Thracian Afterlife
The Kingdom of the Underworld
The afterlife of the Thracians is usually called the Kingdom of the Underworld, the world below, or simply the underworld. It is a methodically laid out kingdom, but with geographical peculiarities that may not represent and entirely linear understanding of space. It exists connected physically to the mortal world but in an impossibly far away sense. Beyond the edge of the great oceans of the east lies a boundary that is the edge of the world (Thracians aware of the concept of the globe are unperturbed by this and consider the physical connection to be a metaphor.) At that boundary lies a great and total darkness, the primordial darkness that came soon after the first instant of time itself. This darkness, Erebos, separates existence from nonexistence and represents the boundary not only between the mortal world and the afterlife but also a boundary between both of those and Void itself, the emptiness of eternity.
Despite the physical placement of this connection to the Kingdom of the Underworld, it is also accessible in multiple ways and places through the actions of mortals, particularly the action of death. The entrance or entrances to the Underworld are described in detail in legends and have many consistent features.
The Eternal Rivers
The lands of the underworld are divided up and circumscribed by five eternal rivers which can all be reached out to from the mortal world and by mortal effort. Each river is associated with strong emotions associated with death. The naming and structure of these rivers represent the deepest origin of the concept of 'five stages of grief' as well as the undertaken emotions of the dead themselves. These rivers can be dangerous and hazardous to the souls of the departed, and come together in the center of the underworld in a great and dire marsh where the most unfortunate and accursed who are overcome by the rivers will await judgement and descent into Tartaros, deepest darkness below, or be coopted to the ends of Ravnos the Usurper, lord of the Undead.
The first river to make note of is the river Pyrithon, the river of flame and outrage. It is the fast flowing river of flames that bears accursed and damned souls straight down to Tartaros. Far more direct than the slow sink of those lost in other waters, this express ride deals very directly with those whose actions are exceptional and judged damning before or as they died. Requiring no further evaluation or opportunity to redeem themselves, these souls are dragged straight on to their punishment. This river also represents the concept of denial, as the dead in it refuse to accept that they have died and that there is no recourse for their suffering.
The most famous of the rivers is Styx, which encircles the underworld and which must be crossed to get there. This river is emotionally considered to be the river of hate or anger, its flowing waters either made of or rich with the substance of lost souls who likewise float above it in clinging mists that shield the far sides of the river from one another. Those who fall into the river are enraged at their demise and wish to drag others into the waters as well. Attempting to cross the river is fundamentally dangerous, so the first transformative step of death is not a mere formality, which is part of why funerals and prayers are of such importance, to help the dead cross over the river successfully. The waters of the river are considered by some to be powerful and magical, able to grant immortality or horrific destruction or both, but legends vary on the efficacy or wisdom of this understanding.
The river Acharontas is the main river of the underworld and is emblematic of pain. This river might also be crossed in order to reach the underworld and is the source from which the river Styx itself flows. The waters of this river are soothing and not destructive, so the journey across Acharontas is one of less hazard than the trip across Styx itself. Both journeys are under the purview of Charon, the immortal demigod whose lot is to pole back and forth across the rivers carrying the souls of the dead for eternity. Charon expects to be paid for this service, and the dead must carry a coin beneath their tongue or on their eyes in order to do so. Charon is also the recipient of many questions about the beyond and is an inscrutable and unforthcoming figure. The dead will often plead with him to return to life, offering wealth or attempting to negotiate for a return to their lives, but Charon is immune to bargaining. He is always portrayed as slovenly and grim, with unkept features and a dirty, ragged cloak. His mandate is to carry the souls across the rivers, but there are some who he will simply turn away - those for whom no funeral was properly held. All such eventually become lost and can only rage in the Styx until they are swallowed up by Tartaros, destroyed by the churning of the waters, or taken up by Ravnos.
The river Kokytos is the river of wailing, its waters made of sadness and despair. Those souls needing to expel the totality of their grief may linger there, adding to the sounds of suffering, before finding their true place in the underworld.
Lastly, the river Ameles is the river of forgetfulness or oblivion, cared for by the demigoddess Letheia who sees that any soul bound to be born back into the world drinks a full draught of the river and forgets their entire previous life. In the parlance of stages of grief, this is considered to be the stage of acceptance and moving onward.
The Sundered Lands
Once across the rivers Styx and/or Acherontas, a soul must wait in a state of limbo in or amongst the marshes of the dead in order to pass through great gates with legendary guardians whereupon they are judged and sent onward to the various ranked lands of the underworld according to their quality. These marshes and the period of time spent waiting in them has long been called the Sundered Lands, and is where the deceased must stay until they are brought to judgement. Here roam many dangers, including the dark reaches governed by Ravnos where lost souls can be turned to his own ends, though Ravnos is by virtue of the power he stole also the arbiter of the transition for those souls lost in the rivers down into Tartaros, playing a critical role in the function of the underworld which must be attended to by someone and is, unfortunately, bound to the power Ravnos took for himself. Despite his status as an unwanted outsider, the power cannot be removed from him by the Gods because of the iron rules laid down for the interactions between the gods and mortals by Verax and Vindikari. If those laws are altered or broken, chaos and war amongst the gods would immediately resume. (For more information, see Ravnos - The False God)
The gates themselves are tended by Ianus, god of portals, who is a servant of Nul. Ianus serves not only the powerful function of guarding that specific transformation, but also the transformative aspects of Nul more broadly. As death is a transformation of life, so other transformations are often compared to death and new life or rebirth. Change itself is most transparently understood through the emblem of this cycle.
Numerous other beings, demigods, and creatures are often also associated with the gates of the underworld. Legends will describe it being a well-populated antechamber wherein stand all things emblematic of the hardships that so often lead to or precede death. Creatures whose identity is that of fear, pain, weakness, hunger, disorder, even war and calamity. The major deities associated with these concepts, however, such as Aldrin, Beshaba, and Ziphane, are not numbered amongst those who stand before the gates, and the representations are instead cast as lesser figures before the might of the gates themselves.
Judgement
In passing through the gates one is subject to judgement that will determine the place where the soul will reside.
Part of the manner of judgement is the work of the Moirai, also called the Fates. Triplet sisters born of Gwynna and Nul, the Moirai are Nona, Decima, and Morta. They are divine weavers attending to life and death as to a vast tapestry of interwoven threads of fate. Nona spins out the thread of life, Decima measures it, and Morta snips it off at the end. These three determine the destiny of mortals and by their collective action will see where the soul ends its journey.
Also part of judgement is the work of Orchus, god of oaths, who weighs the value of a soul against the oaths taken and how they were upheld.
Beyond the gates, a soul is destined for one of five lands ruled by Nul.
Lands of the Underworld
Tartaros, already mentioned, is a land deep below even the underworld. A dark and desolate place, it is a realm of suffering for the unworthy and is considered to be a pit of destruction in which the tormented are not only contained but also ultimately destroyed, their soul returning to nothingness.
The Meadows is a land of tranquil but unexceptional existence, usually descried as a field of asphodel or jonquil flowers. It is the destination for souls who neither accursed nor special, as finer places would require achievements, glory, and greatness. The finest rewards in the afterlife are reserved for those who excel, and for those who merely meet the threshold of not being of particular evil, it is a plain eternity in a simply, not unpleasant afterlife.
The Fields of Lugentes are a specialized part of the underworld where those whose life was wasted in various types of longing after unobtainable goals without achievement. This underscores the Thracian ethos which celebrates the culmination of ends rather than the moral intention to pursue those ends.
The Plain of Elysion is the place to which the best and most celebrated of souls reside. It serves as a home to many demigods and is very close to the heavenly dwelling places of the gods themselves, living in their own plane of Olimbos. Olimbos is not part of the underworld but is as near to it as it is to the mortal world, so the souls of the most celebrated and honored dead, living in Elysion, are likewise closer to the mortal world than any other and sometimes may return. Upon entering Elysion, in fact, the souls of the great are given the opportunity to be reborn and live another mortal life, in which they might similarly excel and return again. Elysion is a place of ease and comfort, where none must labor for their own satisfaction and all earthly desires are fulfilled. To depart and seek rebirth, crossing the river Ameles, is to risk losing an eternity of earned rewards on the chance of testing one's quality over again.
For those souls who dare the risk and return three times over (a number sacred to Gwynna and Nul both) to the Plain of Elysion for their valor, greatness, and achievement, there is the last of the lands of Nul, the Islands of Eternity. These are a group of beautiful, winterless islands tended to by Eon, the god of boundless time. Only the most exceptional of souls, a group so elite that not even most demigods could achieve entrance, are allowed entrance to the Islands. Here those most blessed reside in eternal paradise.
Dhampari
Note that Dhampari in this case have two major potential sources. The first is, of course, the belief in Ravnos returning souls to life for his own ends. The second, however, is the return of heroes and great souls residing in Elysion who, being very close to mortal existence, sometimes return to it with or without the proper process of drinking of the waters of Ameles. A Dhampari could be either a nefarious pawn of the Usurper OR a great soul on a mission or trial to achieve further greatness, beloved of Nul and destined for excellence.
Dhampari are not the only manifestation of those returning from Elysion to pursue another mortal existence. Most who do so return fully of the mortal world and not noticeably touched by their past death. But the chances that a Dhampari is not cursed but instead blessed mean that Thracians regard them with far less instant suspicion than in the lands of Imajicka.
