Spirit Realms (TCG)

The Celestial Realms

The Spirit Realms were different dimensions into which the Rokugani universe was organized. All occupied the same physical universe and dimension, lying beside, above, or below one another, often overlapping. Save for Yume-dō, which followed its own dream logic and dwelled in human thought, these realms were not alternate dimensions realities, planes, or universes. They occupied the same world as Ningen-dō, lying above, below, or beside one another. A map of these realms would resemble a sheet of paper, fragile and old and frayed, folded and crumpled and torn and repaired over and over since time began.

Cycle of Rebirth

The soul of every extant human, demon, animal, ancestor spirit, and god had always existed, repeatedly reincarnating upon death. Upon reincarnation, a soul's karma, the spiritual weight of its most recent life's deeds, determined their form and destination. The worst offenders became the underworld's demons and hungry ghosts. Those of middling stature became animals or humans. The most virtuous become sorei.

Fall of Fu Leng and the Day of Thunder

Yomi's impregnable borders had kept Jigoku's evils in check, but Fu Leng's fall into the underworld ruptured those borders. As Fu Leng, saturated in Jigoku's evil, increased his power and influence, Jigoku encroached further on Yomi. Then came the Day of Thunder. Because the Kami so loved the humans known as the Thunders, they petitioned Tengoku that the fallen Thunders might ultimately live alongside them in Heaven instead of risking corruption in Yomi. The stewards of the Heavens went further, transporting the entirety of Yomi and all its sorei into the sky, where Jigoku's defilements could not reach them. Yomi was safe, but the underworld was lost to Jigoku, save for Meido. Emma-Ō, his Kings of Hell, and their loyal mazoku descended from on high to reconquer the world below. They seized the levels now known as Meido, Gaki-dō, and Tōshigoku from the forces of Jigoku.

Known Spirit Realms

• Ningen-dō, the Realm of Mortals
• Above
  • Tengoku, the Celestial Heavens
    • Yomi, the Realm of the Blessed Ancestors (originally its location was 'beneath'). Although Yomi was often referred to as its own realm, it was subject to Tengoku's jurisdiction and was part of that realm.
• Beside, Senkyō‎, the Realm of Spirits
  • Chikushō-dō, the Animal's Path, and Sakkaku, the Realm of Illusion
  • Yume-dō, the Realm of Dreams
• Beneath, the Realms of Punishment
  • Jigoku, the Realm of Evil
  • Meido, the Realm of Waiting
  • Gaki-dō, the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
  • Tōshigoku, the Realm of Slaughter

References

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