The Passage of Souls is a place in between realms that ties together the planes of Quelmar and permits souls to pass from the Ethereal Plane into their final afterlives. It was created to replace the River Styx and is overseen by Aliria Servine.
About
The Passage of Souls is a realm of deep fog that overlaps and connects with each of the planes of Quelmar. This fog rests atop a sea of still black water as dark as night. When one enters the Passage, they find themselves at one end of the Obsidian Bridge, a structure of dark glittering stone that stretches deep into the fog. The bridge is watched over by the realm's keeper, the caretaker of Souls and owner of the Book of the Dead, Aliria Servine. With Aliria's guidance, a soul can be guided across the bridge, where at the other end, they will find their destined afterlife.
History
In 925 PR, the River Styx was destroyed and the river's keeper, they ferryman Charon was killed by the Demon Lord Ratatrosk and the giant cultists of the Ordained. This prevented souls from passing out of the Ethereal Plane. Eventually using Charon's Book of the Dead, the adventurer Aliria Servine was able to recreate Charon's oar, an artifact that was able to control the River Styx, and created the Sword of Mortem. Using the Sword of Mortem, Aliria impaled and bled the archangel Gabriel within the Ruby Headwaters and performed a ritual that recreated the River Styx, now reborn as the Passage of Souls. After using the newly made Passage to seal away the rogue goddess, the Shattered Mountain, Aliria became the Passage's eternal keeper.
The Obsidian Bridge
When Charon controlled the River Styx, he traversed it atop a ship made of bone. When Aliria created the passage, she remade Charon's ferry into a bridge that would guide souls. While Aliria is atop the bridge, she can have it appear anywhere in the passage and allow it to connect to anywhere in the planes. While the Obsidian Bridge is able to appear simultaneously and is giving passage to thousands of souls at a time, those who walk across it only ever see themselves and Aliria.
Many adventurers or planeswalkers will beseech Aliria for aid in traversing the realm, giving her offerings and promises in return for her allowing them to traverse her bridge while they are still alive.
The Black Waters
But not all souls willingly pass into their afterlives. Those that are lucky are able to return to and become lost within the Ethereal Plane, wasting away into Specters and Wraiths. But those that aren't instead sink into the black waters beneath the passage, becoming trapped beneath them for all eternity, or until Aliria choses to show them mercy and give them a second chance.
Beneath these waters are not just souls though. These waters serve as a prison for many terrible beings across the realms who sought to upset the balance of death, now forever cursed to serve as the foundation for the system they sought to damage. These beings include Liches, demons, demigods, overzealous psychopomps, and even some gods of life and death.
Notable Prisoners: