#carnivalis

The Normal People/World

  Corporeal realm: the physical world where humans and others reside when they are alive.  Normal physics/time flow except where exempt: magic usage, time warps, etc.

  Melpomene: a civilization distinct from humanity that coexists with it without the humans knowing.  Your classic ‘the supernatural world is right under your nose!’  They placed wards up long ago to separate magic from non-magical humans (some humans have supernatural abilities and can either be accepted or denied access to Melpomene) (humans can be a touchy subject with magical people). 

            Melpomene includes:  The atlantic-races and the human races. 

            -The Atlantic Races is an umbrella term for any species with no human DNA that exists in Melpomene, including such things as: elves, dragons, vampires (in this case vampires are genetic creatures of their own, but seeing as they can reproduce with humans their placement here is a little null), monsters, demons, creatures (sentient animals, zombies, animals with magical properties), and aliens.  Also: parallel universes exist, and people who cross over through portals are included in Melpomene.  If they are also non-human, they would be part of the Atlantic Races.

            -The human races are any magical human subgroup: superhumans (anyone born with extraordinary powers, psychics, etc), genetically mutated creatures (werewolves—in TSOTC universe they were manufactured by biological testing), shifters, humanoids/anthropomorphs (any human/animal mix), demi-gods (as distinct from Spirit Walkers), and magical users.  It is to be noted that some humans can see/visit Melpomene even though they cannot be categorized as one of the above.  Also, certain creatures such as Centaurs do not actually have human DNA and would be considered part of the Atlantic Races.

            The peoples of Melpomene came about mostly the same way as humans did—they were subsets/creations of gods too long ago for anyone to remember.  Many of the Atlantic Races are much, much older than humans.  For instance, Tithes have been known to live for millions of years.  They have different belief systems and some participate in the same sort of death cycle as human souls do, while others live and die once, and still others share a common ‘soul’ that never exits the corporeal realm.

            Note: Melpomene may be referred to as a place, but it is more accurately described as a sub-space.  Anyone anywhere can be in Melpomene and the people around them may not.  The ward sometimes acts as a glamour—residents of Melpomene may appear ‘normal’ to humans.  People in Melpomene can ‘get out’ or escape, depending, but only under specific circumstances.  Also, it should be noted that humans who have magic are not immediately entered into Melpomene, and therefore might become pariahs in their society (ie Salem Witch Hunt).

            Several schools for the human races exist inside of Melpomene: Shining Silver School of the Endeavors, whatever school that Art and Jordyne go to(?), CampPerspective, the New York Institute of Higher Intelligences, etc.

            There is a lot of strife within Melpomene, mostly in Politics, species differences, and magic usage.  Also it is the job of certain factions of Melpomene to contain it and maintain it—for instance, certain psychics have come together to guard against portals that open to the Terra, a dying planet whose inhabitants are trying to flee to earth (Art and Jo).

            Politically speaking, there are a lot of subdivisions, some of which are completely separated from the others.  Some communities of magic-users, for example, are kept to themselves and may not even know that some of the other arcane people exist.  It is all very political and complicated.  Melpomene is extremely old and diverse, and so of course there are differences and issues.

              The carnival is a subset of Melpomene that is in control of a specific vein of magic called The Runner that affects the dreams of human children.  The Runner has been in place much longer than the wards that separate Melpomene from the human world, and so is the only remaining connection between the two.  Humans can reach the Carnival from the human world if they know where to look, while to reach Melpomene one must have the ward lifted from them by someone already inside Melpomene.

              Nearly everyone in Melpomene is a mortal.  There are definitely exceptions to that rule.  One dubious exception is the Tithes—they can live indefinitely and cannot be killed except by suicide.

              In short, Melpomene is the place where anything can happen.  Also please note that the Ward did not always exist.  So people in ancient texts weren’t lying when they said they saw a centaur.

  Death (specifically for humans) and the afterlife:

  Death is regarded as a natural process, even though it is perpetrated by supernatural beings.  Humans don’t even know about the supernatural part—they just think it ‘is.’  It has been in usage for so long that it has become an immutable fact of life.

  Tier One:  The physical death and ascension to ghost hood.  Some may skip this phase.      Ghosts are collected by the primordial being, Death, who deposits them in the ghostly realm (or in the hands of the Goddess of Death, completely bypassing Tier One).  More than one Death-being exists because at one point in time Death broke the laws of the universe and was split into several pieces. (May account for different iterations of death/the grim reaper.  Have fun).

            It is a cleansing phase, to separate the soul from the burdens it gained from life with a body.  If your soul is unhindered you will automatically be given access to the gateway.  If you committed suicide it is considered a flaw of the soul and most people who commit suicide will be snatched before they become ghosts (but will also not go through the gateway).  Ghosts remember the flesh but have none.  Souls (which is the next step from ghosts) remember nothing about flesh.  The ghostly realm can be accessed multiple ways, most commonly by dying and coming back as a ghost.  Some people dream in the realm, some can project themselves into it, and some can see it while awake.  Mostly it is very separated—they have different laws of time and physics.  It acts as a stepping stone from the physical to the divine.

            -Purgatory is a specific sector of the ghostly realm designed for those who died sudden or horrific deaths and who would not find peace on their own. 

            Warps exist in the ghostly realm: humans who did not die properly (hanging onto life), ghosts who have melded together, ghosts who cannot have a double-death and are trapped in the ghostly realm, and ghostly monsters.

  Tier Two: The gateway—double-death. 

            The Goddess of Death is the gatekeeper, and the only one who knows what goes on in all worlds as it happens.  The goddess appears different to every soul.  She acts as a guide and a judge—she reflects both Charon, the ferryman, in Greek myths and Anubis, judge of the dead, in Egyptian mythology.

  Tier Three: The afterlife—the true afterlife, not just afterdeath, which would be the ghostly realm.  No living humans nor ghosts know what lies after the gateway because it is protected fiercely by the Spirit Walkers.  Thus no one actually knows any of this exists, and all the huge questions about life and death are out there.

            In its roughest translation this is the assembly line that recycles souls into bodies.  Souls appear in their True Form—a body made of no substance, in whatever shape that they most easily settle into.  It is very permeable.  For instance—some true forms are human-like with wings, hence the stories about angels.  Some are human with animal heads: like in Egyptian mythology.  Some have no human elements whatsoever.  Your true form often varies after each cycle of life and death—you learn new things and thus are changed, and that change is reflected in your true form.  Souls remain in the afterlife until they will be reused, except when placed in three distinct sectors:  Limbo, Elysium/Nirvana, and Tartarus.  Aside from these there are: Heaven/Paradise, Limbo, Hereafter (the fields of asphodel), and Hell.

            Hereafter: the ordinary.  No outlandish deaths, no extreme lives.  Perfectly ordinary souls.

            Hell: A place wishing to ‘fix’ flaws of the soul, or in some cases, a punishment for destructive deeds.  Most souls are allowed to reincarnate at some point—if they are in hell, it can only be after they have been ‘approved’ by the Spirit Walkers.  It is separated into several parts: The Curses, Tartarus, Ice, and the Nether Region.  Tartarus is the only permanent home for souls in hell—any soul that is deemed defectively evil will be sent there.  That means they have to have been reincarnated and ended up back in hell a sufficient amount of times for it to be determined that they will not recover.  Terminal douche syndrome.

            Paradise: For those who lived and died magnanimously.  It is a comfy space to await reincarnation.  Elysium/Nirvana is for the highest echelon, who have proven themselves beyond a doubt to have reached beyond the spectrum of any human vice.  They have been reincarnated and entered Paradise enough times that they were given the ultimate prize (such as Nirvana in Hindu mythology).  In essence, these are souls that have been deified to an extent.  Or at least, allowed a VIP ticket backstage.

            Limbo: The place where the people who committed suicide go.  Souls who go to Limbo do not pass through the gateway.  It is separated from the rest of the afterlife by an offshoot of the River Styx known as the noose.  No one in limbo is allowed to reincarnate.  It is considered a flaw of the soul to commit the act of directly causing one’s own death.  Exceptions are made, but not many.  It is a pleasant place—the Spirit Walkers take care of the souls in Limbo very well.

            -Most martyrs wind up in Limbo instead of heaven, a fact that many Christians do not know.  The idea is that humans were designed to change the world, not allow the world to force them to take their own lives.  Categorically: those who specifically self-immolated/intended to die for their cause as a statement.  People who are hunted and killed by society, however, are not put in limbo—people like those who were killed in the salem witch hunts were not, as they were given no choice in the matter/method of their death.  (Look up martyrs, would you???)

              Also there are specific myths and legends that pertain to each aspect of death, and each sector within the realms.  For instance: In Limbo the legend is that if you wade through the noose and run far enough, you will get tired and fall directly out of the clouds.  Some god gives pity to those who chose to live and want to do so badly enough that they collapse (true forms are notoriously hard to tire out).  If you manage it, he/she will grant you a body in your True Form, send you back to earth, and you will begin to live from there.  It isn’t reincarnation, as you do not revert back to a baby, but you will be given a chance to face the Goddess of Death and be judged instead of shuttled back to Limbo.  It is a very rare second chance.  Sometimes, though, that makes monsters because true forms are not meant to be made of flesh and bone.  They say that there are only two souls who have managed it, and the first came back to earth and spawned the entire race of demons.

              Souls, which can refer to any soul including those of the Atlantic Races, were created in ages past.  No one remembers who actually created them (in most probability it was a joint effort) but now they are here, and mostly immortal.  Sometimes a soul will fade away, in which case it is allowed to rest in peace in the space of the afterlife.

  Begin Divinity:

              -SkyCity—the portal between the gods and the souls.  Spirit walkers reside there, in an actual city that is suspended directly between the sun and the earth.  They are half-divine beings who have been placed in charge of the humans.  Each spirit walker has a specific domain—whether it is a country, a time-zone, or a sector of one of the other realms.  Psychic and warrior-like, they are very human in the way that they act and interact.  They have powers nearly like gods, and can move through time/space the same way that gods can.  They are, however, mortal beings, and when they die they cease to exist(?).

              -The divine realm—where the gods reside, a true alternate universe.  The other realms exist one on top of the other—the human realm, then the ghostly realm, then the afterlife.  (Also, the afterlife is situated slightly above ground.  In the heavens).  The Gods, on the other hand, exist in a completely different physical place (we’ll say the anti-verse, I don’t know much about it being a mortal and all).

            The gods decided a long time ago that they enjoyed the humans, and as such changed their natures permanently without intending to—they began to be reincarnated as well.  This causes problems, as they would normally reside in the space behind the universe, but god children there were in contact with quantities of raw power way too large, and it was deemed unsafe.  Thus the gods send out the children into the human realm when they are reincarnated, where they must learn how to be gods.  (High school god AU because we are awesome.) 

            It should be noted that things like Colors (light beings who control all the different shades of colors that we can and can’t see), Personifications, and immortal monsters would fall into this category and NOT the Atlantic Races.

            The godly realm is very secret to us mortals, but the human afterlife is very secret to the gods since they don’t specifically die and have to be cleansed.  The gods do not understand what it is to truly be human, and they delegated the task of taking care of the souls to the Spirit Walkers, so they no longer have any say in souls.  They have also, for the most part, forsaken any interference with the human world/Melpomene.  It was too much work.  For instance, Hades no longer messes with the souls.  He lives a pretty chill life.  The gods used to be pretty active back in the day, but that was a while ago.