Arcana AU

When the dragons.. something something... spirits!
(WIP)
| ARCANA |
| The Afterlife Of Dragons |
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Introduction
Arcana, where dragons who have passed on finally end up. A world where spirits are either rewarded, punished, or simply left alone for what they’ve done in their short life. Here, spirits can be reborn and instantly go back to Terra, or the living realm, or can live out a hundred years in the mystical world of Arcana in one of the four kingdoms.
Process of Dying
When dragons die, the world stops around them.
Unless under specific circumstances (such as being enchanted to have their soul be contained in an object or live on after death,) this is what happens.
Any and all pain is gone and the dragon feels as though they are around 6-12 physically, or whenever the new spirit believes themselves to be the best physically.
Weather and other dragons are also paused, including the newly deceased dragon themselves. They are stuck like this until a Finder helps them and releases them from this fate.
Once released, the Finder explains what's going on and what Arcana is. They are also tasked with comforting and caring for the spirit as most of the time they are experiancing denial, grief, or any other strong emotions.
Depending on where the spirit has died, they go to the closest Hotspot. From there, the Finder and spirit part ways as they spirit makes their way through the Gates of Fortuna to be judged.
Once going through the process of being judged, which involves Orthrus, the Lord of Fortuna, looking over the spirit's life and deciding. The process looks over small things from littering and mean words to bigger things to war crimes and murdering dragons, even for the 'good of others.' 
After being judged and having their fate decided, if the spirit is deemed to be average or better they are given a choice to be reborn there and have their second chance at life there. If not, they live in three of the four kingdoms for one hunrded years as a reward.
Those who are deemed to be 'bad' are sent to Delothra, where Sylim will give out their punishment from anywhere to a few months to the full one hundred years.
Geography
Arcana is split into four different kingdoms (sometimes refered to as counties or provinces,) all of which ruled over by four different Lords. It has no apparently land shape, just simply being a massive continent surrounded by water.
Arcana was once a forest that covered a massive piece of land. In its current age, these forests have shrunken down to small parks in three out of the four kingdoms (Fortuna, Exantra and Lorto.) 
Delothra was changed and renovated by Sylim, with the permission of the other Lords, to become a volcanic wasteland of fire, lava, and pain in order to further punish the worst of the worst. It was enchanted as such to also have no impact on the other kingdoms, the lava and brimstone stopping at the borders of Fortuna.
Fortuna is the biggest kingdom, having taken up most of the population of dragons. This is where the dragons who had done nothing too great or bad in their lives. It is a metorpolious similar to that of what the scavengers before the Scorching would create. It is the kingdom most in common to that of life on Terra. There is little natural life outside of parks and the Forest of Whispers, which is the border between Exantra and Fortuna.
Exantra is where the good dragons go, being one with a theme of water and life. Because of Jörmungandr being the Lord and all, it is mostly where parties happen where those from Lorto and Exantra are allowed to attend. It is full of lakes, rivers, and smaller forests. It is also the only kingdom with a palace.
Lorto is the smallest kingdom, being one entirely comprised of floating islands high above the rest. In fact, those who have died near the Claws of the Clouds Mountains could very well see it on their way down to Fortuna. It is where dragons who have been good been reborn three times and then died good go. Animus dragons also get a free pass as well, helping Ri and such.
Society
GENERAL LIFE
Life in Arcana is pretty similar to that of what it was like on Terra, just with a lot more dragons from all different times. Most Pyrrhia and Pantalan spirits have trouble getting used to the fact that other continents exist, but other than that it's mostly the same.
Those the Kingdom of Fortuna is seen as the middle ground for everything while Exantra is something to realistically reach for. A lot of spirits talk about those in Exantra and Lorto as undeserving of their success and life in the afterlife, especially those who are animus dragons.
ECONOMY
There is no real economy in Arcana, at least not currency based. Spirits are rewarded with gifts and better living conditions in their Kingdoms for good behavior and have things taken away from them if what they do is deemed to be 'bad'. This process is automatic as per a measure that Ri and Jörmungandr put on the Kingdoms so that any member and their given property has to abide by this rule, including those in Lorto and Exantra. 
There's a social hierarchy that comes from this of course. Those at the top are seen as humble and nice folk while those near the bottom are meaner and nastier. These are usually just only stereotypes and hold little merit, but being detected by the system as being rude and putting down others knocks them down a bit.
Spirits often times open up businesses to farm 'nice points' (as they've been nicknamed,) which was when it was penalized in the Updated Act of 2,086 that would have them actually try a bit harder. Businesses like stores, bakeries, food stalls, etc, their profit was cut by 60% so that they wouldn't be able to quickly climb the ranks.
This system has been criticized a fair bit throughout the years as something as small as littering has an effect, though it is incredibly small. It has been adjusted a fair amount, staying the same since 4,734 A.S.
This system is barely implemented in Delthora due to how it's mostly just run by the rules Sylim implements and the punishment they give out are often times final.
Delothra
Fortuna
Exantra
Lorto
Wanderers
Native Wanderers are tribeless, wingless dragons who are characterized by their lack of a head. Inside of the hole is just emptiness, which causes the scholars of Arcana to assume that they're entirely hollow aside from a thin layer of scales and skin. They have no scales, instead having smooth and soft skin. Their skin can range from white to light grey and their blood is dark grey. The inside where the hole ranges from dark grey to black entirely. They are slim and have claws the closets to a SkyWing. They are able to communicate basic Dragon, mostly through mimicking voices. Their skin is very easy to piece and their weakest spot is the hole, where any sharp object that enters basically kills them.
Native Wanderers are known throughout the Four Kingdoms by their sneaky attitude, adaptive nature, intelligence, and a drive to claim the identities of spirits. Wanderers are gifted with the abilities to steal the identities of spirits by detaching the head of the spirit from the body and placing it where the hole is.
Native Wanderers usually lie in wait in a secluded part of the Kingdoms, usually anything but Delothra. A common place where they lurk in is in the forest that crosses between the borders of Exantra and Fortuna. They will ambush spirits who wander through, knocking them out via physically fighting with them. If they are successful, they rip the head off of the spirit.
When a Wanderer places the head where the hole is, the skin 'melts', changing colour and growing scales that matches the spirit. Wings and spikes grow and after a process that can last anywhere from ten to thirty seconds, they look exactly like the spirit.
The Native Wanderer after this is given the memories and a general basic understanding of who the spirit was. They can speak fluent Dragon and from this, anything can happen. Wanderers usually after this go around and cause chaos and generally become a bit of a nuisance, blaming it on the spirit who's identity they've stolen. It is very uncommon for a Native Wanderer to wish to live a normal life.
Native Wanderers can detach the head, reverting back to their original state. Native Wanderers also usually collect three or more identities that they swap between. They also usually find a 'safe spot', usually in a cave or an abandoned building where they feel safe to switch identities. Sometimes Native Wanderers will spend years building up to their 'prank', which usually causes major damage.
Spirit Wanderers are the Wanderers left behind once their head has been detached. Spirit Wanderers loose their head, but they keep their scales and tribe characteristics, including their wings and spikes. They retain their memories, but their body is reverted to that of a Wanderer. Their scale colour goes to white or grey like the Native Wanderers.
Spirit Wanderers are usually sad, remorseful, etc. There are places set up around the Four Kingdoms where victims of Wanderers can crash and report that their identities have been stolen.
Spirit Wanderers can also steal the identities of others by doing it the same way the Native Wanderers do. It's rare for a Spirit Wanderer to do so since they're usually from one of the 'nicer' kingdoms and don't want to inflict what they went through on others.
When a Wanderer dies, they disappear. Their body turns into a black gaseous substance that evaporates after ten seconds. If a Wanderer is slain when wearing the identity of another dragon, the dragon's head falls off and can be returned to the dragon. If a Spirit Wanderer is killed, they too suffer the same fate.
Every six months or so, a Native Wanderer Bloom happens where the slain Wanderers are reformed in a random spot in the Kingdoms. If a Spirit Wanderer was killed, it seems that they too reform but have fully converted to a Native Wanderer with little recollection of their past life.
History
Trivia
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Category:Alternate Universes
Category:Work in Progress
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