Seven Spheres - a setting draft

[Frozen_Feet]

These are preliminary notes for a setting I'm building. What I'm building it for is a bit open at the moment, but I might tie to my long-time project of making an RPG system of my own. And/or short stories I write.

The major themes of the setting are heroism and Karma. So I'll start this by defining the setting's equivalent to alignments:

Heroism is, first and foremost, about great deeds. Anyone who works towards change and shapes the world through their actions can be considered a hero, regardless of their morality. Likewise, a person who never achieves anything notable is not "heroic", no matter how good or bad a person they are.

Morality does affect what kind of a hero someone is, however.

Mortals are those who drift through life without having significant impact. Nice or nasty, they never rise much above their peers, either due to lack of conviction or opportunity.

Virtuous are those who seek to do great things out of desire to follow the seven virtues (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_virtues). They are what modern people think as "heroes", those who are driven to do great deeds due to their moral idealism. Still, virtuous have their failings, and are somewhat defined by their flaws. They fill the place between mortals and divine.

Divine embody virtues; they are, in some aspect, flawless. As such, while they are what the virtuous strive to be, they can't be held as heroes, because they can't fail in some things. They don't do great things, they are great. Reaching divinity is called "enlightment".

Sinful are the "anti-heroes", those who do great deeds because they can't resist their primal urges (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins). They are those who don't just fail, they fail spectacularly. Still, they're not completely without good qualities, those are just overshadowed by the bad. They are the ones who do things for all the wrong reasons, and fill the place between mortals and monstrous.

Monstrous embody sin. They revel in aspects of it, committing attrocities without hint of remorse or bad conscience. They lack capacity for virtue, and are thus less "anti-heroes" or even "villains" than they are disasters.

Karma, law of action and consequence, determines where a person stands. Both motives and acts are taken into account - what you do and why you do it are both important. Virtuous actions net good karma, while sinful acts net bad - balance of the two determines which afterlife a living being goes to upon death, but it's not a zero-sum game. Each and every act has a pay-off - so a person in Heaven might yet end up suffering for their mistakes, and a person in Hell might find some small blessing in the good things they did.

It's possible to do things in a way that doesn't accumulate Karma, but it is a very hard thing to do and requires a very specific state of mind.

---

Of the celestial bodies and their functions...

Now, to the cosmology of the setting: the important bit to know is that it's a solar system, with one sun and six planets. Between the planets and outside the system lies the Void, which is mostly intraversible to living beings.

The Sun is the source of new souls and matters - from its blazing depths, raw elements are churned into existence. They don't have proper form yet, appearing as heat, light and gas before they reach the 1st planet.

The sun is sentient, but in such a scale as to be nigh-incomprehensible to lesser creatures. It does sometimes commune with and listen to gods, and other stars.

1st planet is a forge-world, filled with metal cities glowing from heat, as it's closest to the Sun. In it, spirits and elements are given a material form, so they can be send as meteors to the 3rd planet. The 1st planet is inhabited by those virtuous souls who refuse to move on before others, instead opting to stay behind and help them on the path to enlightment through the creation of virtuous things. Their forms are strange to behold, often made of metal as to withstand temperatures of their home, with fire as blood and organs made like clockworks. What places on the 1st world are not covered by cities or lakes and rivers of fire, are mostly barren desert and bare mountains.

2nd planet is also a forge-world, but very different. Despite being cooler than the one before it, it's even more hostile, with caustic clouds always filling the sky and raining down acid drops on the blackened jungles and venomous swamps on the surface. It's a place where life and spirits are twisted into horrifying forms and matter is given its harmful qualities. It too, is populated by spirits who could move on but refuse - either due to nihilism and belief that enlightment is not worth it, or because they feel suffering and sin are necessary to test new souls before they continue on their path. These malignant creatures have terrifying forms best described as "demonic", and they live in great, indusrialized underground complexes where they practice their dark arts.

3rd planet is the home for living things, being the most bening to creatures of flesh and blood. It is dominated by vast oceans, though land-dwelling life finds its place on the slopes of great mountains that arise from the waters. It is where mortals live their lives the best they can, often ignorant of the celestial matters that go on beyond the sky. Treekin, humans, seafolk and goblins inhabit it, each divided into several tribes and cultures, along with myriad species of other animals. It is here where things from the 1st and 2nd planets end up, and where souls from the 4th planet sometimes return to.

In the sole, silvery Moon of the planet is the residence of Lost Souls - ghosts of those who can't move on due to things left unfinished in life, but for who it's become impossible to achieve those things anymore. They are invisible and intangible to those alive, which is why the Moon seems barren and empty to the living. Only through the help of the living can these poor souls return to the path to enlightment.

Beneath the surface, past even the deepest ocean trenches and near the molten core, is Hell. It's a place where immoral mortals and the sinful go to after death. Of course, due to the general unpleasantness of such fate, many try to flee it as ghost and those who are already resigned to their punishment often have to fetch them forcibly. In Hell, souls suffer fates fitting of their crimes untill the time they realize the error in their ways (after which they reincarnate on the surface), or untill it becomes clear they are beyond redemption or just refuse it for other reasons (after which they usually go to the 2nd planet).

4th planet is Heaven - it's alike to the 3rd, but has more land and forests. It's where moral mortals and the virtuous go to catch their breath, before they decide whether they are ready to pursue enlightment, or whether they want to live still and reincarnate either on the 3rd (mortals) or 1st (virtuous) planet. A lot of Heaven is unexplored wilderness, and it's a place for those souls deserving of it to indulge a bit, even in sinful behaviours should they so choose - it's a place where a being can temporarily be freed from the burden of Karma.

Those who decide they've had enough of material life move on to the 5th planet. It is, perhaps, the place least like the world of the living. It is a gas giant with seven coloured rings made of stardust and shard of ice, and eleven moons of solid rock. The planet itself has no solid surfaces.

Each of the rings is inhabited by divine souls who've come to embody one of the seven virtues. (So there's a Ring of Patience, Chastity, etc.) These souls are bizarre to behold, often looking little more than whisps of flame or rays of light. They can move unhindered through the void of space. The moons are the sleeping bodies of eleven Warrior Saints, waiting for the end times where they will fight once more. The planet itself is a juvenile star - it is waiting for the time its predecessor (the Sun) dims and fades out, so it can escape its gravity and go out to be a sun in its own right.

6th planet is the smallest and coldest of all. From it, the sun looks like a small dot and little more. Its crust is a thick layer of solid ice, covered by snow. Multicoloured icecrystals sometimes glitter on the surface, giving the impression of a field of flowers - the are the Gardens of Gods. Underneath the ice is liquid water, a truly abyssal ocean inhabited by creatures referred to as the Unmentionables. These titanic seacreatures existed before the Sun, and they have nothing to do with solar life - they are undying and soulless, imprisoned under the palaces of Gods for uknown reasons.

The Celestial Empress has her palace orbiting the planet, connected to it by a spiralling stairwell of gold. From it, the faceless Queen of the Void observes the planets with her telescope, and also bids farewell to and sends on their way those enlightened souls who are ready to fly to the emptiness of space and become planets and stars on their own.

Back on the surface of the world, psychopomps dwell. These creatures, known as Mors or "gods of death", often travel to other planets to guide stubborn souls on their way. Sometimes, they accidentally leave open the pathways they use, meaning that on the 3rd and 4th planets, in places where it is cold and dark, it is possible to unintentionally slip through the cracks and end up in the dead world of the 6th planet. How to get back is another thing entirely.

---

Of the creatures that inhabit the world of the living...

Seafolk are marine humanoids. They are biologically immortal, so their lifespans can become very long if violence, disease and lack of resources don't befall them. They go through several transformational stages as they grow older.

Dry-landers is the term seafolk collectively use of landbound cultures.

Youngest seafolk are known as surface-dwellers. They look very much like humans in shape, but there are some key differences. First, they have webbed hands and feet. Second, they have opaque, white or grey skin a bit akin to that of dolphins, with a layer of blubber underneath - this gives them a round and smooth appearance that makes them as a whole (males included) look somewhat feminine to humans. Third, they have large eyes that are so dark in color they usually seem to be uniformly black or blue. They live in floating raft villages, serving as mediums between dry-landers and their older kin.

Next lifestage is seafolk proper - their forms become somewhat elongated and they grow fin-like protrusion on their arms and legs that make the more efficient swimmers. While they still breathe air, they spend much more of their time underwater. They build their homes in airpockets near coasts and shallows. They farm seaweed in great fields that extend in three dimensions, and often loot and/or take care of sunken treasure and cities, trading them back to drylanders in exchange of goods that are hard to make in water.

Then there are deep-seafolk, who grow silvery to dark green scales on their bodies, starting to resemble fish, frogs or reptiles more than humans. They also grow gils and are able to breathe water. They rarely visit land or the surface anymore, though they do commune with their younger brethren. They make their dwellings in mud at the bottom of the seas.

Finally, there are abyssals. They live in ocean trenches and pitch-black crevices that go down towards core of the planet, making their homes near volcanic vents. They have to be very careful about visiting shallower waters, since their bodies are accustomed to crushing pressure of the dephts. They are little more than a myth to dry-landers. It is said seafolk who reach this stage can't die, and due to their immortality, can't continue on path to enlightment. It is said they then go to the 6th planet, to live with the Unmentionables. Their bodies at least would be uniquely suited to living in such a place.

Abyssals who fear this event sometimes commit suicide by swimming upwards too rapidly - their bloated bodies are sometimes found on the shores, and are a source of confusion and horror to dry-landers.

It is possible for a human to partially undergo transformation similar to seafolk, by imbibing a potion made of the blood of an abyssal. This also makes them able to have children with seafolk. It is surmised ancient ties created by these acts are the reason why surface-dwellers and humans look so alike and why they can breed with each other. (Seafolk proper can only have kids with each other, and deep-seafolk and abyssals cease to reproduce.)

Humans are the most populous dry-landers. Not too far in the past (geologically speaking) they were sharply divided into two sub-species, but interbreeding has since then blurred the lines and given birth to several other breeds.

Mountainpeople, often also called "forest people" or "birdmen", left cradle of humanity earlier and adapted to live on the mountains and cold reaches of the north. They are short and stout, and much stronger than most other humans. They are characterized by their fair skin, blonde and red hair, yellow and silver eyes, and singsong speech which is the reason for one of their nicknames.

Plainspeople are a younger breed who spent much longer in the warm environment of humanity's home before it sunk into the sea. They are tall and thin, winning in stamina what they lack in strenght. They tend towards dark and even black skin, brown and black hair, and brown eyes. Their voices are lower than those of mountain people.

Giants are first-generation hybrids of plains and mountainpeople. For unknown reasons, such unions are much likelier to produce female offsrping, with males being rare and often infertile. Giants tend to be taller than either of their parent species, inheriting muscularity and bodily strenght from mountain people and dark skin and endurance from plains people. However, due to problems caused by their size, they tend to die younger than other humans. They are becoming rare now that pure-blooded mountain and plainspeople are growing fewer in numbers and live far away from each other.

Giantesses can breed easily with both mountain and plainspeople, giving birth to various mixed bloodlines. So-called True giants, offspring of a giantess and a male giant, seldom happen due to rarity of the latter. They are outwardly indistinquishable from other giants, but can only breed with other giants.

Mariners are the most numerous bloodline of humans as of now, having mixed ancestry containing both plains and mountainpeople, and even seafolk. They tend to be taller than mountainspeople but shorter than plainspeople, bodytypes ranging from muscular to slim. Skintones range from fair to olive and bronze, and hair is from blonde to brown. They have a variety of eyecolors, such as blue, grey, green and purple, that are rarely seen in other humans. They also have slightly webbed feet and hands.

Treekin are odd in that they are preternatural to the core. Matter affects the soul and vice versa, so soul of a plant is different from that of an animal - but due to reincarnation, some plant souls have been animals at some point. Treekin are born when something awakens that slumbering part of their being.

Alderlings are the most famous type. As the name suggest, they're made of alder and crafted as human dolls. The story goes that the first alderling was born when a childless human couple desperately wanted offspring, and in frustration the husband went and cut down an alder to make a baby for his wife. Much to their surprise, the doll then came to life when rocked by the wife and started suckling like a real baby.

From a distance, alderlings are indistinguishable from humans. Only when you cut them is their nature apparent - the wound looks red and bloodied, but looking closer it's because they're alder. Alderlings are known for their impressive ability to grow back lost limbs, like a tree can grow new branches. Unfortunately, there's a sinister part to their being - they need to feed with human blood, or they'll slow down and becoming more treelike, until they turn into normal alder trees. Symptoms of lack of blood include their skin becoming bark-like and their hair turning green as leaves.

Dryads are the most common type. They can spontanenously spring into existence from almost any tree when an animal dies near a growing seed. A young dryad looks like a wooden effigy of whatever animal it was in its past life, growing in size and abilities just like normal members of that species. Dryads are drawn to others of their kind, and because of this special dryad forests where all trees are such are not unheard off. Whether they are male or female in appearance, dryads are most often hermaphroditic, though this depends on what type of tree they were born from. Dryads only bear seeds or fruit if pollinated by another dryad of their kind (same kind of animal and same tree). Seed of a dryad grow to new dryads, though only a couple of such seeds can be produced - rest become ordinary trees. Like trees, dryads never stop growing, though their growth does slow down. As they age, the become more tree-like, often sprouting branches with leaves or flowers from their bodies. Very old dryads tend to grow roots and become stationary, though they can still move their branches.

Dryads become wiser and more aware as they age, and can all learn to speak. This enables communities and cultures of them even when they are of very different breeds.

Young dryads are often adopted by animals they resemble in absence of older dryads to take care of them.

Goblinkin are bestial creatures with reputation for hostility. They divided to three distinct species, perhaps owing to them being older than other dry-lander species.

Glacials are perhaps the most vicious lot. They are covered in light-grey or white fur and have a habit of walking on all-fours. An unequipped glacial can be mistaken for a wolverine or a small polar bear from distance. Their clawed paws are less nimble than hands of humans, and their fur and hide provide more protection from the elements than most clothes, but they are still a crafty species, manufacturing weapons and armor from bones of their prey. They have very strong jaws and skulls. They eat meat near-exclusively, and become sick if deprived of it for more than a week or so. They get their name from their preferred living environment: glaciers and floes of the icy north, where their endurance is unparalled. They do poorly in warmer environments, though, which prevents their numbers from getting overly large.

There is some variance in furcolor and fertility between glacials who live in different parts of the north. Those living furthest in the north are all sexually active only for short period of the year, and gender plays little part in their culture outside that period. In slightly warmer regions, males are constantly in heat, but females are so only once or twice a year (at spring and start of winter). Even further south, both sexes are sexually active all the year, but these places are so warm glacials rarely live in them. It's been demonstrated that reproductive habits of a glacial will change with its habitat, given a year or so to adapt.

Gnomes are smallest members of the goblin family. They are nocturnal and live in burrows and caverns. They are about the size of human children, but have proportions and several qualities that make them impossible to mistake for such. First, they have smooth, short fur covering their bodies that ranges from black to light grey. Second, they have pointed ears that can move around more than those of humans, as well as tails. Third, their bodyshape is closer to weasel than a human, most apparent when they move on alll-fours. Fourth, teeth, razor-sharp ones.

Ogres are biggest and strongest of goblins, and the most dreaded for perhaps many wrong reasons. They are very sexually dimorphic, with males and females both looking and acting very different. They are also the most humanoid.

Male ogres are shorter than females, but broader and more muscular, and hunched. Bear-like is a good descriptor. Nonetheless, they tend to be taller than all humans save for giants. They have body hair, but it's so short and light in color that it usually goes unnoticed. They have very dark and thick skin, however, especially in their arms and back, which is hard for even small knives to penetrate. They have large claws, massive jaws and bear-like fangs. Males often group together to test their strenght against each other, and the violence sometimes spills on other dry-landers. Male ogres are some of the toughest creatures of their size and very powerful, so they often have tragically poor understanding how frail other peoples are compared to them.

Female ogres are taller, but more human-looking, with less pronounced claws, jaws and fangs as well as a more upright posture. They are very masculine by human standards, not the least because they don't have visible breasts when not nurturing their young. Because of this, some uninformed people think there are no female ogres. When not in heat and desiring of company, female ogres don't stand adult males and drive them away. Female ogres tend to stay away from other dry-landers, living in loose communes far in the wilderness.

Some tales tell of hybrid offspring from affairs of human men and female ogres. These are, as far as anyone can tell, just myths (possibly stemming from misunderstanding regarding giants), but it's hardly unheard off for a female ogre in heat to seek companionship from human males if no male ogres are around, though the human needs to be expectionally muscled for this pairing to be likely.

[hi-mi-tsu]

This seems like a very interesting setting, and it's clear that you have put a lot of thought into the creatures that inhabit the planets and what the planets are for. I like that there are different "forge-planets" for the souls, though it does bring up a question of predestination; do all souls pass through both forge-planets, experiencing the light and the darkness before arriving on the third world to choose their own path? Or is it only certain souls that go to each, and thus those souls are destined to be either good or evil? I would also like to know a little more about the sixth planet, and these Gardens of the Gods. But overall it seems like a fairly solid story setting for whatever you plan to do with it.

[Frozen_Feet]

I like that there are different "forge-planets" for the souls, though it does bring up a question of predestination; do all souls pass through both forge-planets, experiencing the light and the darkness before arriving on the third world to choose their own path? Or is it only certain souls that go to each, and thus those souls are destined to be either good or evil?

New souls may pass through either or both of the forge planets, but they don't become aware or begin accumulating Karma before their first life on the 3rd planet. What initial form they are given on the 1st or 2nd might cause some predilection towards good or evil, but nothing as grave to be called "destiny".

Of creatures that govern the spiritual realms...

Inhabitants of the 1st planet are known as Devas. Devas are mechanical beings made variably of gold, brass, steel and other metals, and can reconstruct themselves for different functions. Many devas are less like animals and more like animate buildings, or even cities! Fire flows through their veins in place of blood, making them radiate heat and light, sometimes enough to burn living creatures.

Some Devas live in Heaven, helping to supervize it, while some others ferry matter through the void from planet to planet in meteor clouds.

Inhabitants of the 2nd planet are known as Asuras. They too have self-dictated forms, but they are often monstrous both for intimidation and due to being chosen for less bening purposes. While Asuras too use metal in their bodies, they quickly become stained and tarnished in the hostile environment of their home world. Organic materials are also used, grown to look like worst nightmares of the living. Oil and acid run through their veins.

Some Asuras reside in Hell, being responsible for arranging and executing the punishments.

Most terrestrial souls move on are reincarnated or move on without much of a hassle. Those with unfinished matters, however, become ghosts. Ghosts are immaterial and invisible to most living beings, and thus nearly powerless to affect the world of the living. They can whisper pleas to sleeping creatures to ask for help - the living rarely remember being talked to, but may act in ways asked any way.

Fortunately, quite often things resolve by themselves, and once a ghost has observed this they're relieved from their burden. Many regrets that bind a soul to earth are fairly simple affairs, after all. An example would be a person not wanting to leave for Heaven without their spouse. It's when this does not happen when true tragedy occurs.

When it becomes impossible for a ghost to find closure (for example, a person they wanted to apologize for moves too far and dies in a place they can't reach), they become a lost soul. Lost souls go to hide in the moon and cover their faces in shame with masks, becoming Faceless. Faceless are shy creatures, living in small isolated communities that are pitiful facsimiles of their life on earth. The faceless still remember who they are and can be interrogated for details of their ill fate and if the mask of a faceless is taken off, the person they were can still be recognized - it is this way a skilled Necromancer can fetch and save a particular lost soul that isn't too far gone.

If a soul remains faceless for too long, they become Nameless. Nameless are spectral, grey creatures with blank masks covering their faces; each nameless coming from the same species is indistinquishable from others of its kind. So, all human nameless look the same, all seafolk nameless look the same, so on and so forth. They no longer remember who they were and have no identity - they wander aimlessly on the surface of the moon, not even pretending to be alive. It's impossible to take off mask of a nameless before giving them a new name.

Lost souls that have lingered for more than a century join the Formless, becoming black goo which flows through the caves and tunnels under Moon's barren surface. Their amnesia is such that they no longer remember even what they were, melting together in ever-changing puddles from which limbs and eyes sporadically form before dissolving back into unliving darkness. Despite their abominable state, formless are not malignant - they are only drawn to virtuous souls in want to admire them, and while this might give impression of pursuit, they don't do any real harm. Becoming formless is one of the worst fates possible for a soul, and can also result from many kinds of metaphysical injury that could happen to a ghost or lost soul.

A powerful necromancer can have his spirit travel to the Moon and help lost souls recover - this is infact necessary for them to return to the path of enlightment. It is sad that many necromancers use them for less than admirable purposes.

Reformed are formless lost souls who have been given a new form. They may be material or immaterial, but their colors are dimmed and negative of what they'd have in life. Reformed are mostly utilized by necromancers who plan to stay or hide in the Moon for extended periods.

Renamed are nameless or reformed creatures who've been granted a new identity. Their mask and form immediately changes to reflect this, becoming unique among lost souls. They also start developing a new personality fitting of their form. Renamed are often trusted servants of necromancers, pledged to do some specific task in exchange of their salvation.

Unmasked are renamed who have their masks broken or removed. The face revealed is often completely unrecognizable as whoever they were in life, as they are in effect a new person. Unmasked are free to leave the Moon and reincarnate in whichever afterlife they see fitting for themselves, though some remain out of loyalty towards those who helped them.

Those souls who've been bad enough to end up in Hell become penitents. Their forms are shackled and then twisted or mutilated in a manner fitting their sins by Asuras watching over Hell. Then they are relagated to punishment or work that is deemed necessary for their redemption. Injuries of a penitent heal as they get closer to realizing error in their ways, or grow worse if they fall deeper into sin.

Some penitents are given special tasks in upkeeping Hell. These are the ones who've realized what they've done wrong and understand why Hell exists, but have yet to overcome their sinful nature. They become Justiciars and Scribes. Justiciars are freed from their shackles, given a brazen badge and a crimson uniform as sign of their duties, and given permission to travel to the surface to help Mors catch stubborn evil ghosts and bring them to Hell. Scibes serve the Asuras, keeping track of who's been condemned to Hell, how long has their sentence lasted, and what punishment they are undergoing.

Mors are psychopomps or so-called gods of death. Their function is simple - they seek out souls of the deceased to take them to their proper destination. Their job is complicated by unwilling ghosts and their own meager numbers.

Mors make their homes in the 6th planet, being the only direct servants of the Celestial Empress. Heart of a Mors is but a black rift in space, always seemingly perpendicular to something - it's easy to fool oneself to think it's the ground, but look long enough and the world will seem tilted and off-center next to their straightness. When Mors desires or needs a corporeal body, they absorb loose material, such as snow, sand or dust, from their surroundings to craft one. Because of this, iconic deciptions of Mors are white. Mors do not speak, but some animals intuitively understand them.

Mors can cross from some places to others without moving throught the points in between, which is how they move from planet to planet. It's possible for other beings, even living, to get caught in their wake and find themselves in strange, far away places with no means of returning.

On their free time, Mors tend to gardens of ice crystals found on the surface of the 6th planet, sorting and arranging them in elaborate patterns. Origin or purpose of the gardens is unknown, but some legends tell that the "flowers" are frozen spirits of those mortals who've accidentally travelled and died there - that the utter cold of the 6th is such that even spirits freeze so that they can't be thawed, and Mors tend the gardens to console the hapless souls trapped there. They also occasionally create great mounds of snow, and even icy copies of castles of the living, to serve as their "palaces". Once built, most of the buildings are completely empty of Mors, and even seem actively avoided by them. Even inhabited palaces seem to have only two or three Mors, with one staying in the central "throne room" as the other travels between its palace and rest of the world; the rest of their kind seem to be content wandering in their gardens.

More Mors group together in one palace or another when the Empress comes to visit the surface. At such occasions, Mors hold great balls, assuming corporeal forms and mimicking courtly manners of the living. This seems to serve little purpose other than amusing their Empress.

Ghouls are servants of the Mors on the 3rd planet. A ghoul is an animal, usually a scavenger of some sort, which is pitch-black in colour save for one, pure white detail. The iconic ghoul is a raven, with single white feather, and indeed corvids of all kinds are most common ghouls, possessing uncanny ability to comprehend the Mors. Ghouls, in exhange of contractual immortality, collect souls of the things they eat and take them to Mors so they can be reincarnated properly, and also watch over ghosts. Ghouls have ability to predict when and where disaster is going to strike, and flock in such places - unfortunately for them, many of the living have cause and effect mixed up and hold ghouls as ill omen and the reason for harmful events.

The white portion of a ghoul is a soul purse, holding spirits it has collected. It's said possessing a soul purse will bring one great luck, but in truth it just makes that being a ghoul in turn. A soul purse can't be acquired forcibly, however. For example, if shot, a crow will always pluck the white feather and throw it to the wind before falling to the ground, making it impossible to find for the hunter. A ghoul must give it out of its own free will, though that is achievable via tricking them.

The Celestial Empress, sometimes also called the Celestial Mother, is said to be mother of all suns. Whether she actually created the first one, or just nurtured it, is not known. It's also not known if the Sun is also the first one, though some sages surmise her presence is indicative of that. She is a pretty nice and compassionate person, though she rarely takes part in affairs of the living, most souls only meeting her once they're enlightened and ready to leave for unexplored stretches of the void.

The Empress can assume any shape she desires, though her favored form seems to be a vaguely female, silken white humanoid, with silver bells hanging from her robes and a golden crown on her brow. Her face is blank in this form. None of her visible forms are any more or less "real" than others, being something she assumes out of courtesy towards those who come to her. Because of this, it's said her true form is "everything and nothing".

The Celestial Palace orbits the 6th planet, a spiralling golden stairwell connecting it to the surface. It is like a simplified model of the solar system, with six round observatories around a large, glowing lamp akin to the Sun, sliding along cocentric circular walk ways. The bulk of the palace consists of golden frames build around the central lamp. In addition to the Empress, fiery forms of Sattvikas populate the structure, serving and worshipping her on their own accord though she never demands them to do a thing.

Sattvikas are embodied virtues inhabiting the rings of the 5th planet. There are seven kinds, one for each virtue, each kind being of different color. Humility is purple, Patience is turquoise, Chastity is pink, Temperance is blue, Kindness is green, Diligence is orange and Charity is Gold. Sattvikas move so fast they often look little more than flames or flickers of light - even when they still for the living to behold them, they must cover their bodies with their six wings lest they blind them. Sattvikas living in the Celestial Palace are greatest of them all, flickering in all of the colors and having twelve wings. They are what all enlightened souls become, and are so powerful they can become planets should they so choose to.

[Lalaithion]

The part about nameless and formless is brilliant. i would love to play a game in this world.

Are these spirits confined to the moon? can they go back to the 3rd planet? what other planets can they go to?

[Frozen_Feet]

Lost souls are confined to the Moon, unless a necromancer summons them back to the 3rd planet. Unmasked could make the trip on their own, should they learn the means to do so. I'll detail this once I get to magic of the setting. :smallsmile:

In the meantime, suggestions for names or naming sources for the planets are appreciated. (I suck at coming up with names.) I've been drawing heavily from hindy mythology, and I know they have names for successive heavens / planets, but I'm failing to find them and their meanings right now...

[Frozen_Feet]

Of supernatural forces mortals can command...

Necromancy is the time-honored practice of with the deceased. Historically, it's been the field of clergy and revered high-priests were often powerful necromancers as well. However, in late times, some lay practicioners who dabble in the art out of curiosity or selfish motives have given the art a bad name.

To interact with spirits, normally a necromancer must assume form of a spirit as well (some basic necromancy, such as exorcism of ghosts, is possible without entering the spirit realm). This is achieved by sending one's soul outside one's body via deep meditation or rendering the body into a death-like state by careful use of certain drugs and medicines. The former method carries the least risk, but requires discipline and training beyond what many people are willing or even able to go through. For one with strong will to live and a restless mind, achieving trance by mental effort alone can seem like an insurmountable task.

Due to this, most necromancers use varied methods belonging to the latter category. Unfortunately, such substances usually leave a mark on the body and a careless necromancer might find their health deteriorating.

It's also possible to separate the soul and body through physical means, such as strangulation or submerging one's body into freezing cold water, but such practice is even riskier as the necromancer actually dies for all intents and purposes. Few possess enough medical knowledge to properly restart vital functions so the soul can return.

There's an expection, however. To most people, substance of souls is immaterial and thus invisible - they can't interact with spirits, and spirits can't interact with them. But some people are natural Mediums, capable of seeing and touching ghosts. Unfortunately, this also works the other way around - ghosts can see and touch them. Mediums are thus often suspectible to harm from violent spirits.

While being a Medium is a great boon to a necromancer and vice versa, it's neither requirement or guarantee for one to be the other. Many of the greatest necromancers to date were not Mediums, and quite happy for the fact, and many Mediums get possessed by hostile spirits and driven insane before they reach much skill in the art.

Necromancy is divided into four circles, based on difficulty and what kinds of spirits are sought by the necromancer:

Terrestrial circle focuces on the recently deceased and ghosts who are yet to leave earth. This circle doesn't require the necromancer's spirit to move very far, or at all in some cases. Most common uses of this circle are helping ghosts to move on, or exorcism of bothersome spirits haunting the living. Terrestrial circle necromancers often strike deals with Ghouls, or even become so themselves to be better at their jobs. Terrestrial circle necromancy is also responsible for the most maligned form of necromancy - necrokinesia, invocation of preternatural forces to animate dead bodies and make them serve as automatons under the control of the necromancer. While necrokinesia can be used for benevolent purposes, most living people find such use of rotten bodies distasteful. Some of the worst monsters on earth are responsibility of careless or malignant necrokinetists.

Inner circle involves travelling to the Moon or Hell and conversing with the lost and the damned. It is a very powerful and versatile form of sorcery, but also very dangerous as it can net many supernatural enemies to the necromancer. One could say most problems Inner circle necromancy is good at solving are caused by it in the first place. But why is it so? Well, Hell for example holds many valuable materials that are not found on the surface of earth. In addition, many of the best schemers and warriors in life are... not very nice people. For one with less moral conpunctions, much to learn from the penitent there is. But when there's proof such acts lead to punishment, why would one do so? Well... Inner circle necromancy also contains means to help penitent souls to prematurely escape from Hell and get back amongst the living. Maybe they trust someone to bail them out as well... and if they can get away with while also taking some wicked tools of the Asura with them, all the better! On the bright side, more admirable Inner circle necromancers often strike deals with Justiciars to hunt down such troublesome inviduals...

Moon, as a spiritual no-man's land, is where powerful Inner circle necromancers go to hide from enemies both natural and not. There, they use the stock of lost souls to create a sanctuary for themselves, while their body lies hidden on earth - some find this near-immortality and freedom to shape the barren landscape of the Moon by their will preferable to the relatively mundane second live in Heaven. Neither is it uncommon for necromancers to go search for specific people there - either to benefit from their skills and knowledge, or as a favor to living relatives worried sick about the fate of their deceased loved ones.

Outer circle deals requires the necromancer's spirit to travel beyond the Moon and to other planets. Often, deals with Mors are also made to allow travel of not just soul, but body as well. This doesn't have all that much utility for mortal life, as the concerns of other spheres are far removed from everyday life. Some rare materials from 1st and 2nd planets might form an expection, but convincing Devas and Asuras to bring them for you can be quite a feat. Most necromancers who devote themselves to outer circle do it out of religious concerns or curiosity. Many of them are of very old age and close to the end of their mortal lives anyway, and just want to check out how the competition compares to material existence. Usually, the culmination of Outer circle necromancy is death in the form of voluntarily abandoning mortal coil and moving forward on the path of enlightement.

Void circle necromancy is... something few people know of, let alone practice. It's concerned with spirits that are not merely out of this world, but not even of the same solar system! Through invocation of unearhtly forces, void circle necromancers seek to bridge the maddening distances across the abyss and contact things more alien than mortal minds were meant to comprehend. The usual motive for this sort of sorcery is hunger for power, and if a person isn't mad to start with, they usually end up so in the process. Void circle puts well-being of one's soul in a peril that is uncomparable to mere karmic punishment from the part of Asura or Mors. It is possible, for example, for a void circle necromancer to lose integrity of their spirit, becoming Formless both in soul and body! The other common result for void circle necromancy is the necromancer vanishing from the face of creation, never to be seen, heard, or even remembered again! Maybe they get carried to other stars by Unmentionable beings, or maybe they are the source of the frozen flowers the Mors tend to in their gardens...

Void circle necromancy has few terrestrial applications, but at least one instance has happened where a practicioner tried to summon the equivalent of an Unmentionable on Earth. Some legends claim this is what lead to the homeland of humans sinking in the ocean, and others whisper this is the origin of the purported immortality of the Abyssals...

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Note: slowly making crunch for the setting here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236232)