The Ultimate Cause of Death

"Live briefly but gloriously, one's evanescent life is but a preparation for death. The fall of the blossom is as moving as its beauty on the limb and the final moment, as ceremonialized in the ritual of seppuku, is indeed the moment of truth."

- Jack Seward

Before we begin our in-depth discussions of death, let us first explore its ultimate cause: life.

Interesting familial tidbits:


 * The ratio of male to female Dwarves is 2:1. One might think that Dwarven men would want to keep Dwarven women sequestered within their mountain strongholds, especially as the Dwarves—as a species—are still recovering numerically from their enslavement in the Olde Empire. One might think that… but one should never voice such an opinion anywhere near a Dwarven woman for fear of 'accidental dismemberment'.


 * Killian are born in clutches. These number from one to four typically, but clutches of up to twenty have been reported. Most of these eggs are nonviable and fail to hatch, or die within the first few weeks. Despite the Killian devotion to family, they are less concerned with these losses than the other races of Midian; such is the nature of life and death within the Empire. Female Killian may lay their eggs about once every 3½ years.


 * Hobgoblins raise their children communally. They see the responsibilities of childcare as far too important for only one person. In practice this usually results in one or more in the tribe with full-time child rearing duties; the other Hobgoblins do greatly help support and educate their young, however. This practice evolved from the communal education of Goblin children; but as immortal fae, Goblin villages have far fewer children.


 * The Humans of the Heldanic Confederation traditionally delineate their stages of life. Newborns are equated as pregnancies until 10 days after birth—that is, a baby isn't a "real person" until their naming ceremony after one week. The Heldans also have an adulthood ceremony at 14 years of age; this marks their entry into society with full rights and responsibilities as an adult. This latter tradition is also shared by the Heldanic Dwarves. Both of these occasions are celebrated with family, neighbors, and friends (usually the same pool of people, among the freeholds). Followers of the Church of Light in Formour have a similar naming ceremony one week (10 days) after birth, but in this instance the children are already named—the ritual names them 'before the Light'.