"You are like us now... you are no longer lost, your heart is here in the land. Our souls are buried in the earth and we are just their shadows."
Introduction
Guardians of nature, wayward spirits, haunting specters...
Esk are ghostly nature spirits. They are the result of transformations bestowed upon people or animals who are lost, hopeless, or suffering. They live between worlds — able to take both physical and non-physical forms to appear solid or as an apparition at will. Like ghosts they haunt the location where they lost their past life; their soul merges with the environment and they become a manifestation of the natural features of that location. Once transformed some esk take on a role as guardian of their new home, others become spiteful spirits or tormentors. Esk gain power from their experiences and can use this power to alter their form, increase their abilities, or create new esk.
Most humans only encounter an esk if they are lost and about to be transformed. Esk are secretive and avoid making their existence known to humanity at large. They are like cryptids or ghosts — some people might get glimpses of them or believe in legends, but they cannot be confirmed as real.
How to use this guide
In the Those Who Went Missing game you will be creating artwork and writing to expand your character's powers and create new esk. The information in this guide will help provide a framework for your ideas and help you create and design new esk that fit into the existing lore. The esk canon is always growing, but in order for all players to contribute to the same story some limitations must be in place. Some of the rules in this guide are firm in order to provide necessary limitations while others are flexible or completely open to interpretation — areas that are open for player development will be clearly highlighted.
Be sure to read the top level pages on the navigation bar in addition to the subpages!
You will find some very useful general information by clicking the Worldbuilding, Lore, Form, and Modifications links above. It is best to read the top level page first as an introduction and then proceed to the subpages.
Disclaimer
Concepts in the esk world can be dark and enter the horror genre or touch on heavy subjects like death and loss. Individual artists and writers may submit mature content to the game as long as it is labeled and filtered NSFW.
Esk are ghostly nature spirits. They are the result of transformations bestowed upon people or animals who are lost, hopeless, or suffering. They live between worlds — able to take both physical and non-physical forms to appear solid or as an apparition at will. Like ghosts they haunt the location where they lost their past life; their soul merges with the environment and they become a manifestation of the natural features of that location. Once transformed some esk take on a role as guardian of their new home, others become spiteful spirits or tormentors. Esk gain power from their experiences and can use this power to alter their form, increase their abilities, or create new esk.
Most humans only encounter an esk if they are lost and about to be transformed. Esk are secretive and avoid making their existence known to humanity at large. They are like cryptids or ghosts — some people might get glimpses of them or believe in legends, but they cannot be confirmed as real.
How to use this guide
In the Those Who Went Missing game you will be creating artwork and writing to expand your character's powers and create new esk. The information in this guide will help provide a framework for your ideas and help you create and design new esk that fit into the existing lore. The esk canon is always growing, but in order for all players to contribute to the same story some limitations must be in place. Some of the rules in this guide are firm in order to provide necessary limitations while others are flexible or completely open to interpretation — areas that are open for player development will be clearly highlighted.
Be sure to read the top level pages on the navigation bar in addition to the subpages!
You will find some very useful general information by clicking the Worldbuilding, Lore, Form, and Modifications links above. It is best to read the top level page first as an introduction and then proceed to the subpages.
Disclaimer
Concepts in the esk world can be dark and enter the horror genre or touch on heavy subjects like death and loss. Individual artists and writers may submit mature content to the game as long as it is labeled and filtered NSFW.