Duat's Mirror

Plane Lore: Duat's Mirror
Pantheon: Kemet (Egyptian-Inspired)
Realm Type: Afterlife Trial Plane | Contained Divine Realm
Ruling Deity: Anubis, Warden of the Weighing, Sentinel of Silent Paths
Cosmic Placement: Beneath the mortal realm's reflection layer; can only be entered through death, divine summoning, or relic-bound rituals.

Overview

Duat's Mirror is not a single location, but a realm of reflected truths, molded by the sins, hopes, and hidden selves of those who pass through it. This is the judgment plane of the Kemet Pantheon, a place where souls are not merely judged but revealed — as are mortals who dare to walk its paths prematurely. Ruled by Anubis, who is less god and more arbiter, Duat’s Mirror presents each visitor with trials shaped from their own memories, doubts, and unspoken legacies.

This realm exists outside of linear time. One may wander for moments or centuries, though no soul truly lingers without cause. The landscape rearranges constantly, mirroring the psychological terrain of each soul: a sinner’s Duat may resemble a crumbling city of obsidian; a noble heart may walk among radiant dunes under star-slicked skies.

Entering Duat’s Mirror is rarely accidental:

• Through Death — a soul’s passage after life
  
  

• Through Rite — divine relics, ancient tombs, or sanctioned rituals
  
  

• Through Burden — rarely, those whose soul is too heavy or too light will slip here even while alive
  
  

Core Zones of the Plane

1. The River of Echoes
   
   

   • Flows backward and upward.
     
     

   • Carries the names, regrets, and final thoughts of the dead.
     
     

   • Its waters reflect not your face, but your truest self.
     
     

   • Anubis’s temple barque floats here — it never touches the water.
     
     

2. The Trial Sands of Sekhem
   
   

   • A constantly shifting desert where one’s footprints form hieroglyphs retelling their deeds.
     
     

   • Beneath the sand lie half-formed regrets that whisper at the ankles.
     
     

   • Desert storms reveal brief memories — like mirages — both cherished and shameful.
     
     

3. Hall of the Feather
   
   

   • A polished obsidian chamber floating in a void of starlight.
     
     

   • Here, Anubis performs the Weighing of the Heart against the Silver Feather of Ma’at.
     
     

   • Falsehoods blacken the heart; acts of mercy lighten it.
     
     

   • Judgment takes the form of doors that either open... or collapse.
     
     

4. The Mouthless Court
   
   

   • A jury of silent judges — previous Wardens, forgotten Pharaohs, and living memories of Ma’at.
     
     

   • They do not speak. They remember.
     
     

   • Their verdicts shape the rest of your journey.
     
     

5. Fields of If-Reached
   
   

   • A false paradise: radiant fields where the judged believe they have succeeded.
     
     

   • But the field is a test of contentment — if you remain too long, you never reach the truth.
     
     

   • The truly wise leave it behind.
     
     

Anubis’s Domain

The Warden’s Barque is a floating temple-fortress pulled by jackal-spirits through the River of Echoes. It is said to exist in all parts of Duat simultaneously, arriving where and when a soul is truly ready.

Anubis himself is aloof but never cruel. He speaks in monotone truths, never asking — only inviting. His attendants are:

• The Cloaked Ones — Shadows with no faces, who carry the hearts of the dead.
  
  

• The Featherwright — An oracle made of wind and quill, who records each weighing.
  
  

• The Hushborn — Spirits of those who died with unfinished thoughts. They guide newcomers through echoes.
  
  

Themes and Narrative Use

Duat’s Mirror is the perfect setting for:

• Trials of Character: characters may confront literal manifestations of past choices.
  
  

• Redemption or Corruption arcs: the plane is reactive to morality.
  
  

• Mystery & Identity: strange figures may appear who resemble party members, revealing truths or lies.
  
  

• NPC Resurrection Quests: rescuing a soul before final judgment.
  
  

• Divine Confrontation: Anubis may offer tasks in exchange for overturning a doomed verdict.
  
  

Exits and Consequences

Exiting Duat is never clean:

• Judged Dead: may reincarnate, ascend, or be erased.
  
  

• Living Trespasser: marked by Anubis — forever visible to spirits, and drawn to moments of death.
  
  

• Interferers: those who disrupt judgment risk becoming part of the plane — as echoes, guides, or new judges.
  
  

Those who pass through may bring with them:

• A Feather of Ma’at (if proven worthy)
  
  

• A soul-bound scar
  
  

• Visions of possible deaths
  
  

• A spectral companion (themselves, split)
  
  

Connection to Hellenara

• Temples of Hades may contain relics linked to Duat.
  
  

• Certain Styx Oaths can invoke Duat’s Mirror as witness.
  
  

• The city of Arekthon’s Scorched Gardens contains statues blackened by “desert flame” — relics from a bleed-through battle with a failed judge.
  
  

Quotes from the Plane

“This is not the end of you. This is the mirror that shows whether you ever began.”
— Anubis, Warden of the Weighing

“What you carry speaks louder than what you confess.”
— The Featherwright

“If you must lie, do so to the living. The dead already know.”
— A Hushborn Guide

F&F Tags:
Plane, Trial Realm, Kemet Expansion, Anubis, Afterlife, Soul Judgment, Mythic Setting, Multiverse Anchor, Nonlinear Time, Echo NPCs, Player Reflection