Ship of the Undying

A religious concept from the Southsong Cycle

The ship of the undying was a uniquely Southron notion of the afterlife. Most Southrons held to the Waveborne belief that the Mother of Leviathans, or Livyat, held sway over the tumultuous seas of the Vaporous Realms from her lair in the unseen realm. Traditional-minded Southrons believed that their eternal empress, whom they thought to be a demigoddess, interceded with Livyat for slain Waveborne warriors of any status who had distinguished themselves sufficiently in her service. Livyat’s children then conveyed these worthy souls to a massive warship in the unseen realm, where the slain warriors would claim a seat at one of the vessel’s innumerable oars.

Slaying many foes was a compelling argument for a soul’s admittance to the ship of the undying, hence the Southron practice of tattooing their faces and limbs with reminders of those they had killed. But proficiency in combat was not always required, devout Southrons professed: any valorous act that impressed the empress could earn them an oar. That said, the surest way to gain the empress’s favor was to shed the blood of other Waveborne in glorious battle. For this reason, Southrons relished opportunities for pitched battle against their Nordling cousins, which they regarded as “holy war.”

When the empress one day departed the Vaporous Realms for the unseen realm, according to Southron lore, she too would board the ship of the undying. Together, the eternal empress and her crew would hunt the Mother of Leviathans herself across the waters of the unseen realm for all eternity.