Life and the Greylands

Written by NecrosisBob

From the Grimoire of a Traveling Scholar

GENESIS

The Greylands can be described as the hub of a wheel from which other spokes of reality radiate. It is the crossroad, the center, and the path of least resistance for planar travel. Why is this so? For that, one must look far back to the very origins of things.

First, there was the Mother, Chaos. From this entity spawned the Firstborn, Order. These two entities are fundamental to all things, forever connected but at odds with each other. Imagine, then, Eternity as a sphere: one-half black and the other white. Where they met is conflict, but as eternity goes on, we see them blend, forming the Grey.

The Grey was neutral ground where neither Mother nor Firstborn reigned. In this place formed new entities with their own wills no longer devoted to either force. Though of freewill, their drive was to promote neutrality, the balance between Chaos and Order. These entities were numerous, as were their methods to enforce this balance. Still, they were things wholly of spirit and thought and, as such, devouring others would lead to them integrating the beliefs of those they consumed.

Eventually, eddies began to form in the Grey that were no longer neutral or of balance. Strange concepts such as Good and Evil began to form. These entities began to spawn more entities made in their own image. Some elders sacrificed to their creations while others were sent to devour those around them.

Then happened The Rupture.

The Rupture

One entity escaped the Grey and the sphere of influence of the Mother and Firstborn. She stepped out into a place that had been undefined, followed by Another, who would always pursue her. Through this hole in Eternity poured the Grey, and into existence came the first Greylands.

The Hunt between the two escaped entities did not stop there, for as vast as the Greylands is, it cannot fill this new Existence. She and Another dove from the Rupture into the vastness, drawing off chunks of the Greylands and forming other planes. The largest pieces coalesced around the ideological eddies that had begun to form in the Grey.

Now freed from Mother and Firstborn, more entities could fully explore and manifest the identities which had begun in the Greylands. These became the places that mortals would come to know as the Heavens, the Nine Hells, the Abyss, Elysium, and the Elemental Planes.

Still, the Greylands remained connected to these pieces and, in turn, represented the strongest connection to the Grey as well as to Mother and the Firstborn. Through the Grey flowed the powers of Eternity which kept Existence. While some entities broke off from the Greylands, drawn to the other planes, some stayed. They had remained neutral and sought to safeguard the Grey, for they knew if the balance broke then out of the Grey may step the Mother or Firstborn, and all Existence would perish.

These entities were the first Greylords. They bound themselves to the Greylands to make certain that the Rupture would neither seal shut nor fully open the Divide. Such was their devotion to this task of balance, yet even they are not immune to the machinations of time or the influence of others. Many Greylords have forgotten their task and have been drawn into the petty wars for souls. They fight with each other for control of the lands they are forever linked.

Even entities as old as they can only perceive their origins with the dimmest of recollections now.

CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE GREY

More than one scholar has gone mad trying to figure the topography of the Greylands. The landscape seems to follow similar principles as Miurag with a definite horizon, and yet it is not a globe floating in the void. There are no celestial bodies evident in the grey sky, and one could fly up into those clouds seemingly forever. Similarly, there is no finite bottom to the oceans or molten core or grand hollow chamber beneath the earth.

Contrary to all sanity, the Grey Plane appears somehow infinite despite the perceptions that make it appear to follow the rules of a singular world.

However, this comes with the caveat that what we do know of the Greylands exists at a finite distance in a sense to the Hells, the Abyss, and especially Miurag, etc. It may be that the 'center' of the Greylands, the city of Stygia, is not a literal center. Instead, it may be one center for the events that deal with the mortal realm of Miurag and other nearby planar dominions.

Theoretically, it may be that if a traveler were to cross far enough outside these known 'boundaries,' they may encounter a Greylands that is the source of stories and myths for a different mortal world with its own set of planes of 'heaven' and 'hell,' completely disconnected from Miurag.

Further confusing matters is the passage of time. It can appear almost timeless, with the effects muted or non-existent, and yet at times, years can seem to pass in the stretch of a few hours. It is unclear if this is just an altered state of perception or an actual temporal anomaly of the plane. When one considers the normal method of 'travel' to reach the plane, most scholars are happy to leave it to speculation.

MAGIC

In the Greylands, magic seems to function along similar principles and rules as those in Miurag. However, while Miurag has an essence of its magic based on Dragons, the Greylands magic seems more universal, in a sense, which may be why it can still translate in Miurag as a magical 'language.'

As one might expect, the fundamental forces of the Greylands are more conducive for 'death' magic than 'life' magic. While life magic works, its strength is impeded in the Greylands. It is akin to trying to keep a fire lit outside in a heavy rain. Much like necromancers exist on Miurag, there are life mages in the Greylands, though they exist in similar scarcity.

Magic functions similar to how it does in Miurag. A Dragon entering the Greylands can still use its words to shape magic and is still curiously powerful; however, their absolute nature as the pinnacle of magic in Miurag does not transfer over into the Greylands. Perchance this is part of being a fundamental language to a realm, similar expressions of Will even though the sources may differ, and their proximity to their source affecting their power.

A MATTER OF SOULS,
THE QUESTION OF LIFE

The Greylands from the outside seems a plane built upon contradictions to mortals. A land of the dead, yet flora and fauna exist within that mirror the habit and ecosystem of the lands of the living. This place is seen as the source of death, and yet life can flourish within that realm? Of course part of this may be the result of misconceptions.

While death magic is tied to decay and rot, it is also tied to memory and the soul. Various studies into the makeup of fundamental existence have found any objective truths we may cling to become much more mutable the more one nears the source; or, perhaps it is simply that on a fundamental level we lack the perception and capacity to see the truth. What is death and what is life? We consider these things to be defined, but perhaps it is us who blindly define arbitrary boundaries.

In the lands of Miurag, the soul exists in a state of energy, an existence that is immaterial; it is the Will. When this energy is transferred to the Greylands, it appears to take on a more physical state and properties, the energy transforming into matter, or as some say, Will made manifest.

Appearances Mimic Life to Form Truth

The departed Human souls manifest a physical form in the Greylands composed of this energy in the form of a substance called ectoplasm, much like some ghosts can temporarily produce and manifest in Miurag. It is of note that this form does not always resemble the soul upon mortal death. An elderly man may manifest as himself in his prime, or an old woman may become a little girl.

The reasons for these manifestations may be tied to strong emotions they had in life as well as their strongest personal image. This manifestation may be further affected by the strength of will of that individual soul. Similarly, the memories of many eidolons are somewhat vague and disjointed this is further complicated by the composition of their beings.

The Human shell referred to as an eidolon is not 'alive.' While it possesses organs and functions analogous to a living being, close inspection has proven this to be a facade. Strip the guts from an eidolon, and he will not truly die, though he likely suffers great pain. Similarly, hunger, thirst, and sleep are felt for an eidolon, but they can exist in this state perpetually without eating, drinking, or resting without truly 'dying.'

Eidolon represents the finite properties of a personified soul; as that energy depletes they transform from eidolon to hungry spirit, also called a “slaugh.” The more damage and stress occurred to an eidolon's body the more their former selves they forget. They lose their humanity, their physicality, but retain their more fundamental hunger and desires. While wispy and more mercurial in properties, a hungry spirit in the Greylands possesses an actual physical presence.

On Ghosts and Starvation

As strange as it sounds, ghosts exist in the Greylands and act much like a locust swarm, seeking to devour all in their path. It is perhaps for this reason and the fact so many souls can become lost and never find their way that much of the Greylands appears barren. It is a wilderness that has been scoured clean by things that only hunger and cannot give back what they take through natural processes.

The Greylords must, in turn, devour such entities to preserve their lands and convert it to something that can be used to bring 'life' to their world. The pneuma flint which exists in the Greylands also helps to divert and channel ghosts, so some zones exist free of ghosts without Greylord intervention which is safe for native or a cautious eidolon.

It is unclear how long it takes an eidolon to decay, or if there is a state of final 'death' for a hungry spirit. Due to an apparently finite populace of hungry ghosts, it is likely that souls eventually break down and disperse into residual energy. It is also likely then to surmise there is some hidden process of the Greylands compressing some of that remaining essence of a hungry ghost into pneuma flint. However, it is difficult to study such phenomenon, and it is unclear at this time if such is the case.

An eidolon has some protection from the soul-grasping pull of pneuma flint. While they can be pulled to a high quality or concentration of the substance and it seems to sap at their essence, it does not simply swallow them up even though eidolon 'decay' increases by continual proximity to pneuma flint. In contrast, hungry ghosts lack this resistance to that pull and can be rapidly absorbed by pneuma flint.

On the Dead and the Memory of Magic

The eidolons also deal with a finite store of magic. Whatever allows most mortal souls to replenish or draw upon an excess of magic doesn't translate to their new state of being. An eidolon mage who frequently casts spells will find themselves growing exhausted and weary as they speed down the path to becoming a hungry spirit quicker with each spell.

However, it is possible to circumvent this by replenishing this power via actions linked to sources that do not possess this flaw. An example may be a life mage having sex or a druid might commune and bond with the Greylands (such a hypothetical act would sever their ties to the mortal realm, and they would become like a native to the Greylands, a fate few druids would likely choose).

Destinations

As to the final destination of the eidolons? Well, that can vary from the individual, in many cases, souls are swept through the Greylands and into the Grey, the domains of their God(s), or to suffer in the Hells depending upon the qualities of their soul in an imperceptible blink at times. This spiritual wind and current direct eidolon as well.

However, due to some poorly understood principles, some eidolons are uncertain of their destination, resisting the pull because they do not consciously agree with it or it is simply too faint that other sensations conceal it. For some, the Greylords and their kingdoms act as necessary way stations so that a conflicted soul can put to rest some ambition or desire before moving on. In other cases, they find a 'second life' in the Greylands seeking to prolong their existence there.

The Natives of the Grey

Thus we've described what applies to the souls journeying through the Greylands, but how do the native creatures exist, such as the Malok born in the Greylands and rarely to leave? Are they but spirits?

The answer is that for the most part, they exist just as the living in Miurag exist in Miurag. As impractical as it seems, life exists in what we see as the land of the dead. They are born, grow food from the land, many mate to reproduce, and eventually, die. Strangely, it seems that most beings of the Greylands exist in a similar state as Miurag Elves. There is normally no perceived “afterlife.” Their soul joins with the Grey and is unmade, and a new soul is born. They are one step closer to the end of the cycle toward which most Human souls seemingly journey.

On the Exchange of Energy

Flora and fauna do not always follow the standards by which life as we judge to be natural. This distinction is likely due to their environment's treatment of the souls of Miurag as a physical substance or possibly substances. Thus one should take into careful consideration such deterministic statements of 'natural' when speaking of the truly natural mechanisms of another plane of existence. It is no more 'unnatural' than magic is on Miurag.

Does that mean all life in the Greylands consumes souls as the living may consume meat and plant? The answer is once again not as simple as it seems. After all, how would one explain the taking of nourishment in Miurag? Is it a reaction that generates something from nothing? The answer is no.

Souls leave Miurag to the Greylands, but the energy flows back out from the Greylands to the various planes to complete the circuit. Yes, some of the energy of the passage of souls is absorbed to sustain this reaction; this is a mechanism of the Greylands which facilitates its use as a pathway for the energies of existence.

As souls from elsewhere can congeal into physical form here, it makes sense that motes of the Grey would in some way saturate the existence. The soil of the Greylands holds similar physical properties as those of Miurag so a seed from the one should root and grow in the other.

However, this hypothesis completely forgets the fundamental natures of the two realms. One is primarily a place of death magic the other one primarily of life magic, but what does that truly mean? Instead for a deeper theological quagmire, let us instead conflate life and death magic to temperature.

While Miurag is a hot, lush environment in comparison, the Greylands is cold and frigid. One would not expect a creature adapted to one environment to flourish in its opposite. It is this difference that sees the souls from Miurag slowly 'die' within the Greylands and the reason the Ma'ab slaves first had to acclimate to breed on Miurag. The difference of this underlying environmental factor is that it lies outside normal perception. We can see the effects, but are mostly unaware of the source.

The use of the analogy can be carried further; heat disperses in a cold environment. It does not endlessly perpetuate. Those with 'life' are light and fire in the cold, but one doesn't jump into a bonfire to warm themselves nor toss a plant in the sun to grow a crop. It must transmute the energy and refine it. At the same time, this process cannot take it all away and gives up energy as well to sustain the reaction.

The Confusion of Soul and Spirit

Some scholars believe it is proper to categorize the different 'life' essence of Miurag and the Greylands into two separate categories. The Soulborn, representing those born on planes such as Miurag that transition to a different state upon death and the Spiritborn, representing those born on other planes for whom there is no new state. This method touches upon the essence but unfortunately fails to address the ease at which soul and spirit can be used interchangeably. Curiously, such linguistic standards would categorize Elves as Spiritborn despite being born on Miurag.

THE VALUE OF A SOUL

While many on Miurag consider themselves the Prime plane, the focus of Existence, they are not; many worlds exist just like them. The Greylands is the hub of the Wheel of Existence, and other souls traverse it when they die. The distances for such worlds and where they connect with the Greylands is finite, as is the distance they must travel through the Greylands to reach some destination.

However, as the Greylands appear infinite, it is likely such regions exist at distances that only gods and Greylords may perceive with ease. Thus souls from another mortal realm will likely never meet or know one from Miurag.

As to the value of any souls, the qualities and uses vary so greatly that there is indeed different value often depending how commonly, quickly, or rarely these souls traverse the Greylands.

Elven souls from Miurag, for example, could be near priceless with their strong ties to life magic or seen as a unique curiosity simply because they do not naturally exist in the Greylands. An Elf soul might even act as a natural anchoring point with which to artificially create a permanent portal in the Greylands to Miurag. While souls can travel easily, physical traversal from the Greylands back to Miurag is difficult and somewhat unnatural, and thus raises the value of such a rare speciment to achive a more difficult transition.

The Stuff of Souls

The stuff of souls is confusingly categorized as two unique substances or sometimes as simply qualities, which define its main value. The first is Vis; this is best explained as the memories and experiences of a soul. The other is called Vitas and is the primordial and raw animating force often called 'the will of creation.' These two qualities vastly influence the perceived value of a soul, and it seems possible to separate the one from the other. However, it seems impossible to completely refine Vis with no trace of Vitas and vice versa.

There is also a third quality referred to as blight, and this seems mostly to take the form of hunger and desires, of aching need but also that faint mote of entropy. The amount of blight evident in a soul can greatly deplete its value, for it may be the blight of a soul that allows for the formation of pneuma flint in the Greylands and, in the mortal world of Miurag, the creation of artificial flint good only for a quite temporary purpose.

Pneuma Flint acts as a natural storage medium for the energy of a soul. While often seen as 'pure' there are always small impurities in a flint shard that affect the quality of soul energy it can handle. Thus we have the two things of immense potential value in the Greylands—an Elven soul contrasted with pneuma flint— but they are also highly circumstantial in the value due to their myriad of qualities.

Ectoplasm is created by the soul, but it should be noted that it does not itself seem to be the soul itself, but instead, a substance created as a by-product of the soul's transition into the Greylands. Thought to be of some value in itself as a very malleable substance, it does not fetch nearly the same sort of prices the actual soul does.

CURRENCY

There is no unifying currency throughout the Greylands, and thus much is dependent upon barter and trade. While souls and pneuma flint are seen as the gold and jewels of the truly wealthy such things are worthless to most denizens as they are to the livelihoods of farmers in remote villages on Miurag.

Strangely enough acting as a hub for various conflicting planar dominions means that the Greylands can see a remarkable amount of trade of goods and artifacts from these other places. Given the parties that can be involved, there is no limit to what can be found to be bought or sold in the Greylands. The Umbaldes as previously talked about are one of the main contributors to the trading between realms and regions in the Greylands.

FLORA

Briefly was touched on the idea that plants in the Greylands and Miurag can be transferred from one environment to the other save for the 'minor' issue of planar assimilation to become a native species.

One must recognize that despite the harshness of the landscape the soil has likely grown rich from the detritus sifted from the Mortal realms and saturated with energies drifting from the Grey. It should be no surprise that plants of all kinds not only grow but thrive here. Of minor concern is the lack of a celestial body to shed light, yet the Greylands exist in a perpetual twilight, so perhaps one must simply view this as always a growing and planting season. Some stories even suggest that this constant twilight is achieved due to the passage of souls.

No matter the region, life in the Greylands can be found. Twisted, bone trees lend shade to ethereal flowers, while massive vines coil like loops of intestines from fetid swamps. Even stranger vistas exist such as the Sea of Glass, a grassland of crystalline plants sure to hinder any traveler. If one can conceive of some strange plant, it and far stranger likely dwell somewhere within the Greylands. It is common for many of the plants to defy 'normal' taxonomy and many scholars balk at the idea of creating too many new and unfamiliar terms.

WEATHER

Despite the grey twilight, the lands there have weather of a sort, depending on the region where one is.

Storms are among the most notable with torrential downpours and sporadic bursts of lighting. Strangely despite the toxicity of the Black Seas, no storm near or over those bodies of water seem to contain such a caustic nature from those waters.

There are harsh gales that blow from dimensional rifts, the worst of these dust storms can pick up loose pieces of pneuma flint into flaying winds that strip a person of flesh and spirit.

Strange auroras of light may appear in the sky from time to time likely an effect of planar energies, but seemingly harmless to the observer.

Though less meteorological, some consider the sudden gathering and concentration of hungry spirits that can happen in the more wasted areas of the Greylands to be “Ghost Storms.”

Similar to the winds, some massive changes in temperature is the result of massive differences of heat or cold between the Greylands and the plane touched by a dimensional rift or portal.

GREYLAND LOCATIONS

The Black Seas- poisonous black waters full of sea serpents. See Lokra'then and Wylan, the Soul Forger.

Isle of Grem- Greylord abode, remote and isolated. See Wylan, the Soul Forger.

Stygia- Ancient Capital city now in partial ruin and constantly fought over. See Nyx, the Grey Maiden.

Sea of Glass- Another misnomer as it is actually closer to a plain or grassland save for the very different ecology. Silicate 'plants' like blades, wind chime like sounds, mostly vermin and bone spiders with a few species of stri'gor. It can be very dangerous when winds pick up broken pieces into a 'flaying wind' or 'blade storm'.

Plain of Jars- A plain with mounds of giant barnacle like fossils suggesting at one time the area was under a significant amount of water. Many burnt offerings and spiritual echoes of offerings for the dead can manifest here within or around these mounds. Scavenger bands move about the mounds seeking this source of extraplanar materials. Many eidolon pilgrimages take place here and several Mourners and Sin Eaters share their faith and stories here. See also, Charkhuz Khoth, City of Kings, below.

Clay Palace- A simple mud brick compound of Eidolon monks that seek enlightenment through self-denial and desiccation. Located in the desolate Plain of Ash far removed of most life. The monks regularly transform into Slaugh (Hungry ghosts). Great black pillars of Pnuema Flint exist in the Clay Palace caging these Slaugh and 'aiding' in the Eidolon path of enlightenment. While normally such large deposits of potentially refined pnuema flint would be fought over, the fact many of the corridors are filled with Slaugh stalking the spaces between the pull of the pillars no one has been willing to let such a caged storm loose.

Ash River- A river that seems very similar to a lahar. It has a similar consistency, viscosity, and density as wet concrete. Fluid when moving and solid at rest. While consisting mostly of mud and volcanic ash some sort of pyroclastic flow or lava exists to keep it moving along. It flows from the mountains along the southern border of the Plain of Jars and terminates into the small and rather desolate Plain of Ash.

A special ceramic called Ashrun is forged from the slurry of this river, though it is hard to harvest it. When forged into blades it is strong enough to scratch steel, however the quality is in the time forging. Cheap Ashrun is very brittle while the strongest have spent years in the fire. Seven year swords are said to be the standard for a decent Ashrun sword. Once the Ashrun cools any subsequent heatings have no effect on the hardness.

Plain of Ash- A small ashen waste full of the solidifying mass of the Ash River, it has been slowly gaining size and redirecting the flow of the river as time goes on.

Jade River- The basin and riverbed of this river have large deposits of jade.

Observations on a Tour:
Charkhuz Khoth, City of Kings

This place started seemingly as a mining town, a quarry on the southern edge of the Plain of Jars along the banks of the Ash River. The huge amount of limestone in the area has been used to construct the various structures of the city.

While at a distance in the ever present twilight of the Greylands it appears as a plain slate grey, the closer one comes the more one can make out the midnight rainbow of colors at work: basilisk green, somber ochre, rusted red, and dark blue. Overlooking the city is a massive spire of obsidian that is the palace of the Headless Princess one of many so called 'monarchs' in the city. The other 'monarchs' live in the city and rule over individual districts that are denoted by the color of stone that matches their heraldry.

The Headless Princess dwells alone in her spire, attended only by mindless golems. She claims to be of the titans that kindle the worlds, which is odd as she also doesn't seem aware what a 'Greylord' is no matter how many times she's informed. Her title is quite literal as her head was taken by a 'distant King' to halt her from 'Rekindling the Deep Fires'. Those in who find themselves in her presence may often be given the task of finding her missing head and returning it. If questioned on the matter it seems necessary for the Rekindling ritual more than anything.

The loss of her head appears to have no other ill effect. Her voice rasps from the stump of her neck and she seems fully aware of her surroundings. She appears unrelated to the 'Kings' of the city districts appearing as a humanoid of flesh save giant in size and claims to be older than them. She speaks of them as lessers that seek to raise themselves up by clinging to something greater than themselves. Pretenders to a greatness that they never deserved.

While humanoid the Princess is certainly not human, what many mistake for her royal dress on closer inspection are large flaps of scales and such. Even her pale skin on closer inspection reveals fine scales. A long tail will occasionally be glimpsed slipping out from amongst the folds. Jewelry appears to have been inlade directly to her flesh.

The Faceless Kings of Charkhuz Khoth's districts claim to await the “End of Days” in which they will all be resurrected in golden perfect forms and return in full with their servants, wives, and wealth. They seem the sole authorities on who is and isn't a king.

The Faceless happily offer eidolons that they meet a chance to join this rebirth by becoming vassals to them. This either requires they be entombed or to pay tithes of Vitas to their King. Their massive withered forms have calcified and hardened to stone. In place of faces there is a gaping black hole that seems impossibly deep. Despite lacking obvious eyes they seem to possess sight and speak in deep grating tones.

Each King is mostly concerned about spreading their personal prestige and not a one recalls the origin of the Headless Princess, but will often use affectionate tones as if she were a favored child. They dismiss her derisive statements as simply the product of her miserable state. Some will even charge their vassals with seeking her missing head.

Skeleton vassals pledged to a King populate the city. They paint their bones in different patterns to denote identity, rank, and affiliation. The skeletons here are intelligent, but cannot speak. They communicate through a slate and chalk, which a small percentage of them carry. Visitors who would enter the city must be accompanied by a skeleton guide at all times. While they appear much like humanoid skeletons, the composition as well as the placement and number of bones do not actually match true human skeletons.

No skeleton seems willing or even physically able to leave the city, vanishing if crossing the invisible border only to appear wandering the streets some time later with no answer for what happened. The skeletons appear to require far less vitas than an eidolon, which makes their survival much simpler.

The Vulture Priests are an odd race of clergymen that serve 'the Rot,' which seems to be their name for the city. Their temples are the various spires within the districts of the city.

The Priests carry special daggers that are used on eidolons and 'crystalizes' their essence into a skeletal form. This is only performed on eidolons that willingly accept this 'blessing', possibly because these transformed eidolons have less to worry about to survive. By all appearances, many foolishly accept the blessing despite the consequences of being forever trapped in the city.

The priests move about servicing the various structures of the city and keeping things 'concecrated'. Their dress is made of Bane Wasp chitin with purity seals hanging from it like tattered feathers. Purity seals are wax seals and parchments inscribed with declarations and prayers. They do not serve the Faceless Kings and their pale white eyes always gaze through people, though they appear aware enough of the world about them.

Nobody has a true tally of their numbers as entry into their spires is restricted to only them and, in addition, the Priests don't use names or share much of anything beyond their 'duties'. Some have suggested that perhaps they are not even truly alive or sentient, but a form of automaton created, perhaps to help maintain the city until the Princess's head is returned.

As a quarry and mine, the city sits atop a massive catacomb. What lies below? Alas. Lacking the entourage for such an expedition, that shall have to wait for another time.