godsoffortune | Shinki 101

Memory | Physical Form | Bonds & Blight | Ayakashi & Blight | Shinki and the Near Shore | Abilities | Spells and Songs | Vessel Form | Nora | TFS Specific Info
This guide is meant as a summary of the world-building in Noragami concerning shinki, and a supplement to our FAQ. Throughout the text, we will use examples from Noragami canon to illustrate different points, so there is the potential for minor spoilers.

This guide is also supplemented with links to pages from the manga, shown with *. These have the potential to be much more spoiler-y, although we have tried to avoid major or late-canon spoilers. (Pardon the links to fan-translations. The official translations are more consistent with terminology and phrasing. Please support the official releases!)

Information that is specific to The Far Shore game, rather than Noragami canon, is in bold.

Memory

Shinki are spirits called and named by a god to remain on the Far Shore to serve as a god’s divine instrument.*

Shinki have no memory of their past up to the point that they are first named by a god. After that moment of naming, it is like they are starting a new life.* Should a shinki be named by an additional god, or switch gods, they do not lose any memories of their time as a shinki. They only forget their past before the first name they were given.

Shinki know that they are dead, but seem to have a natural aversion to thinking about the past in detail. For example, Yukine envies the living, but doesn’t dwell on why or how he himself died. They can remember general knowledge, like how to solve a math problem* or what Japanese school is like. However, they are completely blank about things about themselves from the past, for example whether or not they liked math or whether or not they wore a school uniform. Despite not remembering their own past preferences, they still are the person they are when they died, even if they don’t remember how they became that person. For instance, even though Yukine doesn’t know whether or not he liked math in the past, he likes math now.

Nothing will give a shinki a ‘nostalgic feeling’ for their past. However, because gods know that information about a shinki's past is dangerous, gods usually try to avoid anything that might be connected to the shinki's time as a living person. For example, in canon the shinki Mayu ended up with an item related to her past, yet she showed no particular reaction to it. However, to be safe, the gods Tenjin and Yato were both quick to distract her from it.**

Shinki retain their instinctive reactions to certain situations, for example, Yukine retains a fear of the dark. Likewise some situations can feel 'comfortable' or make them feel unusually happy even if they don't know why. Shinki who in their canon are very prone to nightmares can still have those nightmares, although they will not know what the dream is about or what it means.

Normally shinki do not think about their past or question what their life was like. If a shinki starts to think about these subjects, it can consume them. They will become jealous of the living and even start to question how they died. Thoughts like this are also 'contagious' in that just hearing about a shinki thinking about their past can drive other shinki to do the same. God characters know that a shinki regaining memory is an extreme cause for concern, because it essentially spells the shinki’s death. They are extremely careful to not talk about this around any shinki.

Should a shinki be told of their past, the 'seal' of their god-given name breaks. The karma of their past turns the shinki into an ayakashi immediately. The only known way of dealing with the fallen shinki is to kill them.

Gods who break the secret and talk specifically to shinki of their past will cause their shinki to turn into an ayakashi. The monster will need to be killed, and in the game the shinki can return through the game's death mechanic.

Memory regains are the only exception to this for player character shinki: memories that return through the regain mechanic can be safely discussed and thought about without triggering that sense of discomfort that thinking about other parts of their past causes. However, they will still have that discomfort in thinking about things they haven't regained. For example, a shinki might remember fighting by the side of someone else, so they would know that they knew that person, and it would be safe for that person to confirm, "Yes, I knew you, and we fought side by side." However, if they thought about things outside the scope of the memory, such as what their relationship with the other person was like, or whether they won the battle, they would immediately feel uncomfortable, and if the other person told them those things, they would fall into becoming an ayakashi.

Canon shinki will not be contaminated or fall from new shinki talking about memory regains. It will feel very 'repulsive' and uncomfortable to them though, in the way magnets can repel. They don’t want to get close to that.

Physical Form

A shinki has a corporeal form that can feel sensations such as heat, cold and hunger. * Shinki can feel sick, be injured, or bleed. They can be killed by injuries in the same way that living people can.

No matter how much a shinki eats, they never quite feel full.* For instance, Yukine constantly feels a bit hungry. It's possible that shinki will always remain as hungry as they were when they died.

Shinki have no heartbeat or pulse. In a way, they can be thought of as "a ghost that takes a corporeal form" -- conscious actions such as breathing or eating, and external conditions such as having a runny nose or bleeding when cut, continue as normal, but entirely internal, autonomic processes like heartbeat or digestion don't occur. Although shinki can eat, they don't need to excrete. (What happens to food eaten by a shinki? No one really knows....) If a shinki swallows something that can't be digested, it would remain inside them until they next vomited. It might not be in the best shape when it comes back up, though!

Although neither gods nor shinki will die of starvation as shinki are already dead *, eating is useful to keep up their energy. Shinki also need to sleep in order to remain in good condition.

Shinki have a sort of ‘lightness of body’ as a spirit that enables them to jump extremely high and far, and move across structures that would be normally to fragile to hold weight. However, this is not automatic. If a shinki makes no conscious effort, their body will move just like a normal human. They are not able to float, hover or fly.

Bond with the god and blight

There is a powerful bond between a god and each one of their shinki. Although gods can't read their shinki's mind and wouldn't know the reasons behind any particular emotion, they can sense the general state of mind of their shinki, as well as their presence, through the power of the name that they have given to that shinki. Negative emotions manifest as a physical ache in the god's chest or even pain, as well as a sense of what the emotion is. For example, a god whose shinki was terrified would feel their own chest aching, as well as an awareness of their shinki's fear. * Player character gods' awareness of their shinki's emotional state extends to strong positive feelings as well as negative ones. A player character whose shinki was ecstatic with joy would be aware of that happiness.

Negative emotions do not cause blight, except for the specific sensation of guilt, but do always cause the god to feel aching or pain.

A god can get a sense of the direction that their shinki is in if they stop and concentrate on it. A god who has more than one shinki would not necessarily know which shinki was in which direction, or which shinki is feeling which emotion, although they might guess based on what they know about their shinki.

If a shinki commits any action for which they feel guilty, such as stealing, lying, neglecting their duties, hurting someone, and so on, the guilt the shinki feels will 'sting' the god, causing the god to become blighted.* * It should be noted that the shinki will only sting the god this way if they themselves feel guilty over the action. A shinki who has low moral values* or who can justify their actions to themselves* will not sting their god.

A shinki would only sting a god when they feel guilt over having committed an action they believe to be wrong. Feelings related to guilt, such as self-loathing or regret, would cause the god to feel an ache in their chest and an awareness of the negative emotion, but would not cause blight.

For example, a shinki who thinks, "Something bad happened to my god, and I should have been there," is experiencing regret and blaming themselves for a bad outcome, but is not feeling guilt over a specific action. Their god would not be stung by that feeling. However, a shinki who thinks, "I snuck out to go enjoy myself at an amusement park and didn't tell my god where I was going, and while I was gone something bad happened to my god," would be likely to sting their god, because they believe they committed an action that was wrong (sneaking out without telling their god).

Stinging is considered the most emphatic way for a shinki to show their god what actions are 'right' and which actions are 'wrong'. However, a shinki who excessively stings their god puts the god in danger. Blight caused by stinging, unlike blight caused by touching an ayakashi, comes from within. It appears on the skin like a painful bruise, hot to the touch and capable of spreading blight to anything that touches it, whether it's another part of the god's body or another god or shinki.* Blight caused by stinging starts at the back of the neck, and spreads from there to the back and then the rest of the body.

Shinki who are blighted by their feelings of guilt do not feel any pain as a result of that blight. In fact, they can even go long periods of time without realizing that it's there, since it first appears on the back of their neck and thus cannot be easily seen by the shinki.

A shinki can resolve the blight from a mild sting by apologizing to their god and washing the blight away with water from a shrine. However, should the shinki not admit and apologize for their actions and continue stinging their god, the blight will go deeper and ayakashi eyes will begin to grow on the shinki. For cases that far advanced, the shinki must undergo a special purifying ritual, called an ablution, to remove the blight and save the lives of both the god and shinki. *** (Official translation notes: **)

Ablutions are painful and dangerous procedures. Three experienced shinki must cooperate to cast the spell, and the shinki being cleansed will suffer great pain until they fully confess and repent of their guilt.

The three shinki performing the ritual cast the spell by intoning, "To safeguard the name, dedicated to [the god’s formal name] and have its spirit wiped clean. Cast off thy impurity and extinguish thy carnal mind, thou bright, meek, upright soul. Strip thyself of uncleanness and be thou also pure. Purgatory!” They then trap the guilty shinki in a triangle-shaped barrier of borderlines, and force the shinki to repent. During this time the guilty shinki might say things that are difficult for shinki to hear, risking the corruption of thinking about their past life. If unrepentant, the shinki will degrade further into being an ayakashi. Should the ayakashi blight grow strong enough and cover the shinki’s name tattoo, the shinki’s name will break and he will turn into an ayakashi fully. The former shinki can then possibly break the boundary and kill the other shinki.

An ablution is successful when the shinki sufficiently and deeply repents all their sins. In canon, purifying a very advanced case of blight has been shown as taking all night, with the shinki crying and screaming the whole time. This pain, as well as the pain of the shinki's blight, is also passed on to the god through their bond.

Characters can learn how to perform the ablution ceremony through player characters who already know the ritual or from NPCs. In the case of the character asking an NPC, please contact the mod account godsoffortune. To successfully conduct an ablution, the three shinki casting the spell must have 1000+ total experience. For more details and to have your shinki learn the ablution spell, please refer to the separate “Shinki Spells and Song” page.

The symptoms of blight in both god and shinki can be concealed using particular medicines, although this would be considered a gross deception.

Ayakashi and blight

Ayakashi are corrupt spirit beings, made from and drawn to negative human emotions such as loneliness, fear, anger and despair. They often take the form of monstrous animals, or other shapes that reflect the emotions that created them. For example, an ayakashi made from the loneliness of a baby crying in his crib takes the shape of a teddy bear.

Ayakashi affect humans by encouraging their dark impulses and spurring them to do bad things. These actions range from simple mischief to theft and fraud to actions as serious as murder and suicide.

Small ayakashi usually only make meaningless noises like chirps or cackles. Mid to larger sized ayakashi are able to speak. However what they have to say is simple and limited, usually focused on persuading or luring their human victims. For example, "Cut him! Cut him! You've almost reached paradise." or "Your mama is with us. Come here. Come here..."

Within range of a god, shinki or spirit they will also say "smells good", as uncorrupted souls are an ayakashi's favorite food. Once they notice a nearby god, shinki or spirit, ayakashi will attack in an attempt to devour their target.

In addition to being created by negative emotions, ayakashi can enter the mortal world through vents (openings) from Yomi, the underworld. A large surge of ayakashi spilling from a vent leads to a sharp increase in bad happenings in the Near Shore.

Where there is a lot of negative emotion, a ‘storm’ of ayakashi gathers. For example, it could get "stormy" around a high school around the time of final exams due to all the pressure and high emotions of the students. A variety of ayakashi would gather there.

Ayakashi can cause blight to a god, shinki or spirit merely by touching them. The blight appears as a painful dark bruise, is hot to the touch, and is contagious to other gods or shinki that touch a blighted spot.

Shinki in vessel form are resistant to blight. For instance, a sword shinki is not blighted by cutting an ayakashi, and an animal shinki is not blighted by using its teeth or claws to bring an ayakashi down. A god who has no shinki has no protection against ayakashi, and a shinki who is not with their god is equally unprotected. It is possible for a spirit or shinki to die from an ayakashi attack. Although a god could be seriously injured, it would be very unusual for one to be killed by an ayakashi attack.

Clothing can prevent being blighted by touch. For example, an ayakashi can be kicked because the shoe would protect the skin from direct contact. However, blight can slowly seep through clothes, and secretions from an ayakashi such as slime or saliva can also cause blight. Clothing-form shinki can protect their god against blight much more effectively than normal clothing can, because blight would not seep through.

Blessed water from a shrine or temple, such as what is found at the entrance for ritual hand washing, can cure blight from an ayakashi’s touch. Splashing some water on the blight makes it disappear.

Ayakashi can be deterred by blessed water as well. For example, the god Yato opened a bottle of water in the mouth of a large ayakashi when it tried to eat him. The ayakashi quickly spit Yato and the water up, and was incapacitated for a moment. Smaller, weaker ayakashi would be able to stand the water even less. While it would harm them, it would not kill them, as only the ‘Rend’ ability performed by a god and shinki working together can kill ayakashi.

Similarly, physical attacks and magical attacks using characters' canon powers can injure ayakashi, but they cannot kill them.

Interactions with the Near Shore

Beings of the Far Shore, including gods, shinki, and ayakashi, are not really invisible to living humans. Rather, they exist in people's "blind spots." Just as you couldn't remember the face of every person you passed while walking down the street, or say how many waitstaff there were in a restaurant, so too do the beings of the Far Shore remain unnoticed among living humans. * Because shinki are not invisible, they can (for instance) walk down the street or spend time among living humans without being run into, stepped on or shoved. They will be ignored unless they try hard to draw attention to themselves, though.

If a shinki calls sufficient attention to himself he can be noticed and interacted with normally.* Once the interaction is over, the Near Shore person will readily forget about it.

Ayakashi are further back in the blind spots, so they usually go completely unnoticed, even when causing mayhem.

Animals and children, as well as those who are close to death, can more easily notice beings of the Far Shore.* Some humans also have spiritual abilities that allow them to see gods, shinki and ayakashi even when they are not very young or close to death.

Should a god or shinki make a text post or have a picture or video of themselves posted to social media, they would still be subject to the "blind spot" effect. That is, anyone reading would pass by the post easily, or when viewing the picture or video one wouldn't notice the god or shinki unless their attention were specifically drawn to them, and they would easily forget them again.

Borderlines and Other Abilities

All shinki are capable of making a ‘borderline’.** It is a boundary that is able to keep out what the shinki wishes.* Fine control over it can be learned, but basically it is used as a wall to keep out ayakashi, or as a slicing weapon.

Learning Borderline example from a rp thread:
First make your fingers into a halberd like this. [Yukine makes his hand into a loose fist, then extends his thumb, middle and index fingers.] Then, while thinking about drawing that line between you and what you want kept out, draw a line with your hand.

Line! [Swiping his hand through the air he draws a line that gets transcribed on the ground. A thin line of light springs up, running a few meters up and down the street.]

Like that. Want to give it a try?

[[video of Yukine learning borderline, for visual reference.]]

- - - -

Shinki must learn how to make a borderline, however it can be explained to them by any shinki or god. A clear explanation is enough for a shinki to be able to do the technique themselves, although it will take practice to reliably and powerfully create a borderline. A shinki with canon powers might be able to combine their canon powers with the borderline. For example, a shinki who wields flame in canon could create a line of fire.

The gesture is important when learning to make a borderline, as it gives direction and focus. However with long experience, a shinki can eventually become capable of casting it without the gesture. Even so, a line cast with the gesture will always be more accurate. Likewise, saying “borderline” or “line” when casting also gives focus, but is not necessary for more experienced shinki.

The borderline variants (such as cutting) must be learned as well, either taught by another shinki or explained by a god. As with the basic borderline, a relatively simple explanation or a demonstration will be enough for a shinki to start practicing doing it for themselves.

Finer control over the borderline includes being able to cut only what the shinki wants to cut *, using it as a defence against spells*, as well as having better control over what can pass through the borderline*.

As nothing can destroy ayakashi except for a shinki wielded by a god and the god’s ‘Rend’ ability, a cutting borderline can only wound ayakashi. It can also be used as a weapon against other shinki, and is capable of causing damage to things of the Near Shore. A weaker shinki's borderline can be cut through by another borderline or a shinki weapon.*

It is possible to use a borderline to block things of the Near Shore. For example, a shinki deathly afraid of dogs could draw a line to stop a dog from getting near them. As with everything having to do with shinki abilities, what can be accomplished depends on the strength, experience and will of the shinki. For instance, if the shinki were too scared of the dog to concentrate properly and remain confident of their ability, their line wouldn’t be effective enough to keep the dog out. While borderlines do not normally keep out environmental factors such as dust, wind or rain, it would be possible for a shinki of sufficiently high ability to make their line do so.

The strength and effectiveness of a borderline is completely dependent on the shinki’s mindset at the time. Confidence and a strong feeling of superiority over the target will make for a stronger borderline. This is in part why training to make a line against an ayakashi is effective, because it’s easy for the shinki to imagine themselves above it, as well as naturally wanting to be on the other side of a line from it. (See the following Shinki Spells and Songs section for more details about strength.)

Gods cannot make a borderline.

Shinki who do not have a god-given vessel name cannot perform the shinki techniques of borderline and spells.

Shinki can know the status of their borderline (that is, if it's being weakened and how much more it can stand), and so they can also feel when their line is destroyed.

Lines take energy to make and maintain. It's not a huge amount, but maintaining a borderline for several hours on end will take a shinki to the brink of exhaustion. The line must also be consciously maintained. If the shinki is sufficiently distracted from their line or goes a considerable distance away from it, the line will fade.

Shinki can learn how to perform an ablution against a corrupted shinki. See the “Bond with the god and blight” section for details.

Shinki can draw borderlines against gods, and even capture them using borderlines from multiple shinki to form a prison.** A cutting borderline cannot kill a god, but it can injure them.

Shinki can teleport themselves between the Near Shore and Far Shore by using their god's shrine. They can use another god’s shrine for that teleportation, so long as they have that god’s permission. They cannot take mortal people with them, but can take other shinki or spirits. They cannot teleport to places around the Near or Far Shores the way gods do. As animals are perceptive of things of the Far Shore, pets are allowed to be brought to the Far Shore.

Shinki have a sort of ‘lightness of body’ as a spirit that enables them to jump extremely high and far. They are not able to float, hover or fly.

Shinki in their vessel form enable their god to 'Rend' an ayakashi, killing it.

Shinki may also have other abilities that take effect in their vessel forms. For example, Kazuma is able to exert control over the powers of every other shinki his goddess uses in order to maximize their effectiveness in a fight. Player character shinki will have selected this ability as their "vessel power" in their application. This ability can only be used in vessel form, not when the shinki is in their normal human body.

Shinki do not automatically know what their power is, although they may have a sense that they can "do something special" when they're in their vessel form. They have to discover it through trial and error.

Shinki Spells and Songs

Some shinki are able to learn spells. Examples in canon are a spell to render a person immobile, a sleeping spell, and a spell to hide someone.*

Using a spell requires the target's name and a mindset of complete superiority over them. In other words, the shinki has to be absolutely confident in their dominance over their target, or their lack of confidence will weaken their spell or cause it to fail. Depending on the situation and personality of the shinki, exerting dominance in such a way can cause the shinki to sting their god. Therefore, spells should be used with caution.*

The strength and effectiveness of a spell is completely dependent on the shinki’s mindset in that moment, and on their feeling of confidence in their superiority. A unique hafuri (blessed) vessel like Kazuma might seem like the highest-ranked of all shinki, but if taken by surprise or forced to doubt himself he can still fall to another shinki’s spell.**

As described in canon: “A shinki’s strength doesn’t come from his or her power. It comes from their status. People have this latent hierarchy, and that hierarchy translates into power. If he feels inferior to Mizuchi... he doesn’t stand a chance against her, even if he is a blessed vessel.”*

This perception of inferiority can be as subtle as calling someone with the –san suffix acknowledging their status above them, or having bowed to the other shinki in the past when asking a favour. So long as the shinki has a mindset of inferiority in any way, they will be weaker.

Using another shinki's name is key to casting or ending a spell against them. In the case of nora (shinki with more than one name), all the names must be called before a spell will affect them. For player character shinki, who retain their normal human name, their shinki ‘vessel’ name -- the on-reading of the kanji character that their god used to name them -- is the one that must be called in order to affect them with a spell.

A shinki cannot successfully cast a spell directly against a god, but they can be cast against other shinki and humans. It would be impossible to cast a spell directly against an ayakashi, due to the need to know a name.

As with borderlines, when learning a spell the gesture is important for control and focus. However with long experience a shinki can be capable of casting a spell without the gesture. Even so, the spell will be more accurate when the gesture is used.

Some shinki are able to learn ‘spell songs’. As the name suggests, these spells are sung. They also require a higher level of proficiency. Some examples in canon are a song sung by a group of child shinki to capture other shinki, and a song to make ice to extinguish a supernatural fire*. (Official translation notes about two songs: * *)

A name is not needed to affect a target with a song, nor does calling a name release a target from the effects of a song. The effects of song spells can be undone with a counter-song. It takes time and skill to be able to implement it. (Where a counter-song for the effect is not known, it is possible for an exceptionally talented shinki to compose a counter-song on the spot.* However, this is extremely rare. Therefore in the game this will not be a possible mechanic.)

As ‘singing’ is an essential component of these spells, a shinki must be able to sing with some degree of proficiency. We would like to believe the bar is relatively low, but if a character can't even carry a note in a bucket, they won't be able to pull off a spell song.

As sound is a component of the spell, the effects will only be within listening range of the singer. Therefore the range will be a bit wider if the caster sings loudly or a target has sharp hearing.

The effect of a song can last beyond when the shinki is singing, but is far more effective while being sung.

Song spells can affect ayakashi. For example, an ayakashi setting supernatural fires would be thwarted by a fire fighting song.

Being based on Japanese poetry, the songs must be sung in Japanese.

Spells and songs are success-or-fail. If a casting fails, nothing happens.

Gods can't perform spells or songs. But, like with borderlines, they can try helping to teach shinki as far as describing it.

It will take player characters at least one in-game month (two ooc months) to learn a spell, whichever method they are learning by. We ask that players have their characters make a reasonable effort to learn these abilities.

Please refer to the separate Shinki spells and songs page for more details, as well as a list of the available spells and songs.

Vessel form

A shinki's name is a single Japanese kanji, which is used to make three different names, a “true name”, “vessel name” and “common name”. This naming system makes use of the fact that in Japanese kanji have at least two ways to be read. These two ways are the "on-reading" from the original Chinese pronunciation of a character, and the "kun-reading," which is a Japanese word written with that character. Player character shinki only receive two names in-game, the "true name" (kun-reading) and the "vessel name" (on-reading+ki), and keep their character’s real name as their “common name”.

The true name of a shinki is the kun-reading of whatever kanji the god chooses as a name. The vessel name is the on-reading of the kanji. To call a shinki into their vessel form, the god will call out their vessel name plus "ki," 器, which literally means "vessel" or "container."

For example, the canon character Yukine's true name is Yuki, 雪, which means "snow." His vessel name is Setsu, which is the on-reading of 雪. The name that his god calls in order to transform him into his vessel form is Sekki, 雪器. (Words ending in "tsu" sometimes drop the "tsu" in favor of doubling the next consonant in Japanese -- you don't have to worry about this grammar rule for player character shinki names unless you want to.)

Canon gods give their character a common name based on the true name, but adding on an extra ending character of their choice. Most gods use the same ending character for the common names of all their shinki. For example, Yato uses a –ne ending as in Yukine and Tomone. Bishamon currently uses a –ha ending as in Kuruha and Aiha*. (Official translation notes: *)

A shinki's vessel form is set at the moment the god finishes the naming spell. It's formed from a combination of the attributes of the shinki's own soul and the god's needs. For example, all of the shinki that Yato have used take the form of some kind of bladed weapon, but the type and style of weapon is different for each shinki. A shinki cannot wilfully choose what form their vessel will take. Shinki who are named by different gods take a new and different vessel form for each new name they receive. A shinki can transform into only one item (per name). For example, a shinki could be a hand mirror, a sword, a gun, a lion, a set of scales, a bikini, an ink brush, a fan, or almost anything else. (For a visual example, please try watching this.)

When their god calls their vessel name (the 'on-yomi' reading of the kanji on their body plus '-ki'), the shinki will transform. The shinki changes into a beam of light, coming to their god's side and materializing into their vessel form. In the case of clothing shinki, the god is immediately wearing it. In the case of most items, the god is immediately holding it. The shinki must be within hearing range of their god to be called into vessel form.

Shinki who have a strong will can resist transforming when their god calls them. Shinki cannot transform on their own.

A shinki is meant to help a god fulfill their purpose. In many cases that will involve killing ayakashi. Simply wielding a shinki allows the god to destroy an ayakashi. Essentially, they combine their power with their shinki's in order to 'Rend' the ayakashi, a special ability that can only be used by a god and shinki working in combination.

The god and shinki can communicate by speaking to each other, however what the shinki says can only be heard by his god, as well as that god’s other vessel-transformed shinki, while in that form. There are some exceptions, such as certain beast shinki being able to speak aloud. It is a rare ability.

Also, the shinki can clearly perceive things all around them, and is therefore able to watch their god’s back no matter which way their vessel is facing.

Their vessel form can be picked up and held by others. However there is a sense of 'wrongness' about another god trying to use it, and the shinki would not be able to use their full abilities or powers. For instance, a vessel that is a knife would still be able to cut in the usual way when held by another god, but would not be able to rend an ayakashi.

It is possible for the shinki to have some small control over their own movement in vessel form. For instance, Yukine’s body instinctively ‘moved on its own’ to defend Yato, shown by the sword flying a short distance on its own.** Later, Yukine also exhibits control over the wrapping of his blades, using them to bind the enemy's wrists.

A shinki in vessel form can still draw a borderline and use song spells. They cannot cast regular spells, as those spells require speaking the target's name aloud.

A shinki in vessel form must be called by their ‘true name’ (kun-reading of kanji of their shinki name) by their own god to revert back. Player character shinki should be called by their regular, canon name (‘common name’) to revert back, as this is the name of their human form. No one except the god who named them can revert a shinki.

Shinki are able to 'evolve' through a demonstration of putting the name given to them, that is their very life, on the line for their god. They become a 'hafuri', or blessed vessel, by doing so. This is a very rare occurrence.** Only a small number of shinki have evolved throughout the history of the Heavens.

Although widely regarded as an extraordinarily good thing to have happen, some gods and shinki view becoming a hafuri in a darker sense because of the second meaning of 'hafuri', that is 'buried' -- a shinki who has become a hafuri has "died" a second time for their god.

Player character shinki can evolve into hafuri through the use of the experience system. As it is an extremely rare occurrence in canon, it is an extremely expensive regain.

Nora

Nora, or ‘strays’, are shinki who have more than one name.* (‘Nora’ is also what one particular girl stray is called as a common name in canon.) Generally nora are looked down upon in the god’s society, stigmatized as disloyal and considered to have dishonored their names, and seen at best as vessels with which to do ‘dirty work’.*

All normal aspects of a god's bond with their shinki apply to a bond with a nora. The god will be aware of a nora's state of mind and condition just as much as their regular shinki's. Should a nora do something they feel guilty for, they will sting all the gods connected to them.

Nora have some advantage in their multiple names, because all the nora’s names need to be called before a spell can affect them.*

If a nora is in a vessel form and is then called by another god by that other vessel name, they will (should they will it) transform into the other vessel and go to the other god.**

Any god with a name for the nora can call them to revert them to human form. For example, once Nora transformed for Ebisu (god1), Yato (god2) can still revert Nora to her normal form.* Only gods who have named the nora can call them back to human form.

Game Specific Mechanics

This section will further address mechanics specific to 'The Far Shore' game.

Entering the world

Shinki arrive outside the Meeting Hall of the gods in Takamagahara with whatever they had on their person when they died. Basic tech/weapons would be included, like comm devices, knives, guns, etc. Anything more than that would have been taken away. They remember nothing before their arrival in this place, but they are aware that they are dead.

Thanks to some in-game developments, both shinki and gods are guided by Amaterasu’s white-robed shinki to Bishamon's temple for a training session and orientation after their arrival in game. There, they can find their partner, as well as have their questions answered by the volunteers ready to meet them. Shinki can use this opportunity to learn how to cast a borderline, as well as practicing transforming into their vessel form.

Gods have to find their shinki, but as gods see their shinki's deaths they will recognize them on sight. Players also have the option of playing out the shinki naming, in which case the god will be told a description of their assigned shinki by which to find them. Shinki are told their god’s name, but Amaterasu’s shinki reassure them that their god will find them.

Memories in game

New gods have a strong innate sense that telling their shinki about their previous life or their death will have dire consequences. Shinki also have a natural aversion to talking about their own past. Gods may slip here and there, letting hints of familiarity slip, so long as it is vague. This will, however, confuse the shinki and make them feel uneasy. However, any specific details or stories about a shinki's past would cross over the line and cause the shinki to fall.

For example, in the case of something like a nickname from a god's and shinki's shared past, the nickname could be used but the shinki will only think of it as a nickname with no particular meaning. Should the god go further to explain the story of the nickname, or to specifically say something like "I used to call you this," it will cause the shinki to fall into being an ayakashi.

In the case of shinki who have a god castmate who knows them well, the shinki may pick up on passive information about themselves. For example, that the god knows about powers they have that the shinki has not discovered for themselves, or the god mentioning something like "you were really cool, how you handled that back then." The shinki can come to understand that those statements are about them, but wonder just how the god knows about that power, or when that was that they were cool.

Shinki who start to gather that those passive comments are potentially about their own past will be struck with a sense of discomfort and even dread- the kind of feeling that makes them think, 'I shouldn't think about this too hard.' It is like a fierce but unconscious self-preservation instinct. To the shinki that past did not happen, as far as their memory is concerned. It's blank, after all. And just how much the god knows about the shinki is part of the 'god's greatest secret.'

The only memories that are safe to discuss with shinki, without causing a sense of unease or causing the shinki to become an ayakashi, are memories that the shinki has regained. A new shinki can regain a memory without any ill effect to themselves or others around them.

Once a new shinki regains a memory, they can talk about it with others, including their god. Should the conversation wander to other memories however, the instinct gods have to preserve the "god's greatest secret" will prevent them from speaking about it any further. If the shinki gets told and remembers any further memories they will be transformed into an ayakashi and need to be killed.

Canon gods will be naturally terrified of the emergence of shinki who can remember even a portion of their past, and may choose to completely avoid contact with that god and their shinki to avoid 'contamination'. The past is something that canon shinki don't think about, but when they start to it can consume them.

Canon shinki, instead of reacting with curiosity, react to new shinki's memories with a sort of repulsion. Similar to how magnets repulse each other, there is something that prevents them from getting too close. It rubs them the wrong way and they don’t want to get close to it. For example, Yukine has reacted to that repulsion with irritation and explained it away as being too close to his own experience with envying the living and subsequent ablution.

Gods, Names and Nora-ing

Should a shinki wish to become the servant of a different god, it would be proper of them to ask to have their current vessel name removed by their god before becoming named by another god.

Once a shinki takes a form for a god, they will always take that form for that god. The god cannot release and rename a shinki and have the shinki's vessel change.

When a god drops from the game, the shinki’s vessel name disappears. However, a shinki can choose for their newly-assigned god to give them the same name that they had with the previous god, and the character can appear in the same place on the body. If a previous god has dropped and the shinki player wishes to re-use the same vessel for their new god, they can do so. They can also of course choose a different vessel form, name and name location, if they prefer.

Players are welcome to make their shinki characters nora. That is, to become named by more than one god. Shinki who are named by more than one god will have a different name, vessel form, and power for each god. For instance, if a shinki is originally assigned to God A, for whom they become a sword with the power to summon fire, and then accept a name from God B, they might become a cloak with the power to make God B invisible. God A cannot summon or use the cloak, and God B cannot summon or use the sword. The fire power is only associated with the sword, and the invisibility power is only associated with the cloak.

It is possible for a god to name a shinki against their will. OOC-ly, this must absolutely be planned out and agreed upon before being played out in the game.

OOC-ly, please discuss naming shinki with all players involved, and once it is played out please update your information with the mod team on the god and shinki pages.

Powers

A character's natural canon powers can be used to amplify their shinki power and skills. For instance, characters with the power of summoning fire might be able to summon a borderline that has flames coming from it.

Shinki retain what they would innately know, and would therefore also know about their own natural powers and abilities. They wouldn’t remember how they learned to use these abilities or any other story or circumstances surrounding them, but they would remember how to use them.

The shinki’s vessel power given in this game (the one chosen when you apped) is a power connected to how experienced the shinki becomes, which is OOC-ly shown by the experience gained. We will leave it up to the players to give their characters a reasonable curve of learning their new power over time in line with their follower gains.

Spells and Songs

In order to have the information be easier to find and update, the separate page of shinki spells and songs can be found