I know this can be an unsettling subject, but I would like to hear the different fantasy world theologies behind this defining experience. Do you view death as a punishment? How is it personified (if it is at all)? Did it start because of a sin, as in Eden, was it always part of life, or did something else trigger it? Are there immortals in your story? If so, why? These are just a few of the questions I have, reading through the posts on here.







*Note: I am aware that this is a sensitive topic, and if any of the wonderful Marcher Lords feel that it is inappropriate, please feel free to delete it.

In Lor-amar death happens because sin first happened. It happens to both the just and the unjust though. The problem I have is forgiving myself when I kill a wicked character with a soul.

So, you have a Heaven and Hell then, too? Do you plan an end to death?

Death in the Red World is not punishment. Men were created with an inclination to do evil. Thus they were also created with an inclination toward death, which is the end of all men.

There is actually a person, a character in a way, called Death in the Red World. When people die he takes their spirit (and perhaps their shadow, still working on that) away to one of four places: the White World, the White Prison, the Grey, or the Dark Prison. The Grey is where most end-up, remaining almost completely unconscious unless they attempt to escape. The Dark Prison holds those "good guys" who are to powerful for the dark side to be okay with them coming back to life, so they are specially guarded. Likewise with the White Prison, there the good side holds its enemies that it can't afford to have coming back. The White World is where the good side will take the most exceptional and most good people when they die.

You probably noticed that death is a very temporary state for some. There are some who come back from the dead multiple times. There are some who die just so that they can bring others back with them when they escape the Grey. Death as such is very transient.

There are semi-immortal spirits, though like anybody they can die in battle. The early generation dragons have no biological limit on their lifespan, so some of the oldest are still around.

Yes, Heaven and Hell are the final destinations of the dead and it is wholly based on their acceptance of Jesus Christ. I haven't decided how the world will end but it will probably be linked to the end of this one.

I haven't worked out Creation and the Fall yet, but that will be how death started and In my world, it is very much like our world. When a person dies, depending on whether they were chosen by God or not, they go to either heaven or hell.

BTW I don't want to open a can of worms by that last statement, I'm not looking to start a debate.

*hammers lid down on the worms* Sorry, I couldn't help that one.

It's interesting, I never thought of people having to create the results and root causes of death in a fantasy book, but of course, you would have to. I take some things for granted, sometimes.

Hmm. . . I hadn't thought of this much. In sci-fi, my main genre, all my stories are extensions of this world, so nothing changes.

In Truth Light Chronicles, the main focus is the spiritual warfare, so I'm busy creating allegories for temptation and God-fearers and those who have forsaken Him, and haven't bothered so much with death. It's regarded the same as it is on Earth, basically.

My untitled fantasy novel isn't Christian fantasy (I'm of the opinion your work doesn't have to contain a religious element - explicit or allegorical - to honor God), so I don't have any allegories at all.

To a certain extent, I'm not sure what there is to say about death. We can argue about what Heaven and Hell are and who's going where until Kingdom come, and then we'll know for sure. I'm not even sure how much it matters. Even if there was no salvation, even if there was no life after death, we'd still owe the King of Kings His due. I don't really see how the fine points of death affect everyday life.

Sorry about the ramble. That was me answering my own question of why none of my stories deal with death.

In my world, I have immortal elves (again, who can die in battle), mortal humans and mortal dwarves. Heaven and hell in my world are pretty much the same as our world(maybe even the same place, I'm not sure yet.). The elves actually envy the humans and dwarves and sometimes, (actually not uncommonly,) ask the Creator to let them live a mortal life. The reason for this is that they realize that Heaven is a wonderful place, and some go mad because they can't stand life any more.

One problem with having the same Heaven and Hell is that you don't know much about it. Sometimes I find myself drawing a blank because I simply don't know how it works.

Well in my opinion "Christian fantasy" is just fantasy written from a Chrisitan point of view. There doesn't have to be cration, curse, redemption, or any of that stuff. There doesn't have to be allegory. God doesn't even have to exist at all. Christian fantasy is fantasy where we don't glorify sin, where we see to it that there is definite right and wrong based on an objective standard, and probably have the good guys win, often with help from a benevolent outside force.

I shall refer you all to the blog post I wrote called "Christian Fantasy, An Oxymoron?" It is pretty lengthy, but that is my take on it. There are also a number of comments. Long ones

I would also like to refer you all to Mr. Treskilard's brilliant article about this topic, which happens to represent my opinion as well: http://www.holyworlds.org/blog/?page_id=283

Personally I think that's the beauty of it. None of us know anything much about the real Heaven or Hell so why would we expect other amphibians (meaning soul/body beings because "mortals" doesn't apply to Elves) to know about it? It's not a cop out to not understand one of the great mysteries of God.

I have to agree with you. I have ideas of what death and afterlife are like, but I'm not even going to try to figure it all out. And my characters know next to nothing. ( + )


I do have a question:



Does this mean that Elves are immortal in your works?