BEACONS
The mysterious Beacons of the Stormcrag Mountains predate their current settlements. Some believe mages from the fallen High Elf empire of Talsethyr created them. Yet, today's High Elves have no insight into what they are, as they seem even older than their fallen empire.
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However, the effects that the Beacons produce are well known: the transference of souls and the rebuilding of perished bodies. The Duskmire Beacon always resurrects a person as they were before death. The Vyldarin Beacon always brings a person back as they were but as some form of undead.
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Scholars suspect the respective gods of the Beacons re-ignited them: Luumpho for the living, and Cenob for the undead. Religions that generally had little presence in the area took on important roles on both sides since the re-igniting.
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The Beacons do have limitations. Some souls escape the endless cycle as if it were a normal death (OOC player’s choice), so any death or destruction could very well be your last. And while it is possible to rise as undead after death by natural causes, it is impossible to resurrect as living.
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If a person reaches the natural lifespan of their race, while living or undead, their soul escapes the cycle upon the next destruction of its vessel if the Duskmire Beacon catches it. The living view this as a blessing allowing eternal rest. To long lived undead, it means the next destruction could spell the end for them if it is the Duskmire Beacon that catches their soul.
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Therefore, you may not wish to make your character an aged version of a short-lived race (like a Human or Half-Orc) that has been around since the Day Without Light. This would effectively lock you out of the living side because choosing it would have your soul pass on (meaning permadeath) if the Duskmire Beacon ever got your soul. Thus, it is best to still stick within a race's average lifespan, even when considering undeath.
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It is impossible to know which Beacon will be the one that receives the soul (the player does choose OOC). Death/destruction could mean spending eternity as undead or losing your immortal gift. This, combined with the above limitations, leaves everyone still wary of death/destruction.
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The Beacons also affect memory upon the transference of a soul. No one can recall the 24 hours leading up to their death, including those that perished from the initial curse of the Day Without Light. Additionally, one does not remember anything but vague feelings about people and places from the opposite side. So if a person were undead, they would only have vague feelings about things they knew while living. If that same person resurrected at the Duskmire Beacon upon destruction, they would suddenly remember their memories from being alive before. The memories of their undead life would thus fade. And so the cycle goes.