Conduit of All Souls
Those judged all flow through to where they must be.
I begrudgingly accepted the task from my order, believing it a ploy to leave my tower empty for a time. I was to travel the Conduit, studying its paths and flows.
The Conduit of All Souls is the flowing, river-like path that the dead are transported along after being judged and assigned a final location for their eternal afterlife. It acts like water but is almost entirely incorporeal; fauna may still breathe if submerged within and only vessels or creatures with the correct magical properties are bouyant upon it. While being transported, souls are irretrievably intermingled with the substance of the River itself. Their forms may not be discerned and are generally regarded impossible to remove before their arrival and emergence within a plane.
The River flows throughout the multiverse, intersecting with all planes that act as an afterlife. It is theorised that when a plane receives its first soul - possibly as the result of a particularly strong will on the part of the deceased - the River branches out a new, permanent fork.
Route
While the Conduit flows much like an ordinary river, it does not follow a consistant or logical path. Sections fork into myriad waterways that twist about one another before rejoining, sometimes further up the flow than the original break.
There is a general pattern to this course, however. The Conduit wends through the major planes in a rough order: from upper to lower. This is complicated by other locations in the multiverse. Flows leading to the minor and elemental planes abound, crossing over and splitting off from the main course haphazardly.
I joined the River within the Empyreal Mountains, widely regarded as one potential source for its flow. At great cost, I was to be ferried by mercenaries from the Grey as I attempted to map this place.
In addition, the River makes brief transits into The Astral. It is not understood whether The Astral functions as an afterlife for any beings, but it remains a constant fixture for travellers, especially in the longer stretches between other locations.
The Upper
From those holy Mountains, I passed downstream through the grand forests of the Celestial Wilderness and the templed cities of Edict. It was beautiful, but my guides would not let me leave the River.
The route the Conduit takes through the upper planes is picturesque and life-affirming. Newly arriving souls, sometimes known as the alluvial, are greeted by celestial beings with open arms.
Within the Empyreal Mountains, the flow is regularly interrupted by waterfalls and rapids as it cascades down from the tallest peak.
The Celestial Wilderness forms the most natural seeming sections as it winds through thick forests and craggy landscapes. For sections of its length, it appears to become one with real waterways and is visited by the holy animals of the plane.
In Edict, it forms canals and waterways between the marbled roads and temples of the cities. In places, it is pumped up through large fountains, the basins of which are celebrated as emergence points for new souls.
The Middle
It is here that the Conduit is at its most confusing. The main flow is joined by a stream coming from the Plane of Creation before splitting into many directions through the elemental, middle and several minor planes.
The River is affected by its environment. Within the plane of Water it languishes; in Order it forms angular, measured canals while in Havoc & Tumult it webs outwards chaotically in a different shape each time it is mapped.
While it never breaches into the material, this is the point the River is in closest proximity to Urvén. It never quite breaches into the world but in some locations its energies are felt.
Chaos! We found an inflow from some fork we hadn't seen before. Perhaps a second source lies upstream. Downwards, the river fractures into several competing directions. We rest at a waystation on a crossroadriver(?), their individual courses passing through the same space without combining. There is an unintelligable signpost, even with my arcane intervention.
The Lower
I am warned here, at the Desolate Grey, that my travels will be harder. There is an endless storm that twists the flows towards other, darker places. I think it has already been months since I started this journey.
The darkest section of the River. Here, it flows to the Desolate Grey and then forks towards The Hells and The Abyss. This allows the Grey to act as a gate between these two locations and their endless war. Tolls are charged for passage.
These flows never quite connect again, meaning that travellers - or invaders - cannot journey downstream and then return upwards to a different location. All flows lead further down.
The End
All downwardly flowing streams congregate into one single location: the plane of Entropy. Here, it forms an immense, foggy swamp where all those too weak of personality or deeds have their eternal rest. Some esoteric studies point towards this swamp being the source of that spark of consciousness created through use of the awaken spell.
There is a tenuous link here to the prison dimensions built for particularly strong, evil and disruptive beings that could upset the balance of power in the multiverse.
After all things I am shown the final resting place for those souls who do not get a home. It is Entropy and I lie in the dark and cold and quiet for what feels like an age.
The Source of the Conduit
The following information is not public knowledge - player characters are unlikely to know these details. Beings who have been resurrected have the highest chance at a glimpse of the truth.
When a being dies, their soul arrives on the plane of Justice for judgement. After these deliberations, the soul is drawn inexorably to the large, tranquil lake at the bottom of the plane. This lake, The Lake of Souls, is the true beginning of the Conduit.
It is over. I have found a truth unexpected. My guides were reluctant but we struck out further upstream than before.
In the depths of the lake, struck into the firmament, is Terminus, Judgement's Edge. This artifact scythe is the source of the River's flow and is attuned to Ortiniach, the ruler of the plane.
This artifact is a secret, the revealing of which could cause Justice to become a target for other planes. Terminus falling into the hands of a demon lord, for example, would shift the balance of power within the multiverse drastically as it would allow fiendish influence to dictate where souls go after death.
Substance and Material
The Conduit is not physical in nature, instead being formed from an immaterial, ghostly-white force that, for the most part, acts like a liquid. The souls of the dead become one with this force and do not become distinct in any way until they arrive at their assigned destination. Since souls generate power simply by existing, the Conduit thrums and glows with raw spiritual potency.
The most notable travelers of the Conduit are colloquially known as the ferrymen, who usually refer to it as the River of Spirits. These ferrymen are yugoloths, who reside in the Desolate Grey and often act as gatekeepers for the lower planes. This is achieved by the combination of their uniquely constructed and enchanted vessels and oars which interact directly with the substance of the Conduit rather than simply falling through. These boats vary wildly in size from small skiffs to colossal, oversized galleys but they all have one thing in common: they can be hired at great cost to transfer beings up and down the River. This is one of the main methods of transport that is used in interplanar wars, such as the endless conflict between demons and devils.
There are rumours of an enigmatic leader to the merrenoloth. This being is said to be able to plot new courses for the River, using it as a method of travel to any desired destination. This is unverified, however, and there has been no luck in getting any of the ferrymen to talk.
Urvén Homebrew
Bottled Essence of the Conduit of All Souls
Wondrous Item
Rare
When applied to either a weapon or up to 10 pieces of ammunition, the item becomes capable of striking ethereal creatures for an hour. When you hit an undead with the affected item, that target takes an additional 1d6 force damage.
Stored in a specially enchanted bottle, this fluid-like energy glows with a soft, white light. When poured from the bottle, it flows like a liquid but does not visibly interact with any material as it falls downwards.
Cost: 3000gp (est)
Weight: 1lb
History and Major Events
The Conduit of All Souls features in many myths and accounts throughout the history of Urvén. Imagery of a river upon which souls are transported echoes throughout thousands of years of written, artistic and spoken history. Some such works also include descriptions of a great tree, often appearing as the source of the River. This is usually believed to be the Eldest Tree, which stands in the middle of the Plane of Creation and shifts form with the everchanging politics of the fey courts. It is not, however, the true origin of the River.
The most famous historical event involving the River took place in Istabi, roughly one hundred years after the great calamity shattered the continents into their present arrangement. Sovereign Yahem, fifth ruler of the recently reformed nation, expended great resources towards merging the ethereal Conduit with the river Ist in an effort to break down the laws of mortality. This seemed hopeful at first, a team of powerful arcanists spaced equally along the floodplains. However, at the first sign of success - the river beginning to dance with faint white lights - there was a sudden shifting and all people involved, including the sovereign, disappeared.
On dark, peaceful nights, the river Ist echoes with this light, the souls of the dead being just a little closer to the Material.
I reside in a cage of my own making. I am bound to Justice now, my findings precluding my freedom. There is important work to do here, like a shepherd or a librarian. Perhaps I may be of service.
Maps
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The Conduit of All Souls
Intelligence (Arcana) to know of the path the Conduit takes and the properties of its substance.
Intelligence (Religion) to know of the spiritual significance and mechanisms of the River.
Multiverse Portal
(a work in progress)
The Cosmos
The Astral, The Void, The Material (Urvén)
Elemental Planes
Air, Creation, Earth, Entropy, Fire, Water
Major Planes
Good (Celestial Wilderness, Edict, The Empyreal Mountains)
Neutral (The Ordered Realm, Havoc and Tumult)
Evil (The Abyss, The Desolate Grey, The Hells)
Minor Planes
Artistry, Innovation, Justice, Knowledge, Maze, Mirrors, Ooze, Wealth
Other Concepts and Locations
Conduit of All Souls
This is really inventive and interesting! Especially loved Ferrix's commentary. :)