Flesh

Flesh is a substance composed of a conglomeration of facet spirits. It was designed by Gnoggus-Kracus, who believed that it was the only means of re-uniting the Over-Soul and the key to staving off Annihilation. Although the troll thought that flesh-bound souls could defy the will of Oblivion, most spirits nonetheless believe flesh to be an impure substance and hold mortals in low regard even while acknowledging their divine purpose. Flesh is a catch-all term including both plant and animal tissue, although plants have such tiny fragments of the Over-Soul within them that they do not possess anything even approaching true consciousness. Plant matter, including wood, was created by the eldritch, who went on to speak the secrets of its creation to Orboros, the Primordial of Life.

## **A Spiritual Patchwork**

Flesh is composed of an amalgam of facets taken from eight of the eleven Primordials - Mithras, Nito, Dagon, Urana, Ignis, Sif, Orboros and Dr'Oon. It is transient and prone to decay, as these spirits attempt to gradually pull apart from one another. However, Gnoggus, granted it the capacity to self-propagate through reproduction, crafting blueprints for both male and female forms. It should be noted that mortals that are skewed in their spiritual composition (such as nymphs and dragons) exhibit much longer lifespans than less pure creatures such as fey, primates and dracoids.

## **A Vessel for Souls**

Flesh was a synthesis devised by Gnoggus-Kracus at the behest of Tey'Kor-Akx, in order to serve as a vessel which could hold the soul and in doing so grant it limitation, mortality and free will. Instead of being a detriment, the nature of mortality was actually intended in order to allow the fragments of the Over-Soul to reunite.

## **The Limitation of Flesh**

Mortality allows creatures of flesh to partake of moral or immoral action, since once a soul is bound within a flesh vessel it loses its connection to infinity and gains limitation - the one thing that Tey'Kor-Akx and Oblivion both lack. This limitation means that the soul must now make choices that will either allow it to merge with others, or to degrade into corruption.

## **The Moral Choice**

Voluntary acceptance of the unavoidable suffering that limitation and mortality bring to life will allow a soul to retain purity. Co-operative action and peaceful relations between mortals allows their souls to co-exist in harmony and resonate such that the Over-Soul moves closer to re-unification.

However, Oblivion and its demons relentlessly seek to convince souls that their suffering is unjust and that existence itself should be undone for its cruelty. Violence and deceit twist souls apart from one another and lead to their corruption, moving Creation further towards Annihilation.

Although this knowledge has been lost to many of the world's younger species, the children of the trolls and the followers of light still aspire to wisdom and right action, as they know that every action taken by every mortal creature shall ultimately protect the world or serve to rip it apart.

## **The Forms of Flesh**

Different flesh vessels were crafted by the divine in order to hold souls of various sizes. The shattering of the Over-Soul was not uniform, with most souls being miniscule, a small proportion of moderate size and a very small minority being huge.

### **Plants (Soul Size - Minuscule)**

The very tiniest fragments of the Over-Soul were consigned by the eldritch to the flesh of plants.

### **Insects, Crustaceans and other Invertebrates (Soul Size - Tiny)**

The next smallest souls were gifted to the most basic forms of animal life near the dawn of time.

### **Amphibians, Birds, Mammals and Reptiles (Soul Size - Small)**

Souls of small magnitude were placed inside the flesh of higher animals, although these still did not hold the capacity for free will.

### **Sapient Species (Soul Size - Medium)**

Souls of significant size were placed within vessels that the creators deemed suitable for those who were possessed of true consciousness and choice.

### **Dragons (Soul Size - Large)**

The largest souls were reserved for the greatest creations of the Primordials, their intended envoys into the world of flesh. Due to the purity of dragon flesh, their creators infused within them hearts composed of diamond - a hyper-compressed mix of diverse spirits that served to anchor the soul within the body.