Shroud

The Shroud is a plane, bordering and overlapping with both the mortal planes and the planes of death. It is the barrier that keeps them separate and the barrier the dead have to traverse to pass on to their destined afterlife. Mortals seeking to pass to the afterlife or the dead seeking to return have to pass through the Shroud, usually with force, a task that is nigh impossible.

The Shroud is not a true plane in the traditional sense, it exists on multiple planes at the same time yet is separate from them. In addition the shroud is a relatively small plane, consisting of only three major features.

The Shroud sustains itself on Essence. A power source that is generated when a mortal person is reduced to their core soul and sent to the afterlife, thus creating order.

#### The Itiolas

The Itiolas is the central building of the Shroud. The massive structure is ever shifting and changing, responding to the totality of though and emotions of the souls that are passing through it towards their destined afterlife. Within the Itiolas resides the Pale King, the enigmatic ruler, protector and arbiter of the Shroud.

Souls arrive at the gates of the Itiolas where they wander towards their destiny, all the while being soothed. Their ambitions, wants, desires, fears slowly being soothed until little of the original personality remains. During this process the parts that are stripped down are turned into Essence, perpetuation the Shroud, its order and the separation of the mortal realms from those of the afterlife. At the centre of the massive structure they arrive before the Pale King who under the instruction of the gods sends them to the most appropriate afterlife.

#### The Severed Lands

The Severed Lands are a collection of flying islands, broken plains or fragments of cities, houses and rooms. Souls with strong ambitions, regrets and wills refuse to enter the Itiolas instead wander out into the Severed Lands. Here their anguish, chaotic thoughts and emotions as well as their refusal to fully leave the mortal plane destabilises the separation between the Shroud and the mortal planes.

The fragments found in the Severed Lands are glimpses into the mortal plane and the souls residing in them appear as ghosts, spirits or other undead but intelligent beings. These beings constantly drain the Shroud's Essence into the mortal realms, making it easier for other souls to resist the call of the Itiolas. To stop the Shroud from devolving further and further, the Veiled, guardians of the Shroud and shepherds of the dead patrol the Severed Lands, weakening and capturing the souls they find here to return them to the Itiolas.

#### The Lost Vales

The Lost Vales are an endless expanse, far outside the Severed Lands. Eternally clouded in a thick mist not even the Veiled patrol here. Souls rarely manage to reach the Lost Vales, either being captured by the Veiled, giving up and returning the the Itiolas or enjoying the escapism of pretending they haven't died yet and staying in their fragments of the Severed Lands.

Of the few souls that did reach the Lost Vales, none ever returned. What exactly became of them, if they went anywhere or if they are still stuck in the Lost Vales none knows. What is known is that in the Lost Vales, unlike the Severed Lands, a connection to the mortal realms is impossible.