Familiar-Possession

Familiar-Possession is the practice of spiritually binding a human to a magic-capable beast, such that both parties gain each other's abilities. A possessed human is commonly called an Esper, while a possessed beast is commonly referred to as a Familiar. The practice is commonly, but not exclusively, performed so that the human in question gains the ability to use magic.

Familiar-Possession is a two-way bond, and each party involved will gain some of the abilities of their counterparts. Namely, humans will gain a vastly extended lifespan and the ability to use magic; likewise, the beast will gain true sentience and its own free will. Traits that may be percieved as negative (such as the human's mortality) are not known  to be transferred. (In other words, the bond is entirely beneficial to both parties.)  Possession between 3 or more entities is theoretically possible, but has never been attempted, nor have any attempts been recorded.

Familiar-Possession is a complex ritual that requires the presence of an extremely powerful magic-user, and thus is not especially common. Often, only humans such as the Rho'nenhvaki, who live in close proximmity to an Elder Beast, can become possessed. Even then, Elder Beasts are generally hesitant to bind one of their children to a human.

Benefits and potential side-effects
The benefits to familiar-possession are fairly simple, as they are consistent across the board:

Possessed humans (Espers) will gain the following traits: Possessed beasts (Familiars) will gain the following traits: Additionally, both the Esper and the Familiar will gain the following traits:
 * Their lifespan will be roughly tripled (variations exist among individuals)
 * They will gain the ability to use magic.  The capabilities of the Esper depend strictly on the abilities of the Familiar he/she is bonded to.
 * They will gain true sentience - the ability to think and feel, love and hate, create and destroy.  Essentially "that which makes us human".
 * They will gain their own free will, and will no longer be restricted to following instinct.
 * A "shared thought" - one will always be aware of the thoughts and emotions that the other is experiencing, at any given moment.
 * An "extrasensory perception" - one will always be able to "percieve" anything that the other sees or senses.
 * A "protector instinct" - when one is in danger, or ever feels threatened, the other will immediately become aware of that danger and will be overcome by an uncontrollable urge to come to their protection.  Often, extreme measures are taken to eliminate the danger, as well as any other potential threats.  This is entirely subconscious, and there is no known way to temper it.

Familiar-Possession yields a number of beneficial traits, and as a result, many magic-users are looked on with envy. In particular, scholars and philosophers of all kinds have gains some infamy for their attempts to replicate, or otherwise force, possession within themselves. The Kingdom of Misthel has become notorious for the lethality of its Esper-Familiar soldier pairs; a duo of magic-users who extensively have a second set of eyes and ears is a formidible threat.

As Esper-Familiar pairts age together, they will grow closer spiritually. Eventually, there will come a time when both the Esper and the Familiar are in perfect harmony with each other - their thoughts and actions perfectly reflect each other's. This peak is sometimes called "Synchronization", and the abilities of a fully synchronized Esper-Familiar pair greatly exceed what an individual could do alone.

Familiar-Possession is not without its negative side, however (mostly in the form of the responsibilities that come with power). Without exception, "free will" is an entirely alien concept to Familiars, and as a result they often rely on their Esper counterparts to make moral decisions - a handicap that is sometimes exploited to disasterous results. Likewise, it is entirely possible for magic to exceed an Esper's control (which can result in that Esper's death), and as a result, they often rely on their Familiar counterparts to know when to step in and stop this from happening.

Aquiring a Binder
Familiar-Possession is essentially a ritual, and it is one that requires a tremendous amount of pre-planning and resources. The entire process requires using magic itself to intertwine the spirit of a human with that of a magic-capable beast, such that they cannot be separated over time (as they normally would do). Under normal circumstances, the spirits of both the humand and the beast would be too rigid for any given magic-user to intertwine. Even then, an extremely fine amount of control is required, as otherwise the human and the beast could be severely injured (or even killed) while being modified. Thus, the ritual necessitates a remarkably powerful magic-user, such as an Elder Beast, to carry out the possession. Most Elder Beasts refuse to work with humans in the first place, and those who agree will only do so if there if they somehow benefit from the ritual. Ritual Pacts are commonly made, and often involve the human party doing something that benefits the environment (as Elder Beasts strictly abide to the will of Nature Herself). For instance, the Rho'nenhvaki people vow to protect their Elder Beast's forest for as long as they live, and to go to whatever measures they deem necessary to do so. Magic-users who carry out possessions are referred to as "Binders"

Planning the possession
Unfortunately, even a powerful magic-user is not enough to carry out the ritual. The Esper-to-be and the Familiar-to-be must be binded to each other at a very young age (preferably, immediately after birth). This is because their spirits have not been tempered by experiences, and are in a very malleable state. It is impossible to "train" Esper-Familiar pairs. Arrangements are commonly made years in advance, and are often made between an Elder Beast and a newely wed couple. In areas such as Misthel, Familiar-Possession is known as a "Rite of Birth", and the mountain-dwelling Elder Beasts will go so far as to attempt to synchronize the births of their own children with those of the future Esper's.

Carrying out the possession
Once both the human child and the beast child have been born, they are immediately brought the agreed upon Binder. The Binder sifts through Muu until it has found both the spirits of the human and the beast (a process that itself can take hours). The moment this happens, the Binder uses its magic to bend the two spirits towards each other, and eventually move them on top of each other, being cautious as to not affect their overall shapes. After this, the Binder carefully twists their spirits around each other, permenantly intertwining them into a single spirit. Their spirits are then immediately left alone, and the Binder exits Muu. The human and the beast have now become Familiar-Possessed.

The benefits of Familiar-Possession will not be immediately apparent, and often take years to appear. In particular, proficiciency with magic is a talent that grows with age, and not with experience.

Known Esper-Familiar pairs
There are 1501 recorded Esper-Familiar pairs in the world. As the possession ritual is a seldom occassion carried out in only a select few areas, it is relatively easy to account for every possession that takes place. Below is a list of some well-known Esper-Familiar pairs.
 * Árihnkano, a Rho'nenhvaki woman who is bound to Pirika, a female hummingbird that was born from the Elder Beast, Hierekyina.
 * Candlebearer Olivia, a Bartotian woman who is artificially bound to Noire, a female raven that was bred in Bartotia.
 * Draum, Son of Ferakast, a Mistheli man who is bound to Kjar, a male dire wolf that was born from the Elder Beast, Evynried.
 * Serana, Daughter of Sera, a Mistheli woman who is bound to Halaf, a male dire wolf that was born from the Elder Beast, Evynried.
 * Connor of Abendroth, a Drenoan mercenary who is artificially bound to Zaroff, a male grand boar that was bred in Navra.
 * Grandmaster Alena Rodin, a Navran woman who is artificially bound to Sanatsyeka, a female grey bear that was bred in Navra.
 * Tsieo'dam:hae'e, a Rho'nenhvaki man who is bound to Qilxi-ga'baro, a male great fox that was born from the Elder Beast, Zii'ikhm:en.

