Coera

Most people die calm deaths, asleep in their beds, expiring from disease, passing slowly as they bleed to death, or otherwise meeting their end as the the door at the end of a narrowing hallway. In these cases it is common for the soul to fall "asleep" within the protection of the body, where it is hidden and relatively safe. Once the body is dead, the soul cannot be forcibly removed from it, which is for the best - there are many beings who might wish the soul harm, or at least attempt to consume it. It is customary to either bury or cremate our dead; these customs are so ancient that the purpose behind them have been lost.

Some are surprised by death, through violence, accident, or heart attack. In these cases, the soul is frequently shocked free from the body. Many of these ghosts do not immediately realize what they are, and go on acting as though they were alive. Some realize they are dead, but they are too taken with thoughts of vengeance or otherwise obsessed with some aspect of the world to let go. These souls may wander indefinitely, they may find their way to their home in the sun (Patar-Ori), they may find their way to rebirth, or they may meet some worse end.

Along with Lil and her Get, there are other relics of Baod's armies or more recent converts who seek out unprotected souls for a meal. Perhaps best well-known of these is Couroth, the blind Worm God, who hides in the shadow of Lil. Worse, there are nihilists who would simply torture or unmake the souls.

These are the reasons for burial or cremation - each is a way to promote the safety of the soul until guardians arrive to ferry it to Patar-Ori, where it is judged, to be renewed, promoted, or unmade. Burial, or hiding the soul in the ground, is less immediate, and does not encourage speedy re-incarnation. By hiding the soul in Coera, the soul is discouraged from leaving the body to go exploring, and can sleep until it is gathered among the multitudes (such as during an apocalypse) for a return to Patar-Ori. In these cases, thousands, millions, thousands of millions of souls can be led with only a small dispatchment of guardians past the threats and predators to Patar-Ori.

Cremation (when done properly in a large, outdoor blaze), ejects the soul into the ether, but marks it clearly, summoning the guardians to lead it home. Cremation when done improperly (in kilns, or otherwise with no obvious signal) is no better than exposure, which creates a ghost who must fend for itself. Some religions do this intentionally under the (perhaps correct) belief that worthy souls will find their way home, and the unworthy will meet the end they deserve.

Of course, guardians not otherwise engaged (as personal guardians or ferriers) keep an eye for wandering souls, so not all ghosts are lost to predators. Locations likely to produce un-prepared ghosts (battlegrounds, modern funerary kilns, and even the lairs of some serial killers) are often manned by stand-by guardians. Despite the best of intentions, however, Couroth does not starve, especially in times of war or plague.

Each re-incarnated soul placed by Patar-Ori's administration is also assigned a minor guardian as a personal attendant; these oversee the Fate of that person. In other words, they are charged with protecting to the best of their ability the life of the person they are guarding for a set number of years determined by the Fates before the re-incarnation. Even if they fail to keep their charge alive, they are on-hand to immediately escort the soul back to Patar-Ori for re-assignment. It's not especially uncommon for people to die immediately after their fate is expended (the Fates are, after all, blessed with foresight), and the guardian minds often linger a few days for just such a possibility. After that, though, the life of a person is their own responsibility - whether they live a day or eighty more years is up to their own caution and luck, as is the survival of their own death.