The Palace of Souls

The Palace of Souls is a hidden underground labyrinth in the Mountains of Vaz, where souls go after their body died. Here, they are counted by the gatekeeper, who makes sure none get lost, and allows them to transcend to the otherworld.

Although deep below the surface, there is no darkness in these halls. It is not because the labyrinth is lit by any light; it is a mere lack of darkness, as well of a lack of light, and it paints both Palace and inhabitants in a dismal grey.

All souls pass through these halls, but not all do stay. It is those who had no choice, those who made no decisions, and those who were bound but not relieved who stay forever. All unable to shake off their past and transcend the last barrier of this world, they gather at the anteroom of death - Soul Palace.

Latching onto what little of themselves there was, they remain as a shadow of their late existence, a shallow silhouette which does not eat, not breathe, not drink. These silhouettes can only exist at the fine line between "here" and "there", and as they move away from the labyrinth, the soul's grip loosens, and the silhouette fades and the soul perishes.

In the labyrinth, neither moan nor lament can be heard. There is only silence as legions of silhouettes sit and stare, their empty eyes fixating a point far away which does not exist and never existed. And for eternities they keep sitting, their faces still, as if in deep thought, but thoughtless. Maybe the younger silhouettes are contemplating what there is to contemplate, but after ages of contemplation all thoughts worth thinking have been thought, and only emptiness remains.

There is sadness in their faces, and the air tastes of megrim and resignation. Every once in an age, the gate keeper passes by on one of his eternal rounds, or a young soul sits down next to them; but no faces are turned, no eyes move, and even the spirit shows no reaction. There is nothing to be noticed, nothing to be seen, and nothing to be thought about anymore. And there never will be. There is only silence. Silence, sitting, staring, as if in a coach which never halts, and all the passengers are waiting for a destination that does not exist.

Some humans have stumbled across Soul Palace, and most of these never came back. When exposing themselves to the volley of empty stares, and looking for meaning in the wearily eyes, they were flooded by emotions deep and desperate. Ripping their eyes out with their bare fingers not to see no more, vomitting their own hearts not to feel no more, they are lost in the labyrinth forever.

Few have had the willpower and the peace to come in and go out unscarred, two of which have documented their encounter with this place and the gatekeeper: Paul Himter and Adalgis Tränenblut.