[✗] [Updated] A Cycle of Rebirth

[Gladuos 857]

Small Primer:

Spoiler

As the previous incarnation of this lore was denied due to reasons I felt could easily be remedied, I opted to resubmit it. Mainly because I felt it was written well enough to be given another chance, and could provide some interesting RP if done correctly. So for the sake of acceptance, I made it a bit stricter to roleplay by adding a new redline and an application. Thank you for reading this ahead of time, if you do!

A Cycle of Rebirth

[Ritual by AgentWills]

-An artist’s painted depiction of the relative center, a place wherein all souls pass to their eternal afterlives.

~~~

Aeriel in her domain looks down on the many souls left lingering, over-populating and discontent. They are left in complete stagnancy, forever trapped beyond the Veil. To them, Aeriel is a kind mistress, and a solemn one. Little do they know a mercy she can afford them, however. A Secret held deep within her golden city.

~~~

Reincarnation:

    Reincarnation is the process by which dead souls can find their way back into the material realm as new beings entirely. This includes the souls which are left stuck in the soul stream gathered up by the Caretaker of Souls Aeriel in her golden city or even the souls which refuse their earned afterlife in favor of returning, albeit changed. Aeriel in her mercy or honor, sometimes offers these souls a method to re-enter the system as a whole, healthy soul. Why Aeriel does this is not entirely known, though it is likely she chooses to do this over letting souls remain separated from the natural cycle. For the honored dead, likely out of respect in letting them return to the beginning of the soul’s journey instead of staying complacent beyond the Veil.

    When a soul is made reincarnated by Aeriel’s choosings, it is effectively stripped entirely bare save for some of its core essence. This essence is rearranged and invisibly sent to the mortal realm to be fused with the fledgling essence of an infant at conception. In this way the soul is reforged into something entirely new, yet with pieces of its previous existence deep and dormant within itself. The being is then left behind to be reborn, allowed to grow up and experience life again as they wish: as a different, complete spirit and person.

    Put shortly, it is effectively Aeriel soul-recycling people to be born again instead of letting them sit around in the soul stream. Given as a gift to the worthy dead (neutrals or holies) upon request so they may be born again to live another life. This wouldn’t affect all souls in the soul stream as Aeriel treats it as a rarer mercy or gift, and even the Caretaker, as powerful as she may be, couldn’t round up all the souls of the dead there. This doesn’t mean all new souls entering the world are recycled ones either, it’s meant to be a more uncommon occurrence.

~~~

[Reincarnation by Jort Braam]

-A wandering soul being restructured and stripped by the powers of the Arch-Aengul herself.

~~~

Effects on Roleplay:

    Anyone brought back in this way would experience nothing of their former self. All the reincarnated are made into entirely new people, ones with their own feelings, thoughts, emotions, and memories. There is almost no trace of what was the prior soul, broken down and intermingled with the energies of the parents which bore them. To them, it is as though they are no different from the myriad spirits inhabiting Aos or Eos.

    This is how it would seem, however there are a few minor and nigh-unnoticable effects reincarnation can have on a new descendant. They may have a tendency towards the same mannerisms or ideals as the essence which helped make them. Small things such as a positive outlook on life or a fascination with blacksmithing to a former metallurgist. Even a particular twitch they had in their past life. This can be physical too such as the same birthmark, though nothing big.

    This can go even further with the retention of one or a few very vague recollections which they cannot place happening anywhere in their life. These will always be few in number and extremely ambiguous. It’s as though a memory exists but they can’t place its details. Things such as faces or the words being spoken are always lost; the only remnants being the base feelings and imagery of the memory. Sometimes these memories don’t even consciously exist, laid dormant only to suddenly come rushing back from specific stimuli.

    The person themselves will not have anything else from their previous lives; no alterations to the soul which were previously there. Any semblance of deific power or otherwise are lost in favor of being a mundane, natural soul once more. In the end there isn’t really any advantage to being reincarnated except the chance to come back to the mortal realm. The previous soul is even entirely destroyed in the process, never able to move on to the afterlife as they were before - though they can as this new person.

    The interactions from reincarnation go even further when Ascended or Aeriel are entered into the mix. Any reincarnated person if examined by an Ascended via their magic would seem a bit different than the common descendant - if at least only in their soul. The reincarnated soul is only minorly different, like a blemish which is felt subtly deep within. An Ascended could recognize this small blemish, but wouldn’t necessarily know how to place it. It’s not felt as an unnatural alteration of the soul, it might even be very easily unnoticed. An Ascended could recognize this as the mark of a reincarnated, if they had previous experience deducing the nature of such a thing. If somehow brought to the attention of Aeriel, she may choose to reveal the entire truth of this blemish (being that they are a reincarnation and of who). If she so chooses, or deems it necessary. She can decide not to explain any of it, and merely confirm it’s a natural thing.

~~~

[Grave Eater by ChrisCold]

-A titanic apparition in its visible form stalks through Ebriaetes, seeking more power, seeking an escape.

~~~

The Mongoose once attempted this mercy on the black beings lingering deep in Ebriaetes. At first it had seemed to work, and the mistress smiled. She was happy for another chance to these damned souls. Unfortunately, when they had grown, terrible fates befell those around them. A mistake Aeriel made, and one she will never make again.
~~~

Dark Spirits:

    Any stuck within Ebriaetes as black corrupted versions of their former selves cannot be reincarnated. Or perhaps more accurately, never chosen to be reincarnated by Aeriel again. This includes any type of dark practitioner in life which acted to the point where it made an impression on their soul. This includes Necromancers, Mystics, Shades, Frost Witches, Drakaar-Oriented, Dark Shamans, and Dark Deific Users such as the old Undead. Furthermore, it includes mortal individuals who became a Dark creature such as liches, darkstalkers, paleknights, dreadknights, frost witch-oriented types, Strigae, Wraiths, Wights, Daeva, and other related creatures as dark spirits.

    Soul-Shadow beings such as ghosts, gravens, and morghuul remain anchored to the material realm and never pass to the soul stream. Their original souls might have passed on, uncorrupted, to the afterlife and thus are eligible for reincarnation.

 

Purpose:

    The point of this isn’t necessarily to bring back old characters. I’ve written this explicitly to help dissuade that aspect of reincarnation as it would ruin the weight of permanently killing your character. Anyone who comes back in this way would become an entirely new character with varying thoughts, feelings, emotions, etcetera with barely a trace if any of their other life.

    The main point was to give a fun flavorful option to players to tie in old PKed characters with their new ones, things that could potentially spark RP down the line for them if they so pleased. It doesn’t give any inherent advantage over a regularly born character either. In fact, it’s moreso a lore post which could cohesively validate the various religions on LotC that have belief in reincarnation - mainly farfolk ones which parallel Hinduism or Buddhism. Finally, it puts Aeriel into more of a neutral light instead of as the cold warden of Ebriaetes.
 

Applications:

   Normally I wouldn't want to put a restriction on this type of roleplay, but it seems to be necessary for everyone's peace of mind. This affords more to a character than just creating an unofficial "reincarnated" persona. This lore can give vague, unimportant memories as well as interactions with Ascended or Aeriel, so it is necessary. In order to play a reincarnation, you must apply for a magic feat on the forums detailing the previous PKed soul, and the new persona it is being turned into. Subsequently after acceptance, the application will be immediately hidden to prevent meta. If problems ever come up regarding players creating carbon-copies of former characters, or abusing the rules to get what they want out of roleplay, a staff member can always go back to these applications to keep record. They can be revoked, or even blacklisted from creating a reincarnation ever again should the offense be abusive enough. On a case by case basis, it may even call for a staff-enforced PK of the reincarnated character, to ensure they don't continue in their shenanigans.

 

Redlines:

-To create a reincarnated character, it must be from the soul of a PKed character. This obviously requires OOC consent.

-Must submit a magic feat application to play a reincarnated character, which will be hidden on acceptance. Be wary that should you abuse this lore, you are accepting a possible staff-enforced PK clause by the revoking of your application.

-PKed souls made into reincarnations are erased from existence, never to return again as they once were - only as the new person they’ve become. This means the former soul can’t move on to the afterlife, though they can move on as their newer selves.

-May inherit similar traits, mannerisms, or ideals as their past lives but memories will always be vague. No recollection of faces, words, important details, etcetera may be recovered even with the aid of magic. Cannot have a large amount of memories either, only a select few (meaning around 3 maximum).

-Reincarnations are entirely new people from what they were except those small exceptions. I.E. This is not a method to bring back PKed characters. Any magics, soul alterations, majority of previous personality, bodily appearance, etc. are lost by being reborn. Effectively a new, raw, and vanilla soul/person from top to bottom.

-Ascended can't confirm the previous identity of a reincarnated person, and without prior knowledge, can't recognize if a blemish means they are a reincarnation.

-A PKed character eligible for being a black spirit in Ebriaetes cannot be reincarnated this way, their soul far too gone to ever be effectively salvaged. Look to the section 'Dark Spirits' above for more clarification.

[UnusualBrit 2050]

Wait so their entirely new characters and you have to apply to get them? What's even the point when you can just make a new persona ?

[Gladuos 857]

1 minute ago, TheWitherKingHD said:

Wait so their entirely new characters and you have to apply to get them? What's even the point when you can just make a new persona ?

The point is they can retain some things a new persona can't, like the vague recollections from past lives. As well as being able to be confirmed IC by Aeriel or Ascended as a true reincarnation. I tried submitting this without requiring an application last time, but the LT denied it for fear of the lore being abused. So here we are.

[Banned 343]

Neat as hell! 

[UnusualBrit 2050]

Just now, Gladuos said:

The point is they can retain some things a new persona can't, like the vague recollections from past lives. As well as being able to be confirmed IC by Aeriel or Ascended as a true reincarnation. I tried submitting this without requiring an application last time, but the LT denied it for fear of the lore being abused. So here we are.

0

Upvote

Right, seems a lot of hassle for mere recollections but if people are interested...

[Wendigo 786]

I don't see the harm as long as some of the knowledge isn't used for meta, I feel there should be a redline for such. Otherwise +1

[Gladuos 857]

1 minute ago, Wendigo said:

I don't see the harm as long as some of the knowledge isn't used for meta, I feel there should be a redline for such. Otherwise +1

-May inherit similar traits, mannerisms, or ideals as their past lives but memories will always be vague. No recollection of faces, words, important details, etcetera may be recovered even with the aid of magic. Cannot have a large amount of memories either, only a select few (meaning around 3 maximum).

 

I gotchu, fam.

[Gone 868]

I want this.

We already can unofficially do this kinda, I had it confirmed for me at the start of Vailor that a character could reincarnate so long as it isn't used for meta, but official lore to point to would be great.

 

[Aelesh 319]

If IC, no one knows you're the reincarnated character... Why not just, believe that they're reincarnated? Your beliefs about your character do not HAVE to be validated by lore. Just choose to believe whatever you want, no one can stop you; and if someone chooses not to believe you well hey. LOTC is a malleable lore setting, we don't need apps made specifically to force people to agree that your character is reincarnated cause the staff said so.

 

And the comparison with magic doesn't work, since you get very real abilities that actively affect other peoples characters.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Sorcerous

[Its_Just_Leap 399]

Yeah this is well written and I don't see any harm in accepting it.

[Gladuos 857]

2 hours ago, Sorcerous said:

If IC, no one knows you're the reincarnated character... Why not just, believe that they're reincarnated? Your beliefs about your character do not HAVE to be validated by lore. Just choose to believe whatever you want, no one can stop you; and if someone chooses not to believe you well hey. LOTC is a malleable lore setting, we don't need apps made specifically to force people to agree that your character is reincarnated cause the staff said so.

 

And the comparison with magic doesn't work, since you get very real abilities that actively affect other peoples characters.

 

Reread the lore and comments above, it doesn't seem like you looked closely. People CAN know you're reincarnated in-character. It gives things a new persona couldn't such as vague memories and IC interactions through Ascended or Aeriel. Furthermore, I initially wrote this lore without the need of an application, but it was denied due to the LT's fear of it being abused. This is a quick and easy way to remedy that issue. Applications aren't hard, people.

[Aelesh 319]

3 hours ago, Gladuos said:

 

Reread the lore and comments above, it doesn't seem like you looked closely. People CAN know you're reincarnated in-character. It gives things a new persona couldn't such as vague memories and IC interactions through Ascended or Aeriel. Furthermore, I initially wrote this lore without the need of an application, but it was denied due to the LT's fear of it being abused. This is a quick and easy way to remedy that issue. Applications aren't hard, people.

0

Upvote

I have in fact read the lore and seen all of those things. If they are so vague that they could be one way or the other, why not make them actually vague, as opposed to 'vague enough that we don't know for sure IC but we have a piece of lore OOC that confirms it'? There are many stories of people being the reincarnated something or someone IRL with various vague memories. Why do you need a piece of lore to confirm that your vague memories are in fact, real? Why not just, roleplay with them? It's your character and you can do whatever you want with them, including give them various vague memories. Maybe they are in fact memories from a past life. Maybe they are simply memories from their childhood, muddled up. No one will ever know, and we don't need a piece of lore to confirm it; or, importantly, to deny it. There is no reason to have a piece of lore that confirms what you or a character believes. Simply believe it, and act like it is true, and people will be free to agree with you or disagree with you, and none shall be the wiser for it.

 

Same thing goes for the interactions with the Ascended; if the 'blemish' is so vague, the Ascended could simply choose to roleplay it as being present. Equally, they could choose to disagree and say 'no, I don't agree with my fellow Ascended's opinion'. They don't need a piece of lore to confirm this for them, they can simply roleplay it. Not everything has to be confirmed to be roleplayed, that's the beauty of not having all the facts. Mystery is a wonderful thing, and we need more of it. It's what makes the real world so incredible. Wiping it out in our fantasy setting will kill the fantasy.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Sorcerous

[Gladuos 857]

2 hours ago, Sorcerous said:

I have in fact read the lore and seen all of those things. If they are so vague that they could be one way or the other, why not make them actually vague, as opposed to 'vague enough that we don't know for sure IC but we have a piece of lore OOC that confirms it'? There are many stories of people being the reincarnated something or someone IRL with various vague memories. Why do you need a piece of lore to confirm that your vague memories are in fact, real? Why not just, roleplay with them? It's your character and you can do whatever you want with them, including give them various vague memories. Maybe they are in fact memories from a past life. Maybe they are simply memories from their childhood, muddled up. No one will ever know, and we don't need a piece of lore to confirm it; or, importantly, to deny it. There is no reason to have a piece of lore that confirms what you or a character believes. Simply believe it, and act like it is true, and people will be free to agree with you or disagree with you, and none shall be the wiser for it.

 

Same thing goes for the interactions with the Ascended; if the 'blemish' is so vague, the Ascended could simply choose to roleplay it as being present. Equally, they could choose to disagree and say 'no, I don't agree with my fellow Ascended's opinion'. They don't need a piece of lore to confirm this for them, they can simply roleplay it. Not everything has to be confirmed to be roleplayed, that's the beauty of not having all the facts. Mystery is a wonderful thing, and we need more of it. It's what makes the real world so incredible. Wiping it out in our fantasy setting will kill the fantasy.

 

Can you relax please, this lore isn't waging war against your style of life. I'd much rather not go back and forth with you about this or go on and on about these trivial points. Call it a difference of opinion, but I don't think my lore is bad.

[Zarsies 6024]

21 minutes ago, Gladuos said:

Can you relax please, this lore isn't waging war against your style of life. I'd much rather not go back and forth with you about this or go on and on about these trivial points. Call it a difference of opinion, but I don't think my lore is bad.

 

no need to get defensive fam, idk if you realize your error but sorcerous is as cool as cucumbers come and you're the one inciting the notion of non-relaxation my dude. he's just tryna voice his thoughts and help lotc : ]

[ScreamingDingo 16793]

Sorcerous is completely right, this can just be RPd and legitimately doesn't need to be canonised.

 

Stop forcing OOC approval for IC concepts, it's **** and invalidates so much roleplay because people want a 'legitimate' thing. Give mystery and folktales to people, break this pattern of needing lore for EVERYTHING