Afterlife

From Mizahar Lore

Afterlife is a broad term for describing what happens to a soul after death. Mizahar is a place where people are masters of their own destiny; as such, dead souls usually face a choice, and what they become depends on that decision. Reincarnation is by far the most common choice; the soul appears in front of Lhex, god of fate, and is assigned a rebirth according to its actions in life and Lhex's twisted sense of humor. Memories of past lives are buried deep in one's soul, but can sometimes be accessed through reminiscience.

The gods play an active role in the reincarnation process. Those who served a deity in life might be given a gift or a curse that will affect their next life cycle, as a reward or punishment for their service. Often, this will guide the follower into becoming a worshipper of the same deity in the next life. In some cases, a servant of a god will be claimed by that god to join them in the Ukalas, breaking free from the reincarnation cycle. This will often require many lifetimes of dedication before the soul is judged ready to join the deity, possibly even becoming a divine agent in their service.

Finally, an unclaimed soul is free to stay on as a ghost or an undead, depending on the circumstances of their demise.

Contents 1 Reincarnation 2 Divine claim 3 Unlife 4 Killing a deity

Reincarnation

Most souls will reincarnate countless times over the millennia. A dead soul willing to move on will typically find itself transported to Lhex's space in the Ukalas. For such a powerful god, his abode is incredibly small and spartan. There is a single, tiny room, furnished with a desk and two chairs. Lhex will usually exchange a brief conversation with the individual, and then assign them to their new identity. Lhex is a whimsical deity, an old man with a sick sense of humor. He might have someone reborn as a specific person for the sake of world balance, or he might give them new life as a cat because of a pun or sheer entertainment value. Lhex has been known to make someone a god five minutes before the Valterrian, only for them to be immediately slain once more.

The memories of a reincarnated soul are buried deep inside its Soulcore, and most of them are not readily accessible. They usually manifest indirectly, for example as likes and dislikes, dreams, desires or talent in a specific area. The process through which someone regains conscious memories of their previous lives is called reminiscience. It is rarely spontanenous, and will usually require aid from a wizard practicing Divination. In some cases, the person will even be able to regain a portion of a previous life's skills and lore.

There are only two ways to permanently break free from the cycle of perpetual reincarnation:

• being claimed by a god;
• becoming a god, either through Lhex or in another way.

Both avenues typically happen after an immense number of lifecycles and the souls who get to that point have fully developed their potential, showing their true nature.

Divine claim

A soul can be 'claimed' by a god once it has fully developed - that is, it has learned all it had to learn and experienced all it was meant to experience in the world. Several cultures have a concept of joining one of their gods in the afterlife; this stems from the fact that gods can forever take their own into their places of power. What they will experience there depends on the Ideas they served through the god. In some cases, it may be eternal peace and fulfilment; in other cases, torment and fear. The gods may also borrow a soul for a short duration and have it experience these things on a temporary basis - be it one day or a thousand years - as a reward or punishment for how it served them in the latest life.

In a few cases, a god will ask a mortal to skip a reincarnation cycle and instead serve them as a divine agent or even a demigod. These will re-enter the cycle normally once their lives come to an end.

Unlife

A mortal can decide not to move on. Often, there will be heavy feelings associated with such a decision. By default, the individual becomes a ghost, though this kind of existence is so miserable that relatively few mortals choose this path if given the choice. People who died in certain ways might also be offered different avenues as undead characters by such gods as Uldr. These existences are quite possibly even more miserable than staying as a ghost, but the truly desperate or obsessed will take advantage of their powers.

Killing a deity

Even divine beings can fall in Mizahar - the Valterrian was a prime example of that. As mentioned, a god is outside the normal reincarnation process, and the Djed of a slain god will usually fragment into slivers, each with its own identity and personality. These slivers may then join the reincarnation cycle once more, but all references to the original person are lost, and these souls start over from scratch.