Fading

Fading is a condition affecting the táldaran, the ancestor spirits of the Faren, that continue dwelling on Salan after their death.

Táldaran

Some days or weeks after the death and burial of a person, the spirit of the dead person, a táldar appears. The spirit continues to live in the vicinity of its grave. It can interact with the dead and living people around it, even though the most táldar are quite shy and prefer the company of the people they knew before their death. The relatives take care of the táldaran and keep them company, while the táldaran help their living relatives and protect them against wild spirits.

The táldaran are invisible in normal conditions, but can cause various sensations. In the art they are usually represented wearing loose blue ropes, resembling the burial clothing (see on the right).

by Unknown, 4th century (wikimedia)

Ancestors watching over a sleeping man

Symptoms

Eventually all táldaran begin to fade. The spirit becomes harder to communicate with, and appears less frequently. When appearing, the spirit is often confused, gloomy or angry. It starts to act weirdly, and forgets things of its living past. The fading spirits can be quite dangerous and unpredictable. Eventually the spirits connection to the world breaks, and it passes on to the land of the dead.

Treatment

Frequent communication and remembering helps to keep the spirit connected with the world of the living, but this only helps to slow down the fading for a while. The erratic behaviour of the fading spirit is often scary for both the family, as well as the spirit itself and the other spirits in the household. When the spirit in question wasn't particularly interesting person when alive, the relatives also get tired of remembering them after a while, and are ready for the spirit to give way for other spirits.

When the family decides that it's time for the spirit to pass into its next existence, they start performing special rituals that are aimed at calming down the spirit, and helping it to pass without fear. As a responce the spirit starts to appear less frequently, and will eventually fade completely. However, the calming is often quite unsuccesful, and the spirit might feel that it has been betrayed by its relatives.

All the treatment rituals can be performed by either spiritually-wise family members, or special priests that know how to perform the rituals correctly.

Prognosis

All spirits will eventually pass into Waumin, the land of forgetting. Most people dwell in the land of living for a couple of years after their death, but some have been known to stay for even hundreds of years. The death who are not remembered and not cared for will begin fading sooner, but their passing is also much more painful experience for the spirit.

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Congenital

Rarity

Common

Cultural differences

The ancestor worship of the type described in this article is mainly practised by the Farens. Other ethnicities have other traditions regarding their dead, and depending on those, they may or may not continue to exist on Salan in some form after their death. The article is also mainly conserned with the traditions of the upper and middle-class people. The lower classes have less opportunities of caring for their spirits, and they often pass much more quickly.

Caring for the ancestors

The spirit ancestors are a big part of the Faren daily life. The Farens bury their dead in shrines in their yard or under their house, and the spirits continue to dwell there. The active spirits are though to be just as much family members as the living. They take part in the daily meals and conversations, and their opinion is asked when any important decisions are made. In return the ancestors offer their guidance to the family, and protect the house from the evil spirits. The mutual care provides comfort for all: a happy ghost in a happy family, as the common saying goes.
Descriptions of some of the rituals can be found in Remembrance day.