Welcome to Gaia! ::

As in anything, "practice makes perfect." The same goes for your Phantom training. It takes a great amount of concentration to break through the barrier into the soul world, and even more to bend the energy to your will. Once you have made contact with the other world, chances are the spirits will not trust you, will be wary of you. If you can prove yourself to them, they will lend themselves to you more easily. From there you can only grow.

Beginners will only just be getting the hang of contacting, of drawing energy through their bodies and into our world. Slowly they will be able to draw it out externally and make basic weapons, and fortify existing ones with the spirit energy. Combat will be drilled at this stage; a great Phantom elementalist must be able to draw on these powers in the heat and pressure of battle. As soon as this is solid, we move on to the more interesting subjects.

Intermediate apprentices will start to really interact with the spirits. It is at this stage that we start in on possessions- oh, did I forget to mention this? Anyway, we start to draw whole souls into our bodies, drawing on the strengths they possessed in life to supplement the elementalist's own natural talents and strong points. For example, a soul with a background in acrobatics, martial arts or parkour will perhaps enhance an elementalist's speed and agility, whereas a soul that had been intelligent in life may help give the elementalist clearer thought and more craftiness to outsmart the opponent. It'll be messy at first, you can count on it. These souls can be used in many different ways, and it is for an elementalist to find their style and be able to pick out the souls that will aid them the most. Your powers are increased and sharpened in this stage, making you a force to be reckoned with.

Masters and especially skilled apprentices hold the top tier of the abilities available to Phantom students, all of which require years of concentration, meditation and practice. Many can levitate themselves or others using their abilities, others can physically move from the real world to the spirit world and back, while others still can adopt Phantomlike attributes; intangibility, invisibility, etcetera. The powers at this high a level are virtually limitless, limited only by the Master theirself. There has even been gossip of some old Masters up on the Grand Mountain, where the energy concentration is greatest and barrier strength weakest, experimenting with the full extent of their powers, whisperings of secret attempts to imbue a corpse with a soul, to reanimate the body-- but, ah, I know nothing of this.

The most coveted ability is soul-bonding, when a Master chooses a spirit (or sometimes the spirit chooses you), just one, to meld into the soul. The spirit follows the elementalist everywhere, though usually invisibly and imperceptibly. It is a strange bond, one forged of devotion and sacrifice. Upon bonding souls, the elementalist can only draw power from that one soul, and the soul's greatest desire is to keep fuelling its elementalist with all the energy he or she requires. The bond transcends the spiritual, it is the merging of two souls into one body, the truest union. Not every Master can do it, many choose not to or have not found the right soul. Upon the elementalist's death, both spirits disappear- to where, no one knows.

This element provides much opportunity for experimentation and personal growth. It relies heavily on your own creativity and ability to think on-the-run. Phantom is not merely an element in which to dabble; it is a lifestyle, a devotion. We are the servants of the dead, the vessels of their energies. It is an experience unlike any other element, the most unusual, unique and with the most potential.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Help me expand- PM me your questions!

Q:: What is the Phantom Element?
A:: In a nutshell, the Phantom element is a mixture of the dark and light elements, which gives us our own unique powers to harness spirit energy and interact in both their world and ours. I highly suggest you read the second post in order to fully understand why that is.


Q:: How do I apply to be an apprentice?
A:: Read the Rules section, and then PM me :3


Q:: How do I become a Master?/ How do I become a Master quickly?
A:: My best advice would be to read ZOMGSumi's thread on becoming a Master. I would also like to remind you that it doesn't happen overnight, that you will only become a Master if you put time in and work hard at it. There really is no other way to 'fast-track' the process than by being active and roleplaying with us.

Q:: What do I do here?
A:: You roleplay with us. What's happening is basically you are an apprentice in this unique element and I am the Master who is to train you in the art. You will learn, gain skills, battle and spar and become competent in the element, eventually to move on to Master or other high-ranking individual someday. Also, being active in the rest of the guild is a good idea, too. The Roleplay subforum is a good place to start if you want to roleplay outside the element, or if you're new at this and would like to learn.

reserved for potential future use