Soulcrafting 102 (Patreon)

We have another soulcrafting tutorial, again thanks to the graphical work of Lamsey! Please enjoy this one - I didn't originally plan it, but enough people requested more information on specific rooms types that I decided to do one. I'm not sure when I'll do a public post of this, but you guys get it early. ^-^

I've seen confusion over Patreon's image posts in the past: please note that you should see 16 images, not just one. There should be a slideshow feature.

Finally, I just want to throw in another detail that hasn't made it into the books. There's so much soulcrafting information to be revealed, I sometimes worry that readers will think I'm making it up as I go along. But since I don't want long pages of infodumping, some information gets omitted, and one subject in particular feels lacking to me. It's been implied, but not discussed.

Specifically, what happens to soulhomes after death. Ordinarily they're destroyed, even if the killing blow doesn't cause soulhome damage. The faster and more totally a person dies, the more likely that there's nothing left. Material theft is a practice that will appear eventually, but you can't beat someone and loot their soulhome.

For the first three tiers, that's all there is. But for Authorities and above, their soulhomes have acquired so much spiritual reality that they can persist. A violent death is still likely to destroy all materials, but if an Authority dies of old age, they leave behind spiritual remnants. If they had powerful sublime plants, nearby gardens might blossom more powerfully, new gemstones could form beside the body, and so on. The more a person ascends, the more likely they are to leave a legacy behind.

This has a number of cultural impacts. Elderly soulcrafters are cared for by their organizations even after they've reached their limits, because their sublime legacy could contribute valuable materials. What remains isn't an exact science, but it's reliable enough that legacies are an important part of inheritance law. Legacy materials are generally excellent, but not wholly superior: they tend to make it easier for another person to ascend, sometimes too quickly for their long term growth.

As a result of all this, war tends to cause a net loss of sublime materials, especially when lots of soulcrafters die instantly. This can work for a scorched earth strategy, but it tends to leave the region weaker, so rampant killing is less beneficial for conquerors. Conversely, even mortally wounded soulcrafters are recovered, because if they can attain enough peace before death, they might still be able to leave behind a legacy. Obviously that requires a high degree of discipline and selflessness - plenty of soulcrafters die painfully or even intentionally take down their soulhome with them.

At some point there will be more information about this publicly, and it will definitely be relevant to the books eventually, but for now I hope it's interesting. ^-^