Partners

There are some spirits, known as partners, that join up with students to assist them in whichever of the five career paths they choose to take. Partners are extremely protective, however, and will not allow a second spirit to assist a particular Hunter. Often times a battle is waged between two or three prospective partners for ownership of a student. Partners see the person as theirs; they have claimed the student as their own, possibly even fought for them, and no one else gets to have them. Partners don't often speak to people unless it is to their chosen person. They can speak to other people and do on occasion, but not often.

Animals don't have souls in the same way that humans have souls, but something of them is left behind after they die. Unlike the souls of humans who have to pass on from this realm or risk becoming twisted and deranged, animal spirits remain in the ghostly realm. Most eventually dissipate and their energy becomes part of something else, but some remain and grow stronger, developing an intelligence and a personality of their own. The longer these spirits exist while gathering up ambient energy, the stronger and more intelligent they become.

When the animal first dies its spirit is young, weak, and malleable. At this point it might become intertwined with other recently deceased animal spirits. If a spirit lasts long enough to become a partner, then this is what has probably occurred, because the bonding of spirits will allow them to be stronger and thus less likely to dissipate. The majority of partners were once a spirit that connected with other spirits from its Genus (i.e. a dog spirit will bond with other dog spirits, ending with a general dog spirit, but not one of any specific species). Sometimes the spirit will bond with its same specific species (i.e. the spirit of a black Labrador retriever bonds with other spirits of black Labrador retrievers). Less common are spirits that bonded with spirits outside of its Genus entirely, resulting in partners resembling creatures such as dragons or gryphons, or they simply have more than the normal amount of legs, etc. Occasionally there will be a partner whose spirit did not bond with any others, but usually these dissolve before they have the chance to become stronger.

Once the spirit gets to the point where it becomes sentient and gains some sort of intelligence and a personality, it will no longer need to bond with other trailing spirits. It won't be completely stable, however, until it comes into contact with a student at one of the academies and that student is likewise able to see spirits, though no one is sure why one student is chosen over another. It is at this point that their existence settles and often the way they look shifts as well. In this final stage of development they might gain a design similar to the student's mask, though this is not always the case. When a partner is in the stage before they have chosen a student (or if they have, but said student can't see spirits yet) then they exist on a higher spectrum of the spirit world, not able to be seen by Hunters unless they intentionally increase the density at which they view the spirit world.

It is believed that since these entities were once living, that this is why they gravitate to students with the desire to help them. Partners, like ghosts, cannot fly, they merely hover above the earth. This of course does not hold true if the partner is the spirit of a bird or other flying animal.

The species of animal that the partner resembles is in no way related to the career path that the student will eventually take. Having a partner that is a bear or a tiger does not necessarily mean that the student will become a hunter. A student who's strength lies more toward energy manipulation and control will gain a partner with this same strength who can assist the student if they become a spirit-smith, whether the partner is a mouse or a whale. However, the partner and the person they have claimed will have similar characteristics, whether in appearance or personality (i.e. A person who's partner is a ram will be strong-willed).