Season Spirits

Regardless of whatever religion the inhabitants of Litvantar believe in, the majority of them actively pay homage to the Season Spirits. Like their name suggests, these spirits represent the seasons and control them. They have no overseer; despite their fairly negative temperaments, they understand the concept of balance and are wise beyond their years.

The Season Spirits are powerful in their own right, as they each represent an element of Litvantar and therefore control said element. All of them take on humanoid appearances when materialising, but none of them appear normal in any way. None of their races are rcognisable (save for the Spirit of Winter).

Even if people do not believe in the Spirits, they are still warned to respect the seasons. The four Spirits are not in any way kindly; perhaps varying degrees of compassion, but that sort of treatment must be earned and not requested for.

The Spirit of Spring, the Lifegiver
Representing the element of Earth, the Spirit of Spring takes on a diminutive appearance when materialised, and is gender neutral. For ease, this Spirit is often referred to as "she" due to her green, pink and white colouring and slender, curvaceous form.

She often looks fairly innocent, almost child-like, but the one thing that strikes people are her red eyes. Her appearance is like a cross between a rabbit and an insect (possibly a bee), and has a thick coat of fur. With a long, prehensile tail, she is known to be a very good runner and can command all plants to her will. She has red gems set into her shoulders.

Temperament-wise, the Spirit of Spring is possibly the most kindest of the four. She speaks with a soft voice and has often granted wishes. As a Lifegiver, she is often giving offerings to appease her and most likely help people, especially farmers who are looking to have good harvests and no ill befalling their livestock.

When battling, she transforms into a slender, tall version of herself with a diamond halo, and uses fans to fight. She is considered a battle dancer.

The Spirit of Summer, the Rainkeeper
Representing the element of Water, the Spirit of Summer is seen as male. His appearance is that of an elf, but with great antlers that have golden jewellery dangling from the horns. He is often seen with long green embroidered robes that hide the rest of his body save for his hands, and has facial markings akin to that of animals. Set in his forehead is a green gem.

Despite his rather plain appearance, the Spirit of Summer has very large clawed hands - the claws can be seen hanging out of his long sleeves, and are usually brown with black tips. It is usually easy to tell if the Spirit of Summer has been passing through the forest - the ground is wet and there are small scored marks on the trees from his claws. In his usual appearance, he has the ability to teleport; sighting him is very difficult. He is said to be omniscient.

The Spirit of Summer is considered the most aloof of the four Spirits. He prefers being alone with animals, trees or by himself. He is paid tribute to as the Rainkeeper, as his power over water is much sought after by all. He can give water to those who thirst for it, but he can also take water away from those who abuse it. He is very biased for nature, and will punish anyone who dares desecrate the world's fauna and flora without a good reason.

When in battle, the Spirit of Summer becomes more animal-like (usually a tiger with horns) and fights with a staff. He is considered a magic user.

The Spirit of Autumn, the Guardian
Controlling the element of Fire, the Spirit of Autumn takes on the appearance of a feathered woman dressed in the hues of the flames. Her clothes can appear elaborate or skimpy depending on her mood. She has short hair, with long fiery feathers. She has the hind legs of a dragon and the wings and tail of a phoenix.

She gives off a radiant aura of warmth that fades if she is upset. She prefers deep purple gems as part of her jewellery and has one such gem on her chest, between her breasts. Despite her warm presence, many do not ever wish to anger her, and the men stay away from her no matter how seductive she looks. When she speaks, she has a melodic, pleasant voice. She has the ability to fly.

In accordance with her element, she is a quick-tempered and fickle individual. She is given tributes as the Guardian, as she can be relied upon to protect anything - but abusing her or her power can incur her hotblooded wrath. Because of her fickle nature, it is a sort of gamble when it comes to asking her for help and most of those who ask usually tread very carefully when dealing with her.

In battle, the Spirit of Autumn unleashes a more harpy-like appearance, being able to use her usually harmonious voice as a weapon like a banshee's, or to lure enemies to their doom. She wields a shield and a scimitar, and is considered a melee fighter.

The Spirit of Winter, the Bringer of Death
With his power over Air, the Spirit of Winter appears as a human. He wears white, with black armour and long black hair tied in a high ponytail. His skin is pale, almost bluish, and his lips stark red against his skin. He is not very tall compared to the other Spirits.

Wherever he walks, a chill will seep into the atmosphere and the surroundings will darken. Anything he touches will have frost on it by morning; anywhere he walks there will be snow. His hands have ice blue gems set into the backs; if he so wishes, he can freeze anything just by holding it. He speaks with a harsh, low growl. It is usually hard to find him because he has the ability to merge into the shadows.

The Spirit of Winter is considered the cruelest and most unforgiving Season Spirit. He is cynical, elitist and proud, not to mention violent. He's said to not get along well with the other Spirits, generally because his rather bitter outlooks often clash with their sense of fair justice to all. Despite his ruthlessness, he keeps in mind the importance of balance and never does anything unnecessary or extravagant (unlike the others, who don't mind exhibiting their powers for their own whims). Sometimes, people get through his cold exterior, for even this Bringer of Death still has a shard of compassion within his icy heart.

In battle, the Spirit of Winter utilises the shadows to fight alongside him, able to use fear as his companion. He uses an East Asian spear, and is considered an assassin.

Origins
It's unclear as to how or from where these Spirits originated. None of their races can be identified as Litvantarian in any way. It has been suggested that their races may have been the original races that came to live in Litvantar in the young days of the world, but eventually died out. Barring the Spirit of Winter, they are just plain unrecognisable and cannot be traced through history.

It's also been suggested that the Spirit of Winter was originally a human who had loved, lost and left to die - possibly a human soldier. He has never wished to touch on the topic and immediately leaves if anyone tries to bring it up.

Exactly where the loyalties of these Spirits lie is also a popular debate. All of them support the Litvantarian inhabitants by granting wishes, even if very rarely, and yet they are just as destructive when angered. Some suggest that they only care for the world in the long run, but their behaviour regarding people who come them in times of need often throws this point off-course.

Shamanism
Part of the Rinmoria shaman training involves communicating with each of the Spirits in the Terra Spiritus astral plane. Fully qualified shamans do communicate with them, but not as often as they would for others because of the Spirits' rather volatile natures. One task of a shaman's job is to relay wishes to the right Spirits in the occasion that they might grant them; it's not common for a shaman to do this unless in desperate times.

Shamans don't like to anger these Spirits, as they are immensely powerful and are not afraid to use their powers.