Emberstones

“I am sorry, my love. I could not give you a spot on the funeral pyre. I place an emberstone in your grave, so you may find your way to Irath’las despite your body lies in ground.”

— Last words of a widower to her husband

Emberstones come in many shapes and interpretations. It is an item mostly used by commoners and poor people, when their deceased cannot have a funeral pyre, because of poverty or inconvenience of the area.
If a deceased cannot have a funeral pyre, there is a communal resting place for the dead to be buried. Most try to save up money to pay for the pyre service, but it is not always possible, and that is when the families left behind try with a lesser means to guide them to Irath’las.

History

Emberstone Legend

The Emberstone tradition, according to legend, happened while the goddess Irath was busy finding love in Agia. One day two poor sibling’s mother died, and they wanted her to be burnt instead of buried in the communal grave, but whenever they tried to beg for enough money to a funeral pyre, they were turned down. Since they could no longer postpone the burial of their mother, they knew she would not find her way and might be lost.

For the entire day, they wept over their mother’s lost soul, but the communal grave had not been covered yet. Irath, disguised as the human Arith, approach the two mourning siblings and told them to find a hollow stone. If they did, she would help their mother’s soul to Irath’las.
The two siblings immediately started searching for such stone, and luck was with them. They gave the stone to Irath, who held an ember from the Glux in her hand and placed it inside the stone.

“This stone shall guide your mother to Irath’las. Place it in her grave and it will guide her soul to Irath’s realm.” Irath said.
”How do you know this?" asked the siblings.
“Because Irath told me.” Irath said, hoping it would not expose her real identity.

The two siblings placed the emberstone in their mother’s grave, and the gravedigger filled the grave.

When the two siblings went to bed that night, their mother’s soul visited them and kissed them on their foreheads to show she knew what they had done for her. The morning after, the two siblings woke up fully rested and with a sense of relief.

Amber Myth

The part of using amber comes from another myth. It was just after the goddesses’ death, Agia fell silent, every creature, person, and things that had been touched by them grieved their passing. Even the Glux grieved, and tears fell from it down to Agia. When the tears cooled, they became ambers, the frozen fires.

Item type

Religious / Ritualistic

Current Location

Western Agia

Rarity

These stones are common, some use amber if they can find some, while other places a small ember inside a stone that has a half hole inside.
Amber is considered to be a frozen flame from the Glux, and therefore is a more valuable item to be buried with, since that will guide the soul to the Porthint’glux.
While an ordinary ember inside a stone often dies when buried, and thus lessens the chance of guiding.

Dimensions

2-10 cm