The Enlightened, God of Knowledge and Wisdom
With an ibis head, an owl body, and the eyes of mandalas, Agnitionem knows all. He knew of the universe, and that is how it came to be. He knew of the laws of physics, then matter, then stars, then planets, then life, then animal, and then man. He soon came to realize that life was able to know as well. Plants knew which way the sun came to feed them from, animals knew what to eat and what to run away from, and man soon knew how to create fire.
He realized that man was far more capable of knowing than anything else he’s seen before and so he gave them all the tools they needed to learn. However, not all men wanted to learn, and even fought the pursuit of knowledge with tooth and nail. The select few that were knowledgeable, he decided, would be rewarded, and to sift through the masses, he would conduct a test at their judging hour. In order to pass this test, you must follow the Rite of Self Realization, in which he blessed unto the world so that they could practice it before the end of their life.
Rites for a Knowledgeable Existence
Unus, discover of the world thy deepest curiosities,
Duo, reflect upon thy mishaps and victories alike to achieve cognitive broadening,
Tribus, distribute acquired knowledge and wisdom unto others,
Quattuor, cooperate with all in order to progress humanity,
Quinque, be truthful so that all may exist honestly,
Sex, correct ignorance, do not punish,
Septem, produce more aid for the world than suffering,
Octo, subsist with joy on thy lip and love in thy heart.
When the Mind is Carried Beyond the Physical Form
Once the decay of cells sets in, and the mind is released from it’s mortal chamber, it will be confronted by a mute psychopomp, taking the form of an animal. These psychopomps will guide you through your journey to the afterlife until your final moment of judgement. Your journey will include Four Flights, each with their own lessons and challenges, and each having a Landing to rest at before the next flight.
During the First Flight, you will be guided through your own life. You will be shown all of your triumphs and failures, large and small. Here you will reflect on these events and how they’ve shaped your life. Once you arrive at the First Landing, you will be granted a comforting room, filled with nostalgic items and foods for you to relax with, as well as a warm bed and blanket.
The Second Flight will be similar to the first, except you will be shown the lives of the people you’ve interacted with and how your actions have affected their lives. This will allow you to reflect on what you did well and what you might end up regretting. The Second Landing is always a dim fire in front of a sleeping bag and assorted foods for you to grill on the fire.
The Third Flight will fly you through a library and museum of all of the skills you have acquired in your life. With these skills you will create a set of equipment to get you through the fourth and Final Flight. This place will also be the final Landing, allowing you to study and train for the challenge ahead.
The Fourth and most difficult Flight will be a journey through the Abyss, a suffocatingly dark place where all of the unruly psychopomps, who are rebellious of their fate, are gathered. Using the equipment gathered in the Third Flight and a Diya to light the way, you must cross this expanse. The Diya represents your accomplishments and your perspective on yourself and others. The brightness of the flame represents your accomplishments, while the heat that could burn you, or quickly burn through all of the wax, represents your hubris and pride. The wisdom acquired in the First and Second Flight could change the form of your Diya, as long as you reflected properly. If your Diya burns out, or you are overcome by the psychopomps in the darkness, you become a psychopomp, cursed to guide the newly dead to the afterlife and reflect on all of their lives in silence, or be thrown into the abyss to scavenge for any pride that you can. Once you see a light at the end of the Abyss, you know you have reached the Final Landing.
The Divine Observatory, Speculatia
The Final Landing is the glowing gates of Speculatia, a city perpetually blanketed by stars, soaring above skyscrapers made of bookshelves. This city has everything you could imagine and more to hone your skills and passions for the rest of time. This is the place where artists, scientists, authors, musicians, athletes, and actors come together to perfect their masteries.
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