Soul Energy

content with wandering Pandemonium

Every living thing is said to have energy. Non-sentients that breath their last, don't pass on to another plane, instead they release a bit of life energy. Sentients on the other hand, their spirits depart for the outer planes. The destination is one of alignment and patron deity. If they don't fit any alignment, then they are waylaid in borderline planes like Acheron, Arcadia, Pandemonium, and Twin Paradises until someone convinces or steers them to a particular Soul Gathering Plane. It is in these non-soul gathering planes that the spirit is at risk of being captured by night hags and others that traffic in soul energy.

 Soul energy is what was in the mortal body, with the spirit just a vessel and to those who can see into their spectrum, nothing more than a ghostly semblance of the creature when it is alive.
 
- Io, from the book Wisdom of Io - "Path of Souls"

In the earliest days of creation, Io found that the sentients he was making were returning to the Elemental Chaos with death. He had the Wells of Afterlife created to capture spirits and use their soul energy to create a new being. This new being matched the alignment of the Well of Afterlife.

In the God Era, an astral deva named Polyxo experimented with soul energy at Quelmollendë. She intended to make a variant of the dwarves that was more accustomed to living in the deeper areas of the Underdark. Her experiments using soul energy to create new life forms were only a partial success. This was because the souls she used were destined for the Abyss. Normally, these souls would be the chattel of the plane, and rise as lemures or some other petty fiend. Polyxo re-purposed these chaotic evil souls, using them to create new life forms. For most of those created in this manner, the outcome was something degenerate, mutated, twisted, or prone to insanity. The Derro race were one of these.

Soul energy is also used for empowering magic items with sentience. This can be done either willingly by a good spirit for a good aligned item, or forcibly for neutral or evil ones. Some weapons steal soul energy to power themselves or to crush the soul into non-existence for truly evil ones. A soul destroyed in such a manner is very hard to remake for even the gods - those knowing this are aware then that gods are not so omnipotent as the masses are led to believe.

Siolix

Green Slime

 In the Demon Spawn War, Siolix was a mining area controlled by the demon lord Zuggtmoy. It was not worked by the demons or any of her soldiers because early mining efforts led to many deaths from demons mutating into raging, uncontrollable and insane monstrosities. This is because the area is laden with veins of deep rock. Her adviser in charge of production decided to use slaves to tap the area's rich veins of gemstone, copper, and cassiterite (source for tin).

The mines were a deadly place for many, for once you had the sickness it could not be removed short of the skills of a greatest healer. The lucky survived and mutated, the unlucky became food for her green slimes, black puddings, or gray oozes.
 
 - Borri, from his book History of Me - "The Mines of Siolix"

The earth giants had the best survival rates in the mines, partially from their fortitude and the favor of Geb. Those that did survive, mutated into what has become the first fomorians. After the Demon Spawn War, Geb had the entire area sealed off. There are three entrances to the place, each a fortress garrisoned by huge earth elementals and other earthen loyal to Geb. The earth elementals periodically move through the rock surrounding the area, making sure nothing has dug in. In addition to the earthen is a channel of the Earth Seam which was redirected by Geb to form a continuous defensive loop around the entirety of Siolix. The two Earth Seam sinkholes of the area are connected to each other, so this part of the Earth Seam cannot be used to reach other places of the Underdark.

Siolix is a haven for puddings, slimes and oozes. They feed upon each other, but given the chance they will leave the overcrowded conditions and get a taste of what is on the outside.

War Spirit Shrine

War Spirit Shrine

The War Spirit Shrine is an ancient shrine dedicated to Ares. It was built in the Horgon Era by tungesti missionaries seeking to spread the word of Ares to lizardfolk tribesmen. The missionaries ended up being eaten by their host, but the shrine they built remained. Over the decades that followed, the shrine sunk into the marsh leaving only the upper part of its head visible. It gained power over the centuries as some turned to praying to the majestic edifice for strength, luck on the hunt, or whatever else they yearned for.

The War Spirit Shrine is sited near the heart of Ugrol. This area has a long tradition of producing powerful warmongering tribes. When wars broke out in the Troll Bogs, the Urgol marshes were a source of recruitment and clandestine activities. The warring parties would often see to it that the yuan-ti, trolls, and lizardfolk tribes got embroiled in their own conflict just so they would not end up as mercenaries of the other side. The source of the area's war mentality is believed to be a product of the shrine. In the Horgon Era, it was prayed to by any who could reach it, whereupon they were blessed with a boon that made them more keen to their surrounding, swifter, and stronger. After a time, those that had been there several times, became the voices of the war god Ares. They spread the word of the war god among their people and unleashed their shaman arts upon their enemies and those that questioned their god's orders. In the wetlands of Ugrol, worship of Ares is strongest in the temples of Nemegral.

The boon of the War Spirit Shrine is an enhancement to a number of abilities and skills. It is not an easy one to acquire for it requires a arduous trek into a thick, overgrown swamp with beasts and monsters lurking about. Once one prays at the shrine, they become ready to accept the war spirit. To activate the boon, they must battle the next creature they come across. The boon lasts 1 day for non-worshipers of Ares, and 2 days for those that have him as their patron deity.

see Boon of the War Spirit Shrine