Above, Below, Void

Above, Below, Void is a tome discovered within Fort Aytysos.

## Description

Above, Below, Void is a speculative text that discusses the realities of death with respect to the role of outside forces and the Planes beyond that of the Prime and its Echoes, considering the Beacon of Souls, pacts with otherworldly entities, and other curiosities.

## Reading

### Completed by Anivia Reman

When the arcane, divine and primal alike can utilise magics to bring those that have passed back to the realm of the living, dealing with matters such as death is a somewhat nebulous task, albeit most so when dealing with those with fortune and favour sufficient to their name sufficient to ensure that such magics are likely to be available. Further still, it has found to be that those that do pass on can oft be reencountered within the Wandering Worlds, pending the final location of their souls. Whether drawn above, below or somewhere else besides, with a destination, determination and a great measure of chance on one's side, death becomes once more an arbitrary distinction from life. It is possible that this may prove the reason that no true deity of death itself exists within the existing Ahlusian Pantheon or the present-day Malign. There are those that find themselves adjacent to it, that of Iotl guiding the souls of the dead through the Shrouded Valley, or that of Yaldin that judges the dead to determine their path ahead, while many of the Malign may court death - but none seem to claim dominion to it specifically despite it being delivered in great acrimonious swathes in the Wars of the First Gift. Elsewise, it is of course worth noting that it cannot be understated that for the vast majority of individuals death is a stopping point in matters of relationships, for the population at large has not means for such preventing magics, and even amongst those that do so, it may prove a final stopping point too. This seems to lie fundamentally in the sense of willingness, that of the soul's desire to return to a mortal body - one that may be irreparably injured, riddled with disease, or elsewise worn out. Regardless, it has become custom amongst nobility and the wealthy that upon the passing of an individual to engage in a period of two weeks grace before any partitioning of estates can occur, should a return be achieved that would severely disrupt said proceedings. After such time, even if an individual is subsequently restored to life, their assets are legally considered the property of that which is designated in their will or directions, although in truth few would be as bold to deny an individual recently returned from the trauma of their own demise their own belongings if petitioned shortly after this date.

There are multiple reasons that a soul may lack willingness. In most instances, it is thought that the soul may be simply that, finding more favour to pass onwards into the awaiting afterlife that face the tribulations of mortal life, or rather finding themselves less attached, both physically and philosophically so, given that their memories of the former life is said to fade, burned away by the Beacon of Souls maintained by the deity Yaldin, who sits as the Judge of the final destination. For those with souls true and good, the Beacon of Souls brightens, elevating them to the Seven Heavens of Celestia to find rebirth most commonly as entities known as Lantern Archons, described as celestial fireflies in appearance. Exceptions may exist for particularly exceptional individuals, such as the Truetouched of Tohmos, who are said to join with the Master of the Hammer in their Halls all but immediately after their passing - strongly clinging to life while still drawing breath, but embraced quickly and irretrievably by the True in passing. For those with souls weighed by evil deeds, the flame of the Beacon is said to falter, spelling eternal damnation amongst the Lower Planes. All manner of fiends and other creatures clamour over the souls that descend, whether as lemures, soul larva, manes or some other wretched creation. Alternative speculations by the Atral wizard and former Exarch of the Keeper of Whispers Ealwant Besculus place this fade in knowledge at the feet of the Keeper themselves, siphoning at souls and condensing them into physical keepsakes within the Domain of Dolurrh, an athenaeum echoing with the secrets of the departed. Regardless, the result is the same. It cannot be conventionally comprehended the time taken for this process to occur, a creation of the divine as it is, but suffice it to say that a soul cannot be willing if it retains little comprehension of what it once was, whether minutes or millennia have passed upon the Material Plane.

There are numerous other further complications that come with the matter of willingness. Some individuals may dedicate themselves to a patron in exchange for all manner of return payment, and though the bartering of ownership of a soul is not the only price demanded, it is a frequent stipulation. Although most common amongst so-called 'warlocks', these pacts, contracts and the like are not exclusive to such individuals, and can thus can in a wide variety of forms. Fiends are particularly voracious in signing such pacts, and while it is often assumed that in doing so, a soul is forever tainted by infernal or abyssal touch, it might be remarked that the corresponding individual is anything but - so bolstering the despair when their soul is indeed taken as payment with their definitive passing. It has been noted that some patrons are more rapacious than others however, claiming the due immediately, while others will allow - and sometimes still, aid - in the revival of their charge, often assumed to be a sign that the contract-signee still has a place to serve amongst mortal living before such a toll is enacted. Regardless, in the case of contracts pertaining to a soul, it is often not the willingness of the individual's soul that defines the ability to return, but rather the strength with which its recognised master or owner grasps unto it. Even the lowliest of souls can hold a wealth to the right individual, whether chasing knowledge, experiences, or simply a representation of the potential contained within it. As such, even entities with no direct link to the individual may seek souls, and there are certainly more curious and queer entities across the Realms beyond the Prime that seek them for their own purposes, whether offering benevolent shelter, or fuel for purposes malign. Ultimately however, for those that engage in the life of adventuring, perhaps there is a simple explanation to why their souls seem at least somewhat more pliable to return - a drive for further adventure still, and discoveries yet to be uncovered, mysteries that would be unassailable from whatever void awaits for them beyond.