Written by Ian
Long ago, only slightly after worlds came into being and the universe first began to settle down, a great entity began to look down from above, seeing the empty universe, devoid of something. Bereft of anything that resembled themselves. And so, Life came to be and with it living things began to slowly grow and flourish in the universe, spreading throughout the cosmos.
At first, things were quite dull. Existence was stagnant, and so too was the ability to flourish. None could grow beyond what they were at birth, and all were the same. Dissatisfied with this, the grand being that observed above all took action. They created a new being, one that presided over the antithesis of life, and granted them power. When this being was born, they created a fragment of existence from all living beings and granted that fragment immortality. This form, shaped from the will and self of the beings that the form resided within, was linked to the power of the cosmos called “cosmic energy.” It was within this cosmic energy that every living being was quietly linked together. Every being now had a soul, from the trees on the land to the fish in the sea. These souls granted one the ability to obtain powers for themselves. The soul made the individual, and the individual was the soul.
Souls were not simply a fragment of one’s being, mind you. The soul was a form of template. Before one is born, the soul is shaped. The race, strength, mind, and even personality of a person is decided from the soul. At the same time, just as a person grows, so too does the soul. Souls are molded after experiences, becoming a record of a being's existence. However, something created with such detail could never be so simple. Souls also act as containers for one’s powers and strengths, holding chaos force and cosmic energy , growing to accommodate more power and strength with age and experience as one’s powers develop too. This is not to say that those with souls are the only ones who can wield magic, for ambient magic exists too, there are simply other avenues which the soulless tend to pursue.
Soul immutability
Souls are the record of a person's existence. They are the most pure form of a creature. The act of destroying a soul is nigh impossible, only achievable by those who exist on a higher dimensionality than the soul. Although destroying souls is all but impossible, a much easier, while still extremely difficult task, is warping or corrupting the soul. A corrupted soul becomes twisted and can have various effects on the being depending upon the severity. These effects can range from something as insignificant as it becoming slightly harder to use one’s powers to completely crippling a person, and making that person no longer who they once were. In the case of destroying who someone once was, they become a husk. A lifeless, vague husk of a being devoid of all that made them who they were in the first place. In most cultures, soul warping to that degree is seen as taboo, usually outlawed, saving its use for the most severe of punishments. Alternatively, soul warping on a lesser scale is, while not common, sometimes utilized. Because of those that manipulate the soul, techniques developed that allowed healers to utilize their powers for injuries beyond just those of the physical, and those of the spiritual as well, managing to heal slight warping, but the more advanced and deep wounds are near impossible to heal for a mortal.
Cosmic name
Although it is nearly impossible to control the soul of somebody else, it can be made much easier through the use of a beings “cosmic name.” The cosmic name is a powerful tool, as it allows for control of another on a level impossible to resist. The true name is the entirety of a being, a name that describes everything about a creature, oftentimes even things that creature does not know. The learning of one’s own true name is a long and arduous ordeal, requiring one to be capable of knowing everything about themselves and then expressing it in words that come from deep inside you.
The difficulties of learning one’s cosmic name are exponentially larger when attempting to learn the cosmic name of another, requiring one to know everything about them in its entirety. Those who manage to learn their own name know themselves like no other, and know the exact extent of their capabilities. Knowing one’s true name at some point does not mean that will stay the case forever. As one changes, so too does one’s soul, and in turn, one’s true name. No person stays the same, and the same is true for a cosmic name. As one goes through major events in one’s life, one’s true name changes. If one is unable to adapt to the changes presented to them, they will become incapable of speaking their true name. One’s true name can change in substance, but will also grow longer as one grows older. But while one knows it, it will be a great boon to you, preventing any soul attacks from affecting them, as many attacks on the soul would warp one’s soul in some way. If one knows their true name, one knows their soul and can prevent it from being warped. The knowledge of one’s cosmic name also quickens the ability to learn new powers and enhance their pre-existing ones through comprehension of oneself, allowing them to reach new heights as they fill their soul to its true limits. The soul becomes more real, and one gains more control over it, allowing them to grow their soul faster than would be normal. If someone were to speak one’s cosmic name, one would be able to hear it, but to most, it would be incomprehensible, as many do not know of cosmic names.
After death
Upon the creation of souls, Death decided that instead of allowing souls to wander endlessly on the mortal plane, souls should have a place to go once they have left their mortal coil. Death set about creating the great After-death plane, where all souls go when they die. They created On High, for those of exceptional fortitude and those who would push themselves to their limits, as well as non-sapient souls who were judged to be incapable of malicious actions, acting only within their instincts. The Wander Lands, meant for the in between time, to give souls time to become accustomed and to search for their trial, and The Depths, a place for those souls who fail the Trials, condemned to experience an eternity of suffering, as their souls are forever there. The endless suffering could cease, potentially, if a soul were to find The Door. The Door is a gateway out of the Afterdeath, a way for souls to return to the mortal plane. These wretched souls also have a chance to redeem themselves, passing hidden trials through their suffering.
Drifter Souls
Drifter Souls are the poor souls that get lost on the way to the After-death, never to feel the true embrace of On High. For these souls, when they eventually meet their end in some way or another, are collected and immediately sent to The Depths. In the time before their capture, the souls change, becoming various creatures of the dark, things such as zombies or skeletons depending on how long it takes them to find their way back to their own body. It is possible for even worse alterations to occur, but those are few and far between.
Those that were lost, particularly lost souls, who did not manage to escape, face persecution by the Gods of Death for each universe. The Drifter Souls that never completed the journey were only found in universe 1. Death quickly realized their error, and fixed this, ensuring that all souls make it to the Afterdeath, barring cases so rare they can be written off as a rounding error; however, after preventing these souls from getting lost on their way and becoming drifters, Death created The Gateway in The Depths as a form of “pressure valve,” as well as an incentive for creatures to vie for whilst in The Depths. Unlike lost drifter souls, those who manage to leave through The Gateway have at least earned their return and are allowed back without being persecuted by Death Gods. Souls that manage to escape while their universe is still current are able to return with a physical body, becoming skeletons. However, if they were to take too long to escape and return to a universe separate from theirs, they will be incapable of manifesting a physical form and live as spirits.
There are others, however. Other beings who are infected by a more powerful force. A great, transcendent force that has been found in all aspects of all existence. This force finds its way into wayward souls, and pushes them back. They do not care for their universe anymore. They simply care for their own power, and seek destruction in their wake.
Soul Types
Not every soul is the same. While all souls share some commonalities, there are three separate types of soul.
The first and most common type of soul are the souls of those who are alive. True biological life that is sapient and capable of their own thoughts and actions carry a soul. These souls are the ones that must go through the Trials when they die, and endure the Wander Lands. They have been judged by Death to be able to perform malicious actions, and therefore must be held accountable for their actions by being required to perform the Trials.
Second to the first, there are non-sapient souls. These souls are those that act almost purely on instinct, and make up many of the animals and monsters of the multiverse. They are not capable of malicious actions, as anything they did would be likely for self preservation, and as such, they have no need to prove themself, and their souls are sent to On High with no need for a trial. These souls are somewhat less common than the first group, but still extremely prolific.
In finality, there are the digital souls. These are souls of androids and robots, those that are sentient, but are not biological life, merely a facsimile. These souls go to the Wander Lands when their physical body powers down for some reason or other, and there they remain until their body is either repaired and turned back on, or in rare cases, the pre existing soul of an android or robot can be summoned into the body of a new robot or android. These souls obviously never take the Trial, and simply wait in the Wander Lands, usually gathering in scrapyard biomes, where they will be safe from wardens.