Beyond

The afterlife of the Tethered Realms, as in our world, is a highly controversial topic. Many Arcanists and historians debate the very existence of an afterlife, while some truly believe that there is something waiting after. While that belief usually falls on the more religious side of the world, it is hard to find a group that does not have some sort of idea of where they go when they die.

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Religion

Many worlds - whether because of, or along with the more instituted religions of the Cradles - have some frame of reference for what happens after death. It may be based in religion, or what little science can touch the topic, but most sapients don't like to walk around with no idea what happens when they leave the world. It's a security net, a safety blanket, and few have the bravery to admit - they have no idea.

Common Theories

Named below in our own Earthly terminology, the most common theories for what happens after death are listed below. They are defined in ways those of us Earth-dwellers can understand, with terms we are used to based off our own religious practices.

— Author's Note

Reincarnation

Reincarnation is a common theory among the more primitive cultures of the Realms. They are the closest to being right. Most of the believers in the 'Reincarnation' model think that each life is a process of learning, growing, and achieving new heights. At the end of life, a new life is begun from the start - from birth, all the way to death.

Nothingness

Similar to the 'Asphodel' model of thought, the 'Nothingness' model believes that there is truly just a blank space after death. No memory, no thought, no experience: just the end. Common among more nihilistic or atheistic sapients, it is realized that this model of thought often leads to a less full life.

Asphodel

Simliar to the 'Nothingness' model of thought, the 'Asphodel' model believes that souls - or Sparks - are left to wander among an empty field, surrounded by the rest of the lost souls for eternity. Common among more nihilistic or atheistic sapients, it is realized that this model of thought often leads to a less full life.

Heaven/Hell

While very few spaces in the Tethered Realms still hold this belief, the Mekalian Crusades - that formed what was known as Meskaovania - firmly insituted the belief that some sort of 'heaven' or 'hell' existed for those who had done good and bad deeds during their life, and that Udis herself would judge each Spark as they passed into the Beyond.

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Science

The big secret is not that it's all nothing, or we're all one being. The truth of the matter is this: there is everything.

When a sapient is born, they recieve a Spark. This Spark has been through countless other lives, in countless other Cradles. As each Spark travels through its life in its Cradle, it grows and learns, becoming a new person and almost a new Spark. When the Spark's time in that Cradle is over, it is reincarnated in a different Cradle, different body, and different existence, to learn, grow, and become a new Spark.

No one can truly know how many original Sparks existed at the beginning of the Tethered Realms. As different universes are born and die, some Sparks are lost and others created. Over and over, this loop happens infinitely.

Sparks

The souls of Visctheria, known as Sparks, are little pieces of the Weaver herself. Sparks' only natural predator is their own mortal bodies, known for twisting Sparks beyond recognition with descpicable acts and torture. Without this threat, they would exist freely and easily travel from one existence to the next. When a Spark has learned all it can from the world, it returns to the Weaver with its new knowledge, and enlightens Her.

by sunnybirdboi via MidJourney

The Anduari & The Beyond

The existence of the Anduari on Visctheria has vastly influenced not only much of science, but religion as well. Many believers in the 'Heaven/Hell' model, such as those from Meskaovania or its colonies, believed that the Anduari were some kind of Celestial Visctherians, and were therefore directly related to the Grailae. This, of course, sets the other Celestial race, the Harot, as the opposers - the devils, you could say.