Val Halmore

One cannot see themselves as whole without seeing who helped make up ones parts  -- Cultivatist Tenet     A young caller of spirits trying to prove himself so that he can come back home.     Table of Contents Backstory Personality Abilities Skills & Stats Usage Notes Gallery Author's Notes Backstory It was after dinner and Val was helping to clean up along with two others. Everyone else was setting up outside. Tonight was to be an arts night, full of singing, dancing, and crafts to remember some story of some ghost. And like usual Val wasn't having any of it. He had better things to do tonight.   He finishes his work quickly and retreats to the shared library, where he hid out the nightly ceremonies since he was a kid. He logs into one of the computers and checked the directory for any local hauntings. "Val?" Behind him was a specter, a translucent white form with powerful muscles contrasting against his polo and teeth like a field of needles, decorated with dozens of pages compared to the one Val had and kept around his neck. He stood loosely holding a small stack of papers. "Good Evening Spirit Anthony?" "I believe I have an exile for you." Val gets up and takes the papers from the spirit. It's was the series of questions they asked exiles to help them figure what unfinished business they might have holding them in the Inner. This one was already filled out. It seeming to be about a young woman who died in a car accident on her way to work. Despite being dead, many of her answers contained a sense of urgency to finish projects that aren't hers anymore. That she wasn't able to appreciate the rewards they would have brought her. "Well that's an easy one. This won't make a good Fulfillment for me at all. But she wouldn't have to wait long. It would be easy to find someone else to basically join her on a vacation. They just got to remember to remind her that while it's different than if she did it alive, she is no longer bound to the duties of the Inner. That she's free." "Are you sure you don't want to take on this one as well?" "Yes" Anthony narrows the shadowy holes that replaced his eyes just slightly "Very well. Please follow me. Some of us would like to speak to you." --- Six months ago Val was kicked out. The world that Val come from is one one of many creatures. It's quite common to see humans sitting along side orks to elementals to the offspring of distant unknowable creatures of madness and chaos. This only heightened by the fact that the dead walked among them. Specters, ghosts, spirits, all able to visit from the Outer, assuming they didn't get stuck here as an exile. In particular Val is a Ducorpian, someone who believes that death is just the next stage of one's existence and that people shouldn't forced to the Outer just because they're dead. His specific sect being Cultivatist which focuses on how in life you should focus on self actualization so that in death you are not left with regrets that bind you to The Inner. The dead should use their wisdom to help the living accomplish this. The Millet Field Cultivatist Village, where he grew up, like most other Cultivatist communities was quite isolated. The only times he had interacted with outsiders was in public school, meeting with other Ducorpian groups, or through media. They also took the practice very seriously so when Val got kicked for refusing to select a mentor and neglecting to finish his Fulfillment ritual it was disorienting but not surprising. He was left to room with a Basin (someone who lives away from any particular group to help them gather resources they couldn't make themselves. Nowadays that just means money.) by the name of Dean Grosnew in an apartment till he chooses a mentor... Or finishes his Fulfillment if he can find a ghost that meets his expectations... and won't kill him in the process.

Val Halmore In way over his head Aliases/Nickname(s) N/a  Profile Race Human Pronouns | Gender | Sex | Sexuality He/Him | Male | Bisexual Age 21 Weight | Height | Build 186 | 6' | Fit Hair | Eye | Skin Color See ref Distinguishing Features ✦ Necklace with a small glass vial with a piece of paper in it ✦ Small book attached to his wrist ✦ Clothes that clearly looks like they've  been repaired multiple times ✦Scared hands (burns & cuts) Job/Vocation Library Page Hobbies ✦ Reading ✦ Writing Creator Alex Downs

Personality

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Val is a stubborn, stubborn man. He grew up advancing faster than his peers, often feeling unsupported by the people around him. Now he acts like he can't really be told anything and that he knows pretty much everything he needs to know. Of course he'll ask for help for things he couldn't have known better about but doing otherwise would be a waste his and everyone else's time. He has better things to do, mainly trying to become a well known guide of exiles.

It would make sense right? Graduated top of his class, finished all but one of his rites early, and willful enough that even more aggressive exiles aren't much of a problem. His community has never had anything or anyone that could really be called notable. Anytime they made contact with other groups they tend to fade into the background. Wouldn't Val be the perfect solution? Yeah he's not the biggest fan of all the other traditions like having to listen to some old spirit go on about some powerful moment in their history, or sitting around discussing obvious moral lessons, or Ancients Spirits forbid, all the singing and chanting.They're fine but not practical at all and Val doesn't see why he needs to do them.

Otherwise Val is quite a friendly and outgoing person. He tries to be open minded with new people but does tend to make quick judgements about who they might be. Being a curious and observant person, he likes to ask questions and is usually willing to answer them. Possibly too trusting and believes that anyone can become at least a kinda decent person if given the time and right support. If not talking to someone or working he can be found usually reading or on his phone.

Likes

• His Village
• Discovery
• Tutoring
• Discussion
• People
• Cooking
• Handiwork
• Feeling useful in general

Dislikes

• Singing
• Being talked down to
• Working for/with money
• Wasting time
• People getting in his way

Ones That Passed

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The edge a deep maroon with a black cover studded with rubies, each side displaying a bleached white skull engulfed in flame. Post-it notes ingrained between the pages. Red, yellow, green, blue.

There is a small book attacked to Val by a thin metal cord. This is not the "Ones That Passed". It is a stand-in that Val can use to summon his copy of the training version of the  "Ones That Passed", which is a large and ornately decorated book. Val's is covered in many different colored post-it notes. Despite it's size it's remarkably light and if one would take the time to flip though the pages they will come to find it hold many more than it should.

The "Ones That Passed" is a collection of the spirits of their respective community, if they want to be that is. Each page contains descriptions of the spirit from both themselves and people they've trusted and instructions on how to call them to their present location. Called spirits are different from exiled or wandering because they can interact with the world almost as good as they were when they were alive. Unfortunately this way of calling them isn't very stable and if they are not stabilized or dismissed in a few hours the person that called them can collapse.

When called, spirits can be asked for favors (or invited for some polite conversation :) ). The spirit can still deny whatever request given to them. They might not even respond to a call. Called spirits can also later call the person back for a favor (minus the teleportation). The living also can deny the favor but it's probably best not to leave too many favors unanswered.

The book isn't actual needed to preform summons but Val isn't practiced enough to such yet. Anyone else can summon if they know the specific ritual  for the spirit (but they might be suspicious of the new face). If the stand-in it gets lost or damaged Val can make a new one but it will take hours and he'll hate it. This would cause the old stand-in/book to burst into flames once completed.

Val adds the Post-its himself. Their meanings: Blue- "cool person", Green- They owe Val a favor, Yellow- Val owes them a favor, Red- DO NOT CONTACT.

Skills & Stats

Inventory

• “Ones That Passed” symbol
  • see above
• Winter coat
• Suitcase with clothes (left outside)
• $300 dollars in cash
  • He doesn't quite understand the value of money. Will overpay for stuff.
• Three other books he's “been meaning to get to”
• Phone
  • No Signal
• Three of his baby teeth in a glass vial
  • Don't worry about it
• A bag of chalk powder
• A warding charm
  • Can't get possessed while holding it. A powerful enough spirit can break it.
• First aid kit
  • The good kind
• Blank journal
• Several herbs, essential oils, and pens
• Sticky notes
• Lighter
• Clothes pins
• Extra Bandages and alcoholic wipes

✦ General Stats

✦ Strengths

✧ Weaknesses

Quick Thinking quick to make decisions and make connections. Knowledgeable Just kind of a nerd. Strong Willed To the point where if he's still awake he can fight possession if he really doesn't want to do something. Strange World He's not surprised by a lot of strange things. He's probably seen weirder. Ducorpian He has a lot of experience with living among spirits and his community still has his back if he gets in trouble even if they're a bit upset with him at the moment.

Arrogant He often assumes he knows things he doesn't and will not ask for help unless forced to. Sheltered He has only spent a few months living in the “real world” and doesn't 100% know how things work outside of his Cultivatist circle. Especially when it comes to interacting with people with different beliefs/culture. Rushed Often misses important actions in order to get things sooner. Isolation He has never been too far from someone he knew. At most getting to talk to someone was just a drop of blood and some herbs away. He has no way to cope with true isolation. Ducorpian All the spirits he has encountered so far were basically just people but dead now. At worst they used their abilities to try to scare him into leaving them alone. He won't think there was the possibility to actually get hurt by them and thus has no real fear of spirits.

✦ Psychological Stats ✦

Charisma	✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧	Kindness	✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧
Patience	✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧✧	Intelligence	✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧
Confidence	✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧	Perception	✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧
Discipline	✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧	Psych stamina	✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧
Courage	✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧	Caution	✦✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧
Honesty	✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧	Loyalty	✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧
Maturity	✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧	Creativity	✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧
Cleanliness	✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧	Work ethic	✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

✧ Physical Stats ✧

Physical Strength	✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧	Speed	✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧
Magical Strength	✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧	Constitution	✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧
Physical Defense	✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧✧	Dexterity	✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧
Magical Defense	✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧	Stamina	✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧

Usage Notes

As long as it's safe for work I really don't care much.

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Gallery

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[main reference image]

Ones That Passed	[etc]	[etc]

Author's Notes

• Calling a Ducorpian a necromancer or something similar is seen as offensive. Necromancer having the connotation of forcing the dead to work for the caster.
• A body that should be dead but still animate (ie. zombie, skeleton) is an affront to The Veil and deeply disturbing.
• Cultivatists get a lot from outsiders, especially from mainstream(?) religions. That they are violent, cannibals and sacrifice animals. These are not true. (Kinda. These claims do come from somewhere. Ask me if you want more information)
• Val hates the activity of singing in a group. He doesn't hate music.
• The pages of the stand-in are filled with tightly packed lines of arcane characters (called first marks) written in a brown-red ink?
• the dead can "die" again (ask me for more information)
• Pages have to be updated manually and after a few decades spirits can't really be bothered so it's just easier to teach Ducorpian kids the dead/dying languages.
• The Ones That Passed is organized from oldest added to newest. Theoretically should go back to the first Ducorpians. The first several pages are completely indecipherable.

Spirits

The dead. Can take the form of Wandering, Exiles, or Called. Wandering are spirits that visit The Inner from The Outer of their own will. They appear as brief, faint apparitions if visible at all. If they retain the ability to physically interact with The Inner it would be very weak or come about in violent bursts of strength. Exiles are Spirits that never made it to The Outer for some reason. They start off resembling a Wandering but gain for corporeality as they remain in The Inner. The existence of an Exile is believed to be miserable. Gaining all the pain of living in The Inner without The Outer's respite in stability. Keeping the dead's power but with none of the living's adaptability. They tend to grow more distorted and powerful as they stay in The Inner while also slowly going mad. Called are called to The Inner by the living. They can act with fully corporeal if they choose. They need to attach themselves to something and slowly drain it to remain present. Usually this is the person themselves but it can be transferred to an object. Usually this new object begins to deteriorate to nothing if not maintained but a skilled caller can change that cost.

Upon death spirits gain new abilities. There's the common ones like flying, phasing through objects and possession but sometimes they can get extra abilities often relating to their life in some way. Sometimes it's creating magical objects, sometimes new/changed body parts, Sometimes just access to magic they couldn't do while alive. Sometimes these abilities can be passed to the living through full or partial possession.

Symbols: Darkness, Night, Cold, Bone, Autumn, Winter

Living

Well... The living. Thought to be more adaptable than Spirits through experience and physical growth. Presumably you've been alive before so I'm not explaining further right now.

Symbols: Light, Day, Warmth, Blood, Spring, Summer

The Veil

The barrier between The Inner and Outer. Scrambles the memories of spirits passing back to The Inner. Sometimes talked about like an embodiment of death itself IE. "They were taken by The Veil"

Symbols: Twilight, Fire, Autumn, Spring, Lotus

The Outer

The afterlife. Due to the effects of The Veil not much is known about it. Most believe it expands infinitely, Everything exists in pale colors, and all sensations are muted.

Symbols: White

The Inner

The world of the living. Viewed as a small bubble within The Outer. Many believed it was made by the Ancient Spirits.

Symbols: Green, Bubbles

Outsiders

Some believe that The Outer holds not only the spirits of the now dead but also monstrous, powerful creatures known as The Outsiders. They only exist in The Outer and are either entirely malicious or indifferent to the ones sharing the world.

Circle of the Veil

Practitioners believe that The Veil is a fragile thing that must be maintained and protected. The lack of respect to The Veil is why evil exists and if It continues The Veil will break and will cause the end of the world. They usually follow very strict rules and practices from what they can eat to how they dress to how they interact with others. A big one being that spirits should stay in The Outer. To say that Ducorpians and Followers of the Veil historically don't get along would be an understatement.

Symbols: Light, Can sometimes be spotted with their book of morals but most easily recognized by speaking to them. 

Sentanoism

Centuries ago someone had a vision that there will be some great war between spirits and the living with The Outsiders to protect The Inner. Sentanoian nowadays mainly focus on maintaining community strength for the enviable day but overall Sentanoism is split in so many ways it's hard to know what someone believes just by hearing that they are a Sentanoian. It's not unusual to be something else along with being a Sentanoian.

Symbols: belief with a militaristic bend, A dagger wrapped in fabric.

Ducorpism

Symbols: Ducorpians can be recognized through either their charm representing Ones That Passed or through jewelry holding their pages. Often with a bontermitch, A special, decorated, necklace. Cultivatists usually have very striped down bontermitchs and use a lot of plant symbolism.

Will add more later as thing become relevant.

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