The Lifestream

Beneath Gaia flows the Lifestream, an endless current of spirit energy. Every life returns to it upon death, and from it, new souls are born. The Lifestream is memory, knowledge, and essence, woven together in a vast ocean beneath the surface. It is the true heart of the world, unseen yet ever-present. To those who listen, it whispers with the voices of countless generations. When mortals die, their spirits dissolve into the Lifestream, carrying with them all they have learned and felt. Over time, this energy nourishes Gaia, healing its wounds and shaping the future. From the same flow, new life emerges, carrying faint echoes of the past. Thus, no soul is ever truly lost, though memory may fade. This cycle is endless, unless disturbed by forces that would hoard or corrupt the Planet’s lifeblood. At rare places, the Lifestream wells up to the surface. These sites shimmer with green light, bathing the land in unnatural fertility. To some, they are sacred shrines; to others, they are resources to be seized. Bathing in such a spring is said to grant visions of the past and future—but also madness. The Cetra once used these places to heal Gaia’s scars. Today, many lie hidden, forgotten, or guarded by beings shaped by spirit energy itself. The ancient Cetra could hear Gaia’s voice through the Lifestream. They followed its call, wandering to where the Planet cried out in pain, mending wounds of war or disaster. They spoke of a promised land revealed only by the whispers of the stream. To them, the Lifestream was not mere energy, but kinship with the Planet. In time, others lost this gift, settling in cities and silencing the voice of the world. Only faint legends remain of this bond. The Lifestream is not without peril. To step within it is to drown in thought and memory not one’s own. Unprotected mortals lose themselves, consumed by visions of countless lives. Some fragments of spirit energy become trapped, coalescing into dangerous monsters or restless ghosts. In rare cases, powerful wills endure within the stream, lingering long after death. For this reason, ancient cultures built wards and rites to honor the dead, ensuring safe passage back to the flow.