I think the godstone is best as a red herring (although the question of where it was targeted before is interesting). It’s an easy, obvious answer for disappearing bodies.
That leaves the pool, about which we have some fascinating, but fragmentary, information:
- It was, presumably, created by the Earthmasters.
- The Earthmasters apparently felt the need for two such pools, or possibly a pool that somehow complements this one.
- The other pool was damaged and drained somehow.
- The substance in the pool is not water (it’s less dense).
- The substance in the pool does not immediately damage flesh submerged in it.
- The substance in the pool is apparently not diminished by evaporation.
- The pool is of limited depth, but its contents don’t seem to be.
The key questions, I think, are “Why did the Earthmasters make the pools?” and “What was in the other pool?” Another good one is “Why do elderly/dying Bujoc feel compelled to jump in the pool?”
In the following scenario, bear in mind that I know only what’s been revealed in this thread about Earthmasters–this could conflict with canon.
Scenario:
In the ancient past, Telumar was a place of healing and renewal. A handful of Earthmasters discovered a way to rejuvenate the old and the dying, washing away the weight of years. They created two pools charged with such immense mystical power that the magic took on tangible form, one pool filled with an amber pseudo-liquid, the other with green(?).
As one sank into the amber pool, it gently transformed flesh into spiritual energy, soul and body become one. Thus freed of the bonds of matter, the transformed being could drift down through the mystical conduit leading to the other pool. As the spirit rose up through the energies of the green pool, they swirled around it, building a new body in the image of the spirit. For the Earthmasters this was (almost) invariably the same as their original body in the prime of life and health. Occasionally, a spirit would emerge in a new form, reflecting the true nature of its soul. A bird or beast, or even a monster, could rise from the pool, if the soul most closely resembled such a creature.
A dead body lowered into the pool would be transformed and then, lacking any force to animate it, simply dissipate.
Being highly intelligent as well as powerful, the Earthmasters included certain precautionary measures. To insure that participants did not panic during the process, the amber pool was made to emit a soothing, almost hypnotic aura to those who were dying. The pool also allows a change of heart–if a spirit begins to resist its draw, it can swim upward and find its flesh restored.
Some time in the past, the green pool was damaged. It could have been done by another Earthmaster for his own inscrutable reasons (jealousy/outrage/fear/environmental activism/whatever). Alternatively, a natural event like an earthquake could have damaged it much later, enough so that the elves or even the Bujoc had some idea what the pools did. With the green pool gone, the conduit has no end, so anyone sinking in the amber pool simply continues to drift peacefully on forever, lulled by the aura of the pool.
So, it’s possible that the Bujoc retain some (heavily distorted) legend about Telumar being the actual location where reincarnation happens. The original legends would refer to elders (or beings of the prior races) walking into the place, then young people or animals emerging. Over time, as no one returned, the legends changed to reflect a spiritual rebirth rather than a physical one.
Meanwhile, 50 generations of Bujoc elders drift peacefully into the depths, fear and loneliness eased by the gentle currents of magic, thinking their long, slow thoughts. What might happen if the green pool were to be restored?
