#'what about the miasma and evils spirits that would appear due to all these ghosts tho?' you may ask

[gierosajie]

Thinking about how there's a lot more ghosts wandering Mondstadt in the Archon Dvalin AU than usual because Venti is usually the one sending off spirits into the afterlife and well. he's kinda stuck on that side post-Cataclysm

At first there weren't any because they just followed Venti, but afterwards there were some that still lingered and the number just kept piling up over the centuries. Many did eventually go on their own, but there's just more that didn't want to or simply couldn't

Dvalin doesn't know how to send them off, no one really showed him how and he doubts that even if he knew, he probably couldn't. Still, whenever a spirit decides to show themself, he stays with them for a bit, just to alleviate their burdens even a little and maybe help them find enough peace

It's probably another thing that eats at him alive because he couldn't even help those that he failed to protect, no matter how much most of them say it isn't his fault

And then, after the whole reconciliation with Celio thing, one of the lingering spirits asks him for a song. Before, he might've gently turned down the request, but after everything, he decided he might as well

Dvalin starts singing an old song he loved. Singing it had been painful, once, considering it was made as a duet and having to listen to the silent answer just brought him nothing but grief. Now, there's a sort of peace to how the breeze and the sound of nature fill in the gaps and pauses.

Over the course of the song, more and more ghosts come to listen. By the end of it, Dvalin opens his eyes to see most of them disappear, not in terms of hiding away like usual but rather beginning to dissolve into light as they finally move on

The last one to leave was the one who requested a song. She turns to smile at him. "I suppose I can finally tell that bard how much you've grown," she says before finally dissipating into the wind

[aikoiya]

DP HC - Ambient Psychomagnotheric Residue Theory

I just saw a picture that really fits with my hc of Ambient Psychomagnotheric Residue.

It appears to be by @menta-art.

The fact that it looks like this suggests that something bad must've happened there... possibly multiple times... & the emotional energy/emotional residue, as well as the necromagical & animagical residue, in the area hadn't been purified or filtered in a long time, leading to the negative emotions caused by whatever happened to fester there & become a sort of spiritual rot.

Which is usually the reason why places without specific ghosts or spirits haunting them become haunted.

It's basically what I mean when I talk about how natural portals are necessary as they filter out used up ambient ambient psionic or psychic (psyche) & animotal (emotional) energy so that things like this don't happen.

Animotal & animimotal coming from animi motus, which is used to mean emotions.

And animotal energy is, in essence, a mix of neurochemicals & the signals that they release/are transmitted through the air when one breathes. Which is the more empirical side of the Ambient Psychomagnotheric Residue. The part that most scientists would actually be willing to contemplate. It is what produces the phenomenon that writers might describe as an emotional atmosphere. It is what makes the air "thick" with certain emotions. At least, on a purely secular level.

Like, you know how some places just instill you with a feeling of dread or hopelessness at the scenes of murders or great, tragic battles? It's due to a portal not having opened in the area in a long time or in the case of a huge & particularly tragic battle or multiple tragedies over a long period of time, not enough portals have opened there to fully purify the area or even keep up with the level of tragedy.

And, if this residue remains for too long, it can fester & become what the Japanese refer to as On'nen (怨念) or Rancor. On'nen is a feeling of unresolved hatred, malice, grudge, & resentment that can make ordinary spirits furious & evil ones even more so. (Also, this On'nen is essentially what is used as the fuel for black magic.)

If it remains like that longer & grows, it can further process itself until it manifests into an ever-purer form known as Miasma or Shōki (瘴気; しょうき). Shōki being a sort of harmful, malignant spiritual pollution. It is never a good thing when this happens.

Anyway, it's extremely likely that places like Chicago, Gotham (especially places like Crime Alley & Arkham Assylum), Bludhaven, Salem, the concentration camps of the Holocaust, prisons with bloody histories, & places where frequent executions took place, are known to have a lot of really bad spots.

Lazarus Pits being in the area also tends to exacerbate the situation if said pits aren't cleaned regularly or has been purposefully corrupted such as is the case with Nanda Parbat's Lazarus Pit. It having been suffused with a complex, dark, necroturgic energy via multiple blood sacrifices & dark animantic (soul magic) spellwork in an attempt by an ancient evil necroturgist to create beings that he could control, but were more durable than living humans & corpses.

Not to mention the isomorphic blood bonding ritual that made him & his kin all-but immune to these effects. Thus allowing them to use said pits as an artificial fountain of youth & 'healing.'

The dark necroturgic & animantic curse upon the waters is supposed to steal the soul of any corpse not related to the warlock & make them his puppet while said souls are used as the fuel for the continued enchantment.

As one might guess, Ra's Al Gul is a descendant of this warlock. The Demon Head originally found it upon reading his great grandfather's journal about it.

He's always wondered; if the pit was supposed to keep members of his family alive & young, why had his great grandfather died? The truth is that prolonged exposure to the pit waters causes a warping of the mind that eventually leads to a type of insanity that reduces one to something not unlike the Joker if he were also a rabid dog. (Partially due to all the Miasma.)

The warlock had either realized what was happening early on & decided to have his fun while he could & accept his natural death (if with a fallback so that he could come back & continue his reign of terror) or he was reduced to little more than an animal & was put down by someone when he attacked them. In such a case, he would've entirely forgotten that he could use magic or any other form of defensive measures other than attack, attack, attack!

Or, maybe the warlock had a sickly son or daughter besides Ra's grandparent that he regularly put into the pit in order to sustain them, but the frequent use of it eventually led to them going feral, so he had to put them down? As such, he knew to just accept death (with a backup, as mentioned above).

Going back to the spiritual rot thing, most places in Gotham & Bludhaven look like this, at least to a degree.

Something similar can happen in places where a lot of good things happen, but in the reverse direction. This is partially why places like churches & other sacred places often fill one with a sense of peace or calm.

If you walk into a church & you feel a fear or dread that is unrelated to your personal concerns regarding the safety of your soul due to committing sins, then it's very likely that that particular church has experienced more tragedies than joys or miracles.

Though, whether it's due to external troubles or internal corruption is something that you normally can't just know unless either you investigate or you are spiritually gifted. If such a case as being spiritually gifted occurs, some are able to better discern the nature of the negativity. Things like, whether bad things happen here because of outside forces, thus giving the place a more sad or frustrated atmosphere, or if bad things happen here because of internal forces such as a serial murderer for a pastor, thus giving the area a much deeper sense of fear & dread with an edge of maliciousness.

If you want to see more of my Ghost hcs, go to my full Ghost Zone Masterlist.