New World, inside a forest somewhere.
Beneath the gray sky, a vast expanse of white mist permeated the quiet forest. Everything was peaceful and silent in this faint mist, and two figures walked within it.
Both were young men with yellowish-brown skin. One had loose black hair and wore loose clothing cobbled together from animal hides and thickened cloth tied to his body. An eagle feather was tucked into the headband tied around his head, and his face was painted with simple colors. This was Kapak of the Tupa tribe.
Walking beside him was a young man of a similar age. The difference was that he wore no headdress and his hair was much shorter. Around his neck was a necklace made from animal fangs.
Stepping on the thick fallen leaves in the forest, the two youths walked together. The slightly older youth next to Kapak looked around several times, then turned his head and spoke to Kapak.
"Kapak, after this Spirit Offering, your accumulated Spirituality will be close to the point where you can advance, right? After a few more times with Spirit Sight, you'll also be able to see essences and Lord Black Hoof."
Listening to the older youth's words, Kapak smiled slightly, then continued speaking with a respectful tone.
"To be honest, honored Banu brother, after the last Spirit Offering, my Spirituality was already sufficient for advancement. Just the day before yesterday, Teacher Uta already held the ceremony for me, allowing me to officially become a Seer. I think this time when I go to hold the Spirit Offering, I will truly be able to see Lord Black Hoof. I have waited for this day for a long time."
Kapak smiled and spoke to Banu, who was beside him. Hearing Kapak's words, Banu was slightly startled. After a moment of stunned silence, he spoke with an astonished tone.
"You've already advanced to Seer? That's amazing! Kapak, if I remember correctly, it's only been a little over a month since your tribe's Uta took you as an Apprentice, right? And you've already advanced? This is much faster than I was! How did you do it?"
Looking at Kapak, Banu spoke with a look of surprise and astonishment, while Kapak smiled and replied humbly.
"It's nothing, this is also thanks to your recent care, Banu brother, helping me become familiar with the Spirit Offering ceremony, which made my first one very successful."
"Spirit Offering? Kapak brother, don't joke. The Spirituality accumulated from the one Spirit Offering I took you to is definitely not enough to advance to Seer. Tell me the truth, did Uta learn about other Wilderness Spirits? Do you usually participate in the Silence rituals of other Wilderness Spirits? And obtain Spirituality from them?"
"Not at all..."
Banu continued to press Kapak with questions. Listening to Banu's questions, Kapak just responded to Banu with an noncommittal tone. Hearing Kapak's tone, Banu also determined that this kid must be holding Spirit Offerings with several Wilderness Spirits simultaneously, having sources of Spirituality he didn't know about.
"Hey, Kapak brother, you're accumulating Spirituality so quickly, Uta must have told you the location of new Wilderness Spirits, right? I took you to hold the Spirit Offering before, now you should also take me to find the locations of other Wilderness Spirits. Could it be that Uta told you not to tell others?"
Banu asked Kapak with an urgent tone, while Kapak explained in response.
"It's not like you think, Banu brother. The only Wilderness Spirit around our tribe is Lord Black Hoof. Neither I nor Teacher Uta know of any other Wilderness Spirits nearby. The reason I accumulate Spirituality quickly is because I have high affinity for Spirituality. When meditating in this context, the term refers to something related to wild/untamed spirits/powers., it's easier to attract essences to resonate with me. My Spirituality has been able to accumulate quickly largely thanks to the essences."
Kapak explained to Banu. Banu nodded silently after listening, then spoke.
"I see... I also heard my teacher say before that some people are naturally more affine to spirits and can accumulate Spirituality quickly, but I had never seen it before. I didn't expect Kapak brother to be someone with this kind of constitution. I finally saw it today, I'm really envious."
Thinking, Banu said this to Kapak, and Kapak also responded with a smile.
"It's nothing, it's also thanks to the help of Teacher Uta and you, Banu brother, that I was able to advance so smoothly..."
Just like that, Kapak and Banu talked as they walked forward, heading towards the place where they usually held Spirit Offerings.
Since the last "Spirit Expulsion" incident, Kapak was taken as a disciple by the tribe's Old Shaman Uta and officially taught the way of the Shaman. During this time, Uta taught Kapak the traditional method of accumulating Spirituality on the Shaman path, the Seer method.
The so-called Seer method is a way of accumulating the Spirituality of "Silence" through communication and resonance with spirits. This usually requires offering sacrifices to spirits. After pleasing the spirits, one resonates with the spirit that has consumed the sacrifice during meditation. In this resonance, the Spirituality contained within the spirit flows to oneself.
In the context, the term refers to something related to wild/untamed spirits/powers. of the New World, many people or animals do not immediately disappear after death but transform into essences wandering in this context, the term refers to something related to wild/untamed spirits/powers.. A Shaman who wants to accumulate Spirituality needs to bring offerings, go into this context, the term refers to something related to wild/untamed spirits/powers. at night, set up an altar facing the essences, attract the essences with offerings, resonate with them as they enjoy the offerings, and obtain Spirituality during the resonance.
This is the basic application of the Seer method, which is resonating with essences to obtain Spirituality. However, the Spirituality obtained this way is not much. Therefore, there is a more advanced application based on this, which is praying to Wilderness Spirits for resonance to obtain more Spirituality.
Wilderness Spirits are, in fact, more powerful, more advanced essences. In the New World, when a creature that was already powerful enough dies, if its soul becomes an essence, it becomes a Wilderness Spirit. The spirit body of a Wilderness Spirit is much stronger than that of ordinary essences. Under the selection of the environment, they merge with the environment, becoming guardians and spokespersons of nature. In a sense, they can be said to be the souls of the land.
Shamans can resonate with essences and, naturally, can also resonate with Wilderness Spirits. The ritual of requesting Spirituality from Wilderness Spirits is called "Spirit Offering" by Shamans. From Wilderness Spirits, those who pursue the Shaman path can obtain more Spirituality than from ordinary essences.
After Kapak became a Shaman Apprentice, Uta taught him how to use the Seer method and then had him start accumulating Spirituality. Besides having Kapak go out into this context, the term refers to something related to wild/untamed spirits/powers. on his own to communicate with essences, Uta also introduced him to a Shaman Apprentice from a neighboring tribe, which was Banu, to have Banu take Kapak to communicate with Wilderness Spirits and perform Spirit Offerings.
Logically speaking, it had only been a little over a month since Kapak obtained the Seer method, and he had only performed the Spirit Offering once. The accumulated "Silence" Spirituality should not have been enough for him to advance. However, in addition to the Seer method, Kapak had another way to accumulate Spirituality, which was by praying to the mysterious spirit named Aka. Through this Aka, he could obtain additional Spirituality.
Through the magical picture book bestowed by Aka, Kapak could communicate with a Scholar who was a fellow believer of Aka, far away. That Scholar would occasionally use the magical picture book to give him some Spirituality that made him dizzy after reading, which was said to be poisonous. After reading this knowledge, that Scholar would have Kapak pray to Aka, and then the poison would be extracted as Spirituality.
Relying on this method, combined with the accumulation from the Seer method itself, Kapak accumulated the Spirituality needed to advance to Seer in a very short time, less than half a month. However, considering the reaction of the Old Shaman Uta, in order not to overly stimulate his teacher, Kapak chose not to tell him immediately. Instead, he waited for about a month before frankly telling the Old Shaman that his Spirituality was full and asking him to help him advance.
Of course, even after waiting for so long, the Old Shaman was still greatly startled when he heard that Kapak's Spirituality was sufficient. At that time, he was smoking his pipe and coughed so much that he almost couldn't breathe. It was only with Kapak's help that he finally managed to catch his breath.
According to Kapak's explanation, the reason he was able to accumulate Spirituality so quickly was because the spirits were more affinity with him, and he gained more Spirituality during the resonance process. But the Old Shaman didn't believe him; he knew that a mysterious and powerful spirit was residing in Kapak, giving Kapak knowledge and even protecting Kapak from Spirit Sight. The main purpose of the Old Shaman taking Kapak as an Apprentice was to closely monitor the mysterious spirit within Kapak, lest it do anything harmful to the tribe. Kapak's rapid accumulation of Spirituality was certainly also due to this spirit.
However, after several days of observation, the Old Shaman found that this mysterious spirit, which he believed existed within Kapak, seemed to be harmless. Besides giving Kapak medical knowledge and helping him resist the poison of knowledge, the only abnormal behavior was helping him increase a lot of Spirituality. In the Old Shaman's view, this peculiar spirit seemed completely indifferent to the tribe, only continuously providing help to Kapak for some unknown reason.
Although the Old Shaman could not see that spirit clearly, he still helped Kapak complete the promotion ceremony. After all, it was always a good thing for the tribe to have one more Apprentice. He also wanted Kapak to improve his perception of spirits through promotion, so as to better understand the spirit within himself. However, the result was that even as a Seer, Kapak could not see the truth of the spirit within him. In his words, he was not possessed at all.
Although filled with various doubts and worries, the Old Shaman still seriously taught Kapak as his disciple. Kapak also continued his cultivation on the path of a Shaman. Today was his first time participating in a spirit sacrifice after being promoted to a Seer.
"Speaking of which, brother Kapak, I heard that in your tribe, you are not only a Shaman's Apprentice but also skilled in medicine, having treated many tribesmen and having a high reputation. I remember that after your chief died in conflict with the white-skins, Captain Uta hasn't appointed a new one yet. I think, barring any accidents, this might fall to you."
Walking through the forest, Banu continued to ask Kapak, while Kapak smiled bitterly, shook his head, and replied.
"Don't mention the chief's matter. I've been having a headache over this for a long time recently."
Kapak replied, saying that due to his growing reputation in the tribe, he had offended the original hunting leader, Sado, who was originally likely to become the chief. Now, because of this, conflicts have been constantly occurring between him, Sado, and his subordinates, which greatly troubled Kapak. He didn't want to be an enemy of Sado; he just wanted to do his best to help the tribe.
"I've told Teacher Wuta and Sado that I don't want to be the chief, but Sado thinks I'm lying to him and doesn't believe it at all. Teacher Wuta also doesn't mediate or directly appoint Sado, but just keeps delaying... Now those people under Sado are becoming increasingly hostile towards me... sigh..."
Kapak said with a sigh, and listening to Kapak's narration, Banu, who was beside him, paused slightly, then said with a different expression.
"No matter what, your tribe is only short of a chief; you still have a Shaman in charge. Unlike us..."
For the next period of time, Kapak and Banu walked and talked. After a while, they finally reached their destination, an open clearing in the forest.
In this forest clearing, under a large tree, there was a small altar made of stones, covered with a layer of fallen leaves. Seeing this altar, Kapak and Banu exchanged glances, then walked forward, cleaned the small stone altar, and began to place some items they carried with them onto it.
Upon closer inspection, these were some peculiar flowers and fruits, as well as some bone fragments. It was unclear whether these bone fragments were human or animal bones, but they were engraved with mysterious symbols.
After the altar was set up, Kapak and Banu sat down together, bowed their heads towards the altar, closed their eyes, and began to silently chant incantations together.
The combined voices of Kapak and Banu echoed in the clearing, echoing among the deep, secluded trees. After their incantations lasted for about half a minute, strange phenomena appeared around them.
From the gloom between the trees, clusters of deep blue soul fire flickered in and out of sight, floating above the clearing. Under the guidance of the Seers, the essences from the surrounding forest were gathering.
And before Kapak and Banu's eyes, from within that tall tree, a tall, translucent spirit body slowly emerged, floating above the simple stone altar.
This was the spirit body of a wild bull, a tall, translucent wild bull spirit body with strong muscles, sharp horns, and mysterious patterns on its body. After passing through the tree, it slowly came before the simple stone altar and silently looked at the two Shaman Apprentices who were bowing their heads behind the altar.
Feeling the appearance of the wild bull spirit body, Kapak and Banu opened their eyes. After gaining the Spirit Sight ability of a Seer, this was the first time Kapak had seen the form of a Wilderness Spirit so directly. He suppressed the excitement and emotion in his heart and, together with Banu beside him, bowed down and said in Spirit Seal Language.
"Lord Black Hoof... please enjoy this offering..."
As Kapak and Banu spoke like this, the wild bull spirit body, called Black Hoof, began to lower its head, as if absorbing something from the offerings on the stone altar. After being absorbed, the fruits and flowers became dim in color and luster, and the runes on the bone fragments would faintly emit a trace of light after being absorbed.
The offerings required by the Wilderness Spirits are, in a sense, also souls, or more specifically, the embers of souls.
In the Shamanism universally believed by the tribes in the New World, it is generally believed that after death, people's souls return to the great soul. To ensure the soul's smoother return and prevent it from being attacked by evil spirits along the way, Shamans hold a special soul burial ceremony for all deceased members of the tribe. During the ceremony, the Shaman cremates the body of the tribesman at the funeral. In the ritual, the soul of the tribesman will return with the smoke, and the body will turn into bones.
In the soul theory of Shamanism in the New World, a person's soul is born from the great soul and reincarnates into the human world. At this time, the soul and body of the new life are equally weak and fragile. During the growth of the body, the soul within will also grow by constantly recognizing and learning, and constantly receiving information. By the time death comes, the soul will be larger and more complex than at birth.
However, in the Shamanistic soul theory, the spirit body that returns to the great soul will only be the pure part that was present at birth. The impurities accumulated during later growth need to be removed during the cremation ceremony, and the soul embers finally removed will be stored in the bones after cremation. The most fundamental part of the soul will return to its original pure state in the ritual, returning to the great soul in a clean and innocent form.
And the Wilderness Spirits and essences like to feed on these soul embers in the bones. Therefore, practitioners of the Shaman path will use this to make offerings to the Wilderness Spirits. The bone fragments on the stone altar are precisely the bone fragments of their tribesmen after death and cremation. As compensation for holding the funeral, the Shaman will ask the deceased's family for a few bone fragments where the deceased's soul embers are most abundant, and after processing, they will be used as offerings to the Wilderness Spirits and essences, just as is happening now.
Before Kapak and Banu, the Wilderness Spirit named Black Hoof was enjoying the offerings presented by the Shaman Apprentices. Kapak, while respectfully bowing, also looked curiously at the Wilderness Spirit before him.
But what he didn't know was that at this moment, among the essences floating above the clearing, there was a very strange existence. This cluster of essences, in the flickering of the soul fire, would occasionally flash a translucent humanoid spirit body. This humanoid figure wore a suit that clearly did not belong to the native tribesmen. The spirit body wearing a gentleman's hat floated in the sky, disguised as a local essence, silently observing the scene below.
On a small hillside not far from the forest clearing, a group of white-skinned men in "civilized" world clothing were gathered. The leader among them wore a dark cloak and a hood, looking towards the direction of the distant altar. The white glove on his hand was engraved with a symbol: a coffin with a closed eye.