Afterlife

On the Afterlife

Attributed to Daeriel

It is known to all peoples that there is a life after this, though the belief in the nature of that life differs from people to people. The aasimar dream that they will return to Empyrium in spirit; the elves believe they will ascend to omniscient consciousness. And each individual’s belief differs from another, creating an infinite number of different interpretations and beliefs in the afterlife. How many, if any, are correct, cannot be known in this world.

What connects all beliefs is Eld, the Godhead. It is accepted by all that Eld exists, and that Eldoneth is the destination of all who die. Eldoneth is understood to be a plane in and of itself, whether within or without the Fabric. Given that no living soul has succeeded in travelling by teleportation to Eldoneth, nor to any major source of knowledge has a departed soul returned to this world, it is believed by most that the plane of Eldoneth is a plane extra fabricae.

It is the understanding of the author that many peoples’ belief in the afterlife includes a travel mechanism. There is a god known to the elder races as Samael, the Ferrier of Souls. Samael is believed to visit the departed at the time of their death and ferry the departed’s soul to Eldoneth, traversing what is called de flumine animarum, the River of Souls. Whether this journey is dangerous is open to debate. Some sources of theological thought maintain that the souls of all creatures, good or evil, arrive in Eldoneth. Others believe that evil souls line the banks of de flumine animarum, attempting to steal the souls of the good from Samael’s ferry. Questions which must be explored by future theologians concern the nature of the crossing: If Samael ferries the soul of a mortal on a plane intra fabricae, does it follow that there is a passageway between the material and Eldoneth, and if so, can it be accessed by the undeparted? Are souls themselves extant only in an additional, spiritual plane which exists extra fabricae?