Dust to Dust - A Fantasy LARP
Home · Setting · Rules · Events · Forums · Codex · Contact Us

On the Grim Prison and the Teachings of the Redwood Throne

By the Penitent Scribe

The statements of the Returned regarding their experiences with death, and the place they describe as the Grim Prison, raise many questions for the faithful. The church tells us that there is no permissible escape from the cycle of reincarnation, yet the Returned claim that, upon their deaths, they were first imprisoned in a place of misery, then returned to the world of the living without the blessing of reincarnation.

This document includes the following:

It is not my intention to answer the questions raised by the accounts of the Grim Prison, but to record all that I have learned about that place, and invite further dialogue on the matter. I will also offer a series of possible answers, as an aid to research, but I make no claim that any final answer has been determined.
- The Penitent Scribe

I kneel before the Redwood Throne,
And beg for guidance and mercy for myself and my fellows:
Lead us from falsehood to truth,
From the unreal to the Real,
From darkness to Light,
From division to Unity,
From death to Rebirth.

Accounts of the Returned

The Returned all tell a common tale of their time after death and before their rise to live a second time. Rather than reincarnation, they found themselves in a place they call the Grim Prison. A place of misery, suffering, and pointless toil.

In an endless plain of mud and filth a huge pillar lays on its side in the muck. There is writing on the pillar, some accounts say it is in many languages, or that it is written in fire. The Returned cannot remember much of what is written there. People are chained to the pillar. The prisoners are made to pull the chains and endlessly drag the pillar.

There is a rumor among the Returned that there is a front of the pillar, and that the souls closest to the front waited in nothingness until the Grim Prison came into being.

Almost all accounts agree that humans and Firstborn are chained in the Grim Prison. Some have also claimed to see celestials, homunculi, trolls, marrashi, and other creatures as well, though this is not a matter of agreement. Several mentioned that no children were seen among the imprisoned.

A being called “The Warden” is said to rule over the place. The Warden and other guards are fully robed and hooded in grey. Many Returned said that the warden has a distinctive voice, but they never saw his or her face. The Warden and guards remove and torture prisoners, usually those who resisted the labor, and sometimes those who are taken away did not return.

A smaller number of the Returned remember names or words which are written on the pillar, though they did not have these memories until they had spent some time meditating on the memories or otherwise making an effort to recall more. The list below is of names shared by three Returned in Marath Suvla:

  • Rhisethurkrad
  • Hayalet Ciddil
  • Ilma Nokk.
  • Decker Cotswald
  • Rathnovhilisvol
  • Donia Gyla Sevastides
  • Emestina Holt
  • Daniel Marandici
  • Kolisnovkrad

It is worth noting that though dozens of Returned appeared in Marath Suvla on the day of Descent and Return (1211-08-26) and many more may have returned elsewhere, the Grim Prison is described as having countless other souls still imprisoned.

Historical or Cultural Mentions

Tarot

The "Grim Prison" is pictured on one of the cards in the traditional tarot deck, the 13th of the Major Arcana. This card is said to represent Loss - Transition - Conclusion - Regeneration. The image on the card, rather than the hellish landscape described, is of a tall and stately pillared building, resembling a massive ancient temple.

Athral Folklore

An old Athral Folk song, Wanderer on the Raven's Highway, speaks of a man traveling the Raven's Highway and bringing justice to the many criminals he meets by killing them and sending them to the Grim Prison at the road's end.

Raven's Highway is the ancient road that stretches from one end of the Isle to the other and is said to “reach all the way to the Grim Prison.” The song and the highway figure into the recent events of the Highsummer Defiance.

Statements of the Auvet

Disclaimers:
While most of the information here was spoken directly by the Auvet, it is important to remember that the Auvet is not a person, but the most powerful of the Falar (and the king of the Spirit Court) . We know him as Remembrance, but it is possible that this name will change.

The Auvet has stated that he is unable to perceive or interact with the Redwood Throne or the miracles of the Throne. I am not certain what he meant by this, but he is somehow excluded from the revelations of the throne.

The Falar are not obligated in any way to be truthful, and their motives are often complex. However, in this case the Auvet answered questions from a group of humans in Marath Suvla and his cooperation seemed to be related to both contracts he made with the Wizard Martel and his own interest in defeating common enemies. He often gave as little elaboration as possible and chose his words carefully. We should be similarly careful in weighing his words

The Auvet has stated:

  • That the Grim Prison existed, and was populated, since before the time of the Great War (if not longer).
  • That not all souls go there, but implied that the alternative is worse That a person known as the Death Watcher (who the Auvet calls an Oracle) made a bargain with the Warden to allow those we know as the Returned to be released. She (The Death Watcher) perceived it as necessary.
  • The Auvet does not know what was given in the bargain.
  • The labor performed by souls in the Grim Prison serves a purpose. It might be possible to bring the task to completion, but the only possible conclusions are extreme ones: The destruction of creation, or redemption of the corruption of the Most Foul.
  • The Auvet does not know whether those who labor know the reason for their efforts.

Further, when asked why there is such confusion about which races were seen or not seen in the Prison (Celestials for example) the Auvet answered “What does a soul look like?”

In another conversation, which I did not witness, Remembrance is said to have stated that the Grim Prison is a “Lesser Realm between ours and Nether.” I do not know what this means.

Statements of the Celestial Primarch

Disclaimers:
I claim no real understanding of the nature of the Celestial, though they seem by all accounts to be well-intended. The Primarch Mirenha is a leader or commander of the celestial who has visited Marath Suvla to advise them. As with the Auvet, she did not give a complete explanation. Some have said that there were “things she did not think we should know.”

The statements here are not ones I have personally witnessed, since on the occasion that I saw this meeting taking place, I was told that it was private and not open to humans. Others took notes and tend to agree on what was said. Some returned have expressed doubt of the Primarch’s complete knowledge of the Grim Prison, but I cannot speak to that.

The Primarch has stated:

  • That the Grim Prison served a purpose but that those who were there were not given a choice in being there.
  • Celestials who had died in the First Descent who were also in the Grim Prison.
  • The Grim Prison was not created by the Light of Heaven, but by something else. (She did not say what created it.)
  • That all mortals who die are sent there (this may contradict a statement by the Auvet)
  • Perhaps to protect their spirits from being used by the Most Foul. (this speculation or purpose may have been on the part of the witness, rather than the Primarch).

Possible Interpretations Within Church Doctrine

An Intentional Untruth

Many of the faithful will be quick to assume that the Returned are simply lying. I have personally rejected this notion, since they are numerous and varied in nature, did not all know each other prior to their return, and agree on this subject even when they disagree on many others. It seems unlikely that such a conspiracy could be accomplished even if they had the will and reason to do so.

An Unintentional Untruth

Another interpretation is that the Returned have all been deceived or given false memory. While such a thing may be within the realm of possibility, it seems unlikely. I have as yet seen no evidence that this is the case.

A System Necessary Before the Revelation of the Throne

It has been suggested in a treatise by Sister Conna of the Silver Perch Sept of Gaunt that that the so-called Grim Prison is, indeed, a place where souls who died before the Revelation of the Throne went, to serve Creation through back-breaking toil. Now that the Revelation has come, it speculates that the Will of the Throne is that these souls should now return to serve in the living world, and goes into a detailed analysis that seeks to prove that the "Return" is merely another form of reincarnation, perhaps specific to these virtuous, pagan souls. (As possible answer to the “Question of the Virtuous Pagan.”)

Sister Sister Conna’s treatise seems to explain the matter neatly, unless we take into consideration the claims of The Auvet and Primarch, who both seem to say that souls continue to go to the Prison *after* the Revelation of the Throne. These statements are somewhat unclear, but if it was the will of the Throne that they were so imprisoned, why would a bargain between the Death Watcher and the Warden have been necessary? Clearly more study, and perhaps a debunking of the above mentioned claims, would be needed to support Sister Conna’s treatise

An Intermediate Step in the Cycle of Reincarnation

It is not ours to know the exact details of the cycle, or what lies between death and rebirth.. Are the souls of the dead immediately reborn, or do they await for their appointed time or even for next cycle of worlds?

Some scholars, in doctrinal debates, have speculated that there might be some sort of holding place for souls before their incarnation, where they are cleansed and purified for entry into their next life. There is some speculation on what such a place might be like, and what souls do there, but no description comes even a little close to the horror of the Grim Prison.

While the idea of a mere “delay” in the cycle seems reasonable, again, the words of the Auvet and the Primarch would seem to contradict it. The question of the purpose of the labor remains unanswered, as is that of the bargain made and the “return” without the blessing of reincarnation. This remains an interesting interpretation, but not yet a well supported one.

A Necessary Device Created to Solve Other Problems

It has been suggested that the Prison was created by some powerful entity or person in order to achieve whatever goal the moving of the pillar represents. So little is known of this purpose that those who hold this theory can only speculate:

  • Does the placement of the Prison “between realms” mean that it acts on both? (The possible existence and nature of multiple realms is important, but too-large a topic to even begin to discuss here.)
  • Does the labor hold back or thwart the Most Foul or some other force that threatens the world?
  • Is the pillar, its inscriptions, and the effort of souls the manifestation and continuance of some great ritual act?

While this interpretation holds some promise, we know too little to argue it effectively.

A Malevolent Device Created to Harm Mortal Souls

It is possible that the Returned have been terribly wronged, taken out of the cycle of reincarnation and mistreated. How or why this might have been accomplished is unclear, though certainly they all shared common enemies in the Most Foul and the followers of the Most Foul.

Also, some accounts say that the death of the most Foul came at a cost, that corruption was released into the world, and that the structure of magic was disrupted and changed. How this might relate to the Grim Prison I cannot say.

In Conclusion:

As yet, scholars lack the means to support any interpretation with certainty, and it is possible that some other interpretation is the correct one, outside of those stated here. I do personally believe that the Returned themselves are not lying when they tell this tale. Those I have met seem to be much as any other humans, though made strange by the passage of time, and the claim that they fought and perished in the Great War of Shadow is well supported by history. I am convinced that they are in fact the heroes of the great war.

The best course of action would seem to be an acceptance of the Returned as allies, and a continued study of the question of the Grim Prison. The main barrier to a correct interpretation at this time is our own ignorance, and with prayer and study, we may hope that, Throne willing, more will be revealed to us.