On the soul, living or otherwise

You’re probably familiar with the concept of humans possessing a separate soul inside them, one that continues to live after death, as an explanation for afterlife. Well, in this world, those really do exist, and they are (relatively) physical objects made of Mystic Matter.

All living things in this world, and everything they create, are inherently intertwined with mystic matter. Without it, there would be no life, there may not even be existence at all. It could be said, then, that in a way, everything that exists is part of the same greater whole, whether anyone or anything is aware of that or not. Souls are the tangible evidence of this fact. However…

Nobody in the world but the gods are aware of that fact, or even the existence of souls. The discovery of mystic matter is very recent, just barely half a century old, and studies still have yet to really figure out the matter itself, so nobody has yet been able to investigate the mystic matter coursing through people in detail.

Why? Because I like mystery, the unexplained, and unanswerable questions. Even though mystic matter follows rules and serves a specific purpose in this world, I think it’s much more interesting if the people in this world don’t have the same understanding we do. Leaves the door open for more wonder, confusion, and awe.

Nonetheless, souls exist, and you can take advantage of them.

People (and all conscious life)¶

When a baby is conceived in this world, they absorb small amounts of mystic matter throughout the pregnancy, mainly from the surrounding area but some from the mother as well. This performs two functions: helping the baby develop healthily, and growing its soul.

For this reason, babies born in areas with low concentrations of mystic matter in the atmosphere are more likely to be disabled, deformed, stillborn, or miscarried, and babies born in areas with high concentrations are more likely to develop alignment or attunement, and this also explains how those abilities can be influenced by heredity.

Spirits tend to develop much stronger souls than humans or other animals due to the fact that they all have a natural affinity with mystic matter, so they can be carried in less hospitable environments without much issue.

How healthy the soul is after initial development has dramatic effects on the child’s health for the rest of their life. It functions as an invisible copy of the person, both physical and mental. When a body heals from an injury, it’s essentially replacing the damaged parts with the healthy copy stored in the soul. Some people heal faster or slower than average, and this is why.

Of course, there comes a point where things become too much to heal, especially with mental health. It takes a lot of physical and unconscious mental energy to perform the healing process, so when a physical injury saps too much energy or the brain is damaged, it can overwhelm the body and soul and drastically slow the healing process, sometimes resulting in death for the person before they can heal.¹ Injuries or brain damage that’s too extreme - like losing a limb or experiencing a brain hemorrhage - or even a case of extreme depression and self-isolation that goes unchecked for too long can also damage the soul directly, and therefore become irreparable.

With that said, it’s important to note that this is NOT meant to be a supernatural thing. Real-world health risks and consequences all still apply. Things that are incurable, irreparable, or impossible to heal in the real world are the same in this world too, the healing process just takes a slightly different path to the same result. Diseases such as cancer in this world can still become terminal, because after too long, the soul becomes diseased as well.

Fast healers may be able to reach almost supernatural healing abilities, though. For example, the most exceptional of people may be able to heal a broken bone in half the average time, recover from blood loss much faster than normal, or get over a bad cold overnight. Maybe this would also give them a crazy high alcohol tolerance, who knows? Point is, they are absolutely NOT invincible or immune to anything.

Unlike real-world ideas of the soul, it has no active influence on the person, it is merely a copy of them. A literal interpretation of “self-image” in essence. All of this also applies just the same to any other creatures with the quality of consciousness. Some animals may even rarely develop abilities and intelligence beyond the normal capabilities of their species - even to supernatural or mythical extents - if their soul is developed enough by exposure to mystic matter, or other particularly strong souls.

Objects (and all other life)¶

Have you ever heard someone describe something they own as “having soul” before? Maybe a houseplant that’s been with the family through thick and thin, a car that was with a person from adolescence to adulthood and beyond, or a huge rock that’s been in the middle of town for generations. That’s essentially a form of animism, and in this world, it’s reality.

No object inherently has a soul, but mystic matter flows through everything regardless. In close proximity to people and animals, pieces of their souls “rub off” on the objects, and the objects slowly develop souls of their own. Being inanimate, their soul can’t be expressed obviously, but it’s “visible” to those who believe in it.

A single tree in a blighted forest that refuses to die. A car that seems to respond differently only for its owner. A shield that stays strong through difficult odds, despite being made of weaker materials. These are effects of an object’s soul, influenced by their surroundings, how they’re treated, and their purpose. This is also how some forests might feel deeply unsettling to be in, or mysteriously pleasant, depending on what has happened within them over the centuries.

It is entirely possible to form a deep bond with a plant or inanimate object if you spent enough time with it, expressing your emotions to it. The bond will be mutual. What kind of effect this bond has on both parties and how strong it is, is up to you. As long as you make it believable, it can be anything.

Remember though, nobody knows these souls really exist. Particularly mystical people, like sages and druids and the like, will probably have a sense of what’s going on, and may even use the word “soul” to describe it, but won’t be able to accurately explain the true nature of this reality.

Paranormality¶

The souls of inanimate objects take on the traits of their surroundings with influence from their treatment. Souls of the living are invisible copies of those beings. Since souls are physical objects themselves, they tend to die with their hosts. But what if they didn’t?

In some very rare cases, a soul may persist after the death or destruction of its host. This can be caused by a number of things, and can manifest in a number of ways.

For people, their soul might remain if their death was sudden and unexpected, and the person had attunement. It might remain if they died in immense agony, or while holding a profound anger. It might remain if the person simply wished strongly enough that they could say goodbye to someone, apologize for something, or see their child grow up. The lower the concentration of mystic matter in the atmosphere, the more likely it is for a strong soul to remain, but even then it’s still extremely rare.

It’s also possible for a person’s soul to be absorbed by a nearby object if it, too, has a soul, especially if the person and the object had formed a bond. These possessed objects can display extremely strange changes, even appearing magical, especially if it’s a living thing like a plant. Perhaps it’s a seasonal flower that blooms forever, or a tree that bears fruit year round. It may also cause negative effects, like a tree that sucks the life out of all the plants surrounding it, or a car that appears to force its driver into accidents.

When an inanimate object’s soul persists, it will almost always cause negative effects, as though the object is punishing the world for destroying it. How likely this is to happen depends entirely on the strength of the object’s soul, and its bonds if it has any.

Souls can’t develop after being separated from their hosts, and they will degrade over time. This could manifest as a soul that loses its memories until eventually fading away entirely, a soul that gets more and more manic until burning itself out, or any other number of things, but they can never form uniquely new traits otherwise. Their time is over, there is no arc to be had.

Once again though, I must remind you that all of this paranormal activity is incredibly rare. If you use this in something you create, go wild, be creative with it, just remember to make it believable. You should try to avoid letting this appear too often though. Save it for situations where it can carry some serious weight, because chances are if anything paranormal happens anywhere in the world and anyone notices, it will become a legend that sticks around for centuries.

Finally, since souls are made of mystic matter, people with alignment can perceive these paranormal souls. This will give them a unique perspective on the situation, and might even allow them to interact with the soul. Perhaps they can find a way to dispel it forcefully, or maybe they show compassion and give the soul comfort. At the very least, people with alignment will have far less fear of these souls than anyone else, even though they don’t really know what they truly are.

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