The Parthan Afterlife

The Parthan Afterlife:

Paradisia Eterni (The Eternal Paradise)
Varetis (The Grey Life)
Peripetis (The Adventurous Life)

Acropep (The Underworld)

The Parthans believe that the afterlife is a place where one’s existence continues very much as a mirror to mortal existence. If one lived a common, mundane life, working the land, raising a family, and knowing the peace of simple things and times, then so shall be his afterlife. A gray, mundane afterlife spent in peace with one’s kin within Varetis, the realm of the dead. No rewards await the ordinary and average among Parthans—no laurels of glory. Only the truly low and the heroically great suffer and revel in the afterlife, in proportion to their deeds.

The Peripetis awaits those Parthans who lived heroic lives. It is important to note, however, that, unlike in Ronan tradition, Parthans categorize “heroic” with scope rather than morality. The fearless champion who never lied and the unbeaten, yet tyrannical Primus both live on in the Peripetis. This realm is made up of four divisions:

Those of noble birth, priests of the gods, and those who die in battle as soldiers of Parthus pass on to Timontia when they die; first realm of the Peripetis. They spend eternity in luxury, knowing whatever pleases them, be it gluttony, debauchery, war or wealth. However, this is not much better than the lives of those of common birth.

It is those who live truly great lives that go on to a place of paradise, Iroikia. Men and Women of Power, such as the Primi and High Priests, great warriors and legendary heroes such as the Centurions and Knights of Memnos, and others who have lived honorable or powerful lives pass on to this, the second realm. It is a glorious land of tall citadels, beautiful palaces, great feasts, blissful rest, glorious games, and valorous battles; where all desires are appeased.

The third realm, and the greatest, is Theitia, a place reserved for the gods and those of divine blood. Only mortals who live the most epic of lives are granted entrance into this realm. None can say what awaits those who go here, but it is said that each who resides there lives in their own perfect paradise, whatever that may be.

For cowards, base thieves, murderers, and those too meek to merit any love among the lands of mortal men, the pits and caverns of Acropep await. It is said in Parthus heroes die but once, but cowards die a thousand times over. Acropep lends an awful truth to this creed. There are three realms of this underworld.

Thieves, pirates, brigands, imposters, the meek, and those women who sell their bodies without the blessings of Fionnae are sent to Skieris, a place of shadow and melancholy, where cursed souls live out eternity harassed by imps and fighting for a piece of what little there is. It is said it has its own towns full of bars and brothels, where men and women beat, rape, back stab, and steal from each other forever.

The second depth is the dark realm of Valtodis, a place of nasty bogs, murky tunnels, mud flats, and festering swamps infested with all things that creep and sting. It is here that the loathsome wretches of the world are sent, to suffer an eternity of filth and disease; deserters, cowards, cut-throats and beggars all. The Great Rat, Uul’azarakhir, is imprisoned in this realm by Memnos for devouring a mortal woman the Primus of the Gods had taken as a lover.

The final realm of the underworld is Ifaisteiakis (a.k.a. Infernus); a fiery, horrid realm where demons and succubae hunt down, debase, and torture those unfortunate enough to spend eternity in it. Those who commit murder without cause or gain, and those who defy the gods are damned to this place.

Children who died too young, ladies who devoted their lives and purity to the goddesses Reahnae or Salix, and those men who devoted their lives to Kionanthus all go to another place when they die. Paradisia Eterni is a place where only those who have lived unspoiled lives may reside. It is a place of light and blissful peace, where there is no pain, no suffering, no fear nor sorrow. Here they can philosophize with wisdoms of history and seek knowledge from the gods themselves. Children may play in verdant fields, and infants become things of pure light and emotion. It is a place of eternal bliss and peace, but to some this is to be condemned to boredom. It is not a paradise to those who reveled in life.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License