Last Rites

“Memento mori.” “Remember that you die.” Despite the inevitability and universality of it all, most mortals find death terrifying. For some, it represents the end of the self; when one must say goodbye to all the things they once knew and take their final bow, before the curtain closes on them forever. But for others, death is simply the conclusion of one journey and the beginning of another. Many cultures on the Material Plane have their own unique outlook on death, but for the purposes of this text, four are particularly novel.

Firstly, of all mortal cultures, humans are the worst about facing death. In fact, most human societies craft special masks for their dead, designed so that they may avoid having to witness their decay. Humans dread death, for no matter how far they run or how desperately they pray for deliverance, it arrives all the same. However, once a human finally does pass on, the loved ones they leave behind tend to react unusually. Sure, they grieve and weep for the one they’ve lost, but the solemnity hardly ever lasts. On the contrary, humans like to throw extravagant parties before the burial, celebrating the life of the departed with the same enthusiasm they would if their loved one were still among the living.

The elves, however, often fall on the opposite end of the spectrum. They see life as a somber matter, believing that it is only through death and judgement that they may receive new life in the great beyond. Many elves don’t even refer to living creatures as mortal (“a being that will die”) but rather as natal (“a being that was born”). Cremation is common in many elven societies, typically so that they can spread the ashes of their fallen in places that were important to them, hoping that they’ll return to those places in the next life.

Unlike humans and elves, ratfolk traditionally view death in a more practical sense. It is customary for ratfolk to use the remains of their recently departed to fashion elaborate effigies near washouts, whether it be on a beach or in the sewer, so that the tide make carry them on to the next life. Sometimes ratfolk colonies even keep the skulls and knucklebones of important leaders, wishing for their souls to stay close and guide their people after death. For the Ysoki, this is mostly just spiritual. For kholo, however, it can be quite literal.

From an outsider’s perspective, kholo are generally seen as a macabre people, especially when it comes to memorializing their dead. In the days of the Old World, kholo tribes would perform morbid rituals using the bones of their ancestors (usually their ribs and knuckles), calling upon their spirits to predict the future. This ancient, unconventional form of magic is known as osteomancy, and though these customs have largely been abandoned with time, some kholo families still practice them in the privacy of their own homes.