Alignment

Alignment is a fundamental change in a person’s physiology that typically occurs during infancy, theorized to be caused by exposure to high concentrations of mystic matter. It also appears to be affected by genetics, making some more likely to have this condition than others. Much like mystic matter itself, very little is understood about how alignment works.

Some have theorized that alignment is directly linked to attunement, but this has been proven untrue as both conditions are entirely unique, and it is possible to have either one without the other.

Effects¶

The primary symptom of alignment is heightened perception, with those affected by the condition able to see and/or feel mystic matter. How it looks and feels varies wildly from person to person, but is most often described generally as a very subtle brightness and warmth.

The secondary symptom, exceedingly rare, estimated to appear in less than 10% of those affected by the condition, is the ability to perceive through mystic matter. This allows individuals with this ability to seemingly project their senses elsewhere and “see” things outside their physical line of sight, “hear” things out of earshot, “feel” things through distant objects, and so on. The particular effects and their ranges vary from person to person, but it appears to be a learned skill that can be trained.

Affected groups¶

Fox, Deer, Mouse, Chameleon, and Crow spirits all possess alignment inherently from birth, along with approximately 60% of all other spirits.

Humans can also be born with alignment, albeit with drastically lower odds. Here is how those odds break down:

0.1% of humans with two human parents, neither with alignment
0.8% of humans with two human parents, one with alignment
2.1% of humans with two human parents, both with alignment
17% of humans with one spirit parent that does not have alignment
32% of humans with one spirit parent that has alignment
79% of humans with one spirit parent that has attunement

Cultural reception¶

Aligned people throughout history were typically treated like outcasts when they were outspoken about their condition, with some even being incarcerated or institutionalized.

It wasn’t until the discovery of mystic matter that people learned to accept those with alignment, but even today they are still occasionally treated unfairly if their condition is made known, leading most people with the condition to either remain silent about it or build tight-knit friend groups with other aligned individuals.