Lore:Soul Cairn

The   is a   filled with the trapped   of mortal dead. Rather than being ruled over by any  , it is controlled by mysterious beings that call themselves the  . It is theorized that when souls trapped in black   are used to power an enchantment, the remnants are transported to the Soul Cairn to roam for eternity.  The Ideal Masters believe that by freeing mortals from life and dooming them to eternal undeath, they are being saved from meaningless hardship and gifted with peace. The Ideal Masters describe the realm as an otherworldly refuge dedicated to peace, love, eternal rest, and harmony.  Mortal souls sent to the Soul Cairn eventually lose all memory of their former lives, with only newcomers to the realm retaining wisps of their former memories. Those who stumble across them will often hear blessings, curses and ghostly warnings.  

In order to enter the Soul Cairn, a mortal usually must be dead. This can be achieved by partial soul trapping, or by becoming undead. The realm was once accessible from the voidgate of the  , but the link was severed after the citadel was partially destroyed.  A portal to the Soul Cairn can also be created using finely ground bone meal, purified void salts, and soul gem shards and placing them in a silver-lined portal vessel and then adding blood as a reactive agent.  The Soul Cairn is filled with all manner of undead. Some forms are unique to the realm, such as  ,  , and  . These creatures are seen as blessed by the Ideal Masters and are mentioned in the Book of Life and Service, with there being a hierarchy of the Ideal Masters, Wrathmen, Mistmen, and then Bonemen.  Powerful mages can summon undead minions from the realm using   magic. In their hunger for souls, the Ideal Masters often strike deals with  . In return for souls, the necromancers are given the ability to summon armies of undead from the realm, although they often fall prey to the Masters and end up trapped in the realm themselves.   

The Soul Cairn's landscape is desolate, bleak, barren, and grey, marked by blackened, dead ruins, bones, gravestones and "soul fissures". Nothing grows in the realm, apart from dead trees and a type of fungus called  s. The realm contains many structures associated with burial, such as the Coffin Chapel and the Boneyard. The Chapel of Love is a building that contains the Emerald Gates, a portal that can be used to teleport to any of the outer realms, provided the user knows the name of the realm. The Emerald Gates are powered by the Mana Font, which is controlled by three rods, the Rod of the Pilot, the Rod of the Pillar, and the Rod of the Passage, collectively known as the Fingers of Life.  Lightning strikes the ground constantly, and lightning attractors can harness this power to create Black Soul Gems. 

The Ideal Masters hoard many treasures, which are guarded by their undead minions. They have many powerful servants, such as the   and the  . Crystals throughout the realm serve as conduits for the Ideal Masters to speak to their minions or feed on their victims.   

History
The   named   fled to the Soul Cairn through a portal of her own creation with an  . The Ideal Masters, failing to claim her soul, imprisoned her within the Boneyard and assigned the Keepers to maintain a force field around the structure. Sometime after this, the    , seeking to secure his mastery of the skies through the use of necromancy, made a pact with the Ideal Masters in return for great powers of summoning. The Masters ordered him to guard Valerica until her death but neglected to inform the dragon that she was an immortal vampire. After eras spent living in the Soul Cairn, Durnehviir's body became accustomed to the realm, ensuring he could never leave the Masters' service. 

During  's invasion of the Battlespire during the  , the   invasion force entered the realm for use as a waystation between their own realms and their newly conquered domains. This displeased the Ideal Masters, as the Daedra were destroying their undead servants and plundering their treasure. Several   were ordered to remain in the Soul Cairn by  . 

Many mortal captives from the Battlespire were brought to this realm and murdered by the Daedric invaders, including   and  , trapping their souls eternally unless freed. An   from the Battlespire passed through the realm on a quest to save a fellow apprentice from Dagon. This hero freed many trapped spirits, and was aided by the Ideal Masters in escaping the realm through the Emerald Gates into the  . The apprentice was eventually successful in halting the flow of Daedra through the Soul Cairn by forcing them to relinquish their hold on the newly-conquered realms. 

In  ,   was soul trapped by   during a Daedric attack on the city of  , and his soul was sent to the Soul Cairn.  In  , the   and   entered the Soul Cairn in search of Valerica and her Elder Scroll. They defeated many of the Ideal Masters' servants, retrieving the scroll and rescuing Valerica. 

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See Also
For game-specific information, see the Battlespire and Skyrim articles.

References