Jason Andresen (order #1578489) - Jump page for Jubei

Cosmology & Infernals
The study of cosmology is in its infancy in the Iron
Kingdoms, and researchers do not have a good grasp on how
the worlds relate to each other. Despite this ignorance, there
are many fanciful theories and self-proclaimed experts. It
doesn’t help that those with the best grasp on the truth are
infernalists, dabblers in dark arts who are feared and distrusted
by their colleagues.
There is no concept of “planes” in the Iron Kingdoms,
nor have wizards had the chance to dabble in planar travel.
Outsiders are exceptionally rare on Caen and travelers from
other worlds virtually unknown. It is possible the world of
Caen is quite isolated from other worlds or surrounded by
some thick membrane which makes travel there difficult.
Among the educated there is the recent theory of “realms,”
discreet pockets of reality somehow connected but separated
by more than geographical distance.
Caen and Urcaen
The two realms known to the people of the kingdoms are
Caen and Urcaen, the lands of the living and the dead, respectively.
When a person dies, his soul sometimes lingers briefly
in Caen, but most souls (except the restless dead) quickly
depart to Urcaen where the gods dwell. Until very recently
many humans believed Urcaen simply to be another continent
across the ocean separated by great distance from the continent
of Immoren. The dwarven legends refer to Urcaen as Kharg
Drogun (which translates as “the Land Beneath”) and describe
it as existing upside-down on the underside of Caen. To the
elves it has always been the Veld, which their legends describe
as resting between the earth and the moons. Humanoids have
no concept of Urcaen at all, believing instead in reincarnation.
Humanoid religion explains that their souls are absorbed back
into Caen between their lives.
Urcaen is now understood to be in some reality separate
from the world of the living, and almost all the gods of Caen
reside there, dwelling in isolated domains. It is unknown if the
living could survive there, as none have ever devised the means to
journey there. Urcaen is described as a largely hostile and terrifying
wilderness, with terrible extremes of weather and monstrous
creatures. The only protection afforded to the souls which journey
there is with the gods who have promised to shield them in
their controlled domains. Even once delivered to the domain of
one’s god, the afterlife is not peaceful, although it can be rewarding.
The gods are embroiled in eternal battles, and the souls of
the faithful are their soldiers in these fights. This is known as the
War of Souls, and it has no beginning or end.
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Infernal Realms
The gods are not alone in desiring the souls of the living
to provide soldiers for their armies, nor is Urcaen the only
realm beyond Caen. There are far worse realms separated at
greater distances home to alien creatures of strange cultures
and dark appetites. These are Infernals, and they are all diabolical
to the core, at least by human notions of morality.
Infernal is a blanket term used to refer to all evil outsiders
with an interest in Caen. Infernals have played an active
behind-the-scenes role in events on Caen for millennia. They
are suspected to have played a hand in humanity’s learning
the arcane art of wizardry and also in the successful rebellion
against the Orgoth. There are even unsubstantiated rumors that
the gods of the Orgoth were exceptionally powerful Infernals.
Currency of Souls
It is suspected the Infernals have some terrible long-range
plan in mind for Caen. Their short-term goals are simple: to
acquire as many souls as they can. Infernals are not interested
in tempting people to sin or punishing evildoers in the afterlife.
Their only goal is the capture of souls by any means.
Unlike the gods, Infernals cannot create souls. Even the
gods can only do so with great difficulty and monumental
investment of power. Infernals must capture or acquire souls
by other means, which accounts for their interest in mortals.
Souls are one of the only forms of currency in the realms
beyond Caen. Infernals use souls in many of the same ways
the gods do, albeit their methods are far different. Souls or
parts of souls can be turned into warriors in the nether realms.
Infernals do this against the will of those they capture, warping
the captured souls into dark and perverted echoes of their
former selves. These enslaved creatures become cannon fodder
in the battles they wage. Powerful souls (such as high-level
adventurers) create yet more powerful soldiers.
Any person killed by an Infernal will have a mark placed
upon his soul preventing it from traveling to Urcaen. The soul
becomes lost either here on Caen or between worlds, easy prey
for Infernals. The same mark is placed on the souls of those
killed in sacrificial ceremonies when summoning an Infernal,
unless the victim is specially protected. For example, paladins
and clerics are automatically protected, as are those shielded via
protection from evil. Some particularly pious individuals are also
inherently protected from marking.
Those who make pacts with Infernals and promise their
souls of their own free will also receive the mark. It is said
particularly skilled infernalists can sometimes negotiate the
souls of other people, such as their offspring or others depen-
Jason Andresen (order #1578489) 9