Parts of the Soul

Shadow/True Name: A Shadow is the memory of an individual’s existence and deeds. A True Name is a pure descriptor of an individual in total.
Animus: Metaphysical force that allows beings to act and move.
Heart's Fire: The divine spark that separates the living from the dead.
Psyches: The mystic element that separates sentient life from non-sentient life.
Mortis: The divine spark that separates sapient life from non-sapient life.


Everything has a True Name and a Shadow . Animals, plants, people, spirits, Fair Folk, elementals. undead, rocks, swords, everything.

Everything that moves under its own power has Animus . This includes people, animals, corporeal undead, Golems, spirits, Fair Folk, and to a much lesser extent plants. Elementals have LOTS of Animus which is why they always are doing something even if it makes no sense.
People, animals, and plants all generate Heart's Fire . Spirits and undead have to obtain Heart’s Fire from other creatures. This is not a problem for most spirits because the Nine give them an essentially limitless supply while undead have to steal it from the living.

Psyches are the province of beings that feel. Mortals, Fair Folk, and spirits all have strong psyches. Void demons, undead, and magical plant creatures also have psyches but they usually have weak psyches. dogs, horses, monkeys and the like have moderately strong Pysches. Insects and most arthropods usually have no psyches at all. Most vertebrate animals like rodents, birds, reptiles, and the like have very weak Psyches.

Mortis is something only mortals have. Only sapient beings have mortis. humans, elves, dwarves, goblins, dragons, merfolk, etc. On Scarterra/Scaraqua the definition of the word "mortal' is "a creature with a fully complete soul.

When a person dies, their Heart’s Fire is extinguished. A dead person’s animus diminishes greatly, but enough animus lingers on a corpse to give necromancers something to work with. Dead people generally keep their True Name and Shadow barring powerful supernatural interference. Their Mortis is what passes onto whatever the afterlife is.
I'm still working on the details for what happens to psyches and mortises after death. In a way the merging of a psyche and mortis is what is known conventionally as a soul.

Type

Metaphysical, Divine