Image Copyrighted to Dorian Cleavenger. The Ocean of Souls hides many dangerous beauty such as this squid merfolk. Merfolk come in all forms and shapes.

The ever constant unchanging roar of the pounding waves battering agaisnt odd shaped rocks, echoes like a haunting melody througout the Keep's environs. It is no accident that Stonehaven dwells near the Ocean of Souls. All of nature in her various faces of dark, light, mysticism, and supernatural is held sacred as are the elements off air, earth, fire, spirit, and water. There are two elements that are held as most sacred in Imajian religion, mythos, and culture. Fire and Water, two elements associated with purification, death, and rebirth preoccupy the Imajian mind. Important religious rituals and even those that navigate the course of the arcane arts start with water or fire.

Image Coyrighted to Ciruelo Cabral. View of a Sacred Pool that holds the Waters of Life in a Temple dedicated to the All Mother. The Keep has such a pool itself.

In birth and in death, Imajians are near the waters. At birth, a child is brought to the temple of the All Mother. All Temples have some of the consecrated Waters of Life that have been brought over fromt the Main Temple Complex. The newborn is not named until it has been submerged into the bubbling waters that was over its nude form in a thick gentle carperting. At this point, the newborn is consecrated and blessed. It is said that during this process, the newborn gets a glimpse of their future and life path. Once the waters recede, the newborn is lifted high in the air by the priestess and the child is named. Then the newly consecrated is drapped in virginal white clothing especially prepared for the occsion. It is not uncommon for woman to give birth in the Temples where special birthing chambers are found. The afterbirth is collected and planted to provide nourishment for a tree named in the child's honor.

Upon death, Imajians once more return to the waters and embrace fire. The deceased is prepared by family and friends. The body is washed, perfumed, and adorned in lavish cloths and ornamentation. A large ornately carved wooden long-boat with religious and mystic symbols for eternal life is prepared. A large pyre composed of scented woods is built inthe center of the boat on which body will rest. This funeral pyre is pushed into the waters of the nearest body of water. Fire is gathered from the All Mother's Temple and is brought by the Priestesses. One by one archers dip their arrows into the Eternal Flame. A shout is given in salute of the one returning to the Hall of Souls and the Cosmic Mother Womb. Then the arrows are released by each archer in a synchronized symphony. It is believed that the Eternal Flame releases the soul from the husk and guides the it back Home to await another time of rebirth and enter what Imajians call the Flesh Time. Once the body is completed consumed, a great roar is heard and the funeral pyre rises six feet in the air with the force of a twisting water column. The soul is seeing shooting up into the heavens and beyond in a great fiery tear shaped drop.

Imajians do not bury their dead or build cemeteries. The body is a husk or temporary dwelling place for the soul. Each Imajian home has room decicated as an ancestral alter where the living commune with their dearly departed. Stonehaven has a family crypt, since many are not Imajian and have their onw distinct burial rites.

Image Copyrighted to Roger Garland. The Ocean of Souls and the water ways of the Imajian Realm are full of breathtaking beauty, adventure, exotic scenery, and mystical splender. To the navigate the waters is to know the Imajian heart. There some of the oceans and seas have waters of the deepests reds while others are fire itself.

Death is a time of bittersweet joys. Imajians do not view death as a finality. They see it as moving into another state of being. Funerals are marked with joyful music, dancing, rejoicing, food, and rememberance of the deceased with love. It is believed that if this is not done and the ocassion is a somber one, the decease's soul will not be able to move on to the next phase of existence and return to the Cosmic Mother Womb.

The Imajian water ways have their own humanoid creatures. Fresh water bodies are the domain of the fey like race of Merfolk known as the Feyhydrae. While their salty water cousins, the Merfolk build their cities and communities at the bottom of the oceans. Their cities are made from coral and other precious minerals and stones. Unlike many places where the Merfolk and Feyhydrae remain aloof from land dwellers, here in the Imajian Realm this is not the case. There is open trade among the different communities of land, air, and sea.

Air and earth also have their place, but it is the waters and fires that lures the Imajian heart to paths of creation and mysticism. It is believe that the All Mother created life in the watery depths of this new bold new world. Her very first Children were forged from fire itself and molten earth during the time when the Universe first awoke to receive Her bounty. Those born from Her womb were sparked with divine fire.

Magnificant Arial Ships sail the dreamscape world of the Crystal Seas. Large pockets of pulsating crystalline formations jet out of the waters making navigation nearly impossible in some places. The inhabitants of these beautiful water ways are seem to be made from molten opals and crystals. Their bare flesh has an opalescent crystalized sheen. Dwellings here are made from the very crystals that dot the seascape making them extremely fragile. This is a place of quiet reflection and meditationf for many Imajians.

Wispy sights haunt the landscape off the beaches below the rocky cliffs on which the Keep rests. Merfolk dwell in the Ocean of Souls along with other fantastic creatures. On full moons nights, it is not uncommon to see sea serpents and merhorses swim towards the shoreline.

Water equine are found throughout the Sister Worlds of the Imaji Realm. Water Spirit Horses prefer the large fresh bodies of water. These creatures are one of the most dangerous inhabitants of the watery depths. They are known to drown sailors and swimmers. The merhorses are not as dangerous and are shy creatures who will only venture near the shorelines on moonless nights. Their upper body resembles that of a horse with front limbs while the lower part ends in maginificant opalescent sea serpent tail with finds.

There are other creatures that live in deepest depths. This is where leviathans thread in the deeper parts where the depths can reach more than 100,000, 000 leagues.

Image Coyrighted to Ciruelo Cabral. View of the Ocean Towers that serve as points of leisure for the Keep's inhabitants. Stonehaven's Ocean Towers serve as observation stations for study, private mediation and reflection, and as sentinel stations

Stonehaven, the Imaji Realm and all related material/concepts are the intellectual property of Grizell E. Blessing B. (GEBB) and are protected under international copyright law. They may not be reproduced in any form or fashion without expressed written permission from the author, © 1990 - 2002.

Midi of the 12th Warrior is Copyrighted to Bjorn Lynne.