Forms of Life:
Lifeforms exist in a small number of primary categories:
Eternals exist in the Aether and are not subject to Natural Law, for they are the ones who created it
Immortals are powerful beings with vast intelligence, that never age but can be killed
Mortals are lifeforms which are intelligent and social but eventually age and die
Beasts are various animals and creatures confined to realspace without Lifestream presence (personal soul)
Plantlife has no intelligence or nervous system and can only self-replicate in specific patterns
Transients are artificial, temporary imitations of life usually created spontaneously via thaumaturgy
Parameters of Life:
The parameters of life and death within Realspace have been set up by the Cooperative of Eternals
Only Eternals can create new life classified Mortal or Immortal
Extremely advanced thaumaturgy can transfer a mortal or immortal soul from one body to another
Only the Arion Hyperion has developed spellcraft to achieve this
Highly advanced races can scientifically engineer modified life in inheritable ways
Examples: Kindred, Hippogriff, and Minotaur
Anyone with sufficient skills can create Transients
Death:
Death means the ceasing of all awareness as well as biological function
Upon death, those with a Lifestream presence (soul) may be personally preserved
Upon death, beasts cease to exist, but they may be recreated at the discretion of an Eternal
The further fate of the dead is determined by each Eternal for their own creations
The End of Time:
After 100 millennia, the Realspace timeline ends and those still alive at this time will proceed as if dead, with no further
necessary awareness. This is exactly like when a storybook ends -- the book still exists despite being finished. Realspace is a permanent fixture within the Aether like a storybook on a shelf. It can be read and read again, enjoyed by many. The lives of those all throughout its history stand as a monument to those characters, regardless of who they were and what they chose to do with their lives.
Awareness requires the passage of time. Thus, without time, awareness must cease.
Personal preservation means an Eternal has chosen to put a mortal or immortal into a new timeline where the passage of time progresses and awareness likewise resumes. This is optional and entirely at the discretion of the Eternal who created the person in question.
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