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<Homebrew> The Port on the Aster Sea
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<blockquote data-quote="Mallus" data-source="post: 4462699" data-attributes="member: 3887"><p>Some remarks on the Other Side from my collaborator Rolzup:</p><p></p><p><strong>THE OTHER SIDE</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The realm of the Dead is coterminous with that of the living; it's *here*, but a different here than the one that the living know. The Other Side looks not dissimilar to this one -- buildings are different, or more dilapidated, but generally if there is a structure on one side there will be a corresponding building on the Other. The Eternal Bureaucracy, for example occupies an enormous building on the same patch of land that houses the Governor's mansion in the land of the living.<br /> <br /> There are differences, of course. The Other Side is in a perpetual state of dim twilight, with neither sun nor moon visible. The air is heavy, leaden even, and devoid of the rich scents that flavor the living Port. Curiously, the smell of the living is particularly strong on the Other Side, and carries a great distance. This is even more true of freshly spilled blood, which can be smelled literally miles away.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Dead wander about, on errands of their own, rarely bothering to speak to or even acknowledge their fellows. Among them are the Spring-Heel Jacks, servants of the Bureaucracy, moving in great leaps through the crowds as they hunt the spirits of the freshly dead. The Spring-Heels also function as the de-facto police force of the Other Side, enforcing the will of the Bureaucracy and punishing those who violate its numerous (and nebulous) laws.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Spring-Heel Jacks look and act much like Hopping Vampires. Their names comes from both their unusual stride and the matte black truncheons they carry, whose blows are capable of stupefying even the incorporeal dead..<br /> <br /> When they find such a soul, likely confused and disoriented from their passage, the Spring-Heel Jacks set upon him and use their claws to carve a sigil into his forehead. A single glance at this mark will tell the bureaucrats and their servants all they need to know about the sprit. Name, time and method of death, karmic balance, and so forth.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Having been marked, the dead are left to their own devices. Most seek out the Bureaucracy, located on the same piece of land that the Governor's mansion occupies in the living world, and join the seemingly interminable line of those waiting to be processed. When they finally get the chance to see a bureaucrat (a wait that can take years), their ultimate destination is determined and a scrip is issued for their voyage upon the black ships.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This passage might be scheduled for next week, next year, or the next decade. Or it might be four hours ago, and you're already out of luck. Some few are denied passage at all; these unfortunates, along with those who lose their scrip or miss their scheduled ship, have the option of appealing to the bureaucracy for reconsideration. It will come as a surprise to none that this is not a quick process.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Some try to swim the Aster, or to build their own boat. Nothing good ever comes of such attempts.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Of course, the ones who die in the Port are the lucky ones. Those who die elsewhere need to make their way to the offices of the Bureaucracy, which generally entails a long and very hazardous journey. There are many predators on the Other Side, and they will consume their victims entirely if they catch them.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Most of the souls in the Hereafter are waiting. Waiting to be seen, waiting to take passage, waiting for their loved ones to join them. Some few have duties; working for the Bureaucracy, helping to re-unite families, or even working in one of the many brothels. These are the exceptions, though...most simply lack the energy.</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>THE UNDEAD</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The undead fall into several sorts....<br /> <br /> Souls which could not or would not pass over. These are ghosts, specters, and similarly incorporeal undead. Many are quite mad.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Reanimated corpses. Zombies and skeletons; mindless shells animated by simple spirits, with no connection to the soul that once occupied them.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Revenants. Corpses occupied by their own souls; they possess the full memories and intelligence that they had in life. Vampires, or the crew of the <em>Momento Mori</em>. Most of these sort are in the world of the living with the permission of the Bureaucracy; they, or a living relative, were able to present a successful petition for a return to semi-life. Those without the blessing of the Bureaucracy are hunted down and dragged back to the Other Side, after their body has been torn to pieces.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The half-dead. Shadar-kai and Ghouls, primarily -- neither fully dead nor fully alive, they are native to both worlds and can pass between them with relative ease.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">And then there are the resurrected, the ones who are pulled fully back to life through powerful magic. Such individuals are out of the Bureaucracy's jurisdiction, but they're never entirely free from the other side. Anyone who has been marked with a sigil, for example, bears it in life...and these people also lose the ability to see their own reflection. Mirrors, pools of water, your lover's eyes...any reflective surface will act as a window to the Other Side. It's an unsettling thing, to say the least.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mallus, post: 4462699, member: 3887"] Some remarks on the Other Side from my collaborator Rolzup: [B]THE OTHER SIDE[/B] [list]The realm of the Dead is coterminous with that of the living; it's *here*, but a different here than the one that the living know. The Other Side looks not dissimilar to this one -- buildings are different, or more dilapidated, but generally if there is a structure on one side there will be a corresponding building on the Other. The Eternal Bureaucracy, for example occupies an enormous building on the same patch of land that houses the Governor's mansion in the land of the living. There are differences, of course. The Other Side is in a perpetual state of dim twilight, with neither sun nor moon visible. The air is heavy, leaden even, and devoid of the rich scents that flavor the living Port. Curiously, the smell of the living is particularly strong on the Other Side, and carries a great distance. This is even more true of freshly spilled blood, which can be smelled literally miles away.[/list] [list]The Dead wander about, on errands of their own, rarely bothering to speak to or even acknowledge their fellows. Among them are the Spring-Heel Jacks, servants of the Bureaucracy, moving in great leaps through the crowds as they hunt the spirits of the freshly dead. The Spring-Heels also function as the de-facto police force of the Other Side, enforcing the will of the Bureaucracy and punishing those who violate its numerous (and nebulous) laws.[/list] [list]The Spring-Heel Jacks look and act much like Hopping Vampires. Their names comes from both their unusual stride and the matte black truncheons they carry, whose blows are capable of stupefying even the incorporeal dead.. When they find such a soul, likely confused and disoriented from their passage, the Spring-Heel Jacks set upon him and use their claws to carve a sigil into his forehead. A single glance at this mark will tell the bureaucrats and their servants all they need to know about the sprit. Name, time and method of death, karmic balance, and so forth.[/list] [list]Having been marked, the dead are left to their own devices. Most seek out the Bureaucracy, located on the same piece of land that the Governor's mansion occupies in the living world, and join the seemingly interminable line of those waiting to be processed. When they finally get the chance to see a bureaucrat (a wait that can take years), their ultimate destination is determined and a scrip is issued for their voyage upon the black ships.[/list] [list]This passage might be scheduled for next week, next year, or the next decade. Or it might be four hours ago, and you're already out of luck. Some few are denied passage at all; these unfortunates, along with those who lose their scrip or miss their scheduled ship, have the option of appealing to the bureaucracy for reconsideration. It will come as a surprise to none that this is not a quick process.[/list] [list]Some try to swim the Aster, or to build their own boat. Nothing good ever comes of such attempts.[/list] [list]Of course, the ones who die in the Port are the lucky ones. Those who die elsewhere need to make their way to the offices of the Bureaucracy, which generally entails a long and very hazardous journey. There are many predators on the Other Side, and they will consume their victims entirely if they catch them.[/list] [list]Most of the souls in the Hereafter are waiting. Waiting to be seen, waiting to take passage, waiting for their loved ones to join them. Some few have duties; working for the Bureaucracy, helping to re-unite families, or even working in one of the many brothels. These are the exceptions, though...most simply lack the energy.[/list] [B]THE UNDEAD[/B] [list]The undead fall into several sorts.... Souls which could not or would not pass over. These are ghosts, specters, and similarly incorporeal undead. Many are quite mad.[/list] [list]Reanimated corpses. Zombies and skeletons; mindless shells animated by simple spirits, with no connection to the soul that once occupied them.[/list] [list]Revenants. Corpses occupied by their own souls; they possess the full memories and intelligence that they had in life. Vampires, or the crew of the [I]Momento Mori[/I]. Most of these sort are in the world of the living with the permission of the Bureaucracy; they, or a living relative, were able to present a successful petition for a return to semi-life. Those without the blessing of the Bureaucracy are hunted down and dragged back to the Other Side, after their body has been torn to pieces. [/list] [list]The half-dead. Shadar-kai and Ghouls, primarily -- neither fully dead nor fully alive, they are native to both worlds and can pass between them with relative ease.[/list] [list]And then there are the resurrected, the ones who are pulled fully back to life through powerful magic. Such individuals are out of the Bureaucracy's jurisdiction, but they're never entirely free from the other side. Anyone who has been marked with a sigil, for example, bears it in life...and these people also lose the ability to see their own reflection. Mirrors, pools of water, your lover's eyes...any reflective surface will act as a window to the Other Side. It's an unsettling thing, to say the least.[/list] [/QUOTE]
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