Death and Afterlife Beliefs

Written by Janto

"Into the air where all is fair."

-Tonttu funeral prayer

Death rituals and afterlife beliefs are generally uniform among the various races (with some minor ritualistic differences), and between the Commonwealth and Pezzlio.
When a person dies, their animating spirit (variously understood) can do one of several things:
The cultural ideal is to disperse "like incense smoke" into the universe "adding a pleasant smell that will linger for a while, but not forever." Cremation is popular for this very reason. It is assumed cremating the physical form and scattering ashes will help the soul find peace and obliteration. This is the goal for most people, and funerals often focus on a recitation of what the deceased was able to accomplish while on Orbis with their singular life.
If something goes wrong, and the spirit is not able to disperse, various forms of undead are created. This is usually blamed on the influence of the moon, and spirits are said to become "confused by moonlight" and linger longer than they should. Funerals are usually not conducted at a full moon because of this. "Moon spawn" is another term for the undead.

Burials

Cemeteries usually consist of honorary markers but no bodies (to avoid the risk of undead and to encourage the proper dispersal of remains).
Dwarves often expose bodies in natural settings rather than cremating them, and allowing them to decompose naturally and "return to the ground."

Undead

Most mainstream Temples consider it a heresy, but there are some cults who believe it is possible to return or reincarnate even after dispersal of the soul. These range from the benevolent "Aunt Marge can return as a grain of rice or a stalk of wheat" type of belief, to the malevolent "we want to resurrect an ancient creature to wreak havoc on the living" type of cult.
There are those who strive to prolong their lives past death like liches. Their binding magic traps their soul in their bodies (or multiple bodies over time) expressly to prevent dispersal.