This relates to my world that I started describing in another thread. I post it here for visibility and because it's still very unfinished. As soon as it's mostly done, I'll copy the reworked version into a new comment over there. Comments and creative ideas are more than welcome.
Some background
The Immaruk are a river valley civilization similar to real world Ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia who believe in two deities:
- Shuramud, the desert sun whose aspects are day, sun, light, heat, passage of time, growth and the inevitable death of all living things.
- Iwaspat, the shapeless darkness who represents night, darkness, soothing coldness, the ground, stability and a resistance to change.
The realm is ruled by diarchs, two equal rulers who each represent one of the deities and also act as their high priests.
Death rites for common people
With Shuramud being the deity of death, they are naturally responsible for guiding the deceased out of the world of the living. Those who feel that they are getting old and weak travel to one of the shrines at the the edge of the northern desert. In the early morning, they pray, say their goodbyes to their friends and relatives and undress to leave all earthly possessions behind and offer every bit of their body to the sun's heat. Eventually at sunrise they walk out into the desert to die.
Once they have succumbed to Shuramud's gaze, their souls leave their body and rise up to the sky. While most souls are invisible, those of people who had been especially dedicated to Shuramud take the form of soul birds, flaming creatures with human bodies but the head and wings of a bird. There are very rare stories of soul birds who didn't directly rise up to be united with Shuramud but instead flew back to the land of the living and stuck around for a few hours or even days, presumably to fulfill one last task in service of their deity.
Not being able to have your soul collected by Shuramud is seen as a great misfortune, so the bodies of those who die before they reach the desert are carried either by their family or by priests and shrine guardians. If there is no body to bring to the desert, for example if someone drowned and got carried away by the great river or got eaten by an animal, a small statuette that resembles the deceased is made and displayed at their home for a few days to catch as much of their essence before it's taken to the desert instead of a body. I'm not quite sure about this last point yet but I think it fits
The Mirror of Shuramud
Centuries ago, the Shuramud cult lined a natural crater with reflective bronze (or gold?) that focuses the sunlight at a single spot, essentially turning the crater into a giant solar oven. Apart from being used as a furnace to create religious items, it's also where the diarchs who represent Shuramud are taken when they die. Being burned by concentrated sunlight is said to give them a higher chance of forming a strong soul bird than merely being out in the desert on their own.
Priests of Iwaspat
While Shuramud and Iwaspat are mostly seen as equal but opposite aspects of the world who keep each other in balance and should both be worshiped, it would still be seen as improper to give the soul of someone in the higher ranks in Iwaspat's cult over to Shuramud. Instead, they are entombed in a system of natural caves at the northern bank of the great river. There, their souls can forever stay in the embrace of the cool ground, never having to fear the change that leaving the mortal world would be.
For the diarchs who represent Iwaspat, this protection from change goes even further. Unless they die prematurely from an accident or violence, they can eventually retire to a chamber deep inside the caves where they can live on forever. Their bodies don't age anymore nor do they need to consume food. They spend most of their time motionless and in silent dialogue with Iwaspat but if needed, they are valuable advisers to their successors.
During the Eternal Night
Recently, the sun has stopped rising (see main thread), Shuramud has seemingly disappeared and walking into the now-cold desert probably won't free your soul from your body anymore. Those who can afford it, use the dwindling supply of firewood to have their bodies cremated but for most, this is becoming a big problem. Many still follow the old rites but their souls are trapped in their rotting bodies until there is a new sunrise. For gameplay, this could give me the chance to have zombie-like undead if I need them.
Once again, this is all work in progress and I would love to see your ideas. How can I flesh this out or can you think of alternatives that would fit the setting even better?
We‘re talking about presidents of nonprofit foundations who run open source projects. Those can very well work for a normal salary.