Where do we kill our wyngrew now?
Wyngro now mandates the use of Discord! Please click the button below to join us there!
Check the channel #obituary and read the pins to know how to kill your wyngrew!
A word on the epitaph:
An epitaph is meant to be short, concise, and meaningful message meant to be timeless, and not too overly sentimental. But you are free to leave whatever kind of message you wish within the 50 word limit for your wyngro, just bear in mind we are free to reject your epitaph and ask for something different if it is inappropriate. If you're struggling, taking a look through epitaph lists via google, poems you like, or even song lyrics can help!
Please keep in mind during events where Downgrades are available more easily, that you will not be able to get a personalized epitaph for your wyngro. Instead, during events where death is more common a standardized epitaph will be used for all that died during that time.
For example, the epitaph for those lost during 2018’s Warptide is: “Fought bravely but were sadly lost to this terrible tragedy. May Chii'falla watch over their souls. ”
Congratulations, you’re dead! Or, at least your wyngro is. Let’s talk about that!
Why would I want to kill my Wyngro anyways?
Many people keep their characters with them forever and continue developing them until the end of time, but sometimes death can be a heart-wrenching and valuable device in storytelling that should not be overlooked. Here are some tips to using this to your benefit:
A “not-so-good-reason” to kill your Wyngro:
To gain a Wyngro slot (You DON’T free up a slot if your character dies, so don’t do it for this reason!)Because you don’t know what to do with the character. (Donate the design to the group then! That’s a not-so-great reason to kill a character that you might regret!)
Because it’s cool and edgy and that’s about it. Because you want them to be a ghost character. (You will be sorely disappointed to know this may not ever be possible in Wyngro lore!) A good reason to kill off your Wyngro:
Say you have connected characters, and want to write a story that involves great loss and will progress the development of your other characters. Or will progress the stories of other people’s Wyngrew. Maybe it’s part of a bigger plot.
Or maybe you want to write a story of great sacrifice and your character’s time has come full circle to demonstrate that.
Maybe you find your gro’s story is nearing its end and you want it to come to a close.
Think back to your favorite fantasy book and which character death impacted you most. Think about why it meant so much to you, and what it did to the story. After all, Snape didn’t kill Dumbledore for no reason now did he?
Even if your Wyngro was killed “off screen” in the story, we want to hear your other characters reaction, or write from a different Wyngro’s perspective, the survivors of the one who died.
Here are some ideas:
This story could have been leading up to this for months! Planning ahead is crucial for a meaningful outcome. Let the friends of your Wyngrew know if you can so they can prepare their sides of the story, or get other people involved if you’re able to! Remember, your Wyngro’s death will impact the friends they had and the artists who drew them earlier on.
One of your deviations/stories can also be about the grieving process from other Wyngrew. How do they pull through this emotional time? Was there a ceremony? How do they seek peace?
Wyngro Funeral Practices:
What most wyngrew societies across the planet have in common is respect for the dead. This respect is near-universally involving the following (though there are groups that deviate from this, especially amongst different Subspecies):
-Cremation
With Magic or not, most wyngrew are given a send off on a pyre of some sort. As Fire Magic is the first magic used when a wyngling comes into the world, it's only fitting Fire would see them out of it.
Once the body is thoroughly burned, the skull will remain intact, even under intense flames. This is what the families/friends of the deceased wyngro will claim after cremation. (Ashes are not normally collected like in human society)
Antova Specific Additions:
-Fire Magic is prefered, even though wyngro skulls are very resilient to fire. Many wyngrew believe that a magical fire cleanse will help contain the skull’s natural magic and protect their families from magical leakage. Fire Experts are usually in high demand for a safe cleansing via fire and then extraction of a loved one’s skull in the Kingdom of Antova.
-A place of honor for the Skull.
Skulls of close family or friends are often kept in the home, in a quiet place. Some prefer skulls out in the open, in areas like the dining or living room where the dead can watch over the living, while other prefer to keep skulls in a quiet, secluded place in the home for a more private honoring. It really depends on the personality of the deceased.
If a skull is not kept by a loved one, temples of Chii’Fala will always give them a place of honor and respect, where they can watch over those seeking religious and ancestral guidance while in turn be kept safe and undisturbed by the Lantern of the temple.
Hosting the skull in a temple is sometimes preferred if the deceased was highly regarded by the community, giving the skull a place where many can visit and pay their respects.
-Light Magic Purification of the body and skull.
Followers of Chi’falla always make sure the dead are Purified to ensure they are free of any dark taint they may have picked up in the course of their life, and Chii’falla can welcome them with open arms to the peace of the afterlife. It is also believed Purified Skulls are less likely to curse others.
Finn Specific Additions:
-Unlike most subspecies of the land who prefer a fiery, cleansing end, many Finns choose to lay to rest their loved ones to the deep sea instead. Weighing the remains down with river stones (worn smooth by water’s return to the sea, symbolizing the gro’s own soul also returning to the depths) and any precious belongings the wyngro may have had in life, they let their dead go to rest. Finns will commonly find one designated place to lay rest those they loved, much like an underwater graveyard. Finns are known to be a bit more superstitious and fearful of the dead, usually avoiding graveyards or holding onto trinkets of the dead. They believe it to be disrespectful and could possibly be haunted if they hold onto the past too much.
Quill Specific Additions:
-Quill funeral tradition is particularly unpopular, even amongst most Quills nowadays. Ancient rights (supposedly dating from the days of floating islands) dictate that a deceased wyngro’s remains are to be left laid bare on a high peak, where nature itself may properly unmake what was once made. Only once not a trace of flesh is left, are the remaining bones to be discarded down a deep chasm: considered useless now that the wyngro’s spirit has departed with the flesh to the sky and scavengers. Although some Quills were known to keep the skulls, it was considered unusual unless the deceased was that of great importance.
Nowadays, this tradition is long forgotten, and most Quills simply adhere to that of standard gros.
Imp Specific Additions:
-Much like standard gros, the Skull’s place of honor is often mounted some place high and highly public, looking down upon those still living. Today, the ‘high place of honor’ is often a mantle or stable shelf built into the living room wall, but back in the Imperial Empire, skulls were often placed only in the highest rooms of the great towers that were the staple architectural icon of their desert paradise. They believed skulls of their dead held a great and powerful magic that was not to be disregarded.
Death F.A.Q.
Q: Can my character come back as a ghost/wisp?
A: Nope! Real ghosts and actual hauntings are either quite rare or believed to be myth, as ‘hauntings’ are just effects of excess magic in an area instead of actual lingering spirits themselves!
Q: Since my MYO Wyngro died, does their old MYO Slot now open up?
A: I’m afraid not! Death should be the fulfilling or tragic end to your character that closes their story. It should not be done simply to create a new character!
(If you feel you’re not connecting with your character and want a slot to open up, please use our Donated Design system instead! Both Wynglings and Adults can be adopted for no charge! But, like death, once you give them away, you can't get them back!)
Q: Can I show my Wyngro in the afterlife? What does Wyngro Heaven look like anyway?
A: Non-canon depictions of an afterlife (whatever you may think it to be) are fine for fun in your own gallery or our Fan Group! But the truth is, no one really knows what the afterlife looks like. Even those who claim to communicate with the dead get mixed answers to this question, so each wyngro will just have to find out themselves when they reach the other side!
Q: After my character is dead, can I (and other people) draw them still?
A: Of course! Just keep in mind after your wyngro is officially deceased (after the third required image is posted) wyns can no longer be counted for drawings of them, as they are no longer canonically alive! (Nope, drawing their bones or dead body doesn’t count for wyns either C; )
Q: Wow! They must have a lot of skulls lying around their houses, huh?
A: Generally, most wyngrew would only have a few skulls around their home as only the skulls of wyngrew they knew very closely when living (like close family, partners, or friends) are given such a place of honor. Those who are very aged are the most likely to have a number of skulls in their home, while new couples just starting out would likely have none! Larger families who stay together generally have large mantles of skulls displayed, similar to ofrendas in Mexico.
Q:Then where do all the skulls of great-grandparents or great-great-grandparents go, or those that have no one living to honor them?
A: If skulls are left behind or no longer wanted, they are given to the local Luxhallow church to display instead. Most cities and towns within the kingdom of Antova (and some outside it) give skulls a place of honor in a local temple of Chii’fala. The resident Lantern cares for the skulls, and ensures they are treated with respect, and not disturbed. Though the number of skulls is always rising, and a majority of skulls are kept in expansive underground crypts also looked after by Lanterns and Candles of rht Luxhallow religion.
Q: How does one disturb a spirit?
A: This is actually not an easy thing to do! Generally, one must know Advanced Light Magic to be able to wake, let alone disturb, the Dead! So luckily, this doesn’t happen much. And even so, it is usually illegal to do so unless great permission from the church or town leader is given.
There are rumors that Dark magic can also disturb the dead for malicious purposes, which is also why this practice is banned.
