During the ascendancy of the Holy Church, Inquisitors tolerated descriptions of Spirits only in particular contexts. Official Church doctrine held that Holy God was a unique type of being, not part of the Spiritual Fabric, but rather the source and embodiment of the entire universe. While other Gods may have been contiguous with spirits and perhaps evolved from them, the Holy God alone was different. This doctrine was necessary to preserve the Church's foundational doctrine of Superlative Exclusivity, which forbade the worship of any other Gods. Yet the distinction between Gods and Spirits remained murky, so any discussion of channeling Spirits was potentially heretical. Many texts related to the topic were burned, quarantined, or oblated. The texts contained in this anthology remained available to the public because they treated with requisite caution the sensitive topic of the Spiritual Fabric. The various means of evading heresy may enlighten the reader. Below, the included texts are summarized briefly.
Demon-Wielders, by Martheisus Brosh - For many years, this was the foremost manual on exorcism and inquisition. It was later supplanted by texts which supplied less accuracy and detaiul in their descriptions, but added thorough rules for Inquisitors based on Church doctrine. Brosh accurately distinguishes between Spirits, Souls, and Undead in his introduction, but conflates various types of creatures while cataloguing them in his texts. Irrespective of its errors, Brosh's text is one of the most thorough encyclopedias of spirit-worshipping cultures and their particular traditions, though each is described with dismissive and patronizing tone.
Methods of Channeling, author unknown - This text survived from the Age of Wonders until the present day. It was likely written by the Crystal Architects, for the oldest known copy is the labyrinthine engraving in the Hall of Stones at Aetgiyibath. In precise and rigorous language, organized as a branching series of diagrams and recipes, Methods of Channeling describes the means by which humans may form bonds with Spirits, employ those spirits in useful work, and convert their energy into industrial production. It evaded censure by the Holy Church because of its enormous usefulness and its objective language. The ritual tending of Spirits, if described in a neutral tone, need not resemble worship or glorification. Furthermore, it is of great economic importance. Methods of Channeling is part of the foundation of the modern technological system.
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Varieties of Spirits, Earireaer of Fedoaor - Varieties of Spirits is the only book in this collection to originate from the Elvish cultures. The Elves are normally considered to have deep connections with Nature and her Spirits, and the Elvish Songs mostly survived unaltered through the Holy Church era, likely due to the seculsion and obscurity of their Singers. Earireaer may have composed Varieties of Spirits with the intention of proving that the Elvish Songs contained nothing heretical, though it is not a direct transcription of any known song. Rather, it is a compilation of descriptions of various Spirits, especially focusing on their capabilities and dangers. Thus, it seems to resemble a manual of monsters. In treating Spirits as if they are Animals or Beasts, the author has oversimplified many matters, and thus his advice may actually be dangerous if taken too literally.
Channeling and Binding, High Sage Larirouor - Like Brosh's Demon-Wielders, Channeling and Binding treats Spirits as dangerous enemies to be defeated and controlled. Larirour, however, incorporates knowledge from Methods of Channeling, and adds numerous practical designs. His main concern was imprisoning Spirits and driving them to do useful work. He devotes much times to potential sources of escape and the binder's requisite counterplays: sigil decay and regenerating enchantments, faith swell and obliviating propaganda, outside rescue and conventional security, phase shift and reality locking, sudden rage and containment constructs. While his methods are impressive and reliable, they are rarely used. Some consider them inhumane, while the orthodox of the Holy Church often suggest that Larirouor failed to consider the danger of heretical misappropriation.
