2025 Aug 12: The Cold Mists

 The Underworld is protected by seven gates, watched over by the White Lady. There used to be six, until a man named Enki built the famous White Gates that bear his name. The next set, however is the one where the Underworld proper begins. These gates are immaterial, as befitting for something meant to keep the spirits of the dead from escaping. They are made of a scintillating blueish mist, that sticks to the dead, forever marking them as the property of the Underworld. For those so marked, these gates are just as solid as the finest steel. 

These gates are mostly known as the Cold Mists, and they are often used in euphemisms for death. "Passed through the Cold Mists" is a popular one, and someone who came very close to death is often said to have felt the Cold Mists on their face. Mist-marked is a popular poetic term for the undead, even if most corporeal undead don't have their original souls inhabiting their body, and most incorporeal undead have never passed through any of the seven gates. Soldiers often vow to brave the Cold Mists together, as a show of loyalty to their comrades, and of course the phrase "go bathe in the Cold Mists" is a popular curse both as an insult, and and actual curse to inflict on someone.

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