Mortal Souls
We, the mortal people of the Kirinal Concordance Zone, have learned many humane ways to tap into the power of our own souls. I myself am a dead soul implanted into a synthetic body and given new life. But we must be intentional and careful with our necromantic research. The non-consensual manipulation of souls is the greatest crime one can commit in the Zone.
Using souls for power is the oldest magic that there is. Even we orcs did it when old Az still whispered in our ears. Instead of magicky-necro-tech, we just called it mass sacrifice.
Nowadays we're all in the soul trade in one way or another. The devils come to make their bargains. The Tridensers re-home undead into soulforged like my friend here. The Magisters skirt the line with old-school necromancy. We all "bear the ident-a-hedron", we carry a bit of our crystallized soul in our pockets!
The oldest and ultimate power source remains the mortal souls of sophonts. They provide power over the divine and the profane. A sophont's soul is their conduit to the universe. Without it they cannot use magic, feel emotions, or make connections outside of themselves. Through it they can achieve the impossible.
In the Kirinal Concordance Zone, the power of mortal souls permeates every facet of life, shaping magic, beliefs, and the very fabric of existence. Almost everything has a spirit: sophonts, animals, plants, inanimate objects, even times in history. A soul is an immortal spirit with self awareness, a spike in the background noise of the universe. If you can say "I am" you have a soul and you have worth.
Who has a soul? That's easy, anything can have a soul. If you look at it and you can feel something looking back, there's a soul in there. Not just people, some animals, plants, and even places have souls.
Have you ever looked into someone's eyes and felt nothing looking back? They've definitely sold their soul to someone else, whether they know it or not. They've probably sold their soul to me!
While we're on the subject! Would you like to make a deal?
The Soul Trade
The Soul Trade operated by the Hells is a booming enterprise, centered around a black market of souls sold for favors or stolen from the unwitting. The value of souls lies not merely in their quantity but also in their quality and potentiality. The unbaptized and unprotected souls hold particular value due to their untapped possibilities. The devils attempt to purchase whole souls, but the people of the Zone are advised to only trade away portions of it, never the whole thing, to the greedy devils.
This ruthless trade has severe consequences, leading to soulless beings and the soul-torn. The clerics and healers of the Zone work overtime to help those who have made bad bargains. They teach that all souls have value and provide power. It doesn't matter how damaged they are or what their owner may think.
Bad Old-Fashioned Necromancy
Along with the fiends of the underworld, necromancers were among the first to intentionally harness the power of souls. They performed dark rituals and sacrifices that tore and wasted souls regardless of the wishes of the spirits themselves. They defiled the bodies of the dead, forced spirits to answer questions, and burned souls to power their spells. They earned their reputation for evil and dark magic.
For Kirinalos, the worst of them was the Necromancer Dolgathan. In the years between the Kirinal Catastrophes, he was infamous for coming to the Kirinal Pit and disrupting the Discharging of the Kirinal Pit . He created a kaiju made from the bodies of the "Dead of Kirinal" and tapped into the discharge of their souls to power his apotheosis into dragon-hood.
Soulbound Technology and Soulforged
Over time ethical necromancers developed methods to utilize souls, even the souls of the living, in consensual and non-destructive ways. They devleoped soul binding technology, including the ubiquitous ident-a-hedrons and the redemptive Soulforged. Soul magic technology is a defining characteristic of the Zone's Maharlitech revolution. Ethically harnessing souls and integrating them into inanimate objects or constructs unveils both the possibilities and the perils of soul manipulation.
You think of souls as finite things that you can measure with instruments. Souls are only a limited resource if they are not refreshed! They grow to infinity with experiences, and attention, and love!
The Soul Secret: The Ultimate Renewable Resource
The Kirinalos have discovered the secret to using souls as a power source. Despite what the devils may tell you, souls are not a finite resource. You don't have to sell your entire soul to someone, you can just give a part of it and keep the rest for yourself. Then, with some laughter, some good food, and a visit to a stirring location, you'll get back the parts of youself that you gave away and more!
The idea that souls can be "humanely" used a power source is a very unique and intriguing idea. I have been pondering "humane" use of undead but that assumed only the corpse was being used and the soul was untouched.
I definitely need to get into the humane uses. Ident-a-hedrons and soulforged are a good start. I'm thinking of healing, communication, and divination abilities to add in when I circle back.
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