Soul Flaws

"It is not worth much, in its present condition. Too flawed. I could cure you of all that, if I had time, and if I cared, and if it were not just as easy to take any of a dozen other innocent souls in a better state of repair. If you want it improved, you might, I suppose, try your luck at Carillon."

"I have rarely seen such a combination of stains, flaws, and disappointing features. You are to be congratulated: I assume this was intentional. You could hardly have done it by accident."

There are many ways to apparently "damage" a soul without losing it; these are known as soul flaws. The devils at Carillon are self-proclaimed experts in gauging and curing soul flaws, and have as such devised unique ways to heal them, many of which involve torture.

While the negativity surrounding soul flaws may seem (and for the most part is) arbitrary, certain groups or individuals despise or reject visitors with an unacceptable amount of soul flaws; for example, the Rose-Binders at Caduceus shun any visitors with a soul they deem "aesthetically displeasing", and the courts at the White Well refuse to grant Testaments of Roses to those with souls that lack a requisite quality.

The Carillon Compendium, written by the Presiding Deviless, separates these flaws into seven different categories:

Clear

"Soul is fully transparent. No swirls, no clouding, no personality." "Disregard of death is a serious flaw. It displeases the Blue Kingdom; it makes the Devils tut." Hosts with Clear souls are known for their disregard for the cycle of life and death. Individuals who refuse to join the military, decline to eat meat, tamper with mortality, or keep library books past their due date may find their souls more transparent than usual. Individuals with Clear souls are treated unfavorably in the Blue Kingdom, and are not eligible for certain favors there; after all, disrespecting death means disrespecting the Kingdom. To cure a Clear soul, the patient must relearn the inevitability of their mortality. Therefore, the treatments they undergo involve being buried alive, copying death reports, studying dead bodies, or other morbid activities.

Cold

"The soul is icy to the touch. Dispassionate, clinical, removed." "Indifference to love can be corrected. But not easily." Cold souls are borne from dispassion, lack of empathy, and heartlessness. Owners of such chilly souls are the puppy-kickers, the truly pitiless, those who murder their loved ones for money - the kind who let out a dark, villainous laugh when given a compliment. Individuals with Cold souls are not permitted to partake in the higher mysteries of Caduceus, as they are considered unworthy by the Grand Devil that holds power there. Curing Cold souls involves coercing the penitent into feeling empathy and emotion, through suffering. Patients are often prodded by pitchforks, strapped to ice cubes, or menaced by kittens, or may undergo other forms of torture.

Curdled

"Overly willing to please, envious, obsequious... are those chunks? ...in the soul." "Envy. Frustration. A tendency to begrudge honours given to others." A person's soul can become Curdled by not knowing one's place, especially by ignoring or violating the "natural" hierarchies of the universe. Owners of Curdled souls may have regarded their superiors with too much familiarity, pretended to be someone greater than they are, or even denied the superiority of any non-human creature. Or, perhaps, they pried into matters of biology not meant for the human mind. Notably, the Blue Kingdom is apparently incapable of effectively processing the events or memories that may Curdle one's soul. Curing a Curdled soul means reminding a patient of their proper place, so the process involves many unflattering activities and reminders of the patient's low status, such as vigorous exercises and being told of exclusive parties that the patient may never attend.

Fermented

"Soul appears faintly bubbling in its bottle. It is pungent of odour and indifferent to taboo." "Perhaps you have eaten that which you should not. Perhaps you've come in contact with something unclean. At any rate, your soul has gone a bit off." Partaking in dirty deeds, shadowy affairs, and repugnant behaviors may cause one's soul to become Fermented. These are the individuals who ignore other people's plans and schedules, suffer from unaccountable peckishness, associate with tomb colonists and Snuffers, wear unwashed clothes, and generally commit disgusting acts... like swimming in the Thames. Curing a Fermented soul means imposing self-restraint and cleanliness on the patient; hence, the penitents often have to suffer strict eating schedules, deprivation from beverages, extremely thorough washings, and other punishments and restrictions.

Flickering

"Soul-light is unpersistent, incurious, lacking." "Maybe you've found yourself lying as a matter of course. Maybe you've forgotten a few inconvenient aspects of yourself." The Flickering soul flaw relates to disassociation, the loss of identity, and self-delusion. Those with Flickering souls may have been compulsive liars to themselves or others, have forgotten important aspects of their lives, memories, or achievements, or may have published a masterwork of literature but forgot to read the reviews. More chillingly, those with Flickering souls may also see someone else in their reflection - perhaps because they passed through a mirror and came back changed, losing a part of themselves the process. Spores of the Uttershroom, mysteriously, can also damage a soul in this manner. Flickering souls are generally considered extremely hard to cure, and the process mainly revolves around reminding patients of the truth and discouraging them from engaging in falsehoods. Punishments include being depicted in a portrait with unwavering accuracy, copying informational articles, and eating past untruths written on scraps of paper.

Lightless

"Slothful, viceful, willful abandonment of talent and interest." "Perhaps you have fallen into habits. Perhaps you haven't stretched your imagination lately." The Lightless soul flaw can be caused by poor habits, playing things overly safe, or leaving things "just good enough". Those with Lightless souls may have abandoned their natural talents or overwhelmed themselves with sloth... or they may have eaten too many carob candies. Lightless souls are not allowed to partake in the mysteries of Caduceus, as the devils there consider them dull, and they're not permitted to move beyond the Catafalque within Death's Door as they will fail the administered soul-quality tests. Curing Lightless souls involves livening things up for patients by imparting within them a sense of self-worth and ambition. Hence, Lightless patients are forced to "put themselves out there" by undertaking arduous public musical performances, as well as learning strange new skills and gaining new experiences they may have avoided otherwise.

Stained

"Soul appears damaged, scorched. Reckless, dangerous and fatally curious." "Perhaps you've looked into topics you should not have. Perhaps your soul has been consumed and spat out again by an unspeakable beast." As arguably the most dangerous of the seven soul flaws, Stained souls are the mark of the overly curious: those who seek forbidden knowledge or the world's deepest secrets. Those who bypass censors, study the facets of star-killing, learn dangerous Correspondence sigils, or look too closely into the nature of wells may gain a Stain on their soul. The method of curing Stained souls involves imparting within the patient one lesson and one lesson only: that there is a such thing as too much. Thus, penitents are forced to gorge themselves on excesses of food, drink, and most importantly, secrets. Strange essences sourced from the Prison of Flint may also cure a Stained soul, but obtaining such substances is easier said than done.