Souls

Souls are a concentrated form of magic that is held within a physical body within the Mortal Realm, causing sentience, individual personality, and the ability to use magic.

## Origin

Once Upon a Time, the Fae Realm and the Mortal Realm were entirely separate. There was no magic anywhere in the Mortal Realm; by extension, there were no creatures with souls (including humans).

However, something caused the Fae Realm and the Mortal Realm to crash into each other, and the two realms fused together like soap bubbles. While there was still a clear separation between the Mortal Realm and the Fae Realm, they would be forever connected through an ever-changing metaphysical boundary between the two. Anywhere that these two realms met, magic would leak from the Fae Realm and into the Mortal Realm. Thus, magic entered our world.

This introduction of magic into the Mortal Realm paved the way for the existence of souls. We aren’t entirely sure how souls came into existence, nor why it only occurred in some species and not others. Some think it was a natural evolution. Others believe that a supreme creator had some role to play, either in shaping beings such as humans to house the magical energy that had entered the realm, or by intentionally causing the Fae Realm and Mortal Realm to collide with the intent of creating souls. Yet others believe that the Fae Realm and Mortal Realm are ruled by two separate deities who, upon meeting when their realms collided, worked together to craft beings made from both the magic of one realm and the physical matter of the other.

Regardless of how it happened, beings with the mundane physical forms of the
Mortal Realm and the magical souls of the Fae Realm came into existence
soon after these two realms collided.

## Birth

Souls are a concentrated form of magical energy, contained within a physical form.

Magic is a form of energy, just like ice or steam is a form of water. In science, these “forms” are called “phases,” but that sounds pretentious so I’m gonna use “forms” instead. In its most chaotic, spread out, and unfocused form, this energy is simply that: energy. In the Mortal Realm, this energy usually disperses itself into the surrounding area and is too spread out for us to detect.

When a person is born, some of this energy is gathered up (how, we don’t know) and packaged into their physical body. Held within a human vessel, this energy consolidates to form a soul. Unlike the vaporous, unconstrained form of this energy, a soul has an identity and sense of purpose that grows and develops as it spends more and more time within a single form.

## Fae Interference

The Fae Folk cannot steal the soul from a living being. The soul is too tied up within its physical form and will refuse to be pulled away from their still-functioning body while within the Mortal Realm. However, once you enter the fringes of the Fae Realm, that begins to change.

Fae Gardens are technically still within the Mortal Realm, where a member of the Fae cannot remove your soul and take it back to the Fae Realm with them. However, if given the opportunity, a member of the Fae can temporarily grasp at your soul if you are in a Fae Garden, which will incline you to do their bidding. Some have compared this to a subtler version of The Enemy's abilities to manipulate and control others.

Thankfully, most people are not in danger of this soul-meddling, even those who often travel to Fae Gardens. The Fae Folk are always very explicit about their intentions, albeit in their own way, and if you have your wits about you, you can quickly leave the garden before the Fae Folk try anything.

However, the risk increases if you travel deep into a Fae Garden, due to the increasing proximity to the Fae Realm, or if you share your name or other significant identifying information with a member of the Fae, which gives them a better understanding of your soul (the source of your identity) and makes it easier for them to grasp.

Within the Imagination Dimension, on the other hand, souls are liable to slip away from their physical form, never to return. And if a mortal is ever unlucky enough to be pulled straight into the actual Fae Realm in some horrible, unprecedented act of Fae interference, their soul will be ripped from their body whether they want to or not. The Fae Realm is entirely made of magic, and while the Imagination Dimension is still enough of a middle ground to allow for loosely connected physical forms, the Fae Realm is not.

## Magic

The most concentrated form of magical energy after a soul is magic. While technically all forms of this energy are considered “magic,” this form refers to the sort of magic that you see when mages cast spells. Just as a soul is magical energy concentrated within a physical body, a spell is magical energy concentrated within a magical focus.

This is why having a specific magical focus is so important for aspiring mages. You are literally taking the energy and magic of your soul, concentrating it into a spell, and sending it outside of yourself into the world. Left unfocused, the magic will fizzle out and disperse into the area around it as unpredictable, chaotic energy, and that’s not useful at all.

After casting, all magic will return to their soul of origin in the form of energy, slowly replenishing the mage’s power over time and leaving only a small trace- like a fingerprint- behind. So long as the soul of a mage remains within their body, their magic will find their way back home. I often compare this phenomenon to a tape measure being retracted.

Bear in mind that, while food or rest won’t make the magic return faster, it is kinda tiring to yeet your soul at stuff, so it’s still good to take care of yourself after strenuous spellcasting. Kinda like how eating a granola bar and drinking gatorade after hard exercise won’t make your muscles less sore, but will help the rest of your body recover so you can do other, not-exercise stuff for the rest of the day.

### Enchantment Downsides

This automatic-magic return does have some downsides for enchantments, which impart a continuous magical effect. Since the magic will be slowly returning back to the soul of the caster, the enchantment will fade over time and need to be re-cast on a consistent basis.

Note that, if you use your magic to perform an action, then the results of the action will still be there when your magic returns to you. For example, if you enchanted knitting needles to knit scarves for you, the needles would start to stop knitting once your magic began to return to your soul, but you'd still have the scarves they did make before stopping.

How often an enchantment needs to be replaced depends on how far the magic would need to travel to return to their soul of origin. Energy has to travel over space, the same as anything else, and magic will begin to return to their soul earlier if they sense it is further away, just as you might leave home earlier if you have to travel further than usual to get to work.

Therefore, it’s good practice to have your local source of enchantments and wards travel with you or live nearby. Locations with magical defenses will have mages on staff specifically for their regular upkeep.

### Soul Depletion

However, if an overzealous mage casts a spell that uses all of the magic within their soul, the magic will not be able to find their way back. Separated from their soul, the mage will collapse, inert. Assuming they are cared for properly, their body will remain alive and functioning, but otherwise will be completely lifeless. This is extremely similar to the concept of a dementor’s kiss in Harry Potter, and there is no known cure once the damage is done.

Thankfully, it rarely comes to that point. Most mages will start feeling light-headed or have difficulty focusing after expending a certain percentage of their magic. At worst, they will experience amnesia or fall into a coma. Since these symptoms will interrupt a mage’s focus on their magic, most mages will stop casting automatically before they expend all of the magic that makes up their soul. Over time, all of these symptoms will fade away as the magic returns to their body.

## Death

When a person dies, their soul will retain its identity and purpose for a short period of time (much like ice will not instantly become water the second it leaves freezing temperatures) before "passing on." During this time, the soul will still be held within a now-unusable mortal form, pondering over the choice ahead of it. How the soul chooses to pass on depends on the identity within; a religious soul will fulfill its final purpose and seek out whatever afterlife awaits them, while a soul who didn’t believe in life after death will disperse itself into its surroundings as it pleases.

According to those lucky folks who were successfully resuscitated after a near-death-experience, this is a peaceful feeling, akin to laying half-asleep in bed after waking up early, thinking about the day ahead without the pressure to get up right away. Others compare the sensation to a sort of waking dream; a mind palace where they can remember the life that shaped their soul and reflect upon the last choice they have to make. It is not (thank goodness) at all similar to the feeling of sleep paralysis.

Regardless of their choice, once the body begins to decompose, the soul will be unable to remain in the Mortal Realm in that concentrated form. Without that physical form containing the magical energy, a soul will be forced to disperse their magic into the surrounding area or pass on, whether they want to or not.

While there is some philosophical/scientific debate about what happens to a soul after death, the connections between magic, the soul, and the Fae Realm are universally accepted. For the most part, we know the basics of what a soul is; it is the *why* and *how* that still causes the most debate among scholars.

### Echoes after Burial

Duil tradition states that the deceased should be buried in an area they frequented and found comfortable in life, in the hopes that the soul will disperse itself into the nearby surroundings and choose to stay there. It is said that one can tell when a soul has found its surroundings to their liking when creatures with a known affinity for magic (such as cats) frequent the area, and many have claimed to feel an echo or essence of their lost loved one upon visiting their final resting place.

This is the closest thing that this world has to "ghosts" or "paranormal activity." If the dispersed magic from a single soul remains in a relatively small geographic area, occasionally this magic will clump together for brief moments, causing tiny bursts of magical intent. You'll never see a stereotypical ghost with a distinct, incorporeal bodily form; just little echoes of personality that, for all you know, could have just been your imagination.

Although... if a soul found itself buried somewhere they heartily disliked, and they were a bit of a vindictive asshole in life... I could imagine the soul still dispersing its magic and essence in the area for the sake of ruining the day of everyone who ever showed up there ever.

### Fae Folk

If a member of the Fae Folk stumbles upon a recently deceased body, they will gather up the magic of the deceased’s soul and bring it with them to the Fae Realm. There, the soul will be offered a choice; to stay within the Fae Realm and become one of the Fae, or to pass on like other mortal souls. Those who decide to stay will retain only a faint memory of their past life. For example, it is said that the Fae who take the form of Brownies in the Mortal Realm are the souls of dead homemakers, caretakers, servants, or farmers who desired to continue caring for their land and/or home as a member of the Fae Folk.

For most souls that have already lived at least part of mortal life, this the only option the Fae will offer to them beyond simply passing on. However, the same cannot be said for the souls of infants who died in childbirth or soon afterward. Young children who died before getting the chance to find a place where they felt a sense of “belonging” (a culturally important thing Duilintinn) are intentionally buried in Fae Gardens in the hopes that the Fae will find the infant soul somewhere comfortable for it to spend its eternal rest. These infant souls who grow up in the Fae Realm are given a second chance at mortal life in the form of a changeling.

Fae Folk can gather up the soul of any corpse they find before the soul disperses; not just ones within a Fae Garden. However, members of the Fae Folk are more likely to be found near Fae Gardens; hence why most souls that wish to be taken into the Fae Realm are buried within these magical spots.

### Preservation

The soul is released from its former shell when that body begins to decompose. Therefore, if the physical form is preserved perfectly, the soul within would be unable to disperse or pass on without further aid.

Many cultures have strict traditions forbidding the long-term preservation of corpses, believing that holding the soul captive in the Mortal Realm is abnormal and against nature, even for the purpose of magical study. Duilintinn is one such nation; There, the body is preserved just enough to transport and bury it in a place you hope the soul would appreciate, but that's it.

Some cultures that believe in bodily preservation have other traditions that release the soul from the body. For example, the Fae Folk can still gather up a soul within a preserved body, since the dynamic connection between the soul and that body was severed after brain death in a reverse version of Soul Depletion. Other traditions include creating paths of flower petals, making specific cuts during the embalming process, laying trails of incense, etc.

However, other cultures will try to keep the soul within the body, believing that the state of limbo described by the nearly-dead is a sort of afterlife of enlightenment within the true self. Of course, there's no way to perfectly preserve a body forever. Centuries, maybe, but not eternity. Nor are mortals able to preserve a soul in a container outside of the physical body, as the Fae do. The only way to preserve a soul in the Mortal Realm is to preserve the corpse itself.

There aren't many practical reasons to preserve a soul in the Mortal Realm. Without a functioning body, the soul can't interact with the outside world. Due to the laws of magic dictating that the magic of two distinct souls will repel each other, any attempt to mind-read or otherwise magically interact with the soul from the outside is impossible.

The only way such a soul could attempt to sense or communicate with the outside world is by using magic, but even then, the magic wouldn't return to a soul trapped in a corpse the same way it would return to a living one. Every time one of these trapped souls used magic, it would lose a bit of itself. With so much magic needed to perceive the outside world, much less meaningfully interact with it... I don't know if any soul would believe it worth the cost.

## Quasi-Soul

### Animals

While magical creatures that evolved naturally within regions such as Duilintinn do not have souls, nor is there a single magical creature out there that has the same magical range and potential possessed by beings with souls,  they do present a sort of personality and an increased awareness of the world around them. This implies that magic can impart a sort of quasi-soul after long periods of exposure upon creatures that would otherwise lack sentience, and that this trait can be passed down to future generations.

In addition, while beings without souls cannot become changelings, creatures with some sort of magical ability OR affinity will sometimes have enough concentrated magic for their essence to disperse into the nearby environment when they die.

Yes, this does mean that there are many species of mundane animals that also seem to have a quasi-soul. In addition, while this quasi-soul phenomenon is usually associated with intelligent animals such as dogs, horses, and corvids, there’s no reason to believe that plants also experience a similar phenomenon. However, due to our current lack of understanding about how plants communicate, if at all, we have no way of knowing what a quasi-soul in a magical plant would look like.

### Sentient Magic?

What we’re quickly seeing as this world continues to grow and develop is that magic comes at a cost, and once you start using unnatural methods to break past that natural limit of how much magic a soul can output without dying, stuff starts getting screwy, dangerous, and out of control.

After all, magic in a concentrated state is a soul, right? So if you put too much magic in one place (and I mean like, WAYYYYY more than normally should be possible) what’s to say that all of that concentrated magic might not develop something of a will of its own? Not a soul, necessarily, but the ability to have an intent.

Right now, no magical study has actively proven this is the case. Rather, it’s a fairly recent and interesting theory brought on by The Enemy’s rise to power and the mysteries of his magic. Since magic in such high, unnatural concentrations is just that - unnatural - it’s almost
impossible to study, akin to research on the interior of a black hole. We cannot experiment, only observe and theorize.