/vtwbg/ ahead:
Burial Rites of /morig/
As expected from the Deadbeat nation, /morig/ puts a lot of importance on the passage from life to Death. Specific rituals exist to ensure the Goddess can welcome the Deadbeat in this next step. Of the foremost importance is the Returnal of the Bones.
The Returnal is a process that was devised in the earliest days of the existence of the Goddess Faithful to protect and preserve Mori-attuned chuubanite. Indeed, Mori’s chuubanite accumulates in hard materials; the diamonds of Mont Mori are famous for displaying extremely high concentrations, as do the bones of deadbeats. Similarly to heavy metals, over the life of the deadbeat the skeleton will store Chuubanite absorbed by the body through the air, water and food of /morig/. Encased in this hard material, the chuubanite will see a rather slow, moderated decay, and it is believed that this long-term exposure drives physical adaptations displayed by some /morig/ life-forms.
Returning the precious substance, blessed by Death herself, to its origin is of the utmost to the Goddess Faithful, especially since the large amounts found in the Priestesses are likely to thank for their strength. Thus, the Returnal of the Bones was devised and put into action.
The major thrust of it is simple: all Deadbeats must return to the chill embrace of Mori upon passing. The Underworld includes massive catacombs on the outskirts, where most Deadbeats can expect to be interred. Notables, such as skilled warriors, admirals, heroes and priestesses may be laid to rest in crypts closer to Mont Mori itself. These installations have modest, minimalistic entrances, only weatherproof trapdoors or hatches, so as to avoid disturbing the nature of the Underworld, while the tombs below ground can be quite elaborate. Closest to Mont Mori, near its slope, is the Tomb of the Unknown Deadbeat. Laid to rest under the stars in a great boneyard, preserved by the frigid, dry air, these warriors who made the ultimate sacrifice but were given no honours due to never being identified are afforded the greatest honor in Death, to be looked upon directly by Goddess on her Mountain. This way, over thousands of years, the bones of all Deadbeats return to Mont Mori and give back the chuubanite they borrowed, to be passed on to new generations.
Being returned to Mont Mori also gives Deadbeats easier access to the battle at the end of times, the great free-for-all of the Underworld. On this auspicious day, it is said the spirits of Deadbeats from all times, living and dead, will wield arms once more to earn their place as the Last Deadbeat. Some myths also speak of the spirits waking to defend the island, though no one has witnessed this, even in the direst of times.
Deadbeats will go to great lengths to ensure the Returnal for their fellows. The Navy has specific protocols to secure it even in the most inconvenient circumstances, and large ships feature a small morgue equipped to process bodies. The relatively low water content of the deadbeats means they mummify rather easily, which is a blessing in this matter. Exsanguination and packing in a small amount of salt and sand is usually enough to preserve the body even on years-long voyages. If salt is unavailable and rot becomes a concern, disassembly of the corpse and boiling the limbs until they are scoured clean of all flesh is also a perfectly acceptable treatment. In highly volatile situations, where attempting to transport the whole body of the deceased would endanger the life of the survivor, harvesting the cranium and as much of the spine as possible are considered the next best things. If possible, the rest of the body would be recovered at a later date.
The Navy’s protocols also consider people falling overboard and being lost at sea. In those cases, the ship should record the coordinates of the location of the loss. The high density of deadbeats means they sink rather well, which results in a decent amount of seafloor recoveries based on those coordinates, at least in shallower waters. Undersea body recovery is a whole industry in /morig/, and has resulted in a practiced professional class of divers on the island.
Thoughts, feedback, plotholes?
