The Winds of Life and Death
God-Like Nature Spirit
At a Glance:
This powerful spirit, as it’s name suggests, is actually several spirits that speak with one voice, and act with one purpose. These are the cold winds which blow down from the north and play across Yunshan’s western mountains, blanketing them in dense snow each winter. The howling Winds are one of the truely god like powers in Yunshan, and the territory they influence is vast.
Skills and Powers:
The Howling Winds can suppress the use of magic in any part of their domain if they wish to punish offenders. This does not mean a special prayer need be offered up by spell casters, nor does it mean the Howling Winds necessarily even notice when spells are cast in their realm, only that they can suppress it if they have a reason. The Howling Winds is one of few spirits that has the power to bring back the dead, and have done so in many legends. Most notably, they Brought back Tealia as their champion to banish the evil spirits that had come to haunt the Howling Winds Monastery.
Purpose and Goals:
Who can know what the Howling Winds want. In the spring, summer, and autumn, they re one of the spirits most likely to ignore offerings, and ignore great offenses. They are simply aloof and rarely interact directly with the world. In the winter, the reverse is true. No one dares travel across the western ranges of Yunshan without making costly offerings to them, and no one dares make a move which would offend them.
Orders and Allies:
-Once the Howling Winds Monastery housed a small cult of monks who praised this particular spirit, and had an entire philosophy based around it…but it was destroyed, and only time will tell if the Howling Winds Monastery is ever restored to what it was, or becomes something else. The Howling Winds seem to be the baddest spirit on their block, though this is balanced out by a weakness in 3 seasons out of the year.
-Many spirits who also live in their realm are subservient to them in some way. The Light in the Wind is one such spirit, though legends say he bows down to the Howling Winds begrudgingly. Each summer he rebels, sending terrible thunder storms across the mountains, only to be silenced and subdued each winter by the unstoppable power of the Howling Winds.
-The Ghostface Hobgoblins praise the Howling Winds as a god, and make great offerings to them on the cusp of each winter, hoping to avoid the worst of their wrath.
Enemies and Rivals:
-The Light in the Wind is both ally and rival
-Lao Zheng. The Howling Winds Hate Lao Zheng, most believe because he harbors undead in his stronghold, which is right at the edge of the Howling Winds reach, as if to taunt and annoy them.
-The Howling Winds particularly hate the undead, and can sense their presence. In winter, the Howling Winds have been known to unleash terrible storms, in protest of some undead being taking root in their territory. Most undead are not phased by cold and weather, so these acts of nature’s rage are more of a temper tantrum than a solution, and are more likely to hurt the living in the given area! The Howling Winds can keep these relentless storms up year round, visiting icy wrath upon a small region in their area of influence until some mortal hero steps up to destroy the undead menace.
Background:
Who knows…
Rumors:
-The Wujen Lao Zheng makes wild boasts that he destroyed one of the Howling Winds and claimed a part of their domain for himself. High on a mountain, where the slain spirit once resided, he built his cold city of the dead, welcoming all Gaki to live there in peace if only they will serve him. This is a wild boast that most good priests pass off as an impossible lie, but most wu jen believe it, and fear Lao Zheng!
Spirit Info
Focus: (The sacred spot that binds the spirit its domain)
Unknown
Blessings: (Small boons spirits bestow upon the people they like that live in their domain)
-Ability to extend temproary protection from spell damage (as he did for Tealia in the battle with the Light in the Wind)
Favors: (More powerful boons, usually one use spell like abilities a spirit can bestow upon a champion. These even work beyond the spirits domain)
Unknown
Mark: (A powerful, permanent magical effect a spirit gives to one whom it has formed a special bond with, very powerful stuff!)
-Confers energy resistance cold 10
Domain Powers: (Other special powers a spirit can exorcise in its domain)
-Control of weather
-Ability to suppress all magic above 1st level
-Ability to sense undead
-Ability to bring back the dead!
Ire! (Not to be confused with “Irie” the opposite of blessings…bad things a spirit can do to you if you piss it off)
-Howling Winds can certainly bring a storm down on those it despises, more specific consequences are unknown
Other Lore: (Weaknesses and other things most would not know about the spirit)
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