All creatures big and small eventually die. For most creatures this process is simple, their body dies and all that they are returns back to nature, ready to make something new, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
Mortal Souls:
But some creatures, known as mortals, have a soul, sometimes called their spirit. This is a manifestation of a person’s moral nature and identity. Mortals range from Humans, to Elves and Dwarves. Beings such as Gods, Dragons, Devils and the Fey do not have souls.
The Underworld:
When a mortal creature dies, their spirit is ferried to the Underworld by one of the Psychopomps, like
Thanatos or one of
The Keres.
There the spirit awaits the judgement of
The Judges of the Dead. The three judges are responsible for deciding the fate of the souls of the dead. They are tasked with analysing the deeds of the dead and sending them to either the
Asphodel Meadows, the
Fields of Punishment or
Elysium.
Asphodel Meadows: Souls who did not commit any significant crimes, but who also did not achieve any greatness or recognition are sent to the Asphodel Meadows.
Fields of Punishment: Souls that have created havoc in the universe and committed crimes against the gods are sent to the Fields of Punishment to be tortured for eternity.
Elysium: And souls that accomplished great deeds in life, or were especially distinguished, are sent to Elysium to live out their existence in luxury and splendour.
These spirits then persist in the Underworld for eternity or until there is no one left to remember them. At that point they fade, forgetting all that they once were, and disappearing for good. Spirits sent to the Fields of Punishment or Elysium usually persist for a very long time due to their historic actions.
Devotees of the Divine:
Some souls can bypass this process by being a devotee to a powerful God in life. The most pious of individuals are instead sent to the realm of their chosen deity instead of the Underworld.
These souls are usually transformed into a new shape so that they may further serve their deity in death, losing their mortal status. This new form usually takes the form of a
Celestial, though it depends on the deity in question.
Figures bound to Dark Gods, or who have sold their soul to a
Devil, may find themselves twisted into a more monstrous shape.
Ghosts and Lost Souls:
Sometimes souls can get lost on their way to the underworld or refuse to be ferried by one of the Psychopomps. In these circumstances the spirit finds themself lost, trapped in between the world of the living and the world of the dead, drifting endlessly through
The Shadowfell.
These souls often end up transformed into malevolent ghosts, wraiths and spectors, clinging to the memory and trauma of their former lives. These spirits will often cross over from
The Shadowfell into the Material Plane, usually at night, to haunt the spaces they frequented in life. Certain spellcasters, like Necromancers, can also call forth these lost spirits from
The Shadowfell to do their bidding.
These spirits will persist indefinitely in this way, slowly losing themselves until they are but a husk of their former selves. While these spirits can be fought, when they are defeated they merely return to the Shadowfell, returning when they regain their strength.
These spirits can be released from their torment in two major ways. They can either be soothed, allowing them to pass on peacefully. Or they can be magically banished to the Underworld. These processes are usually undertaken by specialist spellcasters called Exorcists, Mediums or Spiritalkers.
Psychopomps:
Psychopomps are beings whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Many Psychopomps are Gods, they include:
Comments