Play here to listen to Shihadid Nogare. Let him tell you about Souls!

Shadows and Radiants

If there has been a single thing to influence all societies since the dawn of time, it must be the struggle of the souls of the dying to arise as a radiant soul from the lifeless body. It is a sign of a life well lived. These rising souls are called “Radiant Souls”.

But not everyone will emerge as an undying Radiant Soul from their dead body.

Some die but their soul never emerges.

When dying the shadow and the light will commence a struggle of meaning. The last test of life! If the shadow can not be defeated it is observed that the light fades and the dark soul is pulled underground. These Souls are called “Shadow Souls”.

"The Last Struggle"

In places which have no natural ground like stone floors the Shadow Soul will not find its way into the earth and will eventually fade away and be lost. If it is a Radiant Soul it will grow a Soultree around itself. If the death has occurred on an unnatural surface such as stone the soul will, after a few hours upon death, start to rise to the skies instead.

We can not tell with certainty why souls turn into shadow or into light. The most convincing argument we have heard so far seems to be that those who live a life of virtue will emerge radiant while those living a life of vice and immorality will sink down.

There has long been a controversy between and within religions about which force is the arbitrator of souls and the maker of judgements on the immorality of a human's life. Is it gods and if so, which ones? Or is it all within the dying, a last fight only with oneself?

There is no consensus reached on this matter yet.

There is however one exception to the Shadow and the Radiant Soul:

The Colors of the Radiant Soul

Based on the Ethinian Theory of meaning, Radiant Souls arise lived after a life of meaningful acts. The different colors that shine from a Radiant Soul then give hints to the scholars who subscribe to the Ethinian Theory: Each color might have assigned to it a certain meaning it represents. Most commonly it is assumed that the blue souls have found meaning in wisdom, that red souls have found meaning in love and green souls have found meaning in their legacy. Love, wisdom, legacy: These components can mix and at their highest form can come together to create a white soul. The most valuable soul, as it can be used for all types of magic and usually shines the brightest, providing more energy to magicians.

Hollows

There is however a third, terrifying alternative to Shadow and Radiant Souls:

Sometimes a person dies and emerges unconscious - yet alive - from their place of death, driven by primal instinct. Their bodies wither, their actions incited only by their Hollow Soul which provides the body with enough energy to pursue its single-minded task:

Find a Radiant Soul. Be this the soul of a living or a dead.

If a Hollow walks without food for years it will eventually fully collapse, by then merely skin and bones. And the Soul will turn into a shadow and escape underground.

If they however succeed in consuming one of these souls the Hollow returns to consciousness.

Often they are in much psychological pain as they have just killed somebody and also physically because they have not nourished themselves for possibly months, living of merely the energy in their Hollow Soul.

Some believe that being turned Hollow is a way of the Nature Goddess Awa to give those who did not find meaning a second chance to life.

The Hollows who survive this transformation however often are unable to cope and choose to end their misery.

The treatment of such Hollows varies immensely across time and cultures. Some feed them and provide them with a Soul while most others are disgusted by that practice of robbing an innocent Radiant Soul of its eternity and prefer to kill any Hollows for good.

It is not uncommon in times of strife, rebellion and collapsing empires to see the number of Hollows swell and the sentiment towards them switch from feeding to killing them. This leads to many more deaths and great sorrow. They are therefore known as a symbol of the end of an older order, like crows on the carrion of empires.

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The Soul Tree

Soultree Contemplation

In times of plenty, few Hollows are to be seen and groves and even forests of Soul Trees can be found. These cemeteries are usually public spaces that can be visited as these trees create a calming environment and are commonly believed to have healing properties for the mind.

Sometimes there is a “Hollow Storm” on a cemetery/soul tree grove which is why in eroding countries they are often protected by Guards and walled off.

These trees hold the soul in place and will grow for hundreds of years if left untouched until the Soul finally ascends to the heavens.

If one extracts the soul from a tree early enough after death, this Soul can be used for Radiant Magic. If one simply extracts the Soul and releases it, it will always drift towards the sky.

When the Soul is extracted, the tree withers and dies. It is the sight of many battlefields to see among killed horses and dragons, knights and archers a whole forest of dark, withered trees as Mages usually return to harvest the souls at risk of their own life.

Dying, Dormant, Conscious Souls

When a human dies and a Radiant Soul emerges it hovers over its body in a state of flux. One should only carefully touch it to move it on natural ground using organic matter but not one’s hands.

A couple of days later, once the tree has started growing around it, a skilled Mage able to communicate with the soul inside the tree might take the risk of trying to extract the Soul from the plant.

This is very dangerous. The Mage has to first make contact with the Soul and establish a basic relationship.

If the Soul is willing, with extreme caution, one may take it out of its shelter by reaching between the branches.

These Souls are considered Dormant. One has to make them conscious by reaching out to them mentally if it is to be used for magic. This requires long days of telepathic communication and enticement to return the soul back to full self-awareness.

All of these risks however can provide rich rewards if they are used by a skilled Magician. I believe this is a great segway. I want to, at this point, open the stage to my dear colleague: