The Passing

"We here, in The Pit have to take care of each other.
There is a lot of dangers as soon as you step out of the havens of the cities, and even those havens aren't completely secure.
Most of the settlements have around 100 citizens, a lot even less. It is really rare for any to reach more than 5000.

So in most cases, when someone passes away, it's a great loss for the whole community."

The Name Recording

"We once found a big rock with hundreds of names on it and we started to do the same for those who aren't with us anymore.
We write their names.
So we remember them.
So we don't forget them.
Near The Tree , we use different paints.
People of the Depths use bioluminescent dyes.
Those living near the Surface write the names of their lost ones on the scraps of their clothes and put them in little capsules, which they then put in carved holes inside rocks so that the light of sun won't destroy them."

The Flower Beds

"When someone dies, their family sends for the doctor to check if the person really passed away.
Depending on the location, this could take a few days.
For the time, the corpse stays in the house of the family.
In some hotter regions, there are special huts where the dead one waits for "assessment".
After the visit and making sure the dead one really is dead, the funeral starts.
The corpse is taken out to the burial grounds and lowered into the grave.
Then the flower seeds are scattered onto the fresh grave so that some time later, it creates a beautiful flower bed."

The Sky Lanterns

"The last of rituals after someone has passed away.
The family of the deceased or the head of the community, if he didn't have anyone, creates the lantern which is then sent into the Pits' main shaft.
For some reasons all lanterns fly toward the Tree, no matter if they were sent from higher or lower layers, and circle around it for days.
It's a beautiful and sorrowful sight."