Resurrecting the fallen is a difficult task reserved for only the most powerful and capable soul-magic experts. Sometimes, it even requires divine intervention.
Dying in the Afterlife, Reincarnating in Ilisara
Dying in the Afterlife causes a soul to be sent back to the real world, reincarnating into a new body, but with no memory of who they were in their previous life. They are new beings, for all intents and purposes. This allows life on Ilisara to grow.
There are four ways to die in the Afterlife:
By peril or harm from one of the Afterlife's ambient threats, such as the oceans between the realms or nightmare-monsters.
By defeating Kerrigor's champions (fragments of his soul) who roam the realms seeking challengers. Only the worthy are strong enough to defeat Kerrigor's champions, and those who do often find themselves reincarnating into auspicious lives.
When a soulblade produced within the real world pierces a soul in the Afterlife, that soul dies and fragments into several pieces. Those pieces form new nascent souls that are reincarnated in Ilisara.
After some period of time, if the people of Ilisara no longer honor a soul's memory, that soul disappears from the Afterlife and is reincarnated.
Souls who wish to reincarnate can change the conditions of who they are reincarnated as through intense study and pursuits in the Afterlife, such as studying soul magic. The nobility a soul exhibits post-death weighs into their lot in their next life. A soul who repents for sins and strives to become a better person may reincarnate into a well-to-do family. A soul full of fear and hatred may reincarnate into a family of warlocks.
Each domain has its own legends of what must be done to reincarnate back to life in a state of power, wealth, or love.
Evil Souls
In order to keep their memory alive and remain in the Afterlife long enough to accomplish their quests, evil souls sometimes manifest as ghosts on Ilisara to remind the living of them, and to haunt and consume the fear of the living -- which is traded as currency in the Black Morass.
The creatures that appear as manifestations of fear in the Black Morass all are servants that belong to evildoers who have harnessed fear.
Good Souls
Good souls send small blessings to people on Ilisara, and provide omens to help guide the living. Few good souls seek reincarnation, but there is a pathway for them to reincarnate by aiding others and doing selfless acts.
To What End?
The state of constant work from souls isn't wasted. Kerrigor harnesses the energy and work that the souls in the Afterlife have put into their world in order to fuel the power of soul magic in both realms. Kerrigor secretly keeps a ledger of the dead in each realm, noting the most worthy souls in his possession who have produced the most energy.
The work of the souls in the Afterlife, their journeys to reincarnate, and the reincarnation of those who are forgotten creates a cycle.
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