"Many people say, 'Who's my doppelganger?”', when maybe they should ask, 'Whose doppelganger am I?'"--Carson Cistulli
A Fetch, also known as a Shadow-Self, a Reincarnated, a Double or Spiritual Duplicate, is a supernatural occurrence that are created by powerful supernatural instances or beings. The purpose of a Fetch is to maintain the natural balance by dying in the place of an immortal being, or otherwise reincarnated for some important purpose.
Numerous Fetches have existed over the centuries, though they are a considerably rare species.
History
It is not known who the first Fetch line is or when it started, but it is known that Fetches are a very old supernatural species, with lore going back to ancient Greece. The phenomenon of the shadow-self occurs to counterbalance some disruption to Nature's law that all living things must die.
What this means or what circumstances are dire enough to create a Fetch line are really unknown, although certain powerful beings, such a Deities or Fey are capable of creating a Fetch line.
Breeding
A Fetch is effectively human, so their breeding and reproductive habits are well within the human range. It should be noted that a Fetch is born exactly as their original was in life, so even if a Fetch is the child of a pair of werewolves or psychics, for example, they are an anomaly and would not possess either gene. They can be turned into certain creatures, though (see below) and if their original was supernatural in some way, such as being a witch for example, they will also be a witch.
Characteristics
A Fetch is a perfect duplicate of a long-dead person. They are an exact copy, down to possessing an identical spirit and soul, though their personalities can differ greatly. They are mystically-recurring beings who are loopholes to certain magical effects that disrupt the Natural Order. A Fetch does not have to be blood-related to each other; they can pop up anywhere, though there is only ever one Fetch in a specific line per generation (barring something like Vampirism; see below). Some Fetch lines are intrinsically tied to other lines. When this happens, all of the connected lines will come into being at once, even if the Fetches are not geographically close and they may never meet.
A Fetch has no memories of the past lives of previous "versions" of their line, as they are all essentially different people.
Because their creation is a consequence of the use of magic, a Fetch is supernatural and as such, their blood can be used as a binding agent in certain rituals. However, unless their original self was also supernatural, they have no innate supernatural powers or abilities from being a Fetch. They are also susceptible to any effect that targets only supernatural creatures. For example, a Templar Ring would not bring a Fetch back to life, though it would trigger the same ring to resurrect a human wearing it, as a Fetch is considered to be supernatural.
All Fetches are the same species of their Original, regardless of parentage. However, it is possible for a Fetch to be turned into a vampire, werewolf or similar supernatural creatures. Doing this does not seem to alter or disrupt the cycle of reincarnation. Similarly, Fetches are capable of becoming a ghost, demon or angel after death, like any other soul.
Despite their similarity to the Germanic Doppelganger, they are not a related to either that species, or to Changelings.
Powers & Abilities
A Fetch possesses all of the standard abilities of their Original species. However, a Fetch also has a few additional qualities:
- Blood: Fetches, being mystical and recurrent, are massive sources of magical power.
- The blood of a Fetch can be used to link supernatural beings with the help of magic conducted by a witch.
- Their blood can also be used to bind an extremely powerful curse or spell, or to use as a power source in spells that require more magic than the caster possesses on their own.
- Linking: Fetches have a strong mystical connection to each other that can be used to easily invoke linking spells.
Weaknesses
A Fetch possesses all of the weaknesses and vulnerabilities as their Original's species.
Notable Fetches
| Name | Original | Time Period |
|---|---|---|
Odessa Nulph |
Unknown | Modern Era (born 1993) |
Wilhelmina Murray  |
Unknown | Victorian Era (born 1864) |
