In Small World, how does the Spirits' ability apply to already declined races?

Question

I have a small question regarding the "Spirit special power" (quote from the rules: You may thus end up with two different races in decline on map at the same time and score for them both.) If I have a race in decline and I want to put my second race in decline ex. "Trolls with spirit", will I keep my old race in decline with my new race in decline (because of my spirit special power) or will that rule only take effect for the next race put in decline?

Answer 1

The official rules (PDF) say (emphasis mine):

When the Race tokens associated with your Spirit Special Power go into Decline, they never count toward the limit stated in Entering In Decline (p. 6) regarding having a single In Decline race on the map at any given time. You may thus end up with two different races In Decline on the map at the same time and score for them both.

This means that when your active Spirits go into decline, they do not push out an existing declined race. If in the future you decline another race, the old race will then be removed, and so on.