In Light Scar, souls are a supernatural energy that measures the life force of all living beings. Similar to mana, they are invisible but measurable through magic spells and certain supernatural abilities. The energy of the soul congregates in three organs: the brain, eyes, and heart.
Undead function through a corrupted form of the soul. Necrotic magic creates a simulated soul, allowing a body to operate as if it was alive again. Ghosts that return to the material world are a distortion of souls that escaped the afterlife.
Soul Shapes
Soul Shapes are the form someone’s soul takes on the visual spectrum. The true shape of a soul is not comprehensible to the physical eyes, so the brain attempts to approximate its shape based on what it knows. This leads to souls appearing as physical metaphors of an individual’s life experiences and personality. When communicating directly with someone’s soul, it can act with a personality distinct from the physical host.
The combined factors of the soul inhabiting the eyes and the existence of Soul Shapes leads to the eyes being a literal window into the soul. Supernatural forces that bind to the soul can manipulate the appearance of a person’s eyes, leading to unique shapes and colors. If two souls inhabit a single host body, the eyes will attempt to remain separated in appearance. This leads to the eyes multiplying or containing multiple irises and pupils at once. The former often occurs of neither soul has power over the other, while the latter implies one soul is capable of containing and controlling the other.
Resurrection
As can be expected in any world with magic and a known afterlife, resurrection in Light Scar is possible. Unfortunately, the outcome is extremely unpredictable. the first steps involve gathering enough magical energy to connect with the afterlife and pull the correct soul back to the physical world. The mana needed is usually far beyond what a single well-trained magician can manage. Then, a preexisting host body is needed for the soul to inhabit. This can be a completed body or the trace organs and flesh required to make a whole body. Resurrecting with the trace components of a body requires even more magical energy, but allows the soul to take the shape it desires.
The real problem comes at the end of this process. Since the Forging Era ended, something about the afterlife has led most souls to fall into insurmountable madness. The revived individual will attempt to destroy everything around them, often leading to the death of others and then themselves if someone can manage. The ritual of resurrection becomes an extreme gamble, ironically more likely to end in a net loss of life. The only known factor that determines this is the time spent in the afterlife. Successful cases of resurrection in the modern day require a completed ritual within one day of the person’s death.
Trivia
- Souls and Soul Shapes are the natural counterpart to the Black Rain and Judgements.
- While Judgement reflects the negative aspects of a person’s life, the Soul Shape is a whole and proper reflection of a person. the soul shape becomes more absolute as a person ages, but their Judgement can always appear in new forms.