Soulkeeper

The most beloved and influential member of Elven society in the post Shattering world is the Soulkeeper.

When the Joining is complete and an elves body passes the Soulkeeper performs a ritual that turns their body and a fragment of their soul essence into a Soulstone. While performing this ritual the Soulkeeper gains a permanent connection to the soul that has passed and remembers their name, as well as their deepest hopes and dreams. They then take the Soulstone to a massive chamber below the Hall of the Remembered called the Sea of Stars. There they place the Soulstone in the ceiling of the chamber in a depiction of a massive starry sky. They remember where each stone is placed and who each person was.
Shortly after the world was broken and the gods grew quiet, the Wyrd began to spread. The elves were quick to recognize the danger of this blight. The elders that survived after the war and fallout that came after worked tirelessly for a plan to this creeping corruption. Eventually they came upon a solution, but the cost was dire.
The elves discovered that the giant titanwood trees they made their cities around contained enough of an essence of the nature goddess Kethka that they provided some protection against the Wyrd. Sadly the titanwood trees were already very rare, and as Kethka's influence faded from the world so too did the titanwood's power diminish. The solution was to empower the trees with the life force of the communities that lived around them. After much debate, and the acceptance of the greater public the Joining was enacted. It was agreed that when an elf had lived approximately two centuries, they would divest themselves of their holdings and what knowledge they wished to pass on, and then sacrifice their remaining life essence to the titanwood trees to help preserve their communities.
When an elf begins the joining they travel into the roots of the titanwood tree to the Hall of the Remembered. There an order of monks called the Soulwardens meets them and helps prepare them for the Joining. They speak to the elf and take detailed notes about their life and what joys and regrets they had. They then make the elf comfortable and begin the Joining. The elf falls into a deep trance and enters a dream with the other souls sharing the Joining. Elves are long lived and the transfer of life energy can sometimes take many years to complete. While the elves share in the dream of the Joining, the Soulwardens care for their bodies and make sure they are not in any distress or discomfort. The Joining takes years. A few elves from the beginning of the Joining still live, though this is very rare and most pass within a decade or so. When the elf finally completes the Joining the Soulkeeper creates their Soulstone and places them in the Sea of Stars.
Many festivals and holidays are held in the Sea of Stars so that families and the community as a whole can be close to those who sacrificed so much to keep them safe. During these events the Soulkeeper moves among the community sharing their memories of those who had passed on. The Soulkeeper is incredibly influential and beloved in the community and the kingdom as a whole, as they are seen to speak for all the souls who have gone to the Joining.
Each city with a titanwood tree has a Soulkeeper. The greatest and most influential of these, sometimes referred to as the Grand Soulkeeper, is the Soulkeeper of the Worldtree in the capitol of Ambar Nimloth.

Type

Magical, Honorific