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As Farxus came to the final page of his tome, he closed it in his lap as looked up at a nearby wall, his gaze focused on nothing as he tried to contemplate what he had read in order to try and work out where he needed to begin. While he did fully intend to deal with each and every case that appeared, there were a couple of themes that came up now and again that he couldn't help but notice. Some of his charges were staying connected to the realm of the living after death because for one reason or another their souls simply couldn't find their way, or they were forcefully staying out of a fear of what came next. Some refused to leave because they had something to say and no one to say it too...

Blinking a little, he turned his head towards the stone that his predecessor had created to handle the souls of the dead. It was a simple process really when one truly considered it, but Farxus couldn't help but feel that Reathos had made it... well, rather basic. Sure it was a task that was required but looking over the list of lost souls... it was clear that it wasn't enough. Something needed to change in order to help deal with the influx of lost souls.

Besides, Reathos was gone... a part of Farxus couldn't resist the desire to try and step out of the shadow of the former god of death to make his own impact on the world. 

Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself to his feet before gently gliding over to the Wraith Stone. For a moment he hesitated, a small stab of self doubt as he questioned if he had the strength to bring his plan to life... before reaching forward and placing his bony hand upon the stone itself. Instantly he felt a surge of power course up his arm, filling his body and in a way rebuilding it to be stronger then ever before; A cry of startled surprise escaped from Farxus's lips but his hand remained firmly planted on the stone, unable to pull his limb away as some of the excess power of Reathos flowed into him. 

Soon through, the onslaught of power slowed until it finally ceased. While breathless at the surprising turn of events, Farxus narrowed his gaze as he started to push some of his new found strength back into the stone, intent on altering it's functions a little while pouring in a small amount of his own essence. While he might only a shadow of Reathos's strength and purpose, Farxus was now the closest thing to a proper god of death that this world... and possibly the rest of existence had. If he was going to take on such a lofty mantle, he needed to do it on his terms and make his own impact on the duty he was tasked with. 

On his own, he wouldn't have been able to do it; but with the raw power that Reathos had left behind for his heir to use he could feel the stone changing slightly as his essence altered it, infusing itself with the processing of the dead and departed. A series of new ruins appeared on the stone, written in Sesh'Areit as it added a new stage to the process and function of the Wraith Stone and thus the reincarnation process itself. 

The meaning of the runes themselves that marked the change might have surprised someone who saw them that could understand what they said. 'What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man?'


His task complete, Farxus collapsed onto the ground as he breathed in air that he didn't strictly need as exhaustion sunk in.
 
.....................................................   

Hannah Larz blinked as she looked around, slightly confused about what had just happened. She hadn't believed herself to be fast enough on her feet to get out of the way of the pot as it slipped off the shelf, but clearly she had underestimated herself. "Damn it Mother, I told you that pot was too heavy to be put on the shel-" The sentence was stopped dead in her throat as Hannah looked down at the smashed remains of the pot on the floor and saw that there was a rather familiar face among the wreckage... one that it took a moment for her to recognize because it was her own. 

Which raised the rather [i]interesting[/i] question of whom was looking down at her body.

"[color=0072bc]I confess Miss Larz, I'm surprised to see you so soon.[/color]" A voice that sounded like a wind passing through a burial ground reveled itself, causing her to turn to see the source of it, only to blink in surprise once more. Hannah wasn't in her house anymore... instead she appeared to be standing on the edge of a desert of black sand and a calm, dark blue night sky above devoid of stars. Shock caused her to recoil as her gaze focused on what could have only been the source of the voice before, her eyes landing on a man wearing a hooded cloak that appeared to have been dead for quite sometime. 

"W-who are you? What's going on?!" She demanded with fear seeped heavily in her tone. 

The hooded figure smiled gently, much like a grandfather offering a favored grandchild a grin. Despite the horrific nature of the man's appearance the gesture was... actually strangely comforting in a small way. "[color=0072bc]To answer your questions, my name is Farxus and I am here because you were right about the pot being placed on the shelve being dangerous.[/color]"

"S-so... I'm dead?" Hannah asked nervously, trying to understand the situation that she was in while her mind tried to deny the horrific truth of her own corpse in front of her... only to be surprised as this 'Farxus' shook his head no.

"[color=0072bc]It is not your time to take your final journey across the desert, Miss Larz. You're merely having a near death experience. Someone found you and is even now working to bring you back towards the realm of the living.[/color]" It was clear that the hooded man was telling the truth; Hannah could feel [i]something[/i] tugging her back, away from the desert of black sand and Farxus. 

Both of them started to fade out of existence as she started to see her home again; Glancing back at her body, Hannah saw her mother doing everything that she could to try and bring her back around. It was a rather... strange sensation actually, witnessing your own body from the outside. However, her head jerked back towards where Farxus had been standing as she heard a final farewell. "[color=0072bc]It was a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to meeting you again.[/color]"


[hider=Summery]
Farxus placed his hand on the Wraith Stone, being flooded with some of the excess power of Reathos' essence that had been left over and stored in the stone itself. Filled with this new found power, Farxus infused some of his own essence with the Wraith Stone to alter it slightly. 

The first person to have a near death experience since the change witnesses the desert with black sand for the first time... and returns to the world of the living to talk about it.

   
[/hider]


[hider=Might Usage]
9 Might to level Farxus from level 2 to level 4. 
1 Might of Fate to alter the process of the Wraith Stone's function. 

Changes to the Wraith Stone:
Upon death, a soul will appear on the edge of a desert with black sand under a starless, navy blue sky and meet Farxus. The two of them will have a conversation before Farxus informs them that they have to make one final journey to the other side of the desert to find their final destination and the meaning of existence itself. The journey is designed to help cleanse and purify the soul for reincarnation while giving them the chance to reflect on the life that the person in question had just led and come to a conclusion of if it was a good life or not. Effectively the Wraith Stone is still doing what Reathos designed it for, but altering the cleansing process itself to help guide and ease the newly departed through the process of reincarnation. 

Those who suffer near death experiences also get to visit the desert with black sands and meet Farxus, through they will be politely informed that it is not time for their final journey across the desert to their final destination yet before being sent back to their bodies. Not only does this get Farxus's name and existence out there, but it also raises some very interesting questions about what is on the other side of the desert, awaiting those who cross it when their time comes. 

The idea of life after death (an Afterlife) is introduced to the races of the world.

[/hider]