Will-O'-Wisp - Spirit of the Marshes
After life's inevitable resolution, the freed soul is drawn naturally to the Necropolis by an instinctual calling that few know the origin of, yet all comprehend. And while the torrent of souls is a strong current, not every entity flows through. Like a pebble washing up on shore, some souls become trapped, either by forces unbeknownst to them, or by their own efforts. The souls which do not find their way back to their vessels, nor to the march for the underworld, continue only to reside in a limbo in-between.
A soul in such state is not devoid of emotions, nor is its essence impervious to the forces around it. In this torturous period it roams aimlessly, the soul aches for its natural course, either seeking the breath of life, or finality. In its meandering, Will-O'-Wisps sometimes encounter watery breaches, also utilized by the custodians of the ancient in the underworld, that allow them to traverse to the world of the living once again, albeit for a time.
The unfortunate travelers who encounter these drifting spirits learn firsthand of the skills Wisps develop through their hunger and despair, quickly becoming entranced by the bright dancing lights within their core, senses dulled by their singing hum. Passersby who look directly to the Will-O'-Wisps are thus taken hostage by their enchanting sight. Led to the isolation of the marshes, the wetlands of the swamps, or hidden beneath the tall grasses of prairies and within mausoleums, they perish to other lurking dangers who wait to split soul from flesh.
As the essence of the newly separated are drained from the body, the wandering Wisps commune with it, desiring to experience life once again through the fresh sensations of the recently departed—and through this, consume it. As a consequence, the verdant nascent flame thus age and convert into the more well-known pale blue orb, a passive reaver of souls, neither of which are as aggressive or dangerous to life as the dark purple fires, unrevived revenants who failed to find their vessels.
It is from the narratives of witnesses favored by fortune that many myths were born to explain the existence of Wisps, from which their common name was coined. From salamanders to fairies, from shape-shifting devils to humanoid pumpkins, they all fail to account for the true reality of their nature. The most proximate legend is that of the "spirit of the marshes," which yet erroneously attribute their manifestation as an omen of death... Nay, the floating lights are not omens themselves, rather they trail behind true omens of death.
The reason why the god of death leaves these roaming souls unreaped is unknown. Perhaps these entities, not quite living nor quite dead, serve a useful and sinister purpose to death itself.
