[Question] Regarding Shikigami

[Caradoc]

Erm. Right, so about Shikigami. There isn't really much to describe them, at least from what I can see. So here are some questions to try and understand them a little, I guess.

1. Can they talk? Are they kind of like NPCs that accompany the shaman during the time they are summoned and can be treated as normal... er.. people?
2. What do they look like? Are there any restrictions in their appearances besides having a humanoid figure? Are they like youkai, or are they just shadowy figures...?
3. If the answer to the first question is yes, then are we allowed to app them as NPCs and give them a little flavor?
4. Does a shaman know which shikigami he or she is summoning? Or is it totally random?
5. ...Do shikigami need to eat? (Probably not, since they're spirits but...)
6. What happens when a shikigami dies? Does it return to the spirit realm to regenerate and can be summoned later? Or is it gone for good?
7. Also um, history, did the shaman have to contract the shikigami in order to be able to summon it?
8. Building on the previous question, is there a set pool of shikigami that shaman can summon (like.. common shikigami, that you might see around every shaman), or are they unique to each player?

Sorry if the questions are kind of weird...
Thanks in advance!

[Murasaki]

The Summon Shikigami skill has been updated to reflect these questions.

1. Yes, they speak any languages you know.
2. They resemble humanoid people but with animal-like appearances. Think of them like Fox Tails although not necessary limited to fox-like animal appearances.
3. Go for it.
4. I would believe that when a Shaman summons a Shikigami, they'll mentally think of the Shikigami they want to call out in some way. If not, it'll probably generate a new one.
5. They do not need to eat. Some may like to eat though.
6. A Shikigami returns to the Spirit Realm for a few hours to repair its wounds, similar to other Familiars or Followers. It will be unavailable till then.
7. A formal contract isn't necessary, but it wouldn't hurt to go into character development threads to detail your partnership.
8. While many Shikigami may look similar, they all borrow from the Shaman's appearance and personality in some way, making them essentially unique.

[Caradoc]

Ah, that helped a lot. Thanks Murasaki!