There are a number of ways to perform Rituals and cast magic in the gameworld of Empire. Many of these are expanded on very nicely, Runes, Astromancy and Dramaturgy being very useful to a would be ritualist.
The one I like, is Totem magic in particular Spirit Animals, using animals as the inspiration for rituals, however the list compared to others is very short and I always wanted to expand on these. The current list on the wiki largely focuses on the Varushkan Virtue Animals which would not match a ritualist or mage from Wintermark - for starters, what animal each culture considers “Virtuous” differ wildly before even considering magic.
So over the long dark I created a dramatically expanded list of Spirit Animals with the Focus on the Wintermark perspective. This is neither intended to be authoritative nor exhaustive (like the ones already on the wiki) but rather an expansion. Strictly speaking there might be more animals than necessary however this is somewhat deliberate - Within Wintermark there will be differing ideas of what animal is used for what - A Suaq is more likely to call upon a Mammoth than an Auroch for Blessing of New Spring. So I wrote it with that in mind. Similarly, it’s intended to work with, rather than instead of the existing Spirit Animals on the wiki - it’s not intended to be exclusionary to the existing information but rather complementary.
Below the list I’ll link to my spreadsheet, this includes more in-depth information
Much of the information below is actually collected form the wiki, there is a bunch of things I’ve created from a combination of things.
| Animal | Common Associations |
|---|---|
| Artok | Magic, Blizzards and Storms, Without respite or Compromise, the Unknown |
| Auroch | Strength, Health, Harvest, Bounty |
| Bear |
Suaq:Fear (predation), Starvation/Hunger, devastation, Physical Strength, Ambition Steinr/Kallavesi: Physical strength, leadership, authority, devastation |
| Boar | Fearlessness, fertility, confrontation, truth |
| Crow | Intuition, Transformation, Inspiration. |
| Eagle | Vision, Leadership, Majesty, Power, Learning, |
| Falcon | Liberty, Generosity, Facing down Foes |
| Fox | Deception, concealment, darkness, dreams |
| Goose | Protection, Warning, Communication, Fellowship, |
| Hare | Vision, alacrity, comfort, children |
| Hawk | Hunting, Focus, Revelations.Scrying (things are seen) |
| Heron | Stillness, Tranquility, Opportunity, Skill |
| Husky/Hound | Warning, Movement, Bonds, Warding. |
| Jackdaw | Feisty/Anger, Belief/Territory, Hopeless odds/Never say Die. Relentlessness. |
| Jay | Swiftness, Danger, Theft/taking power, adaptability, Divination, |
| Lynx | Solitude, Hiding, deceit, Caution, Secrets |
| Magpie | Wit, Innovation, Tricks, Intuition. |
| Mammoth | Family, Fertility, Devotion, Strength, Destruction, Children/family |
| Narwhal | Love, Healing, Mending, |
| Orca | Emotions, Darkness, Violence, Revenge, Fear |
| Owl | Divination, silence, death, stealth |
| Penguin | Hilarity, Foolishness, loss of Magic (a bird that cannot fly!), Greed. |
| Ram/Mountain Goat | Stubborn, Direct action, hopeless causes |
| Raven | Resourcefulness, Cleverness, Persistence, Divination, Curses |
| Reindeer/Elk | Food, abundance, Endurance, Nobility, Snow, Cold, Stamina, Hardiness |
| Rook | Death, the Unknown, Consequences, Change. |
| Salmon | Relentlessness, Commitment to cause, Great Struggle. |
| Seal | Change, Pathfinding, Imagination, Cleverness, Creativity. |
| Stag | Rulership, authority, crowns, lineage |
| Stallion | Cooperation, Empire, Uniqueness/Newness. Majesty. |
| Swan | Beauty, Grace, Purity, Protection, Excellence, Obstinence, Armour |
| Walrus | Calm, Territory, Intractability, Oaths Friendship. |
| Whale | Fishing, Hunting, the depths, Knowledge. |
| Wolf | Cooperation, Cleverness, fighting together, ruthlessness |
Questions, comments and further contributions welcome.
I might at some point create more lists based on other regions of the Empire. The Marches would differ significantly from the Northern regions (as said on the wiki) particularly with what they would consider “vermin”.