Cycle of Regeneration

Death in Sharum Mal'Kari can come quickly, or slowly; as predicted, or out-of-the-blue. Whatever the way it happens, a chain reaction begins immediately when life ends.

The End of Life

Even in the case of predetermined or predicted deaths, it is natural for the individual to resist the end of their life. While the experience is different for every person, "true" death is considered to be the moment their Agni runs out or is extinguished. It can be difficult to tell when, exactly, this true death occurs, but those trained in necromancy and related magics claim that there are certain signs that one can look for.

It is generally believed that a person's Pavana, or spirit, lingers in the body for a short time after their true death. As the spirit lingers, it melds with whatever remains of the person's Varuna, or mind, to join together in what is commonly referred to as a "soul". The amount of time this takes differs between belief systems, but most would agree that it takes more than 1 minute and less than 1 day. Once the soul has formed, it becomes much more complicated to separate; in fact, all but the boldest of spiritual alchemists would claim that such a separation is impossible, except by truly supernatural means. It is for this reason that most experts of Necromancy would insist that, under normal circumstances, it is only realistic to reanimate the deceased before their soul has finished forming, with the likelihood of success diminishing greatly the more their soul has formed.

However long it takes-- after this process is complete, the soul separates from the person's Bhumi, or physical matter, and begins its journey (see below). A person's Bhumi is then returned directly to the planet, either through burial, cremation, or natural decay.

The Journey of Souls

Once the soul has separated from their physical form, one of four scenarios may happen:

The soul sends itself and makes its way into The Lifestream; this is by far the most common outcome, especially for those who were at peace upon the end of their life.
The soul does not send itself, instead remaining in an ethereal state of Limbo as an Unsent. In this state, the soul can observe the world of the living, but cannot interact with it in any meaningful way (except occasionally communicating through dreams). This is most often the fate of those who cannot come to terms with their own death-- usually due to a perceived slight, a powerful love, or some other matter of unfinished business. Generally speaking, an Unsent may remain in Limbo for as long as they can hold on... but the longer they remain in Limbo, the more likely they are to become a wraith. Many souls in Limbo end up either Sending themselves once they have found peace, or are sent by a ritual performed by a psychopomp.
The soul is destroyed. This is a particularly gruesome and painful end of life, wherein it becomes completely impossible to be resurrected. This is believed to only be possible at the hands of certain powerful celestial or eldritch creatures, who may enjoy feeding off of soul energy; some darkspawn may have also developed this devastating capability.
The soul is trapped. This is not a natural part of the cycle of regeneration, and thought only to be possible through artificial means. When a soul has been trapped, it is prevented from continuing on the cycle of regeneration. It is unclear what, exactly, befalls a soul that has been confined in this way-- though experts say that all souls which cannot be rejuvenated through the process of regeneration will eventually wither and decay.

Souls that do manage to become sent are carried through The Fade by The Lifestream to meet the end of their journey in Erebus. Those that do not will inevitably either become a Darkspawn... or consumed by one.

Afterlife and Regeneration

After traveling along The Lifestream, all souls eventually end up within The Astral Sea in Erebus. It is from this sea of ethereal energy that the Great Tree and the Forge of Creation draw their respective powers to produce souls. For the vast majority of souls, this is exactly how their journey ends-- and begins. After their time in Erebus has been completed, the souls are sent through The Lifestream once more-- this time to Elysium, where they are infused with a brand new spark of life (Agni). There, they are sorted and carried back to the realms of the multiverse so that they may be settled into newborn children, right as they begin their lives and take their first breaths.

However, there are some for whom regeneration is not their given fate. Sometimes, a deity or other supernatural entity will take notice of a person whose life has inspired them enough to request their audience (or service) upon death. In the case of these truly exceptional individuals, their souls are guided through The Astral Sea to the city of Avalon. It is here that the souls of great heroes (and villains) are made into shades, and must carry about living in the city of the dead until a judgement can be decided on their appropriate afterlife.

Most of the time, this judgement results in Shade being converted into petitioners of some sort, loyal to the entity that claimed them. Other times, this may move the shade from Avalon to some part of one of the Outer Planes to live out the eternity of their afterlife. In rarer circumstances, the shade is either ordered or given the choice to return to the cycle of regeneration; in this case, the shade gives themselves to the Great Tree to be reborn. While the Great Tree is sustained by the waters of The Astral Sea, this heroic sacrifice is the only known way to generate souls from within its sacred boughs-- and while all souls have the chance to be exceptional, souls born from the Great Tree are more often than not the subject of prophecy and legend.

Tesseric Dissolution

When someone dies as a result of their tesseric dissolution—which occasionally happens as a result of the Hallowing—there is not enough of them left to continue on the Cycle of Regeneration. Some may linger in the Material world, incomplete, until they eventually deteriorate. Others may mutate even further, becoming some manner of aberration or monstrous beast.