Transformniks don’t believe in universalism because they believe that Satan and probably others will never repent and accept God. They also don’t believe that permanent separation from God is never justified. There are Transformnik mystics share the belief from Christian and Muslim mystics that Heaven and Hell are states of being that people create based on how they lived. The default state of Hell is permanent and it’s only through reform and purging of certain sins that certain people and spirits can be released from Hell.
The most severe sins as described in the Tome (the holy book) are polytheism and idolatry, atheism and social dysfunction and those who lead people to these sins. These sinners are punished the most severely and are usually considered beyond any salvation.
This is not an official part of Transformatsiya but is something that mystics have theorized. There are two possible methods of redemption for severe sinners. One is to appear in the dreams of a large number of people who would be damned and push them towards salvation. The other is reliving a recreation of one’s life repeatedly with no prior memories while in the recreation. They continue reliving their life on repeat with the same initial conditions until they get it right. Usually it requires some major black swan event of free will. Each time they come out of the recreation, they have all of their prior memories returned, including memories of previous lives in the recreation.
Interesting stuff. Is there a way for people to appear in the dreams of others in your setting? I love the storytelling potential of oneiromancy (and its spec-fic counterparts). The stuff of dreams will forever be fertile literary soil.
In Karnum, there is a major emphasis placed on codes of honour. These are fixed at coming of age, and mostly selected from a list provided by one’s family. Usually one to three simple tenets are taken. Less ambitious people take fewer. Knights must select their vows from The Golden Code:
Perform the sun salutation ritual at each sunrise without fail. Offer any enemy a chance to submit. Reject monetary rewards (donate any to the church) Spare no traitor’s life, and defend the truthsayer Destroy nothing of beauty. Slay none that would live peacefully and lawfully. Uphold the honor of your peers as if it were your own. Speak no ill of an ally. Make only equal trades, and accept no gifts but hospitality. Speak the truth without hesitation or reservation. In all matters, finish what was started. Never refuse a challenge from an equal, never challenge an inferior.All nobility are knightly by default, and are subject to even more codes. The Silver Code is held in common among all knights:
Answer any challenge, but never escalate. Always maintain decorum. Rudeness is an admission of fear. Refrain from giving offense or insult, brook no insult from an equal or lessor. Respect the defeated, and accept their service if offered. Never run from an enemy, never spare a deserter.Breaking these vows can (but unpredictably) have grave repercussions. In some lands, you can develop unsightly, permanent, and heritable mutations. Not only that, but enough mutations can make you look like a fully transformed beastman.
Naturally this has caused the wilderness to be filled with tribes of monstrous radicals who seek to destroy the society that took everything from them. This is exactly as intended; the curse is secretly a sham perpetrated by court sorcerers across generations for political reasons. Oathbreaking curses seem to mainly affect political dissidents and any serfs who step out of line.
All this to say that redemption doesn’t figure largely in this world’s metaphysics. It’s a very grounded dark fantasy setting with a lot of very heavy handed political commentary. If there is any redemption to be had, it’s in your decisions along the way. Matters of the soul are buried in the lore and intentionally obfuscated. Having to sit with that uncertainty emphasizes the temporal stakes.
