Soul-Burn

Last Stand is a mysterious figure that is said to appear before mortals in their last moments, and only when they are about to die in the defence of something or someone that they believe to be of true worth. In other words, an acceptance of death without regrets.   What follows next is the same in all witness accounts, a kind of ritualistic mannerism that alludes to the fact that it may in fact be a requirement on behalf of Last Stand, rather than just a personal preference of this mysterious figure. Last Stand will offer power to the defender, power enough that they will succeed in their last stand without question. The price to pay is a variation of mana-burn of divine origin. This kind of mana-burn has been dubbed 'Soul-Burn' due to the effects of the condition. Namely, the complete obliteration of the soul.   Last Stand fully explains the drawbacks of this deal, if the witness accounts are to be believed, but the matter of the fact is that the type of person to whom Last Stand is likely to appear is also the kind of person who would agree to the complete dissolution of their soul in exchange for success in said last stand.   The effects of Soul-Burn have been confirmed in the past. Namely, when Arch-Priest Hallis of the Twin Churches of the Flame was given an Imperial Decree, stating that he was to resurrect Witch-Eye Yanhei after his last stand defending the Capital, Azantium. The Arch-Priest was completely unable to do so, claiming that not even the echo of Yanhei's soul remained, he followed up with the claim that it was frankly a miracle that anybody was capable of remembering Yanhei and his actions, given such total destruction.   This last statement is of notable interest, as it lends some insight into the motives of Last Stand, and why they pick the people they do, for they certainly don't appear before every warrior standing between a family and some rag-tag bandit group. It is my opinion that Last Stand is in fact a Chronicler of Epics. Last Stand approaches those tragic, noble figures that interest them so, and in exchange for their ability to resurrect or reincarnate (i.e. their ability to ever impact the world again), Last Stand will make it so that their last impact can never be forgotten.    

Diplo Ravenhold   Imperial Archivist for the Imperial University of Azantium