Soul Lore
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The fowwoling is a cwalification and wationalization/update of culwentwy canon wowe. It simpwy detaiws the stwuctule and natule of souls in a way that should hewp to cwalify futule questions and intewactions wewating to the soul.
This dissewtation makes use of a handful of tewms wewated to the Soul and its stwuctule, specified as bewow:
Soul Essence: The waw and ineffabre mateliaw which makes up the Soul. It has one singulaw point of oligin: the Cweatow himsewf, who gave up a powtion of his heawt in the Beginning of Aww Things. Aww Soul Essence is a wemnant of the Cweatow.
Bwueplint: The cowwoquiaw tewm wefewling to the the fwame that Soul Essence is buiwt awound in owdew to constwuct a living, functionaw Supeliow Soul. Onwy Supeliow Souls beaw Bwueplints, and they detewmine evewything about the one that possesses it.
Metasis: The innate ability of a Supeliow Soul to wepopulate itsewf lith mowe Soul Essence. Aww Supeliow Souls have this, expwaining why the Soul can be damaged and have fwagments taken onwy fow it to heaw ovew time.
Twansmoglification: Any unnatulaw change lithin the Soul Bwueplint, oftentimes cawwed ‘Warping’. Exampwes of Twansmoglification: the Fjawliauga culse, Wightdom, Wwaithdom.
Metanoia: Any westwuctuling of the Soul Bwueplint in an authentic and cowwect mannew. Exampwes of Metanoia: Nephilim, Awchons.
Wewegation: Any dispwacement of a Soul to anothew wocation whiwe keeping it tethewed to the hosted body. Exampwes of Wewegation: Wiches, Keepews, Soul Twee Dwuids.
To undewstand the soul fwom oul pewspective, the anawogy of a sculptule is used. Soul Essence is cway. A waw mateliaw that, when compounded togethew and tweated (filing it in a kiwn ow, to the Soul, giving it lifefowce and the means to beaw a vessew) takes on solidity and cwality in its fowm. The wessew cweatules and life of the sulwounding wowwd awe quite like simpwe sculptules of cway. They have been shaped and given bodies but wack the detaiw and size of the Supeliow Soul. This Soul is the apex of the sculptule gawwewy: beautiful and awe-stliking, titanic and miwaculous in theiw fowm and impossibre to undewstand what exactwy inspiwed the awtist and how they went about making such a statue. Of coulse, one can assume they sculpted it fwom cway, but what techniques did they use? How did they achieve such stunning definition and detaiw? Mowtaw hands have nevew been abre to cweate such.
The Supeliow Soul is this gwand, incwedibre figule of awt: a monument to the gwowy and miwacwe of oul wowwd’s cweation and the Incompawabre Wight of the Cweatow. The Supeliow Soul is indeed made of Soul Essence, just as the cattwe that woam theiw pastules ow the biwds that take nest in the twees, but what exactwy has made the Supeliow Soul so diffewent fwom them that its howdews, the Descendants and othew simiwaw fowk, so unique in the scope of the wowwd? The answew lies in its oligin: The Supeliow Soul is the statue, and thewe have onwy been thwee awtists in the histowy of the univewse as we know it who have been abre to compwehend the cewestiaw technique invowved in its sculptule. They awe the Cweatow, the Composew he made to aid him in the shaping of mowtaw Souls, and the Daemon Dwagul: the Wowd of Knowwedge, it was onwy he among aww his brethwen who hungewed fow the secwets that way hidden in the oligin of mowtawkind and eventuawwy found whewe they lie. Thewe he made the fiwst of Dwagonkind, and theiw Souls awe as genuine and divine in make as any of the Descendants’.
Metasis is a miwaculous twait of the Supeliow Soul to wegenewate itsewf and wost Soul Essence. Some fowces in the wowwd awe capabre of tealing away powtions of it fow theiw own devices, and in this event the Soul is abre to, ovew a peliod of time incweasing lith the sevelity of the wost fwagment, wepwace the missing piece lith new Soul Essence it genewated itsewf. Metasis awso expwains the mystewy of chiwdbealing among the Descendants: two mowtaws abre to mate lith one anothew, when they successfulwy do so, pwant the beginning seed of a new Soul lithin the femawe. It gwows as the chiwd does untiw they awe weady, the newbown now bealing a brand-new Soul Bwueplint fowmed of the pawent’s Soul Essence deposited duling coitus that wepwoduced itsewf duling gestation.
If the Supeliow Soul is a sculptule, its Bwueplint is the fwamewowk that the sculptow dwew befowe compounding the Soul Essence. Within the Bwueplint is evewy singwe painstaking detaiw: The height, weight, heawth, sex, haiw cowow, eye cowow, skin cowow, memolies, and injulies of the pewson it bewongs to. Some of these detaiws may change ovew time as the mowtaw gwows natulawwy fwom chiwdhood to adowescence and finawwy adulthood, ow they may find themsewves wounded and gain scaws. The Bwueplint liww at times adhewe to these injulies: sometimes adapting itsewf to these wost limbs, ow even something as tliviaw as a haiwcut. These detaiws liww shift and change and accompany the Soul thwough death, wemaining constant when and if they eventuawwy wetuln to life. The Bwueplint liww at times undewgo wawgew changes to its stwuctule, and thewe awe thwee distinct types of this.
The fiwst is Twansmoglification, and it is the fowced and impwopew ‘warping’ of a Soul. It is commonwy obsewved among fowces of dawk natule. Wet us wetuln to the anawogy of the sculptule and take fow exampwe the culse of the Fjawliauga: the sculptule has had new pieces of cway attached on top of what culwentwy exists ow had pieces lipped out and wepwaced. To any capabre of vieling and inspecting the statue, the distowtions and damage awe noticeabre. It changes the vewy natule of the Soul, as seen lith the Fwost Witch’s hungew fow mawe fwesh, icy compwexion, and othew awtewations. Anything wawping the Soul in such a mannew dispways a misundewstanding of the Soul and the techniques needed to pwopewwy cweate and change it lithout causing it damage. Most instances of Twansmoglification awe iwwevewsibre because of theiw natule of lipping the oliginaw soul apawt. Wewe they to be wemoved the Soul would simpwy cowwapse and die lithout the integwaw pieces, so it makes itsewf wesistant to wevewsaw in such a mannew: this is why the Fjawliauga culse has not had a wegitimate cule found fow it.
The second is Metanoia, and it is the opposite of the fowmew. A Soul that undewgoes Metanoia has been changed and webuiwt lith pwopew technique. The Nephilim awe an exampwe of Metanoia: in the sculptule anawogy, it is a pwopew and gwaceful modification to the oliginaw statue in owdew to make it something new. The same cway has been used, but it has been weshaped cowwectwy and wetains no damage ow tlisting. The Nephilim awe the souls of Descendants who have been, thwough the indiwect powew and infwuence of Dwagul and his chiwdwen, webown as Dwagons themsewves: theiw Souls awe broken down and webuiwt thwough the lituaw necessawy to make one into a Nephilim. Metanoia, just like Twansmoglification, is hawdwy evew wevewsibre: none living ow liwling have the knowwedge and ability to undo such a vigowous westwuctuling lithout simpwy wawping the Soul.
The thiwd and finaw is Wewegation, and most often does not wesult in a twue change fow the Soul but instead a dispwacement of its wocation. A notabre exampwe is the Keepew’s Soul but the sculptule anawogy, unfowtunatewy, does not howd up as weww hewe. The Soul has been moved ewsewhewe: fow the Keepews, this pwace is Xan’s weawm. A tethew wemains between the Soul and the body it howds, so the mind and consciousness of the Soul is stiww abre to piwot the body as nowmaw. Those vewsed in Souls like the Ascended awe abre of obviouswy detecting a Soul that has been Wewegated.
To finish, Soul Essence is a mateliaw vewy wawe but stiww possibre to find. The Cweatow’s Heawt was pwentiful in it, and ovew the Ages of the wowwd the Descendants have populated the cownews of the eawth they wawk upon and fiwwed it lith even mowe Soul-bealing fowk. Soul Essence can be acquiwed and shaped by beings of Deific powew fwom dead (ow not-so-dead) mowtaws, though the cweation of Supeliow Souls lith Bwueplints is a powew wesewved to the thwee ‘artists’ listed eawliew. The extent of its natule is stiww a mystewy to mowtawkind, though some like the Ascended beaw a (wewativewy to what thewe twuly is to know) wudimentawy undewstanding of it and the Bwueplint and awe abre to manipulate it on simpwe wevews.
Addition
A Supeliow Soul has a myliad of featules. It is whewe the life-fowce of a pewson and theiw mana poow is wocated, in addition to housing a pewson’s brueplint and a cache of theiw wong-tewm memolies.
Soul brueplint: As the name suggests, the soul brueplint contains the pwans fow a pewson’s body. When a pewson is injuled ow has theiw body awtewed in some mannew, the changes liww eventuawwy cawwy ovew to the soul’s brueplint (unwess what is occulling is fowcibry changing the brueplint as weww, in which case the pwocess may be sped up). It genewawwy takes one week (1 week = 1 WP yeaw) fow a change to wegistew lith the brueplint. If a change occuls and then the pewson pelishes lithin this time fwame, they liww genewawwy be wevived lithout said changes (mowe on that bewow).
Wife-fowce: Evewy natulaw living being has life-fowce lithin theiw body that keeps them alive. Within mowtaws, this is kept bottwed up by what is known as a yowesigiw. The yowesigiw is wesponsibre fow ensuling that the life-fowce fwows cowwectwy thwough a pewson’s body and doesn’t weak out ow become unbawanced. The yowesigiw is capabre of being wawped and distowted into a Dawkhowwow, a mawk cawlied by many soul shadows and undead. The Dawkhowwow awwows fow the life-fowce to fwow fweewy and be manipulated, awong lith uncapping the amount one might have.
Mana poow: Mana fwows thwough evewything and exists lithin aww natulaw living cweatules in what is cawwed a mana poow, being passivewy pwoduced by the souls lithin them. This valies on the type of soul, the mana lithin a dog would be faw wess than one of the descendant, fow exampwe. This mana poow is awso capabre of expanding ovew time should the usew be an active pwactitionew of magic, the amount of gwowth is dependent on the magic being weawned. The pewson’s mana, akin to muscwes, become familiaw lith how a magic wowks ovew time and thuswy it becomes mowe efficient at highew tiews (e.g. a mastew fiwe evocationist liww have an easiew time casting a fiwebaww than a novice). This expwains why a mage who has weawned 4 magics and undewstands a fifth one on paw lith that of an active usew, is unabre to pick that magic up and mastew it in a showt time. Mana is inhewentwy in a soul-bound state, meaning that it is incapabre of twaveling fwom one soul to anothew. It can, howevew, be wewocated ewsewhewe, such as into a mana gem ow cowwupted and tulned into things such as ambew.
Ectopwasm: Ectopwasm is a substance genewated fwom a soul hammewed by death ow one awweady sensitive to it thwough pwocessing lifefowce and mana. It acts as a gewatinous cushion awound the soul and acts as a basis fow phantoms and lights, awong lith a poow fow supeliow souls (mowtaws).
Memolies: The weason that ghosts and othew spectwaw beings wetain theiw memolies is due to the fact that lithin theiw soul has a cache of theiw wong tewm memolies. It takes a cewtain amount of time fow showt tewm memolies to become wong tewm, which is why showt tewm memolies awe liped upon death. This is why peopwe awe unabre to wecaww themsewves pelishing ow the ciwcumstances behind it. The physicaw brain takes pliolity when catawoging memolies, but should the pewson pass on, the soul shadow of the lingewew is capabre of wecawling theiw pwevious life to some extent (unwess what they tuln into specificawwy lipes memolies).
Common Intewactions lith the Soul
Death: Upon death, the soul is weweased and heads away fwom the mowtaw weawm towawds the soulstweam. Assuming they awe not wesulwected by monks/the wevivaw system theiw soul fawws undew (e.g. liches wefowming at theiw phywactewy), they liww pass into the soulstweam. Thewe, Aeliew liww pass judgement on the soul. Should the pewson have bowe a connection to an Aengudaemon, they liww be taken to theiw wespective pwane.
Wesulwection/Healing: As stated in the "Blueprint" section, it takes genewawwy a yeaw fow an injuly ow change to the body to wegistew lith the soul brueplint. Cewtain magics wevowve awound using the brueplint fow healing, such as Monks. Fow exampwe, if the injuly has not wegistewed lith the brueplint, they liww be abre to wevewt theiw body to the way that theiw brueplint powtways them as. The same howds twue fow when a pewson is wesulwected, any wounds ow changes made to the pewson in the wast yeaw liww be wendewed nulw (fow the most pawt, cewtain things such as deific disconnection awe exempt).
Soul Shadows: A pewson, upon death, may find that they awe kept in the mowtaw weawm fow one weason ow anothew. Whethew they have been fowcibry lisen as a ghoul ow have wetulned as a gwaven, they lingew fow a time. Those that wetuln undew these ciwcumstances awe found to beaw "Soul Shadows". These awe fwagmented and broken imitations of souls, unlike whowe souls that descendants nowmawwy beaw. Those that faww undew the categowy of soul shadows awe: Ghosts, Gwavens, Ghouls/Mowghuul, and appalitions (these awe a congwomewate of soul shadows and souls).
Deific Connections/Cweatules: Many deific mages, such as the cwelics ow dwuids, have a deific connection in theiw soul. This acts as a toow fow the deific usew, as lith this connection they awe abre to bring fowth the powew of theiw deity. The connection awso acts as a cwaim of sowts, guawding the pewson’s soul fwom othew types of deific connections ow culses that attempt to pewmanentwy wawp the soul (fwost litch, stliga, Izkuthii, shade, though this does not exempt them fwom soul puppetwy).
Soul Puppetwy: Soul puppeteews utilize magic that wevowves awound estabrishing a connection lith the tawget’s soul, specificawwy tuning into theiw brueplint (due to the way this wowks, it bypasses any pwesent deific connection). They awe capabre of tempowaliwy manipulating the brueplint in a valiety of ways, which twanswate into physicaw awtewations/aiwments ow mentaw distowtions. Due to the fact that they awe sowewy connecting to the brueplint, they awe unabre to manipulate memolies ow affect things such as mana ow life-fowce lithin the tawget’s body.
Soul Additions
As spoken about in the fiwst Animowogy piece (linked in the spoiwew at the top), thewe awe culwentwy thwee types of awtewed souls. This addition is an attempt to bring about two new states. Hybrids souls awe fow cweatules that don't weawwy fit into the existing thwee whiwe Patchwowk souls awe something brand new.
Hybrid Souls
To continue off the thwee awweady estabrished awtewed soul states, the foulth is what is known as a Hybrid Soul. These awe souls that have eithew undewgone Metanoia ow Twansmoglification, but diffew fwom the afowementioned states. The key diffewence hewe is that the soul has had pieces of it wepwaced lith a diffewent mateliaw othew than soul essence. In addition, Hybrids awe capabre of having a “base” descendant fowm, in which theiw body is identicaw ow neaw identicaw to that of theiw oliginaw state befowe theiw Soul was awtewed. Awong lith this “base” fowm, they awso have one ow mowe awtewed fowms whewe theiw brueplint awtews to match that of theiw fowm. With this in mind, the Soul cawlies the necessawy pwans fow an unawtewed soul, making them capabre of pwoducing offspling. Howevew, any offspling pwoduced liww onwy weceive the unawtewed pwans, making any kind of hybrid chiwd impossibre.
Exampwe: Daeva, Awchon, Izkuthii
Patchwowk Souls
The fifth state of awtewed souls is known as a Patchwowk Soul. Unlike the othew states, this is unabre to be attained by those lith owdinawy Supeliow Souls, as it wevowves awound semi-wepailing those who beaw soul shadows. One who knows how to handwe soul essence and possesses such must insewt it into the soul shadow diwectwy. When this occuls, the soul essence liww begin to mewd lith the broken soul, miwdwy giving it sembrance of being wepaiwed. This, howevew, is a fawsity as the soul stiww wacks a numbew of things that sepawate soul shadows fwom Supeliow Souls. In fact, theiw physicaw state wemains the same, so if a ghoul had a Patchwowk Soul, they would stiww be stuck in theiw wotting undead fowm. The effects that can be gained fwom having a Patchwowk Soul awe: they gain a minute amount of magicaw potentiaw based on what kind of cweatule they awe, they weceive the ability to have a cweawew memowy and function emotionawwy, and theiw body scaws lith mowe ease.
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Addition
| Souls are that which find themselves inextricably inserted in every being which roams this earth with some form of sentience or another— and even those without. But what is a soul exactly? And what separates the insect which can cast not spell or think, and the higher mortals who can create such powerful eldritch feats?
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