Souls in Aeloria
Souls are divine creations, brought into existence by the two Overdeities of Aeloria: Aena,the Architect, and Kryela, the Undoing. These ethereal entities are the essence of life, animating the physical forms of living beings and guiding them through their journey in the world.
Creation and Birth of Souls
Souls are crafted by Aena,the Architect, from beyond the Greater Limit — a barrier that separates the immense power of the Overdeities from creation itself. Each year during the summer solstice, these souls are sent into the Astral Plane through the Greater Limit.
There, Pelor, God of the Sun, Summer and Agriculture - The Dawnfather (NG), guides the souls to the heart of the Astral Plane. This is where they await their eventual birth into the mortal realm.
The Cycle of a Soul
- Life and Growth: Once born, a soul grows and develops alongside its physical host, shaped by its experiences, emotions, and lessons.
- Death and Afterlife: After death, the soul travels to the Outer Planes and becomes a petitioner in the afterlife. While there, it faces different fates based on its actions and beliefs.
- Final Death: If a petitioner’s soul is destroyed or consumed in the Outer Planes, it leaves behind a faint, powerless husk — a trace of its existence.
- Return to the Greater Limit: These husks are collected by The Raven Queen, Goddess of Death, Crows and Winter - The Matron of Death (LN). During the winter solstice, she releases these remnants through the Greater Limit, where they are ultimately taken by Kryela, the Undoing, for their final end.
Nature of Souls
Souls are composed of pure meta-elemental energy, an energy that serves as the base for all other forms of elemental energy in the universe. As such, they are a form of existence that only the Architect can create and the Undoing can completely destroy. While the Overdeities hold ultimate dominion over souls, other true gods, creatures, spells, and artifacts can interact with them in various ways:
- Manipulation: Souls can be manipulated, altered, or transformed by divine beings, powerful artifacts, or spells. Changes to a soul can have profound effects on the individual it animates.
- Damage: Creatures of the Outer Planes can harm souls by consuming, tearing apart, purifying, or corrupting them. Such damage can have lasting consequences for the soul and its host.
- Division: Souls can be divided into fragments, each containing a portion of the original soul’s essence. These fragments can be separated, merged, or destroyed, affecting the individual’s personality and identity.
- Consumption: Some entities can consume souls to gain power, knowledge, or sustenance. Consumed souls are usually destroyed, leaving behind only a trace of their existence.
The Seed of Existence
Souls function like seeds, containing a unique sequence of numbers that determine their potential. These numbers interact with inputs — experiences, lessons, emotions, and more — to generate outputs, which manifest as the personality and individuality of a being.
Key Properties of Souls
- A soul, if unchanged or undamaged, will always produce the same output given the same input.
- Two different souls will never produce identical outputs, even if given the same input.
- The outputs of a soul are known as spirits, which animate the physical forms of living beings. But both terms are often used interchangeably, as a soul is the source of a spirit and a spirit is an iteration of a soul.
This intricate design ensures that each soul is unique, contributing to the vast tapestry of life and existence in Aeloria.