Spirit Landscape and Courts of Edinburgh

City Landscape

City Centre – In the city centre most of the buildings are much the same as they are in the mundane world, though they seem to be made of bones and lean much closer together than their counterparts. Arthur's Seat is still an active Volcano and the Castle seems to be a highly defensive fort home to quite a number of military spirits, with occasional odd towers that seem more like something from a fairytale. Some of the older buildings have their own mini spirit ecosystems, like small worlds within worlds.

Leith – The port is huge and sprawling in the Shadow, a mix of old and new with a great number of spirits of ships, travel and the like. There are also quite a number of strange foreign spirits which have come across from other places. Some areas are also very seedy, spirits of desire and despair and not uncommon here. There is also rather a lot of industrial type spirits in the area.

Portobello – An odd mix of old from the bath houses and a time when this was a popular resort and more current times where the area is not particularly affluent.

Craigmillar/Niddrie/Greendykes – Something of a hell hole. This place is full of the nastier variety of spirits and Greendykes is home to a Wound. There are some areas that are better than others, but generally not a good place to linger in the Shadow in.

Liberton/Gilmerton – Quiet and tranquil for the most part, there are some bad areas, but on the whole this is a nice area. There are a number of nature spirits around the Braid Hills area.

Fairmilehead/Colinton – The Fairmilehead area is still fairly wild in the Shadow, having not had housing or human habitation for a long period of time. It is also home to the Caiy stone, which is far larger in the Shadow than it is in the mundane world. Colinton still shows some evidence of its origin as a mill town, there is still some remnants of Cogs activity in this area. There are also some remains of the old railway here with weak spirits associated with it. The Redford Barracks here are home to a number of more militant spirits.

Morningside – Largely occupied by residential/commercial spirits. At the spirit version of Morningside Church there is a huge stone with a ghostly standard flying from it. The spirits here tend to have a rather arrogant attitude, believing themselves better than spirits from “lesser” areas of the city.

Gorgie/Dalry/Sighthill – Sighthill, despite the fact that the area has not been housed for long, has a remarkably strong Shadow presence and it is not a good one. This area is full of nasty spirits and may even be home to a Shoal, if there isn't one yet, it is likely that one may develop. Gorgie and Dalry are not as bad, but they are still fairly unpleasant. There are a number of rather displaced and angry Distillery related spirits now that the brewery has gone. Spirits of football related violence and passion are also not unheard of here. There are some spirits associated with the Farm here as well.

Corstorphine – A mix of old and new again, with the area of the original Corstorphine village being a site of the spirits of older times. This is compared to the Gyle area, which is a stronghold of the Court of Sparks. The Zoo has a very strong presence in the Shadow with many spirits of exotic animals present.

Cramond – Full of very old building spirits, with some traces left of a Roman port here as well. The Tower is a lot taller in the Shadow and dominates the landscape thoroughly.

Dean Village/New Town – There is still a lot of mill related activity in the Dean Village area, with the Court of Cogs clinging to this place. Spirits of the Weirs and the water in general are prevalent down the Water of Leith. The New Town is another spiritual hub, the buildings are very old and well defined and tend to be larger and grander perhaps than the ones in the mundane world.

Pilton/Granton – These areas have a great many graffiti spirits along with violence. This place is home to the Granton Gas Works and BAE systems and have a number of spirits associated with both. The Harbour at Granton still has some fishing boat spirits there, but most are being eaten or forced out by yacht spirits.

The Edinburgh Spirit Courts

The Courts present in the city are pretty much the same at the spirit landscape of the UK, though there are some smaller Courts which are very local in flavour. The city of Edinburgh is one of the last bastion strongholds of the Court of Cogs and also has a larger than usual presence by the Court of Malice. Being a city of passion and festivals there is also a very large amount of spirits with some ties or allegiance to the Court of Urges. There is also a rather local Court known as the Court of Cloaks which is to do with shadows, memories and death, especially associated with graveyards.

Court of Malice

Also called the Court of Gossip, Court of Faces, Court of the Petty Word, Court of Rumour, Court of the Backward Blade, Court of Scandal and the Weathervane Court.

One of the most prevalent Courts in the city, the city spirit itself is apparently a member of this Court, though it calls itself a member of the Court of Faces rather than Malice.

Important spirits of the Court: Edinburgh (city spirit), Kisa (snake/deceit spirit), Whispers Over Fences, Gossips In Doorways.

Court of Urges

Also called the Court of Smiles, Court of Feelings, Court of Loves, Court of Passions, Court of Hubris, Court of Emotions and the Heart-led Court.

Edinburgh is a city of Festivals, one of the major hubs of tourism outside of London and pretty multi-cultural for a city in Scotland. The Scots in general are supposed to be a passionate people and this is born out with the strength of the Court of Urges in the city. During the Fringe in August and Beltane the Court is particularly strong.

Important Spirits of the Court: Fuck a Fresher (University fresher weeks), The Horned God (Beltane spirit), Queen Of Summer (Beltane spirit), Organised Chaos (Fringe festival).

Court of Cogs

Also called the Court of Iron, Court of Bronze, Court of Industry, Court of Machines, Court of Steam, Court of Power, Court of Smoke and the Clockwork Court.

Rather unusually Cogs is still the larger Court in the city between it and the Court of Sparks. Edinburgh is still old and more traditional in its industries in some ways and has a lot of remnants of old industries in the city, spirits of mills, weirs as well as breweries and the like.

Important Spirits of the Court: Weaves the Water (weir spirit), Blood Sweat and Tears (sweatshop spirit), 80 Shilling (brewery spirit), Necessary Sacrifice (Forth rail bridge).

Court of Sparks

Also called the Court of Silicon, Court of Ideas, Court of Inventions, Court of Dreams, Court of Technology, Court of Computers, Court of Electrons and the Digital Court.

The Court of Sparks is having a harder time getting a major foothold in the city which is still very much a bastion of Cogs. Its areas of main influence are the Leith Docks area and the new shopping/commercial areas such as the Gyle centre. Edinburgh Airport is also a stronghold of the Court.

Important Spirits of the Court: Corporate Dreams, Copper and Glass (Gyle), Money Talks, Changing Planes (Edinburgh Airport).

Court of Cloaks

A local and small Court of spirits, made up largely of spirit of memories, death, sorrow and graveyards. It has ties to the Court of Urges, but does still seem to be a smaller and separate Court from them. Edinburgh has a long history of deaths, most of which are rather unpleasant and this Court seems to have been created to reflect that history. It is also generally associated with the history of the City, the tourism which comes with that does help to keep those spirits alive.

These spirits generally are quiet and melancholy and seem to almost have a sympathy with the local ghost population of Edinburgh, at times it is almost difficult to tell the difference between the ghosts and spirits of this Court.

Important Spirits of the Court: Bluidy McKenzie, The Grey Friars, Half Hangit Maggie, Fear In The Dark (vault spirit).

Court of Air

One of the elemental courts. The only major presence of this Court in the city is a spirit of the Haar, or the fog that rolls in from the sea. Due to the often low cloud around the hills, there is often some spirits of that around as well as spirits of the rain and the water of Leith.

Important Spirits of the Court: The Haar.

Court of Smog

Also called the Court of Poison, Court of Pollution, Court of Filth, Court of Disease, Court of Radiation, Court of Smoke, Court of Ooze and the Death Court.

This Court's presence in Edinburgh is more of death and disease than many of the other facets of the Court, though there are a number of pollution spirits present as well. Edinburgh, as mentioned under the Court of Cloaks, has suffered a great many major death events from the plague to a nasty fire which swept through the slums of Edinburgh's vaults.

Important Spirits of the Court: Ring of Roses (plague spirit), Decay From Above (pollution spirit), Radiant Causality (radiation spirit in the Forth), Waste Not Want Not (garbage spirit).

Court of Earth

Another of the elemental courts. This is largely present due to Arthur's Seat, Castle Rock and the other myriad of hills around the city. They do not tend to have a huge amount of interaction with the Forsaken, but they are known of.

Important Spirits of the Court: Without Impunity (Castle Rock), Slumbering Fire (Arthur's Seat).

Court of Teeth

Also called the Court of Gutters, Court of Predators, Court of Hunters, Court of Killers, Court of Inside-fire, Court of Death and the Natural Law Court.

The murder, death and war aspects of this Court are a lot more prevalent in the city than the wilder predator spirits. This is pretty much the same as for any city. There are a number of these sorts of spirits associated with the Castle, the Redford Barracks and other areas of military interest. The more violent areas of the city also have a number of these spirits present as do many sites of historical bloodshed of various sorts. The more animalistic predatory side of the Court is present in the area surrounding Edinburgh Zoo with the spirits there of more exotic and vicious animals.

Important Spirits of the Court: Mother of the Pride (predator cat spirit), Pre-emptive Attack (war spirit), The Last Drop (gallows spirit), Medicinal Purposes (resurrectionist murder spirit).

ANST Desktop ~ Enemies ~ Events ~ Places ~ Resources ~ the Spirit Courts ~ Tales ~ Venue Style Sheets ~ Who's Who

Edit this page