The afterlife in the Suikoden world (SPOILERS)

Questions about the locations mentioned in the series; and those about the backstory not seen in the games.
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Rachael
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Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 2:55 am

The afterlife in the Suikoden world (SPOILERS)

Post by Rachael »

I noticed that Suikoden has room for various religions and belief systems. Different towns, races, and clans have a vast array of beliefs--animistic, atheistic, monotheistic, polytheistic. In S3 alone, I've counted four different religious/philosophical belief systems: belief in spirits (Karaya and Alma Kinan), belief in only what can be perceived through the senses (Duck clan), worship/reverence of one's ancestors (Lizard clan), and belief in one goddess (Zexen). Harmonia seems to have some sort of theocracy in place, as well.

I'm curious about what happens to souls when they die in the Suikoden universe. We know the fates of a few--certain characters from S3 and S5 show up "inside" certain runes after they die, and Crowley and Mazus were apparently reincarnated with their memories intact (someone please correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm yet unfamiliar with the story).

Does one's fate, perhaps, depend on the sort of life one has led? Does it depend one whether one is reconciled at death?

Okay, after this paragraph, I will be mentioning specific characters...

Take Marscal Godwin, for example. He ordered the extermination of the Beavers--and few would argue that genocide, even for the benefit of "the greater good," is acceptable. He didn't seem too remorseful for what he did, either. But he, Sialeeds, Gizel, Frey's parents, and others, was seen inside the Sun Rune.

Then we have Luc. He was visibly pained by what he did, and said to Sarah that he knew his soul would be healed. His and Sarah's were freed into the night sky, and nobody knows precisely what became of them (or, indeed, if such a question can be answered in a quantifiable sense).

Seeing that different people might have different fates when they die, is there some sort of energy, or "being" that decides what happens to a dead soul? Is that being--or beings in this case--the True Runes themselves? What about ordinary people, who aren't Stars of Destiny or otherwise involved with the runes? Are they reincarnated, or do they go to an afterlife? Do they become a spirit? Do they just die and that's it?

I'm not trying to bring any debate about which religion is better, or if any religion is better--particularly real-world religions. I'm just curious about what other people's thoughts might be considering the Suikoden "afterlife."
"F*** you, I'm a goat." -Yohn
eldrasidar
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Re: The afterlife in the Suikoden world (SPOILERS)

Post by eldrasidar »

True Runes tend to retain echoes of their users behind, since they essentially have a collective memory. Certain characteristics of former bearers might rub off on the True Rune, but I think only the Rune of Punishment actually consumes their user, and even then it stops doing that after Lazlo is able to soothe the rune through his selflessness.

trying to debate the afterlife is useless. You can't prove any conclusion without dying, and you can't demonstrate that proof to anyone living once you do. I think Suikoden does a generally good job of suggesting that there are multiple theories for the afterlife, none of which is necessarily true, but then again, it's not necessarily wrong either. It never directly states that anyone's particular view is correct. The scene in Alna Kinan makes that pretty clear.
DoReMi_Vampire
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Re: The afterlife in the Suikoden world (SPOILERS)

Post by DoReMi_Vampire »

When someone dies they supposedly go to the World of Emptiness for a while, where they go after that is anyone's guess, maybe they go to yet another world or get reincarnated. It's all speculation at this point.

An exception to this is when dealing with certain True Runes like the Soul Eater or the Rune of Punishment that are able to consume the soul into their own little world inside the rune before the soul moves on to the next world.
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