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On The Domovoi -- A report by Stalwart Wasteland Prince, young Sidereal and Chosen of Journeys

Once one of the most common spirits in the Realm - and still the most common little god outside of it - is the Domovoi. Ranking not far above the status of least god, every home in Creation was once presided over by a Domovoi -and in cities and towns secluded from the Immaculate Philosophy and its enforcers, they still do.

Domovoi were and are oversees of domestic activities, and whose goodwill is essential to a properly functioning household (without his goodwill the house would be much more sensitive to the whims of Fate and chance but, more importantly, if you haven't got a Domovoi's goodwill, you almost assuredly have his wrath.)

A domovoi generally dwells within the home outside, near the stove, under the threshold, or in the attic; sometimes in the cattle shed or, more often, in the stable. In the North, Domovoi tend to make their homes in the yard in a pine or fir branch with abundant needles that the peasants hung especially for him.

'Domovoi' itself is a slightly rude moniker, and peasants wishing to avoid insulting their domovoi (which is every peasant in the world, save for one with an Immaculate Monk at his side) will use euphemisms such as "master," "well-wisher," "livestock-nourisher," "the other half," "he," "himself," and "that one."

Domovoi grow more powerful with age, and warped by their duties - most domovoi are believed to have at one point been former heads of families, who remained to protect their descendants and households. However, when referring to 'domovoi' as a type of spirit (as opposed to an occupation) one refers to the ancient ghosts that have spent so much time protecting their houses and recieved so much accumulated prayer from their descendants that they have actually become a form of minor god, and not truly a ghost at all any longer. (They become members of the celestial bureaucracy, and are considered spirits - not ghosts - for any effects that distinguish between the two.)

Most of the time, the domovoi is invisible and dematerialized, merely watching over his household with the exacting eye of a mother-in-law. Domovoi pretend to make their presence known through nocturnal creaks, moans, and bangs. Morever, they do not like to be seen, and mete out punishment for excessive curiousity. When the domovoi does choose to appear to a home's inhabitant, it is most often in the image of a dead relative, though when acting in a protective or penal capacity one more often appears as a dog or cat, and occasionally as a goat or cow. What is most often notable about domovoi is the emphasis on age; when appearing in human guise, it is usually as an ancient peasant with a long gray beard. Hardy sleepers need rarely worry about seeing the domovoi, as they tend to be most active at night, making their rounds inspecting the home, visiting sleeping people and livestock.

If angered by his family's sloppy management, abusive language, or neglect of him, the spirit would cause the walls of the house to creak, bang pots, tangle needlework, spread manure on the door, and turn everything upside-down in the yard. Sometimes it's anger would be specifically focused on a single family member; one story from Ayreon Prefecture tells of a domovoi that threw a pot of porridge at the house's master's head because it was salted (the domovoi in question preferred his weekly offering of porridge without salt.) Numerous reports include tales of choking or almost-choking of sleeping people, though this seems attributed not so much to anger as to playfulness. Due to the spirit's capricousness, it is often difficult to determine it's likes or dislikes; should the domovoi be content, however, it may show this by completing minor chores (such as giving the livestock hay or oats, if the peasants forgot to do so.) A report from Juche tells how the domovoi helped his beloved family with fieldwork. Normally, however, the spirit's activity does not extend beyond the yard.

An offended domovoi did not always punish the family, however; an angered domovoi's favorite target is livestock though, due to it's essentially kindly nature, an offended domovoi occasionally simply abandoned the dwelling. Peasants view such a departure as calamatous, since the successful flow of daily life is believed unthinkable without the aid of the spirit. The domovoi's peasant family often attempt to gain his favor or placate him with offerings of porridge, tobacco, incense, juniper, and bread and salt, as well as keeping horses of the spirit's favorite color, and in some places even the family cat was chosen according to the domovoi's color preference.

Care is often taken not to sleep in the domovoi's path (near the threshold, by the stove, in the center of the floor) for fear of getting in his way, and peasants never whistle indoors, because this threatens to drive the domovoi away.

One of the major services of the domovoi is as oracle; the spirit foretells future happiness and disaster through certain sounds and actions. His soft, furry tuoch at night signales good fortune; a cold, prickly touch misfortune or death. The various moans, shrieks, and clangs made at night were considered bad omens - dancing, singing, and joking as good. The domovoi strumming on a comb indicates a wedding in the family. A death may be indicated through any of the above bad omens, or simply as manifesting physically for a brief moment.

The most common phenomena observed are those concerning the relationship between Domovoi and livestock (especially horses.) New animals are ceremonially presented to the spirit. upon purchasing a new horse a peasant would, for instance, go into the yard and call out: "Grandfather Domovoi! I bought myself a horse; if you don't like this color, wait until summer (or winter) and I'll sell it." The domovoi took special care of livestock it liked; at night he fed, watered, groomed, and braided them. One peasant I personally interviewed outside of Sion spoke of repurchasing a sold horse after his domovoi made it clear he was pining after the animal.

If the domovoi disliked an animal, however, he would scatter or steal its feed, tie its tail to the manger, cause it to stomp and sweat all night, and sometimes rode it to exhaustion. Consequentialy, when a horse or cow is doing poorly, the owner often exchanges it for another of a different color.

It has been observed that a domovoi will not leave its old home without being specifically invited to its new one and that if he remained, would howl sadly and avenge himself on the old masters, and establish hostile relations with the new owner and his domovoi. Thus, a specific invitation ("Domovoi! Domovoi! Don't stay here, but come with our family!" is often made, and accompanied by a small offering.) Accounts sometimes specify that a domovoi can come without invitation if one transfers the coals from the hearth (which is considered an invitation in itself.)

Unfortunately, there are occasions in which more than one domovoi comes to inhabit a house. A story from Incas Prefecture relates an occasion in which a man invites a domovoi from his old home to his new one (which he is to be sharing with his newly-wedded wife), while the wife transferred the coals from that dwelling. Apparently, this created an opening for two domovoi in the household, and the couple could not sleep for the sounds of bickering and fighting between the two domovoi every night. (The wife eventually scared off her husband's domovoi by beating at the roof with a broom and shouting at it to leave; whether this simply settled the argument between the two domovoi or somehow granted the other domovoi some advantage in their ongoing contest is unclear - however, the story stands as the most common example of inter-domovoi hostility.)

The only more common story of Domovoi conflict is when interacting with an 'alien' domovoi; that is, one of another's house. While one's own domovoi is often seen as benevolent and helpful, a foreign domovoi is invariably one that will cause trouble and mischief. Reports from local Immaculate temples relate that stealing a neighbor's oats is a routine activity of the domovoi, who then fed the stolen grain to his own horses. Now and again, stories tell of fighting in the yard between one's own spirit and an intruder. Occasionally, reports tell of a sorceror or witch sending their own domovoi to cause another bad luck with his animals.

Despite the hostility between domovoi in their functions as protectors of their families, not all relations between domovoi and other spirits were problematic. Neighboring house spirits supposedly visited each other and held noisy gatherings during the season of Air. Both friendly and hostile relations existed between domovoi and the other domestic spirits as well as with spirits of forest, field, and waters.

Dealing with Domovoi: Domovoi dislike mirrors and goats; placing the head or skull of a goat under the threshold when the domovoi's caprices become excessive is often an immediately useful way of curbing its excesses. Some peasants have found success hanging a bear's head, dead hawk, or magpie in the stable or cattle shed to keep the spirit from tormenting the livestock. If these simple measures prove ineffective, some martial ability may be neccasary to put the spirit in its place. Under no circumstances, however, should the spirit be killed - while in heavily policed areas like the Imperial City the lack of a domovoi would not be crippling to a household (despite the beliefs of the peasants), in less well-patrolled areas foreign domovoi would take the opportunity to abuse the unprotected household, and the lack of a domovoi would undoubtedly bring ruin upon the household in question.

Nature: Caregiver
Attributes:
Strength 1, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 1, Perception 2, Intelligence 2, Wits 2

Virtues:
Compassion 3 Conviction 3 Valor 2 Temperance 2

Abilities:
Thrown 1, Brawl 1, Craft 2 (Animal Husbandry/Livestock +2), Occult 1, Awareness 3, Stealth 5 (Indoors +3), Ride 1 (Horses +2), Presence 1

Charms: Materialize (pg 292 core), Landscape Travel(Home)(GoD PDF Appendix pg 127), Landscape Camoflage(Home) (GoD PDF Appendix pg 127), Landscape Hide (GoD PDF Appendix pg 127), Shapechange (limited to cats, dogs, goats, cows, and former members of the household)(GoD PDF Appendix pg 135), Natural Prognostication (GoD PDF Appendix pg 126), Will-o-Wisp (GoD PDF Appendix pg 135), Imprecation (GoD PDF Appendix pg 137)

Permanent Essence: 2, Willpower: 5, Essence Pool: 55 Cost to materialize: 25 Health Levels: -0 x 1, -1 x 2, -2 x 3, -4 x 1, Inc.

(Most of the above is plagiarised from a book on russian folk belief. I just Exaltified it.)