Living Mausoleum

Death does not take us when first we die.

— citizen

The Living Mausoleum is a large structure and necropolis in Otvokmis, major city and former capital of Hvalgora. It is considered the final resting place and a place of memoriam for both the living and dead, and serves as a key point of Hvalgoran culture that connects fire to the idea of life.

Mausoleum's Depths by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

It is comprised of two distinct sections: a large greystone mausoleum above the surface that serves as a place for funerals and memorials, and an expansive subterranean necropolis descending further below than even the Iceflows.
The necropolis is older than Hvalgora's status as an independent country, and only centuries of caretaking have kept its most ancient representations of the dead in good condition - at least in the lower levels.
War and civil unrest have seen the surface levels of the Living Mausoleum destroyed on many occasions. Tensions with Gildómar and Halsgard, among others, have seen armies storm Otvokmis and raze it to the ground; the Mausoleum is often deliberately targeted as a means of demoralising the local population.
Yet despite its past, the Mausoleum still stands as a monument to the living and the dead, providing sanctuary to spirits and offering the living a way of making peace with their eventual end.

Purpose / Function

A flame that dies can again be relit so long as the memory remains.

— elder

The predominant belief in Hvalgora trusts that life is much like flame. Fire begins as naught but embers, and flares into brilliant life-giving light that warms those around it. When it dies out, it leaves behind its ashes, and imprints of all that it burned - it does not disappear into nothingness. Fire, too, can be re-lit. The flame may be different, the fuel no longer the same, but fire does not disappear eternally. It can always be re-lit, one way or another.

Lives, then, are similar enough. Lives warm all they touch, and burn those they harm. Their imprint is left behind with every step.
Though death will always come for life, just like flame will burn out, it is possible for magic to restore life - and even without restorative magics, the memory of a life lingers in the warmth left behind, in every mark that they made, and in ashes left in their wake.
For the living, the Mausoleum is a place of memory and death in as positive a manner as death may be. They may visit to see lost friends or relatives interred there, and commune with their lingering spirits if such a spirit remains - for the Mausoleum is enchanted to preserve all spirits that wish to dwell within.
They may also visit to be interred, even whilst alive. These living folk are often at or near the end of their lives, and wish to spend their final days in a peaceful place that shall ensure their spirit is safe as they transition from the living world.

Visiting the Departed by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Some, though, are nowhere near the end of their lives; these folk, typically those in more dangerous professions, come bearing lanterns with flames lit for their continued survival, linked to their lifeforce by way of the Mausoleum's dedicated clerics.
Setting up a memorial whilst alive gives the family of travellers the chance to remember their loved one, and if they do not return, there will be no uncertainty. Supposedly, the flame's link pulls back the lost spirit upon death as well, keeping it safe with those of their friends and families.
For the dead, the Mausoleum is one of few places that gladly welcomes spirits and undead, ushering even lost strangers in to shelter within the Mausoleum's walls. Hostile undead are regrettably shackled to stone urns, lanterns, or burial chambers, but the peaceful may wander freely within the lower levels. Whilst they can also travel to the above-ground areas, it is seen as disrespectful to the living who may not wish to be confronted with the sight of their losses, and thus remains a rarity.

Bodies and Cremation

Hvalgora, as a nation praised for its naval prowess and the industries surrounding that progress, is often a nation that deals with absent bodies entirely. Over time, this has evolved to a culture where bodies are not seen as necessary in death. One's spirit, one's inner fire, is enough. To preserve space for the living, the dead are usually cremated and interred in urns.
Missing bodies are often substituted with ashes made from their belongings in a practice likely subconsciously imitating Gildómar's Pathway. Their urns are treated as any other. While sad to lose a body, it is nonetheless nothing more than a vessel.

Praying to the Past by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Type

Temple / Religious complex

Parent Location

Otvokmis

Owning Organization

Hvalgora

Related Tradition (Primary)

• Embers of Soulfelt Farewell

Lanterns and Death

Hvalgora is not the only country to use flame to remember their dead. Vuorenmaa in Xin-Jiyu has similar traditions, employing the use of its Caretaker of the Last Light.
The two differ in one major way: Hvalgora believes in allowing the dead to linger, and grants them the room to do so. Vuorenmaa is cursed for the dead to linger, and thus employs its caretakers to gather the lingering souls.
The nations share histories and cultures many centuries in the past and stem from the same peoples, but Vuorenmaa's faiths have been warped by the curse the country toils under. Once it is one day lifted, perhaps they will construct a Living Mausoleum of their own.

Death Walks Among You by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Doors of Stone by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Burial Chambers

Imagine getting locked in one when you're not meant to be... The servants are diligent, I know, but what if you were missed? How long would you be gone before anyone realised?

— scared visitor

Individual burial chambers are typically built with enough space for a tall human to comfortably move and lie down in, meaning they are usually around 1.5m / 5ft in width and 3m / 10ft in both height and length. A stone bench provides cover for those at rest so that their faces cannot be seen, whether they are living folk sleeping or deceased spirits at rest.
Burial chambers for the deceased place the deceased's urn on this bench, granting it a central place of display; burial chambers that the living rest in instead provide a small cushion for some measure of comfort in the room, and a blanket to be stowed when not in use.
At the front of the burial chamber, built within the chamber's heavy stone door, is a stone lantern that contains a representation of the flame Hvalgorans hold dear. These lanterns are tended by the necropolis's servants and faithful, and by visitors seeking to pay respects to the burial chamber's inhabitant. The doors are built with the ability to be locked from inside or out: if the inhabitant is alive, they retain their key.
To ensure safety against unrestful spirits and protect ashes from would-be grave robbers, chambers to the dead remain locked unless permission is specifically gained from its attendants.

The Depths

Those who work in the deep have no names to those of us above, but by the gods, they have our greatest respect.

— Hvalgoran sailor

The necropolis's depths extend well beyond what any regular architect would recommend; indeed, it is deep even by dwarven standards. No formal record is kept of the exact amount of floors, because they are not consistent: depths become varied and split off into different sections as construction needed to work around natural impediments, such as underground caverns or lakes. The further down one descends, the more the necropolis becomes mazelike.
Chambers at these deep levels are no less looked after than those above, for in the depths, entire villages and towns have sprung up through passages out of the necropolis. The entrances to these are protected as well as the necropolis's own doors, and the dead cannot go past them, for they are beyond the necropolis's reach. The inhabitants of these towns are citizens of Hvalgora, but usually spend their entire lives in the depths, with very few choosing to leave their shadowed lives behind for the bright sun above.
Members of species adapted well to underground spaces, such as svirfneblins, often volunteer to move to these underground civilisations when they move to Hvalgora. Cave systems are often dangerous in Iskaldhal, and to be part of a sacred, enduring tradition with welcoming, friendly folk and a promise of stability is often too large a draw to ignore.

Home Beneath the Beneath by Hanhula (via Midjourney)