WIP Qinanima

Overview

Qinanima (Kin-an-eema) is one of the oldest Disciplines on Idalos, stretching as far back as history can recall, and beyond. As long as there have been mortals, be it the Shay or Humans, Qinanima has existed. It was named by the Shay, and is one of the few words to have survived into the languages of Idalos. Qinanima is the communing and interaction with Ghosts through rituals. It is a practice whose inception is free from the touch of Immortals, predating them as it does.

Qinanima has never been a Discipline that has been standardized, and many of its practitioners (Qina for singular, Qin for plural) throughout time have said to do so is both impossible and dangerous. This is contributed to by a few factors. The first of which is that every Qina has their own perspective of the discipline, has their own personal rituals and practices, and it requires a personal bond of Qina to the discipline. The second of which is that the Qin are divided into two types, the Pure and the Touched. The final factor is that the Pure and the Touched are opposite ends of the spectrum from one another, often at odds with other in belief and in practice.

At Qinanima’s core, it is the practice used to affect Ghosts in ways beyond what non-practitioners can achieve. While the mundane might be able to use salt, copper, and funerary bells to combat or placate Ghosts, Qinanima use their entire world and being to affect them. Through personalized rituals, the Qinanima can alter the senses of themselves, of others, of the Ghosts themselves.

These rituals involve the binding of the Ghost and the Qin, the Beneath and the mortal world, the binding of life and death itself. While every ritual has many differing techniques and materials involved, in all instances, the blood of the Qin is incredibly prevalent. The Qin often open up their own skin to use their blood in rituals, and because of this, it has received an ire from many cultures throughout history. Many people simply cannot understand the mutilation of the body in order to work with another’s soul.

Pure vs Touched

Every individual on Idalos falls into one of three categories; the Neutral, the Touched, and the Pure. The majority of people fall into the category of Neutral, unaware of their condition or that there even are other states. Those that are not Neutral fall into the other two extreme minorities, often dictated by events in their lives, or the lives of their parents.

Often a person will find themselves experiencing the supernatural. This occurs in many ways, from being haunted by the ghost of a brother to becoming lost within the Beneath to having died and returned back to life. Regardless of the individual situation, a heightened connection with ghosts is required in order to effectively use Qinanima.

While not yet discovered by any researcher on Idalos, it is the Beneath that gives the power to Qinanima. Every single Qina has had their bodies charged with the same energy that allows the Beneath to exist, as well as helps give power to Ectoplasm. Some have theorized that Qina can manipulate Ectoplasm themselves, but this is not the case. The power given to the Pure and the Touched is polarized, putting each Qina into the category of one or the other, similar to a negative or positive charge in a magnet.

The Pure appear to have received the influence from the Beneath that allows them to protect themselves and other mortals from ghosts. These Qin often deal in rituals that will prevent ghosts from entering homes, forcing ghosts back into the beneath, exorcising possessed people, and helping those who have been harmed or otherwise negatively affected by ghosts.

The Touched have received the influence from the Beneath that allows them to aid and utilize ghosts, and to protect them from mortals and other harm. The rituals of these Qin will often aid ghosts in haunting locations, strengthening a ghost's ectoplasm, bringing ghosts in from the Beneath, and helping to restore ghosts that have been damaged or otherwise negatively affected.

And while the different types of Qin work in different ways, this does not control the mindsets of them. Regardless of type, a Qinanima can always apply their powers to themselves and to objects without souls. However, the powers of the Pure can only be directed toward a living person. Inversely, the powers of the Touched can only be directed toward a ghost.

And, it is known that a Qinanima can go through an intense ritual to switch from Pure to Touched and vice versa. This ritual is incredibly dangerous, as it spans several trials while within the Beneath, requires an extremely high amount of the Qina's blood. And so few Qin have gone through the ritual in history, there is very little information on it.

The 5 Point Creation

In order to use the abilities, the Qina must follow one of very few rules in Qinanima. The discipline of Qinanima requires five points in the creation of an Homage. The theme of five runs through the whole process and this has been the cause of a lot of speculation among historians as to the importance or symbology of the number five for the Shay. .

The five point creation requires each of the following.

An Element

To bind to the mortal world (Qinanima recognizes five elements: Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Life)

The Elements used in Qinanima are the elements of old and are broad, and open to interpretation. But they must be physical and real and present in the ritual. Earth is of the land, of the soil, of rocks and minerals. Air is of the wind, of the breeze, the storm, of the voice, of the sky. Fire is of the blaze, of the heat, of the lava, of the sun. Water is of the rain, of the stream and river, of the lake and pond, the seas and oceans, the sweat on one’s brow, the ice of the tundras and mountains. Life is of the plants, the animals, the insects, the people.

A Connection to the Ghost

To bind to the Beneath (choose between the following: Anchors, Ectoplasm, Memory of the Ghost, Aspects of their life or blood from someone of importance to the ghost)

The connection to the Ghost is pivotal in the ritual to create the Homage. It personalizes the Homage, allows the Homage to be targeted toward the desired Ghost. Without this, the Homage will call any and all Ghosts to the Qina’s location, turning the Qina into a buffet.

An Emotion

To connect the souls (A song of happiness, a dance of wrath, words written of lust, the choices here are endless and the emotion may be expressed in any way appropriate to the Qina.)

The emotion giving off serves to connect the Qina’s soul to that of the Ghost’s. Ghost’s feed on emotions, and the stronger the better. Emotions affect Ghosts in drastic ways, often swinging heavily based on how their obsession translates the emotions.

Death

To bridge the divide (Death is highly personal thing and thus, there are as many ways to represent death as there recipients of it. Some examples include: sacrificing a chicken, performing the ritual in a graveyard, using a loved one’s ashes)

Blood

To connect it all together and bind it to life. Blood from the Qina is always required, but blood from those the Qina wishes to protect, or blood from the body of the ghost can be used to supplement it as well.

The Connection to the Senses

The 5-point creation builds up the influence of Qinanima, but it must now be focused. It is focused in one of the five senses, again though, this is done symbolically. The effects will be focused through this step and so it is vital that the Qina consider it carefully. Some of these effects can be quite literal in the use of the sense, but not all shall be so.

Taste

Taste is the first sense a Qina can alter with Qinanima, learning it upon discovering they have access to the skill. The Pure can alter this sense in themselves and in mortal beings. This often manifests itself in

What we wrote was: Novice: Taste (Identifying, speech/mute/translate, emotions)

Competent: Smell (Detection/Tracking, Memories,

Expert - sight - see em - they see you - or invisible to.

Master Hearing - Telepathy,

Master Touch - physical manifestation / armor / whatever

Do we want to have more than one sense open at each level or more like this:

Focusing happens in a hierarchy, with individual senses becoming available to the Qina as they progress in competency of the skill. The hierarchy is as follows:

Taste: The sense of taste allows the Qina to sense Ghosts or for them to sense / not sense mortals. This is about detecting subtle changes, often leaving a metallic taste in the mouth. Note that, this is not about seeing or being seen, but it is more like that sensation one gets when sensing that the door is about to be knocked, that someone is staring at you etc.

Smell: Taste and smell are inexorably linked and, as the Qina sense of smell develops, so too does their sense of taste increase. With these two senses available as foci, the Qina is able to sense presences but also to note nuances of emotions and so on. With both senses unlocked, the Qina becomes either a bloodhound who can sense and hunt ghosts or, ironically, a ghost to them - foiling their usual ability to seek out mortals.

The Desired Effects

Competency