Regarding Souls:

 

Yeah, have fun trying to make sense of this absolute mess of a section. It’ll get worse. Much, much worse.

 

Quick note: Rules will be listed here. Rules will be broken. They are flimsy, stupid rules that souls don’t really care to always keep.

 

Soul:

“We all speak of souls, but none of us have ever been sure what they are. These things I do… They’re revolutionary. Why am I even worthy of such grandeur?”

-Lillian

Souls are the core of a person’s life. They are the most important parts of each person, their personality, innermost desires, and carriers of the most devastating memories. There are two parts to each soul, constantly in combat. Only by (mostly) purging one side can you become a Great Soul.

 

Spirit and Wraith:

“I am not whole. I can tell that much. It’s funny, actually, I’m a part of one person, but it feels like I have a… a sister who still lives inside you. A sister that hates me… funny. I think I hate her too.”

-Lily

The Spirit and the Wraith are two opposing sides of a soul, representing good and evil respectively. As I’ve mentioned before, there are two sides to every soul. A spirit, and a wraith together create a soul. They are constantly in conflict, each one empowered by the actions of the human they embody. A good deed will fuel the spirit to fight against the Wraith, and the opposite applies. The great souls, through intense strife, managed to nearly completely purge their Wraith. Lillian is a special case, as she has never had much choice in her actions as Princess of Erylen, and thus has managed to keep a near perfect 50/50 balance between Soul and Wraith even until the age of 17. This is incredibly important, as it allows her to survive once her soul is split. Once the soul is split, the two cannot interact, and so neither Spirit nor Wraith can be purged like this, meaning Lillian has complete freedom over what she does until she binds the soul back together.

 

Soulbreaker Ruby:

“The dagger was obviously enchanted. I should have understood that I faced a weapon of legends. The Soulbreaker’s Ruby has, somehow, become a reality. And I am the first survivor, for better or for worse.”

-Lillian

The Soulbreaker’s ruby was an ancient, shattered device, now restored by evil hands. It is capable of killing with even the slightest cut, and disguised in the form of a simple dagger. When powered well enough, it will glow. It attacks the very soul of the victim, flooding their celestial form with opposing energy, driving the soul away, and affects Spirit more than it does Wraith. Made alongside the Soulbinder’s emerald, the Soulbreaker’s ruby serves as the opposite to the Emerald, the Wraith to the Emerald’s Soul. The emerald was given pain, so it knew what it had to heal, but the Ruby was given joy, or rather shown what it was, and caused the ruby a sort of equivalent to… jealousy, as it could not continue to feel such a thing. (Note, however, an object, even if it has a soul, does not have true feelings. They work in ways that are very hard to actually describe.)

 

Soulbinder Emerald:

“I give you a replica of an item treasured through the ages. It is the relic I sought. You see it as I have. I cannot guarantee it is the same anymore. The Soulbreaker’s Emerald was created by the first of us three. Zelias filled it with his suffering, so the gem could understand why it had to help. I sought it. I failed. All three of us sought its help. We failed. And now, I’m afraid it is the only thing that will save you. Do not fail as we did.”

-Rayah

The Soulbinder’s Emerald was an ancient artifact created by the Dragonkin during his final days. He created the artifact to aid those in need, hoping to create something that could heal people from even death. It was not that powerful. It was created alongside the Soulbreaker’s Ruby, which was shattered to prevent what it could do to people. However, those fragments proved to be effective regardless… By creating a natural opposite to this Emerald, it allowed Zelias to create a relic more powerful than most, as the opposing energy bound in the ruby’s soul could not combat the energy of the Soulbinder’s Emerald.

 

Soulshattered:

“In his eyes, Lillian saw something broken. As if rifts were broken inside his eyes. It seemed as though his very soul was broken to a point beyond repair.”

-Whispers of the Ancient Stars Chapter 8 - The Vengeful Wraith

Being Soulshattered is a strange condition, where one completely purges one half of their soul. This is normally impossible, even the Great Souls never managed this, but it can be done easier with the help of the Soulbreaker’s Ruby. To split a soul is already considered impossible to many, but it is already known that the Dragonskulls had done it to Lillian. It is less known that Revenant did the same, and then killed his spirit, mistakenly seeing it as a threat, leaving behind only the Wraith. Doing this broke him, but made him very, very difficult to kill. Thus the name Revenant

 

Starhome - The Celestial Plane (Name not Final)

“It is a little known fact that the stars themselves have souls. In fact, many of the world’s most valued things have souls. It is a bond to these souls that allows the creation of a relic. When these souls are finally released, moments when a ruby loses some of its shine, or a tree becomes gray and leafless, they are granted rest. All souls must rest, and eventually, even I will take my place in a paradise.”

-Zelias

Starhome is the final resting place for souls, appearing to humans as the very stars in the sky. It is unknown to most that a bond to a soul creates a relic, but it is also possible for two souls to bond together, though this is beyond mortal ability. When a soul dies, it enters the Celestial plane through bonding the souls of the stars. This is their gateway to Starhome, a land composed of several fragmented lands on each star. There is, naturally, an opposite to this. The Negative Starhome (Name not final), is the home of wraiths. These wraiths are vengeful, constantly trying to break away into the mortal realm. Three certain beings are known to hold them at bay.