Kurain Channeling Technique

Pearl Fey

There are six lines to the Sacred Writings. Cleanse thy soul... Open the door to the spiritual realm beyond... Converse with the departed... ...Cast on thyself Protection... Maintain the spell... Release the spell...

— Reunion, and Turnabout

The Kurain Channeling Technique is the spirit channeling technique practiced by the Fey clan of spirit mediums from Kurain Village, with the clan's leader possessing the title of "Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique". Based on channeling techniques from Khura'in, learning the technique takes years of training and studying, as well as a certain amount of inherent spiritual power, which can vary between clan members, with some not possessing the ability at all. As of 2028, only Maya Fey, Pearl Fey, and Amara Sigatar Khura'in are living individuals known to be capable of channeling spirits through either this technique or the original techniques from Khura'in.

How the technique works

Mia Fey being channeled by Maya Fey.

Tahrust Inmee being channeled by Maya Fey.

In order to channel a spirit successfully, the medium needs to know of the spirit's appearance and true name. When a Fey performs the Kurain Channeling Technique, her body transforms into a likeness of the person she channels. This change extends to her voice and physical appearance, including height, figure, and even body marks like moles or tattoos. Her hair and clothes remain the same, though this does not stop the medium or spirit from altering these features manually to complete a disguise. From this point, the channeled spirit takes control of the body, and the medium loses consciousness and is unaware of anything the spirit does during the channeling. This unconsciousness is complete, unlike regular sleep in which people dream.

Only female members of the clan inherit the ability to use the technique. One limitation of the technique is that two people may not simultaneously channel the same spirit. However, one medium can "steal" a spirit from a less powerful medium, as well as prevent a less powerful medium from channeling a spirit by channeling it herself.

The spirit generally leaves voluntarily. However, according to Morgan Fey, it is possible to remove a spirit and send it back to the afterlife without its consent, by using the "Spirit Severing Technique". It is unknown what this technique entails as it was only mentioned once and never actually used at that time. The technique may even be a fabrication used by Morgan to cover up the truth behind a murder. Regardless of the existence of such a technique, one example of a spirit leaving involuntarily is when Dahlia Hawthorne's spirit was mocked by Mia Fey until she vacated her host; the other is by using the Magatama of Parting, as done to remove Tahrust Inmee's spirit from Maya.

The Kurain Sacred Writings on the folding screen in Fey Manor's Channeling Chamber contain six lines related to channeling.

Additional notes

According to Morgan and Maya Fey, an experienced medium can "control" a channeled spirit for a lengthy period of time, and can send the spirit at will. However, the exact nature of the "control" the medium is supposed to have is unclear in general. For example, Misty Fey, the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique at the time, made no apparently successful effort to stop the attempts of a spirit she channeled to murder her daughter Maya, while Amara was able to send Inga back to the afterlife while channeling him. It could be that lack of training over the years of hiding and Dahlia being a malevolent spirit had caused Misty to not have enough power to control the spirit.

According to Maya, to be recognized as a Master of the technique, one must be able to channel through a multitude of spirits continuously at will, which inexperienced spirit mediums would never succeed in. She also notes that in the past, she had only been able to use her powers 30% of the time.

A channeled spirit remembers the entirety of their corporeal life up to and including the moment of their death, but will not remember any sort of "afterlife" or other activities after death, other than when they are channeled. That is, to the spirit, it is as if they had been channeled right after losing their life, or right after the last time they were channeled. For example, when Tahrust Inmee was channeled, he initially believed he had in that very instant died and passed on to the afterlife, when in fact the reverse had just happened. However, if the spirit is forcibly removed, whether it be through an exorcism or through the host body being rendered unconscious, the spirit is unable to tell the difference, as the experience of being exorcised is as if the spirit had fallen unconscious.

It is also possible to a spirit to be channeled for several days, as Maya had been channeling both Dahlia's and Dhurke's spirits for 3 days straight right after his passing, until Phoenix and Amara respectively forcibly exorcised them from Maya's body. However on both occasions this had left Maya in a state of extreme spiritual exhaustion that had rendered her unconscious for some amount of time.