In the lands of Hearthmere and beyond, power flows not only through the body but through the spirit.
The most skilled among the tribes can summon spirits — entities that inhabit the natural world, the elements, and sometimes, the very weave of reality.
These spirits can assist, defend, or augment the summoner, but every bond carries cost, risk, and responsibility.
Spirit summoning is graded, not merely by strength, but by the level of control, physical integration, and spiritual harmony a summoner achieves.
Grades of Summoning
3rd Class (Lesser Binders)
Summoners at this grade call upon small spirits — minor elemental or animal-like entities.
These spirits perform simple tasks: carrying objects, influencing a small area, assisting in daily labor, or minor protection.
Binding requires focus and minor offerings (blood, breath, prayer, or minor personal energy).
Physical abilities remain unaltered.
The summoner is largely unenhanced.
Mistakes are minor but can still cause fatigue, spirit backlash, or small injuries.
2nd Class (High Binders)
Summoners at this level command high-class spirits — more intelligent and powerful entities tied to elements, animals, or ancestral memory.
Spirits can enhance physical strength, speed, endurance, or perception.
Summoning is often combined with martial or physical skills: the binder moves faster, strikes harder, or withstands wounds beyond normal limits.
The cost increases: blood, vitality, or mental focus is expended, and summoning for prolonged periods can be dangerous.
Mistakes can cause the spirit to lash out or break the bond temporarily, leaving the summoner vulnerable.
1st Class (Marked Binders)
Summoners in this grade undergo ritual marking — tattoo-like sigils burned or inked onto the body, often in complex, serpentine designs.
They bind high-class spirits, using the markings as conduits to amplify both the spirit's power and their own physical capabilities.
Strength, speed, durability, and sensory perception are vastly enhanced, making these summoners near-superhuman.
Markings are permanent; the spirit's influence is always partially present, a constant hum in the binder's senses.
Mistakes are dangerous: losing control can permanently damage the body or mind.
Special Grade (Spirit-Fused Binders)
Extremely rare.
Only a handful exist at any time in a village or kingdom.
The summoner does not merely command the spirit — they fuse with it, becoming a hybrid of flesh, will, and spirit.
The markings expand and glow when activated, often covering much of the body.
Physical abilities are beyond human, and new senses (spiritual sight, elemental perception, foresight) emerge.
Energy cost is extreme: the summoner is tied to the spirit permanently.
Losing control can destroy both the summoner and the bound spirit.
This is the level of leaders, warriors, and guardians like Chief Momon, Vice Chief Turak, and the third, often wandering, special-grade binder.
Rules of Binding
Spirit Choice – The nature of the spirit determines the potential enhancement.
Fire spirits amplify offense, water spirits enhance defense and perception, ancestral spirits increase wisdom or intuition.
Offering – A summoner must give something tangible: energy, blood, vital essence, or a carefully spoken oath.
The more powerful the spirit, the greater the offering.
Duration – Lesser spirits can be held for hours, high-class spirits for minutes unless the summoner is specially trained.
Risks – Spirits can rebel, overtake the summoner, or vanish if the bond is not respected.
Special-grade summoners are at constant risk of losing themselves to the spirit.
Cultural Codes – Tribes and clans regulate who can summon and how.
Unauthorized use of spirits, especially near other villages, is considered a crime and a provocation.
Notes from Hearthmere
Villages like Hearthmere maintain wards and protective spirits around their borders, often placed by first-grade binders.
Special-grade binders are typically leaders, guardians, or wandering champions — their presence alone stabilizes the village's spiritual defenses.
The Tidebound Head Council consists of the strongest special-grade binders from multiple villages, enforcing law and spirit-balance across the region.