Editing Damnation

|related={{tag|Vorinism}}

|type=Afterlife

|universe=[[Cosmere]]

{{update|sa4}}

{{for|Braize|the planet [[Odium]] resides on|pre=This article is about a mythological concept}}

{{quote

|If the afterlife really is a big war, then I hope I end up in Damnation. At least there I might be able to get a wink or two of sleep.

|Kaladin{{book ref|sa2|41}}

}}

'''Damnation''' is a concept in the [[Vorin]] religion on [[Roshar]]. It's the third part in a three-tier religious order to the universe, and one of the Vorin afterlives.{{book ref|sa1|4}}

== In Vorinism ==

Damnation is home to beasts and monsters known as the [[Voidbringer]]s, forged there by the fires of hatred.{{book ref|sa1|45}}{{book ref|sa2|32}} Led by the evil god [[Odium]], they came to conquer the [[Tranquiline Halls]], the paradise where mankind used to live, and forced humans onto [[Roshar]]. They would keep coming in times known as the [[Desolation]]s to push humanity even further down, into Damnation.{{book ref|sa1|61}} Some modern scholars claim that this myth implies that the Damnation is now empty, as the Voidbringers would all move to the more pleasant Halls.{{book ref|sa1|45}}

In the current Vorinism, the [[Almighty]] weighs the sins of everyone who dies and chooses the afterlife for them according to that. Should the person's sins be too heavy, marking them as particularly evil or cursed, their soul is sent to Damnation, to be eternally tortured by fire.{{book ref|sa3|26}} As an afterlife, Damnation is divided into rooms, each dedicated to a particular kind of sinner.{{book ref|sa1|4}} It's suggested to be an ironic hell, where, apart from eternal flames and flaying, people's punishments are inspired by their lives—for example, an addict would be left eternally unable to satisfy their craving.{{book ref|sa3|41}} It's also home to evil [[spren]], who are capable of leaving it to torture the still-alive.{{book ref|sa1|49}}

It's implied that Damnation has multiple proper names - possibly eleven - though the only one given is [[Braize]], present in some old songs.{{book ref|sa2|32}}{{book ref|sa2|38}}

== As a curse ==

"Damnation" is often used as an exclamation or a curse word throughout all of [[Roshar]].{{book ref|sa1|4}} Saying that something can go to Damnation means that it is unimportant.{{book ref|sa3|3}} People can be said to be as unreliable as Damnation, something wicked or unpleasant is a creature of Damnation, and a horrid situation is sometimes referred to as Damnation.{{book ref|sa1|58}}{{book ref|sa1|i|9}}{{book ref|sa2|62}} "Until Damnation ends" means a very long time, possibly forever.{{book ref|sa1|43}} "What in Damnation" is also a commonly-used phrase, while stronger versions, "What in Damnation's eleventh name" and "What in Damnation's depths", are far rarer.{{book ref|sa2|13}}{{book ref|sa2|38}}{{book ref|sa3|14}} "Damnation's own thunder" refers to severe punishment or repercussions.{{book ref|sa3|2}} [[Lift]] also uses the phrase "Damnation's own gonads" to refer to something incredible, but that might be a Liftism rather than a common phrase.{{book ref|sa2.5|20}}

The word seems to present some trouble to translation methods used by [[worldhopper]]s. [[Zahel]] and [[Azure]] keep misusing it, treating it the same as "damn", saying things like "Damnation language" or "Damnation these creatures".{{book ref|sa2|44}}{{book ref|sa3|79}}

== Historicity ==

Damnation is based on [[Braize]], the third planet in the [[Rosharan system]] where [[Odium]], the [[Shard]] of hatred, resides.{{book ref|sa3|121}} Even back when the [[Knights Radiant]] existed and the mechanics of [[Desolation]]s were known, the name Damnation was used to refer to it.{{epigraph ref|sa3|77}}

The story about souls being tortured in Damnation might be inspired by the fate of the [[Herald]]s. Following every Desolation, the Heralds were forced to return to Braize, where they were tortured until they broke.{{book ref|sa3|39}} The stories about torture made its way to Roshar, albeit in a somewhat obscure form—[[Taln]] is often called the Bearer of Agonies—which might be how the myth of Damnation being the place of eternal pain began. The association between Damnation and wicked souls might also stem from the fact that the [[Fused]], souls of dead [[singer]]s who served Odium, were confined to Braize in-between Desolations.{{book ref|sa3|38}}

In reality, the dead do not go there after death.

== See also ==

* [[Braize]], the true basis behind Damnation

* [[Tranquiline Halls]], the opposite of Damnation, a paradise where the virtuous souls are supposed to battle alongside the Heralds to defeat the Voidbringers

* [[Vorinism]], the religion both Damnation and the Tranquiline Halls come from

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