Religions: Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife

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Meridian on Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife - April 1st, 2002

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Oh boy, this is a big one. Some Background: There are two fundamental forces in the Shadowbane universe - Law and Chaos. Each of them plays upon the matter generated by the five elements and spins it into everything there is. Souls are concentrations of the fifth element, Spirit, just as boulders are concentrations of Earth and lakes concentrations of Water. There are "Higher Realms" outside the Universe, planes of pure Law and Chaos: from these arise the Archons (Law) and the Demons (Chaos).

Now, what happens when you die and is there a Heaven or Hell? The answer varies from race to race, culture to culture. What follows is the official All-Father oriented "churchy" view (which, incidentally, goes for both Church and Temple, as well as the Centaurs and Dwarves).

There is a Heaven and a Hell. When a person dies, the Spirit that animated their material body is set free, and enters the Black, a kind of void. Early on, these spirits would degenerate into nothing, or turn into wicked, malevolent entities that would jump into dead flesh and rise as Undead. The All-Father, however, crafted the great Gates of Heaven and Hell, portals that channel dead spirits to their rightful reward. Heaven is the Elysian plane of Law, where there is no want, where peace and stability hold dominion over eternity. Hell is the realm of Chaos, where tumult and constant change make existence unbearable, and Demons feed on souls like candy.

Just how a soul is guided to the proper destination varies, depending upon whom you ask. Some believe that Ardan takes you where you deserve to go, others that the Archons weigh each dead person's soul. Some schools of thought have put forth the idea that ascension unto heaven is the predestined fate of an Elect few (the Holy Church used to be big on this idea, but it's fallen into some obscurity), while others believe Nandramiel keeps a careful record of each and every deed, and that each soul picks its own fate through deeds and intentions. Can a soul escape from Hell and be redeemed, moving up to Heaven? Some theologians in the Holy Church are very big on this idea, while the Temple dismisses it as the Heresy of the Hopeful Sinner. Hell is the ultimate destination of Sin, and it is eternal.

Now, since the Turning, the Gates have closed, and the All-Father's greatest gift to Aerynth has been revoked. The Trees of Life now serve to rebuild bodies and anchor the souls to Aerynth, saving them from the Black. Can the Gates be re-opened? The Archons are ominously silent.

Other religions and cultures will look at things differently. Druids, for example, claim that all spirit is re-born into a different arrangement of elements through an endless cycle of reincarnation. The Irekei believe that the Inner Flame leaves the body and rejoins the Sacred Fire in the heart of the Dragon. Non churchgoing Elves... they probably think that dead spirits are doomed to an immaterial life, watching all that they knew wear away. More than you asked for, eh? I hope this helps!