The Ouroboros

The Ouroboros is the second oldest of the Dominions, the great personifications that serve as caretakers and guardians of the great Domains of the Platonic Field. The Ouroboros is the caretaker and personification of the eternal cycle of life and death.

Often seen as a Gatekeeper or psychopomp, She oversees the intricate connection between life in the physical world and its metaphysical representation in the Platonic Field. Potentially the most powerful of the Dominions, She is also one of the most human and level-headed.

History

The Ouroboros awakened merely a year after the Big Bang, emerging into a universe still in its infancy. Merely the potential for life to exist was enough to pull Her into existence. Although those first Primordial Ones and the Elder Things were forms of unliving life, beings that could not truly die and were thus not truly alive. She wandered the cosmic expanse for aeons, keeping Her brother the Oracle company as they witnessed the formation of the first stars and galaxies.

It was not until the emergence of mortal life that the Ouroboros’s true purpose came into focus. During the run-up to the Rebellion of the Virtues, the Ouroboros spoke passionately in favour of this new life but could not prevent the war that was about to occur. When Her younger brother, the Oletheros, underwent his first death of persona, it was the Ouroboros who made the arrangements for his funeral in the vaults beneath the Silver City and She was the first to welcome his new incarnation into the Universe.

In the aftermath of the Rebellion, the Source tasked the Ouroboros with managing the fallen rebels who had been responsible for Her brother’s persona death. Their penance was to serve as the jailers of corrupt mortal spirits and souls. The Empyrean, their leader, bristled at the idea but realised it was better to serve the Ouroboros in penance than suffer service under a vengeful Oletheros.

Personality

Despite dealing primarily with the weightier aspects of existence, the Ouroboros is often described as the most personable of the Dominions. She demonstrates a quiet blend of compassion and patience and always gives each person She meets Her full attention and respect. Her aspects may be spread across a billion worlds, simultaneously visiting a trillion dying souls, but from Her omniscient perspective, it is always one soul, one person at a time.

It has been noted that Her compassion is a deliberate commitment on Her part, a promise made to an unknown mortal to be better than our imagination of Her. Thus, she deliberately manifests in a friendly, culturally appropriate way, dressing and acting casually and presenting Herself as a friend. Those mortals that can even remember a conversation with Her remember an easygoing and humble young woman. Those who cross Her or abuse Her trust may find out exactly why She tries so hard to be nice.

Once a century, the Ouroboros allows an aspect of Herself to live for one day and to die as a mortal. Afterwards, that aspect’s experiences become part of Her, allowing her to experience the cycle that She is charged to protect. None of the other Dominions do this.

The Ouroboros approaches Her duties with a sense of gentle inevitability, understanding that each beginning necessitates an end, and each end gives rise to new beginnings. Her perspective allows the Ouroboros to find beauty in the full spectrum of existence, from the first spark of life to the final fading of consciousness. The only beings who can ruffle Her empathy are Her younger brothers, the Oneiromancer and the Oletheros, when they are their most self-absorbed.

Powers and Abilities

The Ouroboros’s primary power lies in her authority over the Domain of Life and Death. She is the universal psychopomp who conducts souls to and from her Domain. She is present at the start of life when the silver cord ties a new soul to its physical existence. Equally, Her solemn duty is to sever these connections when a mortal’s time has come, ushering the deceased soul to Her realm before it decoheres into the foam of the Platonic Field and is lost forever.

She is recognised as being one of the most powerful beings in existence, one that even causes the Empyrean to pause. However, She is usually bound to obey the natural order – living things are born, live, and then die. Only in rare circumstances may she willingly set aside her duties concerning specific individuals (granting them effective immortality). She alone knows when She may do this, but even then, She cannot easily be bargained with.

The Ouroboros is omnipresent in pursuit of Her duty; She can travel anywhere at any time and cannot be held against Her will if it would delay that duty. Being virtually omniscient, many have tried to summon the Ouroboros against Her will. Most fail, but a few pique Her interest enough to get an audience.

Under normal circumstances, the Ouroboros cannot be perceived by mortals unless She wishes. Only those close to the start of their life (young children), those approaching death, or those closely attuned to the Platonic Field can see Her.

Domain – The Sunless Lands

The Dominions are the caretakers of the great Domains of the Platonic Field; the Ouroboros is thus the caretaker of the Domain of Life and Death (literally the guardian of the idea of life). This Domain is known as the Sunless Lands and serves as a temporary waystation for souls transitioning beyond mortal existence.

At the heart of the Sunless Lands lies the Terminus, a vast sunlit hall where all souls first arrive after death. This is where the recently dead find themselves after encountering the Ouroboros in the mortal world, and it is where they meet whatever previously deceased friend or relative has agreed to greet them. Leading away from the Terminus are the myriad afterlives invented by mortal minds.

The Sunless Lands is a vast, stratified honeycomb-like domain consisting of countless smaller realms, each tailored to different cultural conceptions of the afterlife. After passing through the Terminus, the newly arrived soul will find itself in one of these afterlives. These sub-domains are managed by various death-related powers or entities in their respective cultures. While sometimes mistaken for the Ouroboros, these entities serve at Her discretion.

Within the Sunless Lands, souls undergo a process of reflection and preparation before their ultimate journey to the Realm of the Source. The exact nature of this final destination remains a mystery, even to the Ouroboros herself.

There are many permutations of the afterlife in the DC Universe, and a very distinct revolving door leads to and from them. It appears we’re being shown in the stories as an easily accessible waiting room, a purgatory or Mandos Halls-like affair, rather than the true final destination.

Followers

As a cosmic caretaker rather than a deity, the Ouroboros has no direct mortal worshippers. However, Her existence has influenced various mythologies and religious beliefs across the Universe. In many cultures, She is represented symbolically as a serpent eating its own tail, embodying the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

Each of the Dominions has its own servants and assistants. The Ouroboros, while usually working alone, is no different. Beyond the innumerable managers in the Sunless Lands, the Ouroboros’s chief servants are the Black Guard, also known as the Hounds of Death, who are responsible for maintaining the boundaries between the Sunless Lands and the rest of the Universe. This group includes figures such as Azrael (the Pale Horseman), the Black Racer (personification of death’s inevitability), and Nekron (Lord of the Undead). While powerful, these entities are mere extensions of the Ouroboros’s will rather than independent followers.

Timeline for The Ouroboros

1. The First World 1 years

   The Ouroboros awakens

   Almost unnoticed, the Ouroboros steps into existence. With little to do, she bides her time by touring the newly formed Universe and keeping her brother the Oracle company.