Chapter III, an excerpt

They paced along a neatly paved street towards the sound of waves. The August rain descended like an overture for the departing, and as they walked slowly side by side, fog started to gather, making spirals and rotating columns in the evening air. They were surrounded by the scent of the ocean mingled with fragrance from the numerous orchards and gardens of the city mixed with the pleasant odor of pine trees in the mountains. The dimly lit streetlights appeared to have halos as they were embraced by the mist enchanting them in all colors of a rainbow. The few passers-by nodded and greeted them but made haste after seeing the Otto hover in their wake. Their kind had grown to know what business the tall creatures where conducting at a given time. Their people kindly granted a dignified way to leave the world behind to one another. No long speeches or funeral services. No senseless crying over their own pain and loss. Simply a transformation to something else, somewhere else. Suppose it made a lot easier to understand the overall concept of death when they actually could see the soul leave the time-space behind. There was a promise of hope and reunion. A confirmation that a loved one was truly in a better place. 

Eternal

A screenshot from the first Land of Strange Gods game "Avenging Angel"

Chapter X, an excerpt

At that moment they went through the black sphere and the droning ceased. Misty rain fell gently inside the sphere but there were no clouds. Foggy haze drifted above the surface effectively blocking the view forward. The light inside was soft like on a summer morning and distributed evenly from all directions. The barrier was no longer visible and there was no horizon. Miela looked at the sky only to notice that there was no sky, but only limitless and infinite space. If the watery substance and the space met somewhere she didn't see it.  The fog parted in front of them to reveal a black pillar and behind it an island.  She noticed three black pillars more: two on the sides of the island and one behind it. She intuitively checked her compass, and much to her surprise it worked. They were traveling north-east. The pillars had to be aligned north-south and east-west. 

"Behold, the Daelan, the watchtowers of Ea, or Earth, as it is called in your speech," Charon declared. 

Miela had to tilt her head as back as she could to see to the top. The pillars had to be hundreds of feet high and top of each was giant black statue. She couldn't see the details, but it seemed like each of  the statues was holding a book, perhaps two. The eastern and the northern statue were lit by an unearthly light from unknown source. 

"Paehpa and Katya are on watch," Charon explained to Miela. 

"That's why they are lit like you see them."

"What about the other two...?" 

She didn't know the others' names.

"Who knows," Charon muttered, "they don't like to explain themselves to anyone."