Fen

Fen is an imagined location that's appearance varies from person to person. Though at first similar to the idea of heaven and hell, Fen has a far less religious background and is believed to serve a far simpler purpose. The belief in this place states that when a person who killed someone they could not directly see dies of anything other than age, they will live the remainder of their life in Fen. This means Fen would be reserved for people such as combat pilots, armored vehicle crews, artillery operators and even persons who ordered executions, among many others, which may even not be combatants, as accidents are said to count too.

## History

The origins of Fen are fairly unknown but mentions of it were first recorded among RAF crews during the first few years of the second world war, likely as a method of coping with losses of comrades that combatants had to endure. The reassurement Fen gave was that if someone who fought alongside you got killed in action, you would get to see them once you die too, while they wait on in Fen. The belief in Fen quickly spread through the military of not only Great Britain but other countries, with mentions of Fen even being found in diaries of Axis soldiers. After Neustarten was well on it's way, Fen got popularised again by the people of the Downfall, as the difficult living conditions and smaller, yet still bloody conflicts brought the belief back into relevance.

A strange aspect of Fen is it's acceptance in communities of various religions. Though popular among atheists, Fen is surprisingly often accepted by religious individuals, even Christians, despite it seemingly conflicting with the idea of an afterlife in heaven or hell. Though it was almost never accepted by larger groups or churches due to Fen's militaristic nature, the general consensus among Christian soldiers was that Fen is simply a place to live the rest of your life out if you are killed, and that you would be left to be judged only after your time in Fen is up, before which you are free to spend time with your commrades. This belief was so prominent during the war that many religious combatants described a desire to speak to their fallen friends after entering Fen, simply out of a fear that they won't both end up in heaven.

## Info

Fen is rarely described in detail past it's purpose and inhabitants, though some describe it as a very simple field or forest, with some mentions of an off-white sky. It is generally believed to be in some way different depending on the observer. The Fen is unique in that people are said to age after they enter it, making it that if one dies of old age they would not stay in Fen for any amount of time. Because of that, one has to die of unnatural causes in order to make it into Fen. The later they die the less time they have there. A tragic effect that this had on many older veterans of the second world war was seem through a notable rise in suicides, many of which were connected to the victim's wish of getting into Fen to meet someone that they lost to the war.

## Trivia

* This page was written at 12/11/2023 for the community voted poll, where the winning options were "Belief in a place called Fen" and Standard boarding crew equipment. As of writing this on the date of this page's creation, there are still missing images to accompany this page.