Spirit

Spirits are the creatures which inhabit the Fade.

Nature of spirits
According to the Chantry, the spirits of the Fade are the first children of the Maker. He turned his back on them because they lacked a soul – they could twist the Fade to their liking, but lacked the ability to imagine and create, and thus emulate their creator. The Maker created a new realm, separated from the Fade by the Veil, and this realm would be one that his new children could not alter at will. These new children had the spark of the divine within them, and the Maker was pleased. Supposedly, ever since the Maker created His new children, the spirits from the Fade have watched humanity with curiosity and, in the case of the more malicious spirits, envy and desire.

The malicious ones among the Maker's first children were jealous. They called out to the mortals, drawing their sleeping minds across the veil and saw the land that the Maker had created for them in their dreams. They coveted the spark within them, but did not understand it. They shape the Fade to create the land that they see in the minds of men, and seek to draw the spark from them without truly understanding where it might actually come from.

However, whether benevolent or malevolent, most spirits cannot help but mine a Fade visitor's mind for their thoughts and memories. They might then use these to shape the visitor's perceptions and trick them into thinking their dreams are reality.

A spirit cannot comprehend a world that is static and immutable and is not familiar with the concept of time. It cannot comprehend what it means to be within a body of flesh. Some spirits cross the Veil because they desire something they can never have. Some spirits, however, may even be terrified by the waking world, and unintentionally violent once they've crossed the veil.

Spirits seek out and latch onto specific purposes. The more powerful spirits will do all in its power to fulfill that purpose. For instance, a hunger demon will attempt to feed on anything it crosses, and a spirit of Justice will stop at nothing to uphold its name.

Demons
Demon is one name for the malevolent spirits from the Fade that embody negative emotions like rage or fear. Often destructive, they can abuse the minds of dreaming mortals, possess living or dead creatures (generally preferring living mages – see Abomination), or even animate rubble or suits of armor.

Benevolent spirits
Spirits embodying virtues may be considered benevolent (or at least not malevolent). Such spirits characteristically do not wish to cross the Veil. They may instead comfort visitors of the Fade by dreams that strengthen the soul, or visions that promote epiphanies. There are five known types of benevolent spirits: Compassion, Valor, Justice, Faith and Hope. , which range in power from the relatively weak spirits of compassion to the strongest spirits of hope. Spirit healers maintain close relationships with spirits of compassion. Spirits of hope rarely appear in the waking world since little there attracts them.

Wisps
Not all spirits represent a distinct virtue or vice. The weakest spirits, wisps, are shimmering orbs of light too simple and impressionable to be good or evil. In some cases they appear to be benign, aiding mages who summon them in the mortal realm (by distracting foes or boosting spellpower) or in the Fade (as guides). Wisp wraiths, however, are known to attack anything in sight.

Spirits in other cultures
Dalish mages do not use any magic involving spirits, as they believe all spirits are dangerous. In party banter with Anders, Merrill states that the Dalish believe "there's no such thing as a good spirit", meaning even the benevolent ones cannot be relied upon, as Anders and Justice prove.

Notable spirits

 * Spirit of Valor
 * Spirit of Faith
 * Spirit of Justice
 * Cole

Trivia

 * Contrary to popular belief, David Gaider never said that spirits and demons are fundamentally different.