Chronicles of Atys

Resurrection

The phenomenon known as "resurrection" is now a part of the everyday life of homins, and especially of the ones who venture far away from the cities. It is a service provided by the Powers, the Karavan and the Kamis, only to hominkind.

Their help on this benefit is to all homins, whether they are loyal to the Karavan or to the Kamis, whether they are sovereigns or villains, everyone may be called back from the brink of death and revived by one of the two Powers. It has recently been proven that Marauders themselves benefit from this service, without it yet being known which of the Powers raises up these landless warriors.

The word "resurrection," although commonly used, seems a bit improper since the process does not truly revive a body that life has left. In fact it only allows a homin in a deep comatose state, considered as dead by some, to be restored.

Whether through the Karavan or the Kami, the "resurrection" allows an injured, dying, or considered by his companions as dead homin, to be removed from the place where he fell and to be treated intensively while being teleported to a place of revival.

Some of the most distinguished homin scholars believe that the resurrection done by the Powers, and especially the one offered by the Kamis, could be linked with a healing spell, such as the ones that homin mages use, but much more powerful, with the ability to repair damage that should normally be fatal. Nevertheless, this treatment is not without consequence, and given Homin physiology this almost invariably produces disorders of memory and learning during the following days. In order to counter this involuntary effect, the Powers lend a strong hand to their most loyal servants by means of accepting offerings for magical pacts which sharpen theirs skills until the effect has worn off.

Nonetheless, resurrection can heal tissues or bones only if they have suffered a violent trauma; to this day, neither the Karavan nor the Kamis have ever demonstrated the ability to reverse or stop aging or disease. It also seems powerless to cure damage produced by Goo, and examples of documented and reviewable cases are rare. Sage Sorrow is the most well-known case of Homin contamination by Goo.

However, despite the protection granted by the Karavan and the Kamis, it appears that resurrection has some limitations. In the case where damage is caused by too many or too violent injuries, it may happen that the Powers cannot restore the injured homin. Some scholars have also pointed out the vulnerability of the Life Seed and have started a long list of wounded homins never revived by the Kamis nor the Karavan. Whatever the reason, many homins in our recent history have not been resurrected by the Powers; among them can be found several leaders and soldiers, as well as the more humble hawker, the adventurous scholar, or the careless botanist.

Tao Sian, Dynastic Healer, "Treatise on Resurrection" 2572.