Prompt- How do people honor and grieve their dead in your world?
In my world the native people are anciently connected to nature and the environment around them. There is a large forest that takes up half of the overall terrain and is full of a diverse range of plants and growth. When a person from this planet passes away, the natives honor them by turning them into a tree who later watches over them in the forest. It becomes a mix of honoring the person, as well as the forest which has kept them protected and healthy over the years. The deceased gets placed in an organic burial pod which is a biodegradable capsule that the dead body goes inside of.
The pod, along with the respected body work together with nature and the forest to turn the decaying body into a tree. This is how the native bodies are honored. When grieving the other individuals grieve in a similar way. Each person owns a jar full of seeds. It has been said that when a new seed has been planted, the grief of a loss will be lifted by the forest gods. On the same day the capsule enters the ground, all commoners plant a new seed in the ground and once the ritual is completed they are then allowed to move on with their lives and look past the dealth. It is a way for ancestors and natives to be brought together with the forest once again.
Origin Story- The origin story is believed to have originated hundreds of years ago. In the center of the forest there is a large grandfather boar chestnut tree. (Boar tree’s produced tons of food and lived for hundred of years) Before the world was deemed as safe the ancestors of the planet lived underground. There were five different levels underground each according to their duties and jobs, although they were all connected. One day there was a great flood from one of the nearby rivers. The whole forest floor was covered with water. The natives crawled out of their underground homes and were forced to find shelter and safety. The big grandfather tree stood tall and strong and the natives climbed the tree to the top. Once on the tree the people noticed flowers that were mid-bloom and recognized them as new life. It is believed that the population grew and was prompted by the tree that saved the natives. Each flower represented a new life that was soon to come.
My character Ivy must face the challenge of breaking her normal untrusting character trait in order to save her forest. She must trust a stranger and with-hold information he gives her in order to make sure their plan follows through. She must learn to trust the invader and betray her own colony, this is a major conflict because her colony is all she has ever known.
Revised- I added the boar chestnut tree and a short character conflict breakdown.