Heavenfall

"Very capable." She scrunches up her nose in annoyance. "This one has been keeping it docile, so it should not be a threat so long as it remains fed."

"And so long as none speak names aloud while it is around, correct? I seem to recall that also being a problem."

"This one doesn't think it will leave her to haunt another after feeding it for so long, but there may be other spirits who would latch onto people after learning their names."

Haka sighs. "Names hold much power. They should not be spoken as freely as those in this group have been doing."

Shinsei, perhaps rather surprisingly, nodded gravely, understanding something of that concept already. "It would be hard to impress the idea into many of them, but I agree that it might be best to minimize the behavior, especially given our destination. I'll make a point to mention it to anyone I observe making the mistake."

"Thank you," she says, inclining her head. "Perhaps to the fallen ones as well? They have given their names to many, and this one is uncertain how that might affect things. Perhaps their names are strong enough to turn aside spirits... or they may be opening themselves up to great danger."

She thinks for a moment. "Or perhaps it is like a river? Poisoning the main river will poison the tributaries, but poisoning the tributaries has little effect on their source. It is very interesting to think about."

"It is indeed, though with the Kami, it seems to me that they gain as much from those who know their name as their followers do. Perhaps, for them, it is more akin to planting a seed, which grows and returns fruit, so long as the soil remains well tended."

Shinsei turned to look towards the south, and his voice changed in volume enough from it that even without sight, it was likely obvious. "I assume, however, that sufficient poison can overcome even the stoutest river..."

"Perhaps." Haka finishes with her hair and starts to braid it. "This one thinks that we shall learn that soon enough. Is the wanderer expecting to make it back alive?"

"There are no other options, I must survive this ordeal, and I must bear witness to the events about to transpire." There was a fire in Shinsei's eyes as he spoke these words.

Haka laughs. "This one likes that. When death is simply not an option that can be chosen, it makes survival easier."

"It does help keep one's priorities straight. And, as an added bonus, no new ghosts either." Shinsei's mirrored Haka's laugh over the idea.

"True." She raises a finger. "Ghosts are not just from the dead, though. There is one kind of ghost, the Ikiryo, that is a ghost of a living person. If the wanderer wanted something bad enough, his soul might form an Ikiryo to go get that thing or harm those stopping him from getting it himself. Usually without the wanderer even knowing this was happening."

"... you don't say? How badly does one have to want something to create one of these spirits?" Haka had a lot of Shinsei's focus now, mentioning such a thing to him.

"Quite a great deal. One would have to be nearly obsessed with something, in both the waking world and in their dreams." She pulls a braid tight. "It is best to find some way to distract such people with another goal, however small, before the Ikiryo can form."

"......................... lovely." Shinsei was perhaps a shade paler than usual, all of a sudden. "If such a thing were to form, how would it be tracked down? It sounds incredibly dangerous to leave such a thing unchecked. I'd feel better knowing what countermeasures could be taken."

"This one has been told that it usually looks like the person it forms from, though she cannot verify that herself." She spares a hand from her hair to gesture to her eyes. "Usually it is fairly easy to tell gender, at the least, by its voice."

"As for stopping them..." Haka sighs. "Sometimes an exorcism works, or purifying the body by bleeding out the bad blood, but these things are uncertain. Killing the person that created the Ikiryo is the most reliable means, but if this is done while the Ikiryo is still wandering, then it becomes untethered and very dangerous."

"Yes, that would be... bad. Identifying it would be good, but finding it... that's what I'm curious about. If there is a way to track one, assuming one has been created. How far can they travel from their creator, for example?"

"Not too far... no more than a day's walk in any direction, from this one's experience. Most times, they are active while their creator is asleep, but the longer one remains active, the less likely that becomes."

"That is... helpful information, thank you. If I find myself needing to confront one your advice will be paramount." He was silent again, thinking. "If the other methods don't work, what else is there?"

"This one is pleased to be of assistance." Haka smiles warmly. "If the other methods do not work, then the one who created the Ikiryo must be killed. If that does not work... well, in that case, everyone dies, most likely."

"One can't simply banish the manifestation itself? Or will it simply reconstruct itself within the original host and continue on its rampage?"