Sept 29, 2021 20:23:06 GMT
[attr="class","APP3"]
The Youmu (妖夢, LIT., "CATASTROPHIC ILLUSION"), as they call themselves, is a family of individuals dating back to the origins of the ninja world. The initial Youmu family was made up of individuals who had sought alternate explanation to the concept and existence of chakra and rather saw it as a connection and outpouring of the spiritual and supernatural world upon the world of the living. That is, rather than believing that chakra was something from within they believed that it's existence and power was chiefly fueled without - the existence of spirits granting individuals their power if only for a time.
These beliefs were so entrenched upon the original family that the entire structure of their jutsu was affected and created around it's principles, and they turned to near occultism to produce results that aligned with their beliefs. The Wisp - or Will-o'-the-wisp, Jack o'Lantern, Ghost-Light, Orbs as it's by others, are seen to be the manifestation of those very spirits that grant them power into the real world. However, even this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of dominance and influence of spirits in the jutsu of a Youmou, as they contact a myriad of other spirits to do their bidding as well, and due to the nature of such can no longer manipulate elemental chakra in a conventional way.
Shiki-no-kami (式の神)
Requirements: ?
First and foremost, it should be noted that the first contacted spirit one has should be submitted from within the proficiency when taken. Jutsu no longer occur via the self and instead via the spirit, that is to say that a fireball would not come from one's own hand but instead the spirits hand, wherever that may be. This tradeoff instead allows one to use particularly obscure, unknown, and powerful jutsu only capable of being done by the spirit themselves. The spirit can only be as strong as the proficiency, and the proficiency itself must tie to a particular Ninjutsu or element (i.e. Fire). This in turn becomes essentially the in place substitute for such, and the youmou may never take another version of that same ninjutsu as a proficiency.
The following is in regards to the capabilities of the spirit itself:
Any Ninjutsu, Any Genjutsu
The Youmou
The Youmu (妖夢, LIT., "CATASTROPHIC ILLUSION"), as they call themselves, is a family of individuals dating back to the origins of the ninja world. The initial Youmu family was made up of individuals who had sought alternate explanation to the concept and existence of chakra and rather saw it as a connection and outpouring of the spiritual and supernatural world upon the world of the living. That is, rather than believing that chakra was something from within they believed that it's existence and power was chiefly fueled without - the existence of spirits granting individuals their power if only for a time.
These beliefs were so entrenched upon the original family that the entire structure of their jutsu was affected and created around it's principles, and they turned to near occultism to produce results that aligned with their beliefs. The Wisp - or Will-o'-the-wisp, Jack o'Lantern, Ghost-Light, Orbs as it's by others, are seen to be the manifestation of those very spirits that grant them power into the real world. However, even this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of dominance and influence of spirits in the jutsu of a Youmou, as they contact a myriad of other spirits to do their bidding as well, and due to the nature of such can no longer manipulate elemental chakra in a conventional way.
Hidoi (切る lit. the Severing): When a child is born of the clan even before they separated from their mother they incur the first portion of the Shiki-no-kami ritual. When the umbilical is severed so too is the spirit, if only briefly, to bask the child in the spiritual world. In this state, intangible and ephemeral, their spiritual body is allowed to flow freely held on only by master practitioner who keeps them grounded to the real world. While they cannot willfully move their physical body it moves with the actions of their spirit and the ritual continues until the baby utters their first cry. It is said that the longer the child is allowed to be in this state the more sensitivity they gain toward spirits, and the stronger practitioner they will become.
Mipei (封 lit. the Sealing): Upon reaching the mental maturity of a toddler (which varies from child to child) a secondary ritual occurs, binding the chakra to the body - and so blocking the individuals tenketsu forever. While chakra still flows throughout the network no longer does it exhume from points, but rather one singular point, the heart and only under specifying conditions. Should the Youmou 'summon' a spirit an intrinsic link is created between the spirit and individual, forming an invisible (to the naked eye), intangible, and unbreakable temporary conduit for the passing of spiritual energy between the two emanating from the heart.
Yoyaku (予約 lit. the Contract): When the individual reaches their tenth birthday, they are given instruction on how to contact and contract the spirits. By entering a state similar to that which occurred in The Severing, they offer up part of themselves to whichever spirit heeds their call. While almost always this first contact and contract is to a spirit that is nothing but generic such as a wisp, it marks the first step into adulthood. Similar to the first ritual, the 'stronger' the spirit contracted by the individual the 'stronger' the Youmou is said to be. Less than often when an extremely powerful spirit is contracted early, they may appear only partially, in different form, or obscured. Contracts themselves are just that and it is not uncommon for one Youmou to have multiple contracts at once and multitudes in their lifetime.
Ketsu (稇 lit. to Bind): After a few days when the connection is stabilized the final process begins. The Youmou and spirit together pick an object together - usually something of meaning to both, and a ritual is performed to bind the spirit to the object. This ritual allows the spirit passageway into the world via said object, with the Youmou's own chakra as fuel. Though in practice the object can be anything, a few rules were discovered upon attempting the ritual over the generations. The object must occupy an area no smaller than an average adult males fist, though the exact shape of the occupation of this area doesn't matter. When performing jutsu this object must be within a small distance from the Youmou, though it does not matter how - nor does there need to be any physical touch between the two. The object has no bearing upon the area where the spirit may move, but if any of the previous things are not satisfied the spirit is immediately banished until the are once again completed. Finally, due to the inextricable connection between the object and spirit, damage that occurs to said object is damage that occurs to the spirit. Should it be destroyed completely, so too is the spirit.
Kekkei Genkai / Hijutsu
Shiki-no-kami (式の神)
Requirements: ?
First and foremost, it should be noted that the first contacted spirit one has should be submitted from within the proficiency when taken. Jutsu no longer occur via the self and instead via the spirit, that is to say that a fireball would not come from one's own hand but instead the spirits hand, wherever that may be. This tradeoff instead allows one to use particularly obscure, unknown, and powerful jutsu only capable of being done by the spirit themselves. The spirit can only be as strong as the proficiency, and the proficiency itself must tie to a particular Ninjutsu or element (i.e. Fire). This in turn becomes essentially the in place substitute for such, and the youmou may never take another version of that same ninjutsu as a proficiency.
The following is in regards to the capabilities of the spirit itself:
Rookie: This is the stage at which all Youmou begin their journey, often with a generic spiritual contract - usually to a wisp. The spirit is never substantial and as such is essentially intangible. It cannot interact with its physical surroundings outside of cast jutsu, nor can it venture very far from the individual who called it. It has very limited if any spark of intelligence beyond that of a drive towards it's nature that is instinctual. It cannot speak or give the youmou any real intelligible signs. Just as a rookie user of Katon cannot do much more than light a simple match, so too a rookie spirit do no more than light a match, and so on.
Apprentice:
Journeyman:
Veteran:
Master:
Grand Master:
Suggested Proficiencies
Any Ninjutsu, Any Genjutsu