Waumin

Waumin (Nem: 'Forgetting') is the Underworld in the Faren spirituality. Waumin is the land of the dead, that all the souls must pass through, in order to reach rebirth. It is believed to exist in the waters of the deep, beneath the lands of Salan.

Gates

The demons gathered around Hero Ásinnár. They ripped her dress off her, and smacked her with bone clubs until she could rise no more. But Áfawarsal's mantle protected her, and the demons could not tear it off. She kept the gifts of the Gods safe in its folds.

— Ásinnár's Journey to the Underword

There are multiple passages into the Underworld, although all of them are consealed from mortals. These gates are guarded by the demons of Ulalte, whose task is to make sure no living mortals enter, and that no divines enter without submitting to the Lord of the Underworld.

One of the Gates was discovered under the great Stone Giant city of Bonehold. Hero Ásinnár used this passage to travel to Waumin, as told in Ásinnar's Journey to the Underworld.

Dark fields

The life in the underword is not much different from the daily life on Salan. The souls of the dead work the fields of the Underworld, growing grain that is produced into the dark bread that feeds all the dead. Every winter Leitandár, the god of winemaking, enters the Underworld, and brew the grain into a dark beer.

Dustlands

Ásinnár did not know how long she had travelled the dusty plains, if time even existed in this wretched place. She was weak from exhaustion, and barely even remembered where she was heading, or why she had come here in the first place. Why continue fighting forward on the road leading nowhere? She lay herself on the soft dust, ready to give up.

— Ásinnár's Journey to the Underword

The Dustlands are the largest region of Waumin, even though it is impossible to measure them by the means of time or distance. Every travel there will take long enough to exhaust the traveler. The plains are uniform in how they look, in all places they are dull flatlands. Occasionally Ghosts or other more frightening inhabitants of the Underword can be seen travelling there, but no creatures live there in the emptiness. The ground is covered by fine dust, that makes travel hard. But the dust is no sand, but the remains of the bones of the countless dead, that has settled on the floor of the Underworld.

Caves of the Bone Crackers

"Lead me there, and I will give you the Gift of Forgetting", Ásinnár begged.
The ghost looked at her in terror.
"No one can approach the Caves! Only the Wails and Cracking of Bones live there. That is where the Lord keeps his prisoners."

— Ásinnár's Journey to the Underword

The Caves are the nests of the Herd of the Underworld, the spider demons. They are large creatures of darkness, with uncountable legs and viciously glowing eyes that see everything that moves in the fields of bones. In these caves the demons eat away the bones of all the dead, grinding them into a fine dust that makes up all the soil of Waumin. All creatures of the Underworld are afraid to approach this place, because it is filled with constant screams of pain from the new ghosts, that still feel their bodies being devoured.

Palace of Ulalte

Type

Abyss

Location under

Salan (World)

Owner/Ruler

Ulalte

Stages of the death

Some days after the death of a person, their táldar, or ghost, will appear. The táldar continue their existence on the lands of the living, interacting with the people they knew in life in various ways. This stage can last for years or even decades, depending on their spiritual strenght, and how well they are cared for by their living relatives.

Finally all ghosts begin to fade, and eventually pass into Waumin. In the Underword they exist serving Ulalte the Lord of the Underworld, until they forget everything about their earthly life, and can be chosen to be born again.

by Unknown, 4th century (wikimedia)

Ancestors watching over a sleeping man

Syncretism

Other etnicities of Salan have different ideas of the afterlife. The Zeribian realm of afterlife, the Coral Palace shares some similarity with Waumin. Both of them are places where the mortals go after the death, and are believed to be located in the deep waters. But while the Farens see the Underworld as a grim and frightful place, Zeribians are looking forward to a joyous life of serving their principal deity Feren in his palace.

by Tuisku with Craiyon

A spider demon feasting on the human skulls