Ghosts are an accepted part of reality in Albasa and the known world. They are common enough that few doubt their existence – manifesting across the city but mostly at night. What people think of them is largely down to their religious beliefs and differs significantly. All the major religions agree that ghosts inhabit something called the shadelands. Before the ban magic users were known to be able to see and in a few exceptional cases visit the shadelands. It is said that the magic users of old left certain ‘doors to the shadelands’ that the curious can still find and pass through today. The shadelands are a misty afterlife that the souls of the dead appear to drift through for eternity. This much is agreed upon, what divides the religions is what it means when ghosts revisit the earthly plane of existence. The followers of Modella believe that this defies the natural order of things and that these spirits belong back in the shadelands. It is, they believe, the duty of the followers of Modella to send them there. This is the work of ‘ghost slappers’. This is a paid service that still operates in the city despite the legal grey area it inhabits thanks to the magic ban. Ghost Slappers literally perform a ritual in which the ghost is slapped – sending it back to the shadelands. The followers of Tee-hi also believe that the appearance of the spirits of the dead is an ill omen, however, rather than force them back, they believe it is their duty to discover what the spirit wants, to put it right if possible, at which point it will return to the shadelands. Finally, the followers of Shamlock see the spirits return as neither implicitly bad or good and will just leave the spirit alone unless it forces them to acknowledge it or directly addresses them. There is a different type of ghost which all religions recognize as bad news. The Cold Breath is a ghost created by a magician with their dying breath. This will allow them to leave their body with the breath and become an avenging spirit that will not return to the shadelands until those responsible of robbing the magician of their earthly form have been dealt with.
As well as the ghosts of the dead, it is commonly accepted by all the major religions that there are sprites of various types. These are elemental forces that appear to have a personality of their own and a certain degree of sentience. There are water sprites that bring favor or fortune to sailors and house sprites that take up residence in a family home. They can be benign or malicious, helpful or troublesome. Whilst they are rarely seen, the results of their actions are observed often enough that their existence is not doubted. They have recently become more cartoonish, commercialized figures, kids can now buy collectable cards with different sprites on that they trade with each other.