Ashkeepers

The Ashkeepers are an order of monks known to recruit only from the absolute lowest of society, in an effort to teach them the value of all things. Those who follow the Way of the Ashkeeper are outcasts and misfits.¹

Lingering ki

Ki is the invisible energy that flows through all living things and binds them together, though only a few scholars recognise it. Inanimate objects hold no ki, yet at the moment of death it is not entirely lost. The energy that lingers after death differs from the ki of the living: it is corrupted and stagnant, and using it is dangerous.²

Some monks, having discovered this peculiar trait of ki, developed techniques to harness and manipulate these lingering reserves. Ashkeeper monks usually practise an unholy technique that draws on a necrotic semblance of ki remaining within a corpse, and the ashes of the dead hold a remnant of ki-like energy that they use to strengthen their abilities.³

A rare path

Only monks with the right techniques can safely tap into this power. The techniques are ancient and have been passed down to very few, and because of the risks, and the close contact with the dead and the spirit world that practising them requires, the path is not widely sought. It is seen less as part of a monk's inner journey than as a duty to be fulfilled.²