Death

Death is an event where soul energy is separated from a physical body. There are three degrees of death. Some claim Death is actually an entity.

First-degree death
This is where soul energy is partially separated from but remains attached to the body. Very little energy is lost, and sometimes, by means of resuscitation, it is possible for the soul to be returned to the body mostly intact. However, one can also choose to remain in this state permanently as a Shade, giving them the ability to leave the body for brief periods of time and observe events in the form of a spectral shadow.

Second-degree death
In second-degree death, the soul is permanently separated from the body due to extreme physical damage making survival for the body impossible. Only the most powerful necromantic magic can reunite the soul and the body, but the person is then transformed into an Undead, a broken body with a barely-contained soul imprisoned within. Due to the powerful magic involved, a soul can not be separated from an Undead until the body is completely destroyed and the person is in constant pain until then.

Generally, the second-degree dead take the form of Specters, such as Ghosts or Phantoms. Most live relatively normal lives, but they are constantly drawn towards the Fog and must fight to avoid being consumed by it. Some believe that an "Afterlife" exists and that the draw of the Fog actually comes from this afterlife, which is believed to be somewhere beyond the Fog. Spectral explorers have used Wards to explore the Fogscape in an attempt to find it, but to no avail.

Third-degree death
In third-degree death, the soul is completely destroyed, either by dissipation into the Fog, consumption by an Animavore or transformation by a necromancer into fuel for a spell. Third-degree death is the cessation of existence, the end of life itself, the point of no return. Nothing is left of the original being and all consciousness is lost. Not even the most powerful necromancer in existence can reverse third-degree death.