Josh Mannon asks about the necromancers of Malqort:
Does debt play into one’s future as a lifeless or is becoming a lifeless seen as a patriotic/religious duty? Is the truth somewhere between?
This is a society where everyone's basic needs are met, thanks to the Lifeless farmers/builders/defenders, controlled by the priest caste.
Becoming a Lifeless is the last sacrament in the life of a Faithful. The best Lifeless require an act of will from the believer, and a priest present.
That being said, of course there are different types of undead in Malqort. The Lifeless are the overhwelming majority (maybe 95%?).
Some others:
Ghosts. The ghosts have a mind and their soul intact, so they have free will. They can move around -- though, some bind themselves to specification locations. Many priests wind up as ghosts, with power over Lifeless.
Objects. There are many objects of power in Malqort. There's even a transmission system between skulls, allowing for communication at a distance. A warrior may embody their favorite weapon with their essence upon death, a craftsman may choose to embody their tools.
Vampires. Undead with free will and bodies and the ability to move around are forbidden. These are anathema. Which is to say, it happens all the time. Some ruiniously powerful wizards / priests / others decide not to become a Lifeless or a ghost, and to build their own little empire in the afterlife. They are dealt with -- what good would necromancer priests be if they allowed the undead to take over?
So, debt qua debt doesn't play into it, though for sure class can.
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So what happens to the bodies of those who aren't becoming Lifeless?
ReplyDeleteIs there some sort of standard (quick-and-dirty) purification or incineration that needs to be done in order to keep them from catching free-floating necromantic energy and becoming weird critters the way you can (if you're patient or lucky) make sour-dough bread with wild-caught yeast just out of the air?
Oh, and also! Some very pious people can't afford to have a priest present waiting to see whether their illness takes a turn for the better (in which case, cool, nothing to do here) or the worst (in which case do the last sacrament, make them high-quality lifeless).
ReplyDeleteThe obvious solution, for the poor and faithful, seems to be that if they get grievously sick, they should make sure to have that last sacrament, and then die whenever the priest can get around to them. Is that part of the class-divisions of which you speak? That the rich get a chance to recover from illness, and the poor do not?
Tony Lower-Basch That's brutal.
ReplyDeleteAnd efficient.
Love it.
Choosing when to die is totally a thing in Malqort. Assisted suicide is not looked down upon at all.
ReplyDeleteSo, um ... question of necromantics: Is the Lifeless of a strong, fit, 30-year-old stevedore stronger and more productive than the Lifeless of the frail, weakened 60-year-old that stevedore will be at the time of his natural death?
ReplyDeleteNah, the bodies are held together with magic and the concern of the soul inside, not the body itself.
ReplyDeleteI'm on to that trick. :-)
Honestly, I’m all in favor of the incentives aligning for the state to want to preserve life into old age, so no gripes from me.
ReplyDeleteAnd, the faith of someone whose been praying all their life, and really has the rituals down? That's more powerful than a single Lifeless anyway.
ReplyDeleteDeath with Dignity is totally a thing in Malqort. People decide when to die, and schedule it.