Category:Lore

Three great spirits – Sea Beast, Swamp Fiend, and Whisper Spirit – rule over the three realms of the spirit world: the Sea of Despair, the Bitter Barrens, and the Meadow. After their rest in the Meadow, souls can cross over to the Outer Sea. There, on the border between the Outer Sea and Braided Shore, lies the Halfway Teahouse, a mythical place where voyaging souls meet, share adventures, and drink tea.

The tying of magical knots is the most common magical practice in Braided Shore. The gestures of tying, the final shape of the knot, and the reagents tied into it are what gives a magic knot its power. There are many kinds of magical knots and their effects are usually released the instant they are untied. Knots are also what Braided Shore folk use for writing. Messages, poems, letters, history, and literature – whatever needs to be put down, is done so in a knot.

Winds and Half-Winds are the main forces of positivity and negativity in Asken belief. The four cardinal Winds – North, South, West, and East – are praised and lauded, whereas the Half-Winds – Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast – are seen as bad omens. Winds and Half-Winds are a large part of everyday life in Braided Shore and, as such, they are part of everyday conversation as well – the words “Wind” and “Half-Wind” are used for both positive and negative emphasis.