Welcome to Wraith 101 Where the fuck are we? The lands of the dead, consisting of the Far Shores, the Tempest (and all things within), Stygia and the Shadowlands are collectively known as the Underworld. Technically the other co-called Dark Kingdoms, those afterlives populated by the dead of Asia, Africa, India and other places are also part of the Underworld, but as they have little to do with the night-to-night existence of most Stygian Wraiths, they tend to fall under the heading of "out of sight, out of mind." When a Western ghost refers to the Underworld, he generally doesn't mean the Chinese or Polynesian Deadlands. These "Deadlands" are not the Skinlands. The Skinlands are the realm of the living. The Deadlands are like, or akin to the Umbra, which the werewolves use, or the Dreaming which changelings use. Some places on Earth, on the Skinlands are closer to the Dead Lands than others. These places called haunts are like Caerns for werewolves, or Freeholds/Glens for changelings. These haunts provide energy for wraiths as well as a place in which the "Shroud" is weak. (The shroud is like the veil or mists, which protect the Skinlands from the influence of spirits.) The underworld/Deadlands exist separately from the Skinlands. Buildings which have long been destroyed on earth still exist in the Dead Lands, if they had enough emotions invested in them to leave an impression. Some places never show up in the Dead Lands because they are of such little emotional significance. What about Fluffy, Goldie and Prince? There are no animals in the Deadlands. Everything in the Deadlands is crafted from emotional residue. Anything which may look like an animal, like a Bagherest (horrific mindless monsters that look like skinless dogs) are crafted by wraiths using the energy of other wraiths. Alright who took my wallet? Obili is wraith currency. Obili is created using the corpus (or body) of other existing wraiths. (It tends to moan faintly when moved suddenly.) Obili is rare, and special. Someone with five Obili would be considered wealthy. The reason for this is Wraiths are rare. Not everyone who dies becomes a wraith. Most people have finished their business on earth and leave, it takes special circumstances to have a wraith. So am I stuck like this forever? Not every wraith stays a wraith. Oblivion often sucks wraiths in, finishing the process that started the moment the soul was born. ~exerpt~This passive, patient aspect of destruction, Oblivion is a part of the natural order of things. It waits for all things when they break down; everything must die eventually, in order to make way for new things to be born. When kept in check by the forces of creation, Oblivion is an essential part of the cycle of death and rebirth. Mindless and eternal, Oblivion has always waited to swallow those souls no longer Fettered to the Skinlands but not ready for Transcendence. Or a wraith might actually find peace and move on Transcending this existence. They might become some old powerful wraiths chair, or horse. They might become a bit of Obili. If particularly unfortunate the wraith may become a Specter. What the FUCK was that? A specter is what happens to a wraith when they give in to their darkest desires. Specters are... pure unadulterated evil. Evil has many faces. Sometimes subtle, sometimes calculated, always in the end destructive and self serving. Specters often fall to the oblivion, holding on desperately to their dark passions and causing as much trouble as possible before they go. Wraiths fear specters and their destructive potential. Most wraiths will work together to destroy a specter if at all possible, or baring that they will run like hell. This SUCKS! Existance in the Underworld can be horrific, yet wraiths cling to it with undying passion. The landscape of the Shadowlands is filled with tumbled-down dreams and decayed memories, yet in the dreams and emotions of the living, the wraiths can still find the strength they need to resist Oblivion's pull. The potential for undying horror exists in the Deadlands, but so does the potential for undying love, or for spiritual fulfillment that life didn't offer. Despair is common here, and with good cause, but even in the lands of the dead there are some who dare to hope, to resist, and to dream. |
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