Followers of the Heavenly Council believe that after death, the mortal soul leaves the body and enters the
Ethereal Plane. Those who are cremated also go to the Ethereal Plane but try to stay near those similar souls they recognize and so often wait near their family and friends. Over the course of the month, patrolling servants of Milcon, the god of death, in the Ethereal Plane “smell” either the body or the soul (it varies by tradition) and guard that soul until the Moon’s Eve: a sacred day that occurs on the last day of every month, when the Whole of the Council will gather and judge the dead for their deeds.
Those who are cremated also go to the Ethereal Plane but try to stay near their friends and families, thus explaining the common glimpses of death dogs and spirits shortly after the death of a loved one.
- However, those that die at sea are not protected by the servants of Milcon but by Lacorré’s servants, for the servants of Milcon cannot swim.
- Additionally, if a soul cannot be brought to the Underworld in the time it takes for the Moon’s Eve to pass, the soul will become a ghost and haunt the location of its death until it can be destroyed and freed of its bond to the Ethereal Plane. From there ghosts are sent immediately to the Underworld for 300 years.
If a resurrection ritual is completed before the passing of the Moon’s Eve and the body of the dead is still preserved, the dead may be resurrected as they once were. This action is sometimes frowned upon by Milcon as it is close to necromancy, a practice he despises and so some resurrection rituals involve convincing the guardian of the soul that the soul needs to be brought back for a particular purpose.
For the majority of souls that are neither evil nor saintly, Milcon is charged with Watching over them in his realm beneath the Celestial Mountains. This realm is called the Place of Shadows, the Unseen Realm, Chibalba, the Den of Dogs, and most commonly, The Underworld. Very few mortals have ever seen the Underworld and returned from it but by all accounts it is a strange place that is not particularly cheerful but not particularly dreary. Time is marked by the arrival of new souls, and feasts occur. Everything is provided but none live in great excess.
The Underworld is guarded and kept by Milcon’s animal harbingers, the dogs—including hellhounds who hunt down intruders, death dogs who guard the enterence, as well as domesticated dogs who serve the dead. Most followers of Milcon believe that unlike most animals who live with Acien Tali in the Golden Boughs, dogs go to the Underworld because they are so devoted to their human masters that they will serve them even in death.
- Stitchers and Watchers of Milcon are believed to be transformed into dogs upon their deaths and live with Milcon as dogs until their time is served. Such an honor means that they are far more likely to go to the Celestial Mountains at their Judgments of Turning.
The individuals that are neither extraordinarily good or extraordinarily bad and are taken back with Milcon to his place in the Underworld must reside there for a certain number of years—a number determined by the Council. After serving their time, hopefully meditating and helping Milcon and their fellow dead, the person is brought back to the Heavenly Council for judgment. At this Judgment—the Judgment of the Turning—the Council decides whether the dead will rise again in a new body, whether they shall remain in the Underworld for more reflection, or whether they shall be brought to the Celestial Mountains, a Paradise where the Gods reside. Followers of a particular Patron deity also believe that that deity will advocate for their ascension on their behalf and that by honoring the works of that particular deity, their chances for ascension increase.
However, those who’s deeds are too grave or whom have greatly wronged the gods are given to Balan who locks them in the upper levels of the Burning Labyrinths. There they will suffer until their soul is believed to have repented fully. Different schools of thought teach what happens next differently, either that Balan comes to collect the repentant, leaves them for all eternity, leaves them until the Final Dooms when he releases them along with all mortal souls, or that they are sent back into the Ether of the Void and no longer exist yet are relieved of their mortal burden.
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