Souls and Spirits¶
"Think of the spirit as an ethereal manifestation/interface of the soul on any plane other than the Ethereal." — from the Terrun Cosmology (S421)
A living thing in Terrun is three things at once: a soul, which rests on the Ethereal Plane and never leaves it; a spirit, which is the soul's presence on every other plane; and a form, the body the spirit inhabits. Mortals have a soul that outlasts its forms; immortals have a form that always returns; elementals and the Fae have essences in place of souls; demons have something else again. Death is the spirit's journey back to the soul and out again to the Astral Sea; the rarer Soul Death is the end of the soul itself. This page sets out the metaphysics. What the faiths make of it is Religion's, and the demons' own strange souls are Creatures'.
Soul, spirit and form¶
"The soul normally only exists on the ethereal plane and is connected to one or more Material or Astral forms via the spirit. Think of the spirit as an ethereal manifestation/interface of the soul on any plane other than the Ethereal. The spirit and soul are both singular for any given being and can only be in one place at a time" (S421). The later treatment allows more: "While the soul is a singular entity, it is possible for a soul to have many associated spirits (although not naturally). A single spirit also has a singular location. A spirit may be destroyed, but as long as the soul endures it will eventually manifest a new spirit in the Astral Sea" (S018).
The soul is energy. "The mortal soul is entirely confined to the Ethereal Plane and made up of energy which can be reorganized, borrowed and lent, but never destroyed or created. The 'mortal' part is actually in reference to the spirit(s) and form(s) associated with it. This energy is what gives consciousness and self awareness. Soul energy is expended to maintain and sustain life. As the energy is expended it returns to the Ethereal Plane where the soul is able to reabsorb it. Each soul has a capacity (like a container) for ethereal energy and when it has excess it will radiate it, when it is short it will absorb it" (S018). "Even the soul is Ethereal" (S208); see Nature of Magic for what Ether is.
On the Netherworld, the Sea of Souls, "souls appear as clouds of energy", joined by "thin, delicate, light colored living smoke-like connections ... to thoughts and memories (on the Shadow Plane) to places and things (Elemental, Astral or Material) and to emotions, action and life and to each other (affinity) ... The souls themselves are unaware of their own presence there (their consciousness is focused on their spirits on one of the other planes). All living things (including plants) have souls, even if they are tiny and contain almost no intelligence or power" (S013). "Plant souls have neither intelligence nor consciousness, many lower animal forms have only intelligence without consciousness" (S013). The threads can be followed: "Touching an ethereal thread changes your surroundings in the ether to show those souls and places near extra-planar points that share that thread ... Mind-reading spellcasters do this to view the memories of their target in the shadow realm. A ranger or druid may use similar magic to see who has recently passed near a certain place" (S013). The archive's Ethereal college of spells "relates directly to the Soul, Soul-affecting-magic and the Ethereal plane" (S404).
The four classifications of life¶
The 2022 notes sort all animate things by what they are connected to (S018):
| Classification | Connection |
|---|---|
| Outsiders | "Creatures with a connection to the Outer Planes or beyond. Demons, Angels, Uk-zarai." |
| Soul-like | "Creatures with a connection to the Ethereal or Astral Plane." |
| Essence | "Creatures with an essence are connected to Terrun or one of the (Elemental) Inner Planes. Only the most powerful essences are capable of achieving sapience and most creatures with an Essence achieve only bestial intelligence." |
| Soulless | "Animate beings that have no connection to any place other than the location of their physical form. These beings are completely destroyed without the possibility of resurrection on death ... Soulless creatures include most constructs, automatons, etc." |
"All forms of living and animate beings either have a connection to the Outside or not. The Outside refers to any place that is not Terrun and its Inner Planes" (S018). The same notes work the scheme through: Demons connect to the Outside through their Dae'medais; Elementals "have Elemental essences (not a connection to the outside) which are connected to the elemental subplanes"; Immortals "have a connection with the Outside, but it is not a soul as it does not reside in the Ethereal Plane"; Titans "bind elemental essence to Titan-souls (not part of the Ethereal) ... Titan-souls are Einar souls and bound to one of the Einar"; Dragons have "Ethereal souls in a specialized sub-plane of the Ethereal. Some legends believe that the most righteous souls ended up being reincarnated as dragons" (S018). Outsiders as a kind of creature are Creatures'; the classification is given here.
Kinds of being¶
Mortals "are those with souls on the Ethereal Plane and forms on one of the Material Planes" (S018). "A mortal soul exists only on the Ethereal Plane. It's form/body is a temporary construct and not immutable (its next form may be totally different to its current form). When the mortal form is destroyed, the spirit returns to the soul and there forms an Astral Projection (it's Astral Projection usually mirrors it's last mortal form). A spirit may be captured when it has no forms attached to it, preventing it from returning to the soul and forming an Astral Projection (a captured soul)" (S421). "A mortal spirit will only reform when its original spirit is freed or destroyed, otherwise the soul is unable to form another while the prior still exists" (S018).
Immortals, the Einar, reverse the relation. "An immortal soul is one where its form is permanent and immutable (it always retains its connection with its form, and its form is always the same). When the immortal form is destroyed, the spirit remains attached to the destroyed body and the form regathers itself over time at the immortal's anchor point. Though the gathering may take several days or weeks, the actual rebirthing process takes only moments. There is no known way to stop an immortal from reforming in this way" (S421). "An immortal soul is not that different from a mortal one. The primary difference is that the souls of the immortals do not reside on the Ethereal Plane. Where exactly their souls reside is unknown" (S018).
Elementals "do not have souls in the way other beings do. They are beings of raw elemental energies which make up an intelligence. Their form may be destroyed, but it always rebuilds itself. When their form on the Elemental Plane is destroyed, they lose their memory, but they still reform. It is possible to permanently destroy an elemental, but only by destroying the inanimate material they are connected to (known as sovereign matter) on the Material Plane ... If all elementals were destroyed in this way, the Material Plane would cease to exist. They are generally considered to be lacking the ability to feel anything but simple emotions, or to think creatively or abstractly. In this way, their form of intelligence is very mechanical in nature" (S018, S421). The Elementals are Creatures'; sovereign matter is described under Astral Shards.
The Fae are described twice in the same document, and differently. In the classification, "the Fae have mortal souls (singular spirits) with immortal forms (reincarnate automatically). They were built as the servants of the Titans to maintain and nourish the material planes ... Fae creatures are bound to a Titan and their spirit will reform there in the Fae Realms after death and detachment from their corpse. For Fae creatures whose Titan has been destroyed, they will need to bind themselves to a new Titan, or they will not be able to reform and their ethereal energies will slowly dissipate into the Ethereal Plane" (S018). In the same document's opening notes, "Fae creatures & Animals (creations of the Einar) also do not have a connection with the outside and do not have souls, they have Fae essences (similar, but distinct to elementals)" (S018). The Fae are Creatures'.
Demons "have souls and spirits unlike any other known being. Their souls and spirits behave and act much like normal ones. However, their souls do not exist in the Ethereal Plane, but in fact have a material manifestation. A Demon's form is a quasi-immortal form, which reforms at the nearest fragment of their Soul" (S018). The newest account calls that soul a Dae'cilia, "Demon's Thread", and says "Demons have Essence and not Souls" is "a common misconception" (S019): "Unlike the Ethereal Plane (which permeates and touches all other planes), the Demon's soul must physically reside on that plane in order for them to have power and presence there ... If all a demon's threads are destroyed on all planes, then they cease to exist" (S019). Demon souls grow by consuming others, through the mortiquery, "a collection of spirits which the demon uses to siphon ethereal energy from. When a soul's energy has been completely exhausted, the soul itself is destroyed and absorbed by the demon" (S019). The threads, essence, mortiqueries and the rest are Creatures'.
Wandering souls "are beings whose form and soul are in one location (no need for a spirit). Their souls are often endowed with considerable power. Travelers from the Void manifest themselves as wandering souls. The First Ones (early Einar) were in this state, and therefore susceptible to being completely destroyed. It was during the Primordial Wars that the Einar created the Ethereal Plane to separate their form from their soul ... When the Demons arrived, they too were wandering souls" (S421). See Creation for the First Ones.
Sleeping gods and the One God¶
An immortal can be lost without dying. "On rare occasions, an Immortal uses a projection to directly project their spirit to another plane. When this happens they make themselves vulnerable to soul death. The only difference is that their spirit wanders endlessly, but their soul does not normally die. Immortals currently in this state are referred to as 'Sleeping' since their immortal body also reforms even without the spirit. Only one Immortal is known to have ever reawakened: Rakkar" (S421). The later notes give a second cause: "the original spirit of an immortal may be captured, and doing so weakens the immortal as its soul's energies are split between multiple spirits. It is believed that this repeated capturing of the spirit and splitting of their soul energies is what leads some gods to sleep … that is, they lack the energy sufficient to fully manifest" (S018). Rakkar and the sleep of Kalar are Religion's; the older compendium's Sleeping and Dead Gods are cited under Astral Shards.
The deepest claim about the immortals is one mortals are not supposed to know. "The truth, unknown to mortals, is that the Einar for the most part represent different faces of a singular Einar soul (known amongst mortal scholars as the One God theory). An even more blasphemous argument is that the Ethereal Plane is itself part of this One Immortal Soul. There are some exceptions, for example, Sharuvas/The Divine, who traveled to Terrun from the planet of the Uk'zarai (Sharuvas) appears to have her own distinct Einar-like soul" (S018). The same notes wonder whether demons are "the anti-Einar", a "shared Demon-soul which acts as a counterbalance to the Einar soul" (S018). The Divine and the Uk'Zarai are other sections' entries.
The Elder Gods handled souls differently from the younger. "Elder Gods do not have Ascendants … they had servants and their most prized servants contained a fragment of themselves. These powerful god-spirits are named with a -spex postfix" (S101). Seth'Arax "often granted immortality to his most favored minions by intertwining (and dominating) their souls with his", and "has consumed many of the greatest souls to walk on Terrun. These have become intertwined with his Einar soul" (S101, S160). The Elder Gods are Religion's.
Projection, possession and exorcism¶
"A projection is a spirit visitor to a non-native plane. It is partially substantial, and contains all of the power of its spirit. However, the form itself is normally quite weak (easily destroyed) compared to its natural form ... Projections are considered risky for any being, since it exposes them to Soul Death" (S421). "A being may elect to take their spirit to another plane (called a projection). When they do this, their original form is in a trance-like state while they operate their spirit" (S421).
"Possession is when multiple spirits fight for control over a single form. This is normally an unnatural and forced event" (S018). "A battle between spirits ensues and if the projection is the victor than the projection's natural form disintegrates and their spirit takes over full-time control of the new form. The old spirit remains trapped in the form it no longer controls until that form's death. In moments of weakness, the old spirit may be able to re-assert itself. When the possessed form dies, both spirits act as if their natural form has died. Sometimes, an exorcism can be performed before the possessor has taken full control (and mutated their target form). When successful, the exorcism is treated like a natural form death for the possessor" (S421). Demons "possess weaker spirits such as lower animal life forms or those that have depleted much of their available spiritual energy (ethereal), such as spellcasters ... the host also needs to be a match for the demon. More powerful demons are not able to possess creatures that would be unable to transform into their natural form" (S519). Possession can be chosen: "Some beings voluntarily become possessed by a Demon ... The primary reason to allow demonic possession is tap the spellcasting power of the demon ... This leaves the demon and spellcaster in a constant battle for possession of their body. Casting spells in this case is actually a relief for the mortal host as it diminishes the power of the demon inside them" (S519). "Possession of an Immortal does not appear to be possible" (S421). How possession changed when the Mithis Plane fell, and the stages of possession inside a Hollow, are told under the Mithis Plane and Hollows.
Avatars¶
"It is possible for some powerful beings to inhabit multiple forms using multiple spirits simultaneously (often known as Avatars). Generally only possible by immortals, the other inhabited forms are treated as mortal forms and at death and detachment, the spirit will remanifest at the immortal form. Very powerful entities often make use of this mechanism to travel into dangerous situations and use telepathic links between their forms to coordinate" (S018). "Prophets and Avatars are often Covenants" of a shard (S013; see Astral Contracts).
Death, planar death and Soul Death¶
"When a person dies, most of their ethereal threads are severed with their soul (though some of the strongest may remain with them in their astral form and the very strongest may even remain after reincarnation). The spirit then travels to the soul, where once united they travel to the center of the spirit world where an astral projection forms at the gateway between the Ethereal and Astral Plane (at a place connecting the Astral Shards relating to Death). Once an astral projection has formed, the soul and spirit will split once more, with the spirit going with the projection to the Astral Sea" (S013). "The spirits of the dead linger awhile in the Ethereal Plane before creating an Astral Projection (Spirit Form) and making their way across the Astral Sea to the Demesne/Shard of their choice (assuming the holder of the shard allows them in)" (S421). A bound spirit forms "just outside the place of its binding. If it is unbound, it will form in a random place in the astral sea and may roam for an extended period of time before making its way to an astral shard" (S018). The Bound contract is on Astral Contracts; the shards that are the "heaven" of various theologies are on Astral Shards.
Dying away from one's body is the danger. "If their natural form is killed, the projection fades away immediately and the spirit begins its return to the soul or body ... However, If the the form with the spirit is killed, their original body goes into a coma for a period of time while the spirit makes its way back to the body. If the original body is killed during this time, the being may suffer a Soul Death" (S421). "The permanent destruction of a being can only occur when they are in 3 places at once: Their soul, and two forms (one containing their spirit). This separation of forms makes the spirit vulnerable, and if both forms are killed before the spirit returns to the body, the spirit will become lost, and if mortal, the soul dies without it" (S421). The later notes describe the slower death: "A soul can die if its spirit(s) have not been able to connect with a body for too long. At this point, the soul begins to atrophy and its energies are absorbed into the Ethereal Plane. It is believed this process takes many centuries to complete" (S018). "Soul Death is rare, but has occasionally happened. Dead Souls float across the Spirit World as dark clouds with no energy and dark thread connections" (S013). Even dead Primal Dragons do not die: "Their spirits are potent and cannot be destroyed. They regenerate eventually, but if left undisturbed it could take tens of thousands of years" (S031, cited under Astral Shards).
Forging new souls¶
"New souls can be created out of excess energies in the Ethereal Plane (usually there because of Soul Death). The creation is a manual process and only a few of the Einar are known to possess the knowledge and abilities to forge souls" (S018). Demonic souls alone grow: "Demonic souls are capable of growth unlike normal souls which are fixed in size at creation" (S019).
Dominion and the afterlife¶
Where a soul goes depends on whom it is bound to, and in the Fifth Age the binding failed. "With the death of Kalar and his most direct heir, Anariel; the spirits of the dead are in a state of unrest. Many of the dead do not end up transitioning successfully to the afterlife. The vast majority of the races are still under the dominion of Kalar or one of the other now defunct members of the Kalari. The faithful of the Rakkari are tied through hierarchical dominion to Kalar, and so they suffer the same issues. It is these spirits that get lost in the transition. Beings which are under the dominion of the Dark Gods are transitioning normally" (S318). "When a person dies with questionable dominion ... they are very likely to end up as one of the Restless Dead": lesser ghouls where the corpse is sound, ghouls and wights where the dead "was evil or died a more traumatic death", ghosts "when the corpse was destroyed by either fire or animals", spectres and wraiths for cruelty and injustice, and Abyssal kinds of each "when the dead have been tainted by the hollowing" (S318). Funeral pyres fell out of favour in Kalari lands for this reason, "for someone of questionable dominion to have their body completely destroyed can result in a faster transition in to a haunting spirit" (S318). What the Kalari, Rakkarim and Sancturi priests make of this, consecrated ground, consecrated symbols and the entrapment of witches' souls in Vigils, is Religion's.
Earlier accounts¶
The Terrun Cosmology gives demons a Chained Soul: "Each Demon therefore in effect has two souls. The first is their Demon Soul which works as any normal soul, except that it resides in the Demon's form on the Abyssal Plane. The second is their Chained Soul (on the Ethereal) which they use as a power source and to anchor themselves to this existence. The Chained Soul is different from other souls in that it does not have a coherent intelligence to it. When the Abyss was formed from Astral Shards, all Demons and their forms and souls were bound to it" (S421). The 2022 and 2025 accounts (S018, S019) replace this with a soul that has "a material manifestation" and the Demon's Thread. The 2017 Fae Magic notes have the Fae without souls at all: "They have a fae spirit tied to the earth which returns the to elemental plane upon death. There, the intelligence is eventually reformed by an Archon or Primordial into a new Fae being" (S279, cited under Nature of Magic). The 2022 Cosmology's own account of the Sea of Souls carries the author's note that it "NEEDS REVISION, doesnt make a lot of sense and seems contradictory in places" (S013); it is followed here only where the later documents agree with it.
Gap
S018 contradicts itself on whether Fae creatures have souls or Fae essences and does not resolve it; neither reading is preferred here. No source says where immortal souls reside, how an exorcism is performed in general, or what becomes of a Soulless creature's intelligence beyond its ending.