On the question of spirits and the afterlife, the spirit of the Ember Hearth will provide the following information:
In general, the citizens of the city-state of Magisteria are grounded in the materiality of the present life, and even for a world full of spirits, gods, and ancient magic, life is conceived of by most in Magisteria as the living itself.
However, if there's one place in the city-state which seems tied to what mortals describe as "the next life," it's the Lake of Souls in the northern Temple District, or Sacred Nexus.
"Deep below our planet, the Lake of Souls connects to the river Eternia..." which the Ember Hearth explains to be a river of concentrated Bios. It is generally held that the energy of the river and lake are connected to the dearly departed and to the wellspring of Bios throughout the planet.
The spirit also indicates that there are indeed undead beings which can be found in Magisteria: this is not exactly a surprise, perhaps, since Medeas and its capital, Magisteria, represent places where any sort of being that exists in the imagination of the cosmos can be embodied as "real," which of course includes the undead. The relationship of these undead to Bios (cutting more to Emet-Selch's question) vary.
Some -- including the hero spirit whomst has apparated alongside the Ember Hearth, Caelum Ignis -- might be sustained by spectral/remnant Bios as guardian figures, perhaps maintained in some form of post-death existence by spirits or deities or other Powers within Magisteria, including perhaps non-sentient ones. Others, including the traditional human concept of ghosts/spirits with "unfinished business," mournful or hungry ghosts, may be devoid of Bios and thirsting or voracious for it, their state of mind and "body" tied to the sad circumstances around their mortal demise.
Others may even occupy in-between states. Some undead entities are partially sustained by Bios but require external sources to fully manifest. These entities may form bonds with the living to draw upon their Bios temporarily. Undead beings created through unstable magical processes might flicker between states of having and lacking Bios. This instability could make them unpredictable, with moments of clarity and coherence followed by periods of emptiness.
"These beings are more likely to be found in the parts of our island more connected to the spiritual world... though it is said, in some parts of this city, that they perhaps even have their own hidden enclave on the island..."
One more thing: the spirit of the Ember Hearth will note that life and the afterlife are not part of its Authority, and even the spirits and gods cannot answer for what exactly the final afterlife, if there is one for all beings, consists of. However, if there is one entity who might have insight on this unfathomable question, it is Imera-Nychta, the dual goddess of Magisteria whose Authority is over life and death. Imera-Nychta was the first goddess born after the Great Dimiourgia, which is known on some worlds as "The Big Bang." Her dual nature is such that she can make a wilted flower bloom with a touch or inflict death with a touch, for she truly embodies life and death.
Imera-Nychta might be difficult to hold a conference with, however: supposedly, she and her two siblings, the Trinity of Magisteria, live within the Realm of the Gods, and they're not idle there. Rather,
"It is the role of these gods to safeguard the most powerful thing in all of existence..."
Emet gets a two for one deal here. First, Ember Hearth questions, and next hero stuff, so 1/2
In general, the citizens of the city-state of Magisteria are grounded in the materiality of the present life, and even for a world full of spirits, gods, and ancient magic, life is conceived of by most in Magisteria as the living itself.
However, if there's one place in the city-state which seems tied to what mortals describe as "the next life," it's the Lake of Souls in the northern Temple District, or Sacred Nexus.
"Deep below our planet, the Lake of Souls connects to the river Eternia..." which the Ember Hearth explains to be a river of concentrated Bios. It is generally held that the energy of the river and lake are connected to the dearly departed and to the wellspring of Bios throughout the planet.
The spirit also indicates that there are indeed undead beings which can be found in Magisteria: this is not exactly a surprise, perhaps, since Medeas and its capital, Magisteria, represent places where any sort of being that exists in the imagination of the cosmos can be embodied as "real," which of course includes the undead. The relationship of these undead to Bios (cutting more to Emet-Selch's question) vary.
Some -- including the hero spirit whomst has apparated alongside the Ember Hearth, Caelum Ignis -- might be sustained by spectral/remnant Bios as guardian figures, perhaps maintained in some form of post-death existence by spirits or deities or other Powers within Magisteria, including perhaps non-sentient ones. Others, including the traditional human concept of ghosts/spirits with "unfinished business," mournful or hungry ghosts, may be devoid of Bios and thirsting or voracious for it, their state of mind and "body" tied to the sad circumstances around their mortal demise.
Others may even occupy in-between states. Some undead entities are partially sustained by Bios but require external sources to fully manifest. These entities may form bonds with the living to draw upon their Bios temporarily. Undead beings created through unstable magical processes might flicker between states of having and lacking Bios. This instability could make them unpredictable, with moments of clarity and coherence followed by periods of emptiness.
"These beings are more likely to be found in the parts of our island more connected to the spiritual world... though it is said, in some parts of this city, that they perhaps even have their own hidden enclave on the island..."
One more thing: the spirit of the Ember Hearth will note that life and the afterlife are not part of its Authority, and even the spirits and gods cannot answer for what exactly the final afterlife, if there is one for all beings, consists of. However, if there is one entity who might have insight on this unfathomable question, it is Imera-Nychta, the dual goddess of Magisteria whose Authority is over life and death. Imera-Nychta was the first goddess born after the Great Dimiourgia, which is known on some worlds as "The Big Bang." Her dual nature is such that she can make a wilted flower bloom with a touch or inflict death with a touch, for she truly embodies life and death.
Imera-Nychta might be difficult to hold a conference with, however: supposedly, she and her two siblings, the Trinity of Magisteria, live within the Realm of the Gods, and they're not idle there. Rather,
"It is the role of these gods to safeguard the most powerful thing in all of existence..."