Stygia

The Realm

Stygia is a realm of calm. Every Moros mage experiences the realm differently, but they all agree that it is quiet and still. “Peaceful” is perhaps not the most apt descriptor, as it implies an air of benevolence. A better term would be “serene”, and Stygia certainly is that. The realm is a place of the quiet contemplation of souls awaiting their transition to whatever comes after death. But beyond this air of tranquillity, no two Moros are entirely able to agree on the physical nature of Stygia. The Kingdom of Crypts sometimes manifests as a literal interpretation of its moniker, abounding in mausoleums, headstones, and crypts, or it may be a place of rugged white marble, streaked with gold and silver.

The realm is ostensibly lit by a pale and weak echo of the Fallen World’s sun, filtered heavily through the omnipresent cloud layer. However, most of the real light of Stygia stems from the torches placed around the crypts and graveyards, or from rock formations glowing with a pale inner light or reflecting the radiance of the sun or the torches off veins of precious materials. Indeed, precious materials are everywhere one looks in Stygia. Whether the veins of gems and metals flowing through the rock or the riches within the tombs of its denizens, Stygia is a place of immense material wealth.

Rivers flow through Stygia; great, cold, dark rivers that suck the warmth from those who dare try to cross them, rivers that the Shades of Stygia fear. These flows of water all meet at the Watchtower of the Lead Coin. The exact nature of the rivers is uncertain. Some believe that following the rivers will lead them to a ‘true’ afterlife, in which Matter is no longer relevant and Death is all-pervading and all-powerful. Others claim they are routes directly to Hell. It’s uncertain, as the soul of mage is inevitably drawn downriver, towards the tower, but all those mages who have tried to explore upriver feel a definite sense that what lies beyond their sight is another Supernal Realm.

The Watchtower of the Lead Coin

As with every feature of Stygia, and the Supernal Realms in general, the nature of the Watchtower of the Lead Coin varies depending on who is observing it. It is generally agreed to be a great spire jutting up into the clouds, but from there, the descriptions start to become a little more contrasting. Many say the tower is built entirely of some heavy metal such as lead, others contend it is made of a precious metal like gold. Some even say it is in the form of an immense stack of bones, which a supplicant must climb. Other substances like white marble or black glass have been known to appear from time to time. As the mage ascends the tower and passes through the clouds, the sunlight of Stygia grows brighter and brighter, creating the well-known 'tunnel of light' near-death scenario. At the top of the tower, one must forge a connection to Stygia. This can be simply carving one's name into the tower with magic, making a blood offering, burning oneself as if on a funeral pyre, or even forging a new artefact to add to the treasures. Sometimes there is a gatekeeper, taking a form such as the Grim Reaper, a black cat, an executioner, or ghosts of the mage's relatives. At other times, the tower is abandoned.

Arcana of Stygia

Death

The subtle expression of Stygia. Stygia is the one place where the soul of every dead person goes, though they will eventually move on to some other realm. As such, the resonance of Stygia is that of endings. Shadows consume light. Souls come to rest. Life decays. Even the power of magic withers and fades. This energy of decay and endings touches everything that links with the realm of Stygia, and influences the Fallen World via the Arcanum of Death. Those who employ this Arcanum are granted influence over darkness, decay, ectoplasm, enervation, ghosts, and souls.

Matter

The gross expression of Stygia. All matter in Stygia is subordinate to the will of the mages. It is how a fingernail can scratch names into solid marble, why gold and silver and crystal erupt from the ground of the realm. The riches of the dead are there for all to see, and the living mages who come must make a physical, rather than merely spiritual, link between themselves and the watchtower. In Stygia, tangible matter is prevalent over transient spirit, and this gravity leaks down into the Fallen World via the Arcanum of Matter. Those who master this Arcanum can wield power over alchemy, shaping, transmutation, and elemental air, earth, and water.

Spirit - Inferior

The notion of a spirit is substantially different to that of a soul. Many Moros cannot seem to understand this. Stygia is a place entirely devoid of the spirits that infuse the Primal Wild and the Shadow World, where matter is soulless and purely physical, nothing more than the basic substance it espouses itself to be. When witnessing a mage using the Arcanum of Spirit to awaken an object, few Moros realise that the mage is actually calling to another being; most simply believe that the mage is using a part of their own soul to awaken the item. Even those who can see this difference know that Stygia has no power over spirits. As such, the Arcanum of Spirit is restricted to the Moros.

Inhabitants

The Shades

The chief inhabitants of Stygia, the shades are the souls of the recently dead, waiting to move on to whatever comes after their time in Stygia. These beings are aware of their surroundings and are as intelligent as they were in life. However, they follow specific patterns and cannot stray far from their grave markers and tombs. It is important not to confuse Shades with ghosts, who are largely unaware that they are dead and who remain in the Fallen World until the factors that led them to become a ghost are resolved.

The Shades know that they are in Stygia, and that they will eventually go somewhere else. They are aware that, in order to get there, they must wait until "the right time". However, none of them seem to be very knowledgeable as to exactly what that time is. This doesn't mean that they are stupid or unaware of their surroundings, just that they lack an appropriate frame of reference.

The Shades are not the only inhabitants of Stygia. Their corpses pass on too, sometimes rising up to aid a mage during their Awakening, sometimes resolutely remaining in their graves. Also, creatures have been reported prowling Stygia, creatures that are elusive and that do not desire any interaction with mages beyond following them. Called the Guardians, these beings have been reported in many guises, from canine creatures reminiscent of Cerberus to squat and bent humanoids. Their purpose is not known, but it is theorised that they are there to protect Stygia against intruders from the Abyss or from other Supernal Realms.

The Oracle of the Lead Coin

The Oracle of the Lead Coin is a hazy figure, like all the other Oracles. He or she fought in the war against the Exarchs, and broke off this fight when all seemed lost, in order to ascend into the Supernal Realms and bring magic back down to Earth, allowing those left behind to continue wielding their powers. The Oracle entered Stygia - this much is known - but the events that transpired afterwards are contradictory and vague, up to the point where even the Oracle's gender is unclear. One legend claims that the Watchtower was already present, but unable to see the structure whilst in physical flesh, she burned away her body. In doing so, she became truly one of the inhabitants of Stygia, and gained the sight of the Shades, making the Watchtower visible to her and through her to the mages of the Fallen World.

In another story, the Oracle is depicted as guarding the Fallen World against incursion by creatures from the Abyss. These beasts craved the souls of humanity, and were able to shackle the dead to their whims, possessing their bodies as grotesque vehicles in which to stalk the material world. The other Oracles all turned to the Oracle of the Lead Coin, and he deliberated long and hard on the problem. So he added to his Watchtower until it was tall enough to see across the Abyss into the Fallen World, and he found that he could turn the armies of undead used by the beasts against them with his powers. So he made the armies of the beasts fight their masters, harrying them to the ends of the Earth, at which point they fell upon the invaders and destroyed them. Out of their remains, the dead built a fortress gate, to keep the invaders from ever returning in such vast numbers. And so the Oracle made his tower visible to the mages of the Fallen World and saved the material realms from demonic invasion.

References

• Tome of the Watchtowers, pp. 75-76, 78-80