At death, a mortal's essence -- their soul -- splits naturally from their body, and Kerrigor takes their soul to the Afterlife. The Afterlife is a vast and ever-shifting dimension of spirits and soul magic that defies mortal perceptions of reality. Time and distance hold no meaning in this intangible realm, and a day on the physical world can feel like decades in the Afterlife.
The Afterlife is Kerrigor's lucid dream. All who enter it can affect it to a minor extent. While Kerrigor is the Afterlife's overseer and can control it in its entirety, he generally leaves it to evolve on its own by the addition of its inhabitants' souls.
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Entering and Exiting the Afterlife
Kerrigor can escort other gods to the Afterlife without killing them, but mortals are barred from entering and exiting the Afterlife without divine intervention. A few well-trained spiritual guides or shamans who specialize in soul magic may be able to temporarily peer into the Afterlife to speak to the souls there, but this is rare, and can only be done through dreams.
Resurrections can return souls in the Afterlife to their previous body on Ilisara, unless their soul was unnaturally severed from their body somehow. So far, the only unnatural way known is to stab a mortal through the heart with a soulblade, ensuring they may never be resurrected. The rules for resurrection are explained in detail on the Injury and Death page.
Perceptions of the Living
Death is renown on Ilisara as a natural continuation from life. It is known that an Afterlife exists, but its precise form is unknown to mortals. Resurrected mortals do not remember the Afterlife's specifics, nor do they know Kerrigor's grand design.
Existence Inside the Afterlife
To Kerrigor, the Afterlife constitutes of a place for souls to journey towards paradise. The Afterlife is split into three realms which souls can travel between. Somewhere in these realms (or between them) lies the perfect existence for every soul, but finding that place is not guaranteed. Every soul wanders the Afterlife searching for loved ones, meaning, fulfillment, and a place to eternally settle in peace.
Souls
Souls in the Afterlife manifest in a dreamform, which normally looks and behaves much as that individual's previous physical body might. Hence, for most creatures, moving through the Afterlife is achieved in the normal fashion, despite the realm's chiefly spiritual character. These rules do not apply to mages of sufficient skill or experience with soul magic, who are trained to work beyond physical reality. They might be capable of abnormal movement in the Afterlife, such as flying, moving through solid objects, or otherwise shifting through the Afterlife's reality.
Landscape
There are three realms within the Afterlife. From some perspectives, the realms seem to be divided by massive oceans; from others, a constellation of stars; from still other points, a field of shifting energies. Souls can travel between the realms with great effort by shaping a road, river, or some other surface to move across. This generally requires the soul to find a way to belong in the realm it is attempting to enter.
The White Fields
Those who were ethical, caring, kind, and righteous end up in the White Fields, a vast expanse of grassland, river deltas, and forests. There are collections of souls who have banded together to create civilizations here, as well as introverts who keep to themselves. A good, kind-hearted group rules the City of Lights, which serves as a beacon to all souls in the White Fields as a place to seek loved ones. People who worshipped Varos, Remedia, or Anashta tend to end up here.
The Grey Mountains
Those who made difficult decisions and strived for goodness but did not always find it end up in the Grey Mountains. The Grey Mountains are rocky and ever-shifting. It is a jagged landscape with forests, deserts, steppes, waterfalls, lakes, and a massive mountain range. Worshippers of Duros, Hejong, Esk, or Selune tend to end up here. Over the years, Hejong's bravest warriors have made a Valhalla-esque hall at the top of the tallest mountain, where they eternally feast, fight, and oversee the realm.
The Black Morass
Those who were wicked, cruel, lying, and morally unsound find themselves in the Black Morass. The sky here is dark and the landscape is a treacherous mixture of frothing dark waters and icy, hellish rock and sand. It is very cold, very bleak, and nightmares of its inhabitants run rampant as dream-monsters. Few plants grow here and there are very few outposts, as the souls in this realm do not trust each other whatsoever. Worshippers of Arth and Vandun tend to end up here, although Arth's more noble warriors find fitting homes in the Grey Mountains.
Soulbonds and Ethereal Connections
Because Kerrigor's pledge is to look after the dead, he ensures that they hold some connection to their loved ones who remain behind in life. When a living person remembers and honors the soul of a dead ancestor, friend, or other figure, that soul can feel that remembrance and love. This power works similarly to a god's ability to hear the prayers from their followers and is made possible by Kerrigor.
Within the Afterlife, souls can all share their thoughts, desires, feelings, and other personality characteristics with others. To do so, they must touching another soul's dreamself. In this way, it is as if every single person shares a soulbond.