This is Argenti’s OG idea for the Threnody magic system, and I thought it was really cool so I just added a bunch more details and abilities and stuff into the Threonody/ENDOWMENT page, BUT SERIOUSLY THIS IDEA IS COOL (-wyver)

Endowment and Preservation Magic system 

The Gift of Life and The Gifts of the Dead

After death, Threnodites don’t cease to be. Rather than being sucked towards the great beyond, every threnodite is instantly transformed into a cognitive shadow by endowment and drawn towards the halls of the ancestors on the cognitive realm of threnody, where they join the ranks of ancesteros. 

These ancestral shades aren’t immortal; they require the active veneration of mortals to continue to live. If they’re forgotten or stop being worshiped, they’ll slowly fade away into nothing. They feed off those who visit their shrines or offer them sacrifices, and use the offerings to sustain themselves for longer.

The shades, when not protecting their descendants, go about their day and… do society. They build, they argue, they hunt, and they feast. While they don’t need to eat, they usually do, because it’s fun. 

The houses, which are blood-related groups of ancestor-shades, often argue, sometimes breaking into war, although the rainbow dragon often will stop them, at least for a bit.

The entire cognitive realm of Threnody is a megacity; skyscrapers made of Andarium store the Houses of Shades, stretching towards the sparkling heavens. It’s truly a necropolis. 

Any mortal descendant of an ancestor can invoke them and draw on their aid and protection. For most, this appears as momentary bursts of healing, speed, mental Fortitude, or strength, with different bloodlines being particularly adept at granting aid in certain ways, such as one family being known for having incredible luck. Still, there are a select few, called Spiritcallers, who can do more.

Spiritcallers are selected at birth by the Endowment. Upon birth, their ancestors receive a vision that reveals their destiny and what will happen if it is not fulfilled. 

Spiritcallers come in 5 varieties: Seers, Aspects, Mediums, Savants, or Travelers.

Seers, through their connection to their ancestors, are able to project their vision and mind across the cosmere, without actually leaving home. Through the collective Investiture of their Ancestors, they may also have glimpses of the future.

Aspects have the strength and skills of warriors with a thousand years of practice flowing through them, and are thus incredible, invested warriors. Some ancestors may allow certain Aspects to manifest in the physical world, creating something Akin to Shardplate and Shardblades.

Mediums allow an individual ancestor to essentially possess them, meaning their spirit web floods with the skills and memories of the individual. This would allow them to acquire the skills of a master thief, for example, or an incredible blacksmith.

Savants merge with the collective minds and will of their ancestors, granting them the understanding and resistance of two souls.  This allows them to resist strikes from invested strikes. Under certain circumstances, they may manifest their collective house as an invested beast.

Travelers are the most strongly connected to their House shades and can pass from the physical to the cognitive at will, or stop halfway between into a strange sort of shadow existence. Travelers are unable to travel back to the physical from the full cognitive without the aid of their ancestors. With their help, a Traveler is also able to pass into the spiritual realm.