The people of the Sonaide Bri believe that upon death, their spirits continue to wander the earth for a brief time to bid farewell to their loved ones. Those spirits will then be collected to pass into their home in the Afterlife.
Those who were wicked and cruel in life may find themselves targeted by the the Wild Hunt during the dark of the moon, where their spirits will be brutally mauled by Arúyn's pack of wolves before being dragged to Arúyn's home in the underworld. In the process, other souls who should be not condemned may also be inadvertently swept up to join the hunt, doomed to reside with Arúyn in the underworld unless the prayers of their loved ones can cause the Hunt to pass them by. This is particularly true for souls who died in violence, such as murder victims and the victims of catastrophic disasters, as the trauma of their untimely death can confuse the Hunt into believing they are marked by evil and a target of their hunt. For that reason, the Sonaide Bri pray to bless their loved ones when they pass and shield them from the Hunt, especially if they pass after the new moon but before the dark of the moon.
This is not true for warriors who die in battle, however. Those warriors are blessed by Airgdide Gérat himself and are protected from inadvertently being swept up by the Hunt unless their wicked life would already make them a direct target of the Hunt. In addition, a few great heroes may be personally selected by Airgdide Gérat to join his retinue of knights in the Afterlife.
But for most of the dead, they spend some time as a spirit visiting their loved ones and saying their farewells before they are collected by Rígan Lúan and the Fairy Cavalcade during the light of the full moon, where they will be brought to Ordae Ruíri's palace in the Feywild or to Rígan Lúan's sylvan groves.
Artistic Representations of the Wild Hunt
Artistic Representations of the Fairy Cavalcade
