"Mortals are immortals and immortals are mortals, the one living the other's death and dying the other's life..."
— Heraclitus
— Heraclitus
Transformations
All esk are created from Transformations.
Transformation occurs when a person or animal enters an esk's domain and becomes lost beyond all hope of recovery. They can be physically lost and unable to find their way out, or they can be lost in other ways like approaching death, passing away, losing their mind or grasp of reality, giving up on life or losing their purpose, forgetting who they are or loss of identity, or by getting trapped somewhere — any form of devastating loss summons an esk to give them a transformation.
Esk can sense this distress and will approach these lost souls when they are at their weakest and most troubled to perform the transformation which turns this human or animal into a new esk. After they are transformed an esk will not have a complete memory of who they once were. All esk experience a different level of remembering; some remember a large amount of memories from their old life while others will forget that they were ever anything other than an esk. Either way there will always be something missing as a part of them is taken away during the transformation; some individuals spend their time as an esk seeking this lost truth about themselves.
The lost human or animal can experience a bodily transformation (be changed into an esk without their soul leaving the body) or they can have a spiritual transformation (be changed into an esk after their death but before the soul has departed, in this case the original body is left behind). Spiritual transformations tend to be more disturbing to the recipient; they often feel that they have unfinished business from their past life or that they are trapped somehow.
All esk are trapped, in a way. When they are transformed a part of their core self sinks into the Earth and forms an energetic anchor. Their power and immortality is linked to this anchor and shaped by the environment it rooted into. They are subtly tethered to the location and they will have greater wholeness in their manifestation and abilities when they are near this area. Some esk develop a deep, heartfelt connection with the site of their transformation (the "boundary") while others feel burdened or overcome with urges to roam. There are ways for an esk to anchor themselves in other lands but it requires the help of other esk. This will be discussed in other sections of this guide.
Every time an esk performs a transformation they are drained of some of their energy and will need to recharge. Additionally, after performing a transformation an esk receives a gift from the Earth. The most common gifts are crystals and receiving crystals after giving transformations is the only way for an esk to manifest this type of nature feature. Other gifts include various minerals and natural ephemera like feathers, fossils, and shells. Crystals earn the most reverence; an esk that carries crystals is showing others proof of their power and transformative ability, for some this is a badge of honor.
An esk cannot naturally pass away like organic life as they are immortal. They cannot get sick like how humans may catch a cold; instead, esk can get "soul sickness" where they can get depressed, slow-moving, or feel malaise based on their poor emotional state. An esk will still remain immortal through their soul sickness. However, there is one way for an esk to give up their immortality and that is through a transformation. An esk can give up their form by requesting a final transformation from another esk. This final transformation will leave a mark in their environment that holds their memory - a strange relic, a patch of plants that relate to the nature features of their form, some kind of phenomenon, or a subtle essence.
Abnormal transformations create unique esk.
Abnormal transformations occur when an inanimate object, organic matter, mineral, fungus, or plant receives a transformation, or when an esk receives a second transformation.
There is more information about Abnormals in other sections of this guide.
Transformation occurs when a person or animal enters an esk's domain and becomes lost beyond all hope of recovery. They can be physically lost and unable to find their way out, or they can be lost in other ways like approaching death, passing away, losing their mind or grasp of reality, giving up on life or losing their purpose, forgetting who they are or loss of identity, or by getting trapped somewhere — any form of devastating loss summons an esk to give them a transformation.
Esk can sense this distress and will approach these lost souls when they are at their weakest and most troubled to perform the transformation which turns this human or animal into a new esk. After they are transformed an esk will not have a complete memory of who they once were. All esk experience a different level of remembering; some remember a large amount of memories from their old life while others will forget that they were ever anything other than an esk. Either way there will always be something missing as a part of them is taken away during the transformation; some individuals spend their time as an esk seeking this lost truth about themselves.
The lost human or animal can experience a bodily transformation (be changed into an esk without their soul leaving the body) or they can have a spiritual transformation (be changed into an esk after their death but before the soul has departed, in this case the original body is left behind). Spiritual transformations tend to be more disturbing to the recipient; they often feel that they have unfinished business from their past life or that they are trapped somehow.
All esk are trapped, in a way. When they are transformed a part of their core self sinks into the Earth and forms an energetic anchor. Their power and immortality is linked to this anchor and shaped by the environment it rooted into. They are subtly tethered to the location and they will have greater wholeness in their manifestation and abilities when they are near this area. Some esk develop a deep, heartfelt connection with the site of their transformation (the "boundary") while others feel burdened or overcome with urges to roam. There are ways for an esk to anchor themselves in other lands but it requires the help of other esk. This will be discussed in other sections of this guide.
Every time an esk performs a transformation they are drained of some of their energy and will need to recharge. Additionally, after performing a transformation an esk receives a gift from the Earth. The most common gifts are crystals and receiving crystals after giving transformations is the only way for an esk to manifest this type of nature feature. Other gifts include various minerals and natural ephemera like feathers, fossils, and shells. Crystals earn the most reverence; an esk that carries crystals is showing others proof of their power and transformative ability, for some this is a badge of honor.
An esk cannot naturally pass away like organic life as they are immortal. They cannot get sick like how humans may catch a cold; instead, esk can get "soul sickness" where they can get depressed, slow-moving, or feel malaise based on their poor emotional state. An esk will still remain immortal through their soul sickness. However, there is one way for an esk to give up their immortality and that is through a transformation. An esk can give up their form by requesting a final transformation from another esk. This final transformation will leave a mark in their environment that holds their memory - a strange relic, a patch of plants that relate to the nature features of their form, some kind of phenomenon, or a subtle essence.
Abnormal transformations create unique esk.
Abnormal transformations occur when an inanimate object, organic matter, mineral, fungus, or plant receives a transformation, or when an esk receives a second transformation.
There is more information about Abnormals in other sections of this guide.
