On Kor
Essay on the Kor in 07-Ghost. Because my castmates will hurt me if I put off writing this any longer. :|
The Kor are, basically, Verloren's minions. It's unclear whether they were originally created by him (though they likely were), but the Kor function as his servants and general lackeys doing the dirty work of tempting/manipulating people and taking their souls to further their master's cause. (The kanji assigned to the term "Kor" in the Japanese, incidentally, is actually 使い魔 or "familiar spirit".)
In appearance, the Kor look like a pair of skeletal wings around a central point, like so. Interesting to note that in one of the few illustrations we have of him, Verloren himself has similar wings. The Kor are capable of possessing people (presumably after granting their wishes) to either tempt or harm other people. A person who is under the control of a Kor will appear to have a pair of Kor-like wings emerging from their back. Though Kor are essentially spiritual beings, there's indications that ordinary people can at least at times see them and/or the wings that appear on a possessed person.
The primary purpose of the Kor is to tempt people into having their three wishes granted, in exchange for their soul. To this end the Kor have the power ability to manipulate circumstances to truly grant these soul wishes, albeit not always in the form the person might have imagined or intended. For example, a man who wishes for "wealth" may while acquiring it also find a "woman to love" who grants him "freedom" along the way, thus fulfilling all three of his wishes at once without realizing it and losing his soul to the Kor who deceived him. (And, of course, manipulated the circumstances to allow his wishes to be granted in the first place, as per the bargain it made.)
All this effectively makes the Kor fill the primary role of the 07-Ghost's world's tempters, but their powers aren't strictly limited to just deception and wish-granting. Individuals who make a pact with a Kor are effectively cursed- this is known as "Verloren's curse" and is known by the mark that appears on the cursed person's chest. This mark can only be removed and curse lifted by the intervention of someone with access to divine power, i.e. a bishop or such person of the church.
When a person allows a Kor to grant their wishes, this has several effects on the person. When the first wish is granted, from that point on no matter what that person may try or do, their heart will never be fulfilled or find satisfaction in life. When the second wish is granted, the individual falls into a state of starvation, rather similar to the symptoms of some kind of addiction. When the third and final wish is granted, that person's soul falls into darkness and is eternally unable to return to heaven.
A Kor that has successfully acquired a soul through granting a person's three wishes also reaps other benefits, in the form of becoming a "Wars", the more powerful evolved form of a Kor. Unlike a Kor that is a purely spiritual being, a Wars has acquired a physical body, and thus is capable of attacking and harming humans directly. Wars may or may not grant wishes as well, presumably there's no reason to think this ability is lost, but we've yet to see any examples of such.
Despite all this, the Kor are hardly invulnerable. Obviously the Seven Ghosts themselves are more than capable of fighting them, similarly anyone sufficient trained in the proper use of zaiphon for such purposes can also attack Kor. The two primary ways of destroying a Kor which has possessed a person seem to be either simply destroying it by destroying the wings with attack zaiphon, or sealing it off inside a barrier and removing it with healing zaiphon. Verloren's scythe wielded by one of the Ghosts is also an effective weapon, and holy or blessed things such as holy water have an effect on both Kor and Wars. In fact, a person who has been given a certain holy mark in the Barsburg church's annual baptism ceremony is thus rendered untouchable to the Kor, who must then target unbaptized individuals.
The Kor are, basically, Verloren's minions. It's unclear whether they were originally created by him (though they likely were), but the Kor function as his servants and general lackeys doing the dirty work of tempting/manipulating people and taking their souls to further their master's cause. (The kanji assigned to the term "Kor" in the Japanese, incidentally, is actually 使い魔 or "familiar spirit".)
In appearance, the Kor look like a pair of skeletal wings around a central point, like so. Interesting to note that in one of the few illustrations we have of him, Verloren himself has similar wings. The Kor are capable of possessing people (presumably after granting their wishes) to either tempt or harm other people. A person who is under the control of a Kor will appear to have a pair of Kor-like wings emerging from their back. Though Kor are essentially spiritual beings, there's indications that ordinary people can at least at times see them and/or the wings that appear on a possessed person.
The primary purpose of the Kor is to tempt people into having their three wishes granted, in exchange for their soul. To this end the Kor have the power ability to manipulate circumstances to truly grant these soul wishes, albeit not always in the form the person might have imagined or intended. For example, a man who wishes for "wealth" may while acquiring it also find a "woman to love" who grants him "freedom" along the way, thus fulfilling all three of his wishes at once without realizing it and losing his soul to the Kor who deceived him. (And, of course, manipulated the circumstances to allow his wishes to be granted in the first place, as per the bargain it made.)
All this effectively makes the Kor fill the primary role of the 07-Ghost's world's tempters, but their powers aren't strictly limited to just deception and wish-granting. Individuals who make a pact with a Kor are effectively cursed- this is known as "Verloren's curse" and is known by the mark that appears on the cursed person's chest. This mark can only be removed and curse lifted by the intervention of someone with access to divine power, i.e. a bishop or such person of the church.
When a person allows a Kor to grant their wishes, this has several effects on the person. When the first wish is granted, from that point on no matter what that person may try or do, their heart will never be fulfilled or find satisfaction in life. When the second wish is granted, the individual falls into a state of starvation, rather similar to the symptoms of some kind of addiction. When the third and final wish is granted, that person's soul falls into darkness and is eternally unable to return to heaven.
A Kor that has successfully acquired a soul through granting a person's three wishes also reaps other benefits, in the form of becoming a "Wars", the more powerful evolved form of a Kor. Unlike a Kor that is a purely spiritual being, a Wars has acquired a physical body, and thus is capable of attacking and harming humans directly. Wars may or may not grant wishes as well, presumably there's no reason to think this ability is lost, but we've yet to see any examples of such.
Despite all this, the Kor are hardly invulnerable. Obviously the Seven Ghosts themselves are more than capable of fighting them, similarly anyone sufficient trained in the proper use of zaiphon for such purposes can also attack Kor. The two primary ways of destroying a Kor which has possessed a person seem to be either simply destroying it by destroying the wings with attack zaiphon, or sealing it off inside a barrier and removing it with healing zaiphon. Verloren's scythe wielded by one of the Ghosts is also an effective weapon, and holy or blessed things such as holy water have an effect on both Kor and Wars. In fact, a person who has been given a certain holy mark in the Barsburg church's annual baptism ceremony is thus rendered untouchable to the Kor, who must then target unbaptized individuals.