Dreams of Hope: The Shadows (one of the planes)

[PhoenixPhyre]

The Shadows, also called The Grave’s Threshold or The Between, is a liminal space between the other planes of existence. It’s the lubricant in which the gears and pistons of the Great Mechanism do their eternal dance. It buffers one from another and prevents potentially catastrophic impingement.
While the name suggests twilight and darkness, a lack of color or life, that is not a true depiction. The Shadows are a projection of the other planes onto the Mortal plane and vice versa. In the Shadows, all the creatures of reality mix and mingle as do their hopes and dreams.

Matter and Spirit in Shadow
Unlike the Astral or Abyssal, where physical, condensed-anima bodies are difficult to maintain, physical existence in Shadow is normal. Unlike the Mortal or Elemental planes, where aethereal bodies of diffuse anima held together by will are difficult to maintain, aethereal bodies are functional in Shadow and can interact normally with physical bodies by accreting a layer of shadow anima as an interface.
Shadow anima is the basic material building blocks of the Shadows. It responds to the conscious (and unconscious!) desires and will of sentient beings and takes physical form, forming bodies, buildings, rivers, and everything else on the plane. Shadow anima is much more fragile than the more elementally-aspected anima native to the Mortal and Elemental planes—without constant attention from a Spark (a mind), it reverts back to formless amorphia.
Travelers from the Mortal or Elemental planes who visit in their true bodies find themselves changed by long exposure to shadow anima, especially if they consume food made of shadow-stuff. These changes manifest first as sensitivity to the searing light of the Mortal sun (which disperses shadow-stuff), but that fades quickly as you re-acclimate to the more “real” Mortal anima. Progressively longer exposure replaces part of the subject’s body and soul with shadow-anima. This grants new and strange powers, but leaves one very vulnerable and at risk of total dissolution on return to the Mortal plane. The Cysgoroesi (shadow elves) have developed a method of avoiding these problems, but they do not share it with outsiders.

The Borderlands
The first part of Shadow experienced by travelers or departed spirits is the Borderlands. This is the “true” plane of Shadow. It extends throughout the Crystal Sphere and the knowledgeable can use it to transition easily between the planes. In the Borderlands, time does not move the same as it does in the other planes. In this silvery void, bereft of any physical object except the predators and prey that call this strange place home and the solitary Colorfields Fortress of the Cysgoroesi, time and space flow in tides and currents. Get caught in the wrong one and you might come out thinking a few seconds had elapsed but finding yourself a decade later, in an entirely different part of the Crystal Sphere. Or the reverse—you may spend a lifetime in the course of a few seconds and travel thousands of miles, only to find yourself where you began.
Physical egress from the Borderlands happens via color pools. These shimmering portals range in size from a few feet across to many dozen yards. While the color patterns tell experienced Shadow travelers what plane they exit to, the exit destination within that plane is uncertain. Color pools are transitory in nature—both the destination plane and the location within the Borderlands are subject to change. The only partial exception is the Color-fields, a region where there are dozens of quasi-stable portals overlooked by the largest of the Cysgoroesi fortress monasteries.

Travel through the Borderlands happens by conscious thought—you do not walk, instead you will yourself into motion. Beware of distraction, because the entire space is sensitive to your thoughts and you might find yourself facing your most carefully-hidden fear, made flesh by your unconscious mind.
The Borderlands is inhabited mostly by the restless spirits of the dead as they quest for a stable place in one of the other layers of Shadow and by the predators that feed on them. Shadow-sharks prey on the spirits of fish (and on more human spirits), star-spinner spiders weave webs of shadow to trap the unwary, etc. The only permanent sapient inhabitants are the Cysgor, who staff the Colorfields Fortress and use the Borderlands as a means of travel between the planes.

The Other Layers
Unlike the Borderlands, which extend throughout space, the other three “layers” of Shadow only exist in pockets surrounding the inhabited worlds as they are the effect of the collective unconscious of the inhabitants of the worlds themselves and are shaped by the beliefs, hopes, and fears of the populace. They are co-existent and more akin to states of being rather than physical places. Three layers surround Quartus—Mirrorhaven, the Dreamlands, and the Waste (although this is not a full layer in and of itself). The convention among the learned is to treat them as if they were stacked vertically, with Mirrorhaven on top, closest to the Astral plane in the common depiction and the Waste on bottom (nearest the Abyss). While this is false (as the layers are all jumbled up in reality), it provides a workable model of the inter-relationships with the other planes.
In many places around Quartus, the the Borderlands is very thin and most who step through the Shadow Veil (whether in dream or in the flesh) find themselves seamlessly in one of the layers. Which layer depends on both the location (some areas are more attuned to one layer) and on the person’s own heart. This is especially true of the dead, who are drawn through the Veil and usually find themselves in the layer that best fits how their hearts and souls were attuned. This is not heaven or hell, not reward or punishment. Merely the attraction of like with like. The layers are not good or evil, merely different reflections of the Mortal plane and mortal hearts onto the other planes.
Each of the layers has a landmark location, a hub, if you will. This center of the layer contains what government exists (although none of them are dominant across the layer) and is the epitome of the nature of the planar layer. Each layer also is home to one or more of the Cysgoroesi fortresses, some of which stand abandoned.

Mirrorhaven
The bright mirror of the Mortal, Mirrorhaven is influenced by and partakes in the flow of energy from the Astral plane. Its nature is of bright colors, constant movement, and frenetic interplay of light and color. It is home to the Summer Court of the Fey, the assembly of spirits attuned to the “positive” emotions such as love, joy, devotion, pleasure, and the like. Do not be fooled by the names, however. Also associated with this layer is mania and illusion; nothing here is as it seems. Delusion is rampant; everything wears multiple faces. Decadence and lavish excess hide a hollow, insatiable hunger that cannot be filled—the shadow-stuff of which this is made is not stable or real enough to satisfy. The inhabitants continually search for greater and greater sensation to fill this numbness. The majority of the populace is the spirits of those departed mortal souls that were attuned toward the Astral, either as a life of devotion to the Gods or for personal reasons. Here they live a distorted reflection of their lives until either they lose track of who they are and dissolve into shadow-stuff, until they are devoured by one of the denizens, or until they press through to the Astral plane itself and carve out a residence there through transcendence.
The hub of Mirrorhaven is Centrum. This city once was the capital of the Western Empire of Noefra until a tremendous magical explosion threw it into Shadow about 800 years ago. The inhabitants have become shadow-kin, beings made of shadow-stuff. All the decadence, excess, and mania of the layer are most concentrated here—the entire city is one continual, frantic, eternal festival. Souls drift in and are caught up in the celebration. The weak burn out quickly; the strong prey on the weak for survival.

The Dreamlands
The Dreamlands are the “dark” counterpart to Mirrorhaven. Where Mirrorhaven is attuned to the Astral, the Dreamlands are attuned to the elemental and the primal. This is the home of many of the fey, but especially the Winter Court. If Mirrorhaven is manic, the Dreamlands is soporific. The daily routine, the static sameness, the wilderness. If Mirrorhaven is deceptive, the Dreamlands is forthright in its madness. Here, the risk is depression and apathy. After a while, nothing seems to matter and the soul drifts into sleep. The spirits that find themselves here are those that were attuned to the primal, to the kami or to the elemental planes. They drift into slumber and disintegrate, meld with the layer, or force through to the Elemental and form bodies there.

The hub here is the Dream Titan’s Throne. This enormous (and physically inconsistent) castle, seemingly made of wood, rock, and bone changes from day to day; its inhabitants (mostly the fey) migrate around from “room” to “room” lest they get swallowed up in the dream and never awaken.

The Waste
Unlike the other two layers which coexist naturally (locations in the Mortal plane mapping nicely to locations in both layers), the Waste is an aberration, a scar that cuts through Shadow. Wherever the Mortal plane was strongly touched by the Abyss, there in Shadow a pocket of Waste forms that blurs the layers together. This is a foothold of demons, a passage into the Mortal plane. It grows and shrinks, struggling against the other layers which try to contain it. Largely barren, what little life exists here is twisted and altered by the pervasive abyssal influence. The souls that end up here are those who were tainted, whether of their own accord or by the actions of others, by the abyss. Many of them reject the abyss and struggle against it. Some are consumed by demons as fuel, others who succumb to the corruption become demons and turn on their fellows. Others burn themselves out fighting the demons and the corruption. A few escape to the other layers or planes. Very few exist for very long after death, however. Unlike the other layers, life here is hard enough and the plane itself lets them be. Thus, Wasters are among the most sane of the inhabitants of shadow, not prone to the self-delusion or mania of Mirrorhaven or the apathy and indolence of the Dreamlands. Devils are often found here in force, playing their cosmic role as the opponents of demonic forces. Former mortals and fiends mingle freely.

The hub here is the Demesnes of the Mad Queen. This fortress was once a Cysgor monastery before it was abandoned due to the corruption of the area around it. From here, the Blightguard conduct raids against the surrounding corruption. Despite the name, the people here are as sane as any. The leader changes regularly as souls burn out—the average Blightguard only lasts 5-10 years at most.

[noob]

It is so horrific.
Bob the martyr of a god of peace, self sacrifice and non violence sacrifice itself non violently to save people.
now bob due to being devoted to a god is forcefully sent to a place where it will be punished for the good he did by being forced to eat souls(and he have no say in it: the rule is not that you die if you do not eat souls: the rule is that if you are strong you eat souls no matter if you want or not)(that is if he falls into the city)

[PhoenixPhyre]

It is so horrific.
Bob the martyr of a god of peace, self sacrifice and non violence sacrifice itself non violently to save people.
now bob due to being devoted to a god is forcefully sent to a place where it will be punished for the good he did by being forced to eat souls(and he have no say in it: the rule is not that you die if you do not eat souls: the rule is that if you are strong you eat souls no matter if you want or not)(that is if he falls into the city)

Wait...what?

First, no one but demons eat souls. No more than a carnivorous (or omnivorous) mortal is eating souls. "Eating souls" has a very specific defined meaning in my setting. And everyone, everywhere is subsisting off of the anima of other beings (except the phototrophic plants). The same holds true in the Mirrorlands.

And also, don't read general statements ("the strong prey on the weak to survive") as absolutes--they're general statements.

There are many good and holy people who end up in the Mirrorlands post death. However, many of them, knowing the place for what it is, prepare themselves to pass on into whatever comes next (many believe that the Spark rejoins the Cosmic All, enriching it permanently; others believe that the Spark is reborn into a new creature; yet others believe that it simply fades out into non-existence). They view their stay in the Shadows as a winding-down period, a chance to unburden themselves of the flaws and frailties of mortal existence, a time to prepare for eternity. It's the ones who cling to existence at any cost that become predators. They snatch at the anima of others (man or beast), hastening the unraveling of the other to stave off their own fate.

Most of the "holy" don't seek out the City. They find communities to settle down in for the last part of their un-life or they wander, helping those they can. The City itself is mad--largely due to its original nature which leaves lasting effects in this non-linear time-flow.

Don't think of the Shadows as a true afterlife. It's more just an extended fade-to-black. A transitional period into what comes next (whatever that is).

As a side note--it's a rare person whose soul lasts more than a few tens of days (Quartus time, a few years subjective Shadow time usually), and the effort needed to contact/bring back the older ones is tremendous (a 7th level slot for resurrection is not simply 7/5ths of the energy of a 5th level slot--it doesn't scale linearly) and requires a master servant of a god whose god is willing to assist (levels 6+ for divine spells require active deific involvement and approval, unlike 1-5. This approval is granted automatically for PCs for game fun purposes, but in-universe requires active assent). Since such magic is so rare, there's worries that you're not actually bringing back that same individual--some believe[1] that instead you're calling forth a new Spark and filling it full of the memories and personality elements recorded in the Great Mechanism so that it acts like that old person.

[1] Whether or not this is true in-universe is something I haven't decided. I'm comfortable with raise dead/reincarnation, but resurrection and true resurrection...not so much. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I've never had a cleric get up to high enough levels to worry about it yet.

[Max_Killjoy]

Do you actually have it determined, at least for your own edification as you world-build, what comes "after" the Shadow for most "sparks"?

[PhoenixPhyre]

Do you actually have it determined, at least for your own edification as you world-build, what comes "after" the Shadow for most "sparks"?

Nothing I've made concrete, but my general sense is that the answer is mostly "all of the above," with a large dose of "none of the above."

The whole organizing principle is that the world is a dream, and the people inside are all both dreamers and dream-products. Thus, belief shapes reality and reality shapes belief. Most individuals don't have strong enough souls to overcome cultural inertia, so their subconscious minds all influence the fate of their sparks. So areas that strongly believe in reincarnation cycles...get reincarnated. In some sense. Those that believe in a linear "joining" do that...again in some sense. But neither one is fully correct, nor is either one universal.

The only constant is that if you're eaten by a demon you're done. Game over. Those too heavily corrupted by exposure to/meddling with abyssal magics become demons themselves. Demons are a wound, a perversion of the natural order. Doesn't make them individually evil (although many are, just because you have to have a certain reckless disregard for others to go consuming their souls for energy), but makes them all dangerous. Areas with significant demonic activity also create "thin points" in the Shadows, strengthening the Waste in that area and making demonic activity easier (which forms a cycle).