Old Town Astoria Shadow

The Shadow of Old Town is a strange place deeply affected by the twin resonances that are strongest here: Water and Nostalgia. It is a place of constant gray skies and showers, and the Columbia River has escaped its banks. Instead of streets, it has water ways, with water varying between ankle-deep up to waist-deep in some places nearer the river. The buildings themselves are a fanciful version of pioneer-era Astoria, with too-bright colors amid the watery gray.

Common Spirits

Two main factors influence the spiritual landscape of Old Town: its proximity to the Columbia and open ocean, and its history.

• Nature Spirits: Seagull spirits are very common here, as are the spirits of a variety of fish (many of which, due to the area's history of fishing, are normally only found out in the deep ocean). The animals that one might typically find in a township can be found here as well: cat and dog spirits, rats and pigeons. Douglas Fir tree spirits do not hold quite the sway here they do in other parts of town, but there are a handful of them, along with patches of Blackberry Bramble spirits.
• Artificial Spirits: Aside from the typical car, street and building spirits ubiquitous to nearly all settled areas, there are a handful of ship spirits in the river, too. Many places in Old Town Astoria are wired, so there are plenty of data spirits to be found as well.
• Elementals: Water elementals predominate here, mingling with the drizzly rain and cloud weather elementals. The old cannery area also has a strong population of old aluminum and tin spirits, from the work that used to go on there as well.
• Conceptuals: Though there is the normal population of conceptuals that cut across the human experience, there are a few noteworthy majorities. Spirits of despair and apathy are very strong here, as are spirits of drug abuse, alcoholism and other addictions - Astoria's prosperity years are in the past, and its population is still trying to figure out what to do, and these spirits flock to it.
• Celestial Spirits: Celestial spirits are rare here (as they tend to be everywhere), though a few do have a noteworthy presence. Lunar spirits, in particular, can be found here, primarily associated with the tides, and the reflection of the moon on the water. Likewise, Mercurial spirits are drawn to the shipping industry that still runs through here, and Saturnine spirits to the despair and slow decay of the town of Astoria.