their body actually dying, leaving behind an eerie husk.
Husk
A husk is an extremely rare case where a mortal's body lives, yet their soul has been removed or separated from it somehow, usually through either exceedingly powerful soul magic, or chaos magic. Other spirits- particularly demons- may hijack a husk for various reasons, but otherwise they go about life in a cold, instinctive way that lacks emotion. Even most unenlightened mortals can tell something is wrong with a husk. They aren't mindless zombies, necessarily, as they retain all the abilities and skills they had before their soul was stripped away, but they completely lack emotion, or the ability to learn new things. They are technically no longer an individual, but merely an animate accumulation of flesh operating on complex muscle memory. Powerful demons may keep husks around as useful spies and servants, carefully cultivating individuals with the right skills before severing their soul while they sleep.
Ghosts
A ghost is the spirit of a person that has somehow maintained a strong tie to the mortal world. This can happen multiple ways. If their death was particularly traumatic and/or sudden, a fragment of themselves can remain tethered to the mortal world. This is often very disorienting, and can gradually lead to the ghost becoming angry and confused, and more susceptible to corruption. A ghost that lingers too long may become a hungry ghost, convinced that it is still alive and cannot figure out why its hunger is never sated. They may attempt to animate physical objects, either to throw around in frustration, or in hopes that reconnecting to a dead body will allow them to reclaim their life. Finding a way to sever whatever lingering connection they have to the mortal world will allow them to move back into the cycle of reincarnation and find peace.
Revenants
Revenants are similar to ghosts, except their lingering ties to the mortal world are created deliberately, either by themselves or another individual, through powerful magic. This is rare, but occasionally done in an attempt to create an enduring guardian spirit over a particular place or object.
Echoes
By contrast, echoes are the souls of people who became powerful and enlightened users of spiritual/mystical energies in life. With their close ties to the spirit world even before they passed on, they are able to linger in the spirit realm, rather than pass on, and occasionally visit the mortal world again, usually in order to look after or offer guidance to living mortals that they have some kind of connection to.
Demons
"Demon" is technically a somewhat arbitrary title given to spirits who have forsaken or abandoned their duty to the natural world and ties to the spirit world. This can happen in several ways.
Pact Demons
The most common way that spirits become demons is by becoming addicted to the power and energy granted to them by mortal worship and prayer. When ordinary means of acquiring more does not satisfy them, they may seek other sources of power. Some find more potent sources of energy, such as through blood sacrifice. Once that no longer satisfies them, they may figure out an ancient loophole in the fabric of creation from primordial times. The Primordial Weave holds enormous power, but as previously stated, it is usually outside the reach of most beings, and even harder to manipulate. But through a strange loophole, any entity that is somehow anchored in two or more worlds at once may gain the ability to interact with it. In order to take advantage of this, some spirits may find a mortal with similar ambitions and loose morals, with whom they will perform an certain ancient ritual and form a bond with, fusing the two together to a certain degree. This greatly increases their overall power and allows them to twist the rules that govern their domain in certain ways- one common way involves suppressing lesser spirits so that they cannot manifest there, and banishing more powerful spirits to places mortals have difficulty reaching. This process does, however, have one notable vulnerability- during the ritual, the two agree on certain rules; if either individual breaks one of these rules, the pact is severed, explosively. The result often injures both, potentially killing the mortal. The demon is usually quickly apprehended by other more powerful spirits who it is no longer protected against, and sent to Dalzai-Nar. The mortal, if they survive, will likely be subjected to retribution from any other mortals they have wronged, and when they die, they are also destined for Dalzai-Nar.
Monstrosities
Sometimes, when a spirit and a mortal attempt the pact from the previous example, something goes wrong. This often occurs when one or the other is more unstable and attempts to trick the other, usually hoping to most of the power for themselves. The result is a twisted mostly-mortal monstrosity with greatly diminished ties to the spirit world. It often resembles, vaguely, the mortal half of the pair, albeit a very twisted version of them. Their ability to draw life energy from the spirit world is significantly diminished, so they end up becoming violent, deranged monsters in search of any source of life energy they can acquire- usually through blood.
Entropic Spirits
While non-mortal spirits are usually more durable than mortal souls, they are still capable of being damaged by the forces of entropy and potent chaos magic. When this happens, they usually seek out other powerful spirits to link with in order to heal themselves.
However, occasionally, some of the chaotic forces that damaged them seep into their being and corrupt them with various forms of madness. When this happens, they become some of the most dangerous demons in existence. They use their damage as a lure, to trick another concerned spirit into bonding with them, then ensnare them into a trap that steals their purview from them. They then misuse their powers to pursue whatever insane motives their madness has given them. Such is their rarity and power, that each specific kind of broken spirit demon typically has its own name.
Dalzai-Nar
Dalzai-Nar is the most common proper name given to the hells, a twisted place where corrupted spirits and the most wicked of mortal souls are sent. While there, they are forced to experience the suffering they have inflicted on others repeatedly, while attempting to navigate their way back out. They rarely manage to escape, and only leave once their spirit court-assigned sentence has passed, usually after they have long forgotten their former identity. Once their sentence is over, they are cast into the cycle of reincarnation. Spirits sent there are transformed into mortal souls afterwards, then reincarnated as such.