The Umbral Realm is believed to be home to both the souls of the dead and those not yet born into the Material Realm. Within this strange existence, physical form no longer matters. Souls drift as pure magical essence, untethered from flesh, identity, or time itself.

For countless generations, scholars, priests, arcanists, and cultists alike have devoted their lives to understanding the Umbral Realm and the dangerous relationship it shares with the living world.

All magic ultimately depends upon this connection.

Spellcasting is made possible through the use of Soulshards — fragments of spiritual energy drawn from the Umbral Realm into the Material Realm. Different cultures interpret this practice in dramatically different ways.

Some believe magic allows souls to briefly experience the physical world without suffering the burdens of mortal life. Others condemn the practice entirely, believing that tearing fragments from souls damages the natural cycle of existence itself.

The barrier separating realms is imperfect.

At times, wandering souls slip through into the Material Realm unintentionally. When this occurs, the soul often binds itself to the first suitable vessel or object it encounters.

A soul entering a corpse may create an Undead creature. A soul colliding with a living host may form an aberration. Some souls merge with animals, plants, objects, or even locations themselves, producing strange magical entities unlike anything naturally born.

Souls are deeply tied to emotion. Rage, sorrow, terror, hope, love, and hatred all leave lasting impressions upon spiritual energy.

When a soul manifests physically, those emotions influence the resulting creature. Souls carrying intense emotions frequently create far more dangerous and powerful beings than calm or peaceful souls.

Soulshards are tiny fragments of souls carefully drawn from the Umbral Realm and refined into a stable magical form. They serve as the foundation of nearly all advanced magic throughout the Empire.

While simple spells may rely upon minor spiritual manipulation, powerful enchantments, magical objects, rituals, and large-scale arcane effects all require Soulshards as fuel.

Over centuries, Soulshards became more valuable than traditional currency itself. Though some isolated settlements still trade in coin or goods, most civilized regions of the Empire measure wealth through shards.

For simplicity, collections of one hundred shards are commonly referred to as a single Soul, despite the fact that a true soul could provide vastly more energy.

The easiest time to harvest Soulshards is immediately after death.

In ancient history, this practice was widespread. Families preserved the shards of loved ones as keepsakes. Warriors claimed the souls of defeated enemies as trophies. Nobles accumulated entire vaults of stolen souls to display wealth and status.

Then came the Angels and Demons.

Angels relentlessly pursued those who kept the souls of loved ones imprisoned out of grief and obsession. Demons hunted those who collected souls through hatred, vengeance, or greed.

Both brought devastation wherever they appeared. Entire villages were destroyed in battles surrounding stolen souls, often long after the original victim had died. Once the connection between soul harvesting and these catastrophic manifestations became understood, collecting souls directly at the moment of death was universally outlawed across nearly every major civilization.

Physically, Soulshards appear as glowing dodecahedrons roughly half an inch in size. Despite their magical nature, they possess no weight and feel strangely similar to polished gemstones when handled.

Their colors vary dramatically depending upon the emotional nature of the soul from which they originated. Calm souls often produce pale blues or whites, while violent or hateful souls may generate intense reds, blacks, or crimson hues.

Up to one thousand Souls may effortlessly merge together into a single compact cluster for transportation and storage. Experienced users can identify the precise number of shards within a collection simply by feeling the magical resonance flowing through them.

Many have attempted to consume Soulshards directly in hopes of gaining magical power. None succeeded.

The body absorbs the energy violently, resulting in severe sickness, magical corruption, or death. Despite this, some alchemists discovered that plants exposed to Soulshard energy could grow unusual magical properties.

As a result, enchanted crops and magically infused fruits have become a growing field of experimentation throughout the Empire.