The Shukaren people have long since believed in a spiritual realm that overlaps with their own world, this world is often referred to as the afterlife and plays a significant role in funeral ceremonies and other occasions related to the passing of a Shukaren. Unlike a religion this belief of an afterlife world does not revolve around any deities or gods or other powerful beings, it is simply believed to mirror their own realm on the surface with many deeper levels that progress further into the dimension of the soul.

Not every Shukaren may believe in this afterlife but the vast majority of citizens have been told the stories through which it is passed to each generation in school or their homes.

The Spiritual Realm is described through story as a place that mirrors life after death, on the surface level spirits and souls of Shukaren and My'leke who have passed, roam around while searching for peace in the afterlife. These spirits observe the daily lives of the Neshaten citizens without interfering, some of them are said to remain in the first level in a limbo state just wishing to continue watching the world they are no longer a part of. Other spirits and souls, particularly those of warriors, those with unfinished business and those who pursue a spiritual journey in life, are said to continue down into the depths of the spirit realm to attempt their afterlife trials.

For any soul who fails a trial awaits an eternity trapped on the level they failed to overcome, slowly losing their sense of self and memories until they are a wandering ghost obsessed with escaping, these haunting lost souls are said to be drawn to any new souls or spirits attempting their trials as they believe they can take the place of a new soul and escape from their eternal nightmare. As one progresses down through the levels of the spiritual realm these lost souls are said to become more dangerous and driven to stop those seeking to pass their trials.

For the average Shukaren and My'leke this realm makes no difference to their daily lives, many choose to offer words of wisdom, guidance or encouragement to spirits or even ask to be watched over and protected from beyond the grave while others simply acknowledge it in their mind and live without interruption. There is also a small minority of Shukaren who devote their lives to studying the stories and teachings of this realm, tending to various sites considered to be sacred grounds and offering guidance to those who seek it.

Those who dedicate themselves to the teachings of the 10 Levels are referred to as Feda'Verna, this is not an officially recognised title in any legal capacity and offers no immunities or privileges in most capacity bar private groups. Feda'Verna is a general purpose title rather than a specific rank or role and can range from Shukaren who devote their entire life to studying the teachings down to a friendly neighborhood preacher who likes to give a short speech before a dinner at his house.

As previously mentioned it is told there is a limitless number of spiritual levels within the Spirit Realm, the first 10 of these spiritual levels are believed to have been mapped by a Shukaren Laibe hundreds of years ago, now simply known as “The Sister” who had devoted every waking moment to meditation and communing with the spirits of the first level. The teachings of The Sister have since been incorporated into the belief in the spirit realm, in her notes she had described each spiritual level as.

“A vast world further distorted from our own the deeper you go and each world poses a new trial for a wandering soul who must complete the trial to continue their journey or risk wandering that level for eternity and losing themselves”

These first 10 levels were given names and basic, vague descriptions of the trial a soul may face by The Sister before she herself passed on.

“It can be hard to let go of what you leave behind in this world, this first trial is perhaps the most difficult to overcome for many souls, for who would not desire to look into the mirror for eternity and watch the reflection of the world continue without them.” - The Sister

The most well known of the levels is The Mirror, the first level of the spiritual realm where souls and spirits wander the same world as the living without being able to interact with them, simply described as watching the world continue. It has been theorised from her original notes that the mirror metaphor that the trial itself is looking away from the mirror and losing sight of the world. This theory has been researched heavily by many scholars and spiritual advisors over centuries and has been widely accepted to be the best possible description for the original words of The Sister.

This level is considered to have very little distortion from the real world with the largest differences manifesting in the forms of small glowing orbs that follow the shadows of the living, they are believed to show the strength and purity of a persons soul to the wandering spirits.

“Once you have turned your back on the world you know, when you lose sight of reality and there is simply nothing you are confronted with infinity. Infinite possibilities on what to do, where to go, even what to say though without reality and the past there can be no future, you will wander the plains of infinity eternally or you will not visit them at all.” - The Sister

With many of her notes on the second level referencing plains and eternity and infinity the second level was christened The Plains, the widely agreed understanding explains that after turning away from the mirror of the first level each soul or spirit is faced with the first trial of the afterlife. Deciding what path they will choose to pursue, while it has been a less explored topic of the spiritual world it is commonly accepted that the second level is a very simple trial in which a soul or spirit must visualise their goal and strive towards it in order to avoid ever setting foot on the plains of eternity.

While there was never any explicit depictions or physical descriptions given in The Sister's notes for the second level many people simply believe that when you pass from the mirror to the plains if you have your goal in mind you will see nothing while if you have doubts or are unsure you will turn away and find yourself on an infinite flat horizon devoid of colours.

“In my life I have been fortunate to always see the path before me, I have studied the old teachings and belief of the spiritual world and they guide me to continue communing with those who have passed on. But not everyone is fortunate this way, many people have goals and ambitions though they do not know how to reach them, to many of us reaching our goals is like climbing a mountain with no safety equipment. We begin the climb confident and driven and we know we have what it takes if we put in the effort, but as you get higher doubt visits the mind and clouds judgements bringing many people to a complete halt on their mountain journey.” - The Sister

Some spiritual practitioners believe that Doubt is in fact the true 2nd level with The Plains simply being a gateway between The Mirror and Doubt though the subject is still under debate, Doubt as a level of the spiritual world is believed to pose a significant challenge in the quest of any soul or spirit. The Sister's words at first glace seem like they refer to the real world and in fact they are quite applicable to the living realm as well though it is widely accepted in her notes she is explaining that Doubting your own abilities and motivation is the trial of the third level.

While a mountain is mentioned in her notes there are many ideas of what the third level may physically look like with many believing it is a large mountain while another popular theory is that of a raging lake or even a maze-like cave system. Whatever depiction people believe in it is agreed the scenario will be a daunting task that can only be complete by maintaining a high self belief and confidence in one's own ability so as not to give in to doubt when it gets tough.

“Each of us will undoubtedly face challenges in life, many challenges can be overcome if you put your mind too it, though too much focus on a single aspect of our own life can create divides in our own minds. These divides are often the side effects of too much focus on a single task and can destroy our ability to think rationally and continue forwards once that task is complete, either in failure or success.”

The Divide is believed to be similar to its predecessor 'Doubt' with many of the Sister's notes on the fourth level seeming to suggest that like 'The Mirror' and 'The Plains' The Divide is directly entwined with 'Doubt' not only as the following level but in their challenges as well. The Divide is not well understood by any practitioners with the Sister herself not even able to fully understand it other than knowing after facing the trial of 'Doubt' a spirit would be faced with another mental challenge.

There is no notes on physical appearance in any of the writings of The Divide, many have speculated similar situations to that of 'Doubt' where a spirit is faced with a huge chasm or mountain which is impassable, a great divide they could never hope to pass. Some older texts claim that rather than an impassible divide, this level is instead a reflection of choice and will present souls with one of impossible caliber forming a divide unconquerable.

“Temptation is present at every level and in every stage of life, no matter your species. Acting on temptation is not inherently good or evil and can even change from being perceived as a positive outcome to a negative with the passage of time. One who never acts on temptation can be said to have patience, virtue, or even a great mastery over the self, however is it not just as true that one who acts on their temptations knows themselves better than one who does not?” - The Sister

Temptation is widely accepted as the second if not most challenging of the 10 levels right beside the 10th itself, many debate over the Sister's reference to someone giving in to temptation knowing themselves better than one who does not, as it seems to directly challenge the idea of spiritual dedication in life.

It is generally accepted the appearance of the 5th level is individual, and not solely limited to material temptation of the living world but may even be shaped by a souls journey through the previous 4 levels. Desires both living and passed shape a souls temptations, much like the debate on the Sister's words there is heated arguments over whether living a life without giving in to temptation would affect this level on a soul's journey.

“To discuss guilt is to divulge one's secrets and reveal true self. Yes, even I have guilt, I don't believe there is any living being capable of thought that does not possess some level of guilt. But if you are asking me about my thoughts on the 6th level, I honestly don't know what awaits a soul there, and when my time comes I can only make peace before moving to the other side in the hope it gives me the strength to move forwards.” - The Sister

The Guilt is the least discussed of the 10 levels, much like the old words of The Sister, no one wants to discuss their own guilt as it is too much of a vulnerable position in a conversation. Only the most dedicated practitioners and believes have been known to discuss it in depth and only amongst themselves.

While being the least discussed level it is also the most agreed upon, using vague dialogue from very early texts and some of The Sister's own teachings it is believed the 6th level “Guilt” will show a soul its journey, some theorise there will be an attendant of some kind to judge a soul and measure its guilt after each reliving.

“A lot of people get caught up in the present or worrying about the future, however when we pass on, the past is all that matters because, well there is no future anymore. Once we pass on, we have nothing but time to go through the catalogue of memories made during life, and I think it can be both a blessing and a curse.” - The Sister

The 7th level is often discussed fondly compared to the other levels and some even believe it would be the ideal level to reach on a journey through the Spiritual Realm as its believed to allow a soul to relive memories of their choosing. Many people often refer to this level as “Souls Respite” on account of the widely accepted nature of the 7th level.

The regularly taught description of the 7th level changes from time to time and often different states will have slightly differing descriptions. The one feature widely agreed upon is the presence of a large number of doors to represent memories of the soul. Often described as a large hallway, room, or even an entire building of some kind, always filled with doors to the memories of a soul.

No recorded texts document The Sister's thoughts on the 8th Level, word of mouth from her close companions suggests she may have feared knowledge of this level. As a result, very little is interpreted with most simply agreeing this level is similar to others such as Memory and Doubt and will change drastically depending on the soul and its journey while living.

One Feda'Vera who declined to be named suggested The Darkness is not a level meant to be accessed by a Shukaren or My'Leke soul and if entered should be treated as an immediate failure to reach the 10th level, his theory also outlined that the lack of notes from The Sister confirm that even she did not want to think of it while living for fear of entering it once passed.

The only claim to know its description comes from the same practitioner who simply suggested, “It will be like opening the door to a long, dark hall. It may appear there's a door at the other end but once you take the first step the entry will close behind you and the mind will upset the body's direction. It will be like getting lost in a vast ocean with no one to comfort you and nothing to guide you, drifting forever.”

“When we pass on and proceed through the 10 levels, there are several instances in the journey we believe monitor a soul and judge a certain aspect, but nothing comes close to real, objective, all encompassing judgement. This isn't just a great being or all knowing consciousness that says you were good or bad while alive, I believe from my studies, that The Judgement is in-fact another obstacle presented by the self, after being forced to reflect all the way there.” - The Sister

The Judgement is accepted by almost the entire spiritual community as determining if a soul was worthy of achieving peace after life. Like The Sister's writing it is widely taught that if the previous 8 levels had not forced a soul to come to terms with their life then there was no hope of passing through the 9th, either being stuck forever, destined to watch the attempts of every other soul, or worse cast out into the abyss of The Plains or The Darkness.

The Judgement is described as being either a room or a building housing depictions of scales or other imagery to portray balance, the room is drab and dreary and depicted as being lit by small flaming torches that cast shadows across the ground that twist and turn to play out morbid shadow puppetry of a soul's life.

“Reflection is the name we chose for, well, a city that souls who persevere through the 9 levels are greeted with. It was given this name based on the old texts suggesting that like The Mirror, souls here can watch over the living world. Unlike The Mirror, it gives those who've passed a place to finally stop and exist with peace of mind, though of course no one knows just how deep the Spiritual Realm descends.” - The Sister

The text's of The Sister are unanimously accepted by all practitioners and is the only level taught with the same description and explanation across the Kingdom, most believe this occurs out of the innate desire for a light at the end of the path, a goal to reach.

club24 created this article on 2020/06/01 23:20.

Page approved Here by Wes on 2023/07/19