The Ancestors
The previous set on the
Hemospectrum was received pretty well, so here is a new set of images describing the lives of the Alternian Ancestors. I hope this is useful
and enjoyable to read!
The full text is below the cut, with lots of citations.
content notes: The timeline and
entries on Mindfang, Dualscar, the Dolorosa and the Ψiioniic involve
slavery. The timeline and entry on the Dolorosa refer to a sexual
assault, without detail. The Signless/Sufferer’s page involves torture,
and has an image of the Sufferer being tortured from the comic.
The Handmaid’s entry involves suicide. The Summoner’s and Handmaid’s entries refer to
abuse. All entries involve death.
The Ancestors
On Beforus, 12 trolls played a game of SGrub.
[image shows the 12 Beforan Trolls, with their eyes edited to look alive again. [Homestuck Wiki character pages].]
Despite
their efforts, they were unprepared to defeat the challenges of the
game and did not create a new universe. Moreover, their session was
afflicted with the ‘glitch’: a special property associated with Lord
English that means the paradox clones who play the game are not created
in the first session, but instead created after the inevitable Scratch. [Doc Scratch 5953]
They
went to the Denizen Echidna, who presented them a choice: they could
accept their failure and put no others at risk, or Scratch their session
and create a new universe whose players would be able to face the
challenges of the game.
[Doc Scratch 5953]
As
the Glitch necessarily dictated, the Beforan players accepted this
bargain, and created Alternia, then died. On Alternia, they lived
different lives; their alternate selves did not play a Session of their
own, but shaped the history of the new world.
[Doc Scratch 5953]
These reincarnated trolls
are called the Ancestors. [in the fandom, anyway]
what is an Ancestor?
[illustrations show Doc Scratch [Homestuck wiki], Karkat with a bunch of grubs [Alterniabound, Karkat’s section], and the Imperial Drone carrying two filial pails [4926]]
On
Alternia, genetic material is combined in two stages: first in two
'filial pails’ corresponding to matespritship and kismessitude, then at a
mother grub, where many trolls’ contributions are combined to create a
new brood of trolls. [Hussie 4926]
Despite not having specific lines of parents, there is a concept of ancestry among trolls: specific trolls who are considered to have contributed much more of their genes than others whose genes are in the slurry. In this belief, trolls are fated to retrace the footsteps of their Ancestor. Vriska says a troll will find clues pointing to their Ancestor’s identity and may choose to follow the life they left. [Vriska 5373]
We know much less about troll reproduction on Beforus, but it sounds pretty similar.
For the main characters in Homestuck, the relationship to their Ancestors is much more direct, since both Ancestor and descendant are paradox clones created ectobiologically by Karkat in the Alternian trolls’ session. [Vriska 5375] The players of the Alternian session were Ancestors in the Beforan universe, and vice versa.
[Doc Scratch 5953]
Alternian Ancestors timeline
There are two sources of difference between Alternia and Beforus. The Scratch caused the points that the paradox clones arrived in each timeline to differ; Alternia was additionally influenced by the manipulations of Doc Scratch on behalf of Lord English
- Condesce arrives, takes control of Gl'bgolyb, creates Alternian Empire. [Doc Scratch 5963]
- Dolorosa arrives, becomes Rainbow Drinker. [seen in 8080]
- Signless arrives, Dolorosa leaves caves to raise him. [Doc Scratch 5957]
(uncertain chronology) Disciple and Ψiioniic arrive.
- Signless begins preaching. [Doc Scratch 5954] Disciple and Ψiioniic join him and Dolorosa. [Doc Scratch 5958] Conspiracy brews.
- Signless rebellion causes interstellar war against Condesce and Highbloods. [Doc Scratch 5954]
- (uncertain chronology) Mindfang arrives, becomes pirate marquise. Darkleer arrives, becomes archeradicator. Grand Highblood arrives, becomes officially “Grand”. Dualscar arrives, becomes sea prince. [implied by their positions when they’re introduced]
- Rebellion is crushed. Signless is tortured, and executed
by Darkleer. [Doc Scratch 5955] Dolorosa is enslaved. [Doc Scratch 5959]
Ψiioniic is grafted to Condesce’s flagship. [Doc Scratch 5960] Darkleer refuses to kill Disciple, is banished. [Doc Scratch 5959]
- Disciple records words of Signless in caves.
[Doc Scratch 5959] Mindfang protects Darkleer from angry Highbloods. [Mindfang 5655]
- (uncertain chronology) Dualscar and Mindfang become kismeses. [implied by Mindfang 5407]
- Mindfang takes Dolorosa from Dualscar’s ship and sexually assaults her.
[Mindfang 5407, and Doc Scratch 5959 probably implies the slave is Dolorosa] <14th bilunar perigee of the 2nd dim season’s equinox>
- Dualscar has Dolorosa assassinated. Mindfang ends kismesissitude. [Mindfang 5408]
<16th bilunar perigee of the 2nd dim season’s equinox>
- Dualscar escalates efforts to catch Mindfang [Mindfang 5410, Mindfang 5413] <16th-20th bilunar perigee of the 2nd dim season’s equinox>
- Dualscar presents evidence on Mindfang to Grand Highblood. Dualscar is executed. [Mindfang 5414] <21st bilunar perigee of the 2nd dim season’s equinox>
- Highbloods send Redglare to arrest Mindfang. [Mindfang 5417, 5418, 5419] <less than a week after Dualscar’s execution>
- Redglare destroys Mindfang’s fleet, cuts off her arm, and arrests her. [described in Mindfang 5642, animated in 5644 Seer: Ascend]
- Mindfang forces trial audience to kill Redglare [Mindfang 5647, 5648, 5649, 5650]. Mindfang kills His Honourable Tyranny and escapes trial. [Mindfang 5651, 5652, 5653, 5654]
- Darkleer builds Mindfang a robot arm. [Mindfang 5656]
- Summoner arrives, ascends to leader of Cavalreapers. [Mindfang 5658]
- Summoner grows wings, leads rebellion against Highbloods.
[Mindfang 5658]
- (uncertain chronology) Summoner and Mindfang become matesprits, and Summoner kills Mindfang.
[Mindfang 5658]
- Rebellion is defeated. Summoner is executed. Condesce orders all adult trolls to leave Alternia to fight in space.
[Mindfang 5658, Doc Scratch 5963]
- Meteors fall on Alternia. Condesce makes Ψiioniic race back, too late. [Doc Scratch 5964]
- All trolls but Condesce die in Vast Glub.
[Doc Scratch 5964]
- Condesce returns to Alternia. [Doc Scratch 5965] Handmaid recruits Condesce to serve Lord English. Condesce kills Handmaid. [Doc Scratch 5970, 5971]
- Condesce gathers lusii and leaves to B2 session.
- Handmaid arrives and is taken by Doc Scratch. [Doc Scratch 5967, 5968]
the Condesce
Descendant: Feferi Peixes
Beforan counterpart: Meenah Peixes
Killed by: n/a (Game Over), Roxy (post-retcon)
[images show the Condesce sprite from her confrontation with post-scratch Rose and Dave [via Homestuck wiki], Feferi, Meenah with Feferi’s eyes to make her look alive, and Gl’bgolyb [via Homestuck wiki]]
The first Ancestor to arrive on Alternia was Her Imperious Condescension, the Troll Empress.
Doc Scratch placed the horrorterror Gl'bgolyb on Alternia, and only the Condesce or another fuchsia-blooded troll could prevent it from wiping out trolls up the hemospectrum. With this threat, the Condesce built the Alternian Empire. [Doc Scratch 5963]
The Condesce ultimately expanded her empire too far. When SGrub began and meteors fell on Alternia, she was too far away to prevent Gl'bgolyb killing all trolls but herself and Feferi. She nevertheless continued to Alternia, and when she arrived, Lord English sent the Handmaid to approach her and recruit her to his service. [Doc Scratch 5964, 5965, 5970, 5971]
Acting on behalf of Lord English, the Condesce supplanted the Black Queen of the B2 session, and attempted to recreate the troll species on the Earth of the B2 universe. However, her efforts were unsuccessful and resulted only in the extermination of all of humanity but Roxy and Dirk. [Dirk 6764, 6765, 6766, 6772, 6773]
The Condesce tried to force the Kids to create a new universe where she could recreate the trolls out of sight of Lord English, using a Matriorb recreated by Roxy. How this went depends on the timeline.
In the Game Over timeline, the Condesce won a massive battle royale in which almost all characters died. [Game Over] Though she could now construct a new universe at her leisure, she lacked the matriorb. In the post-retcon timeline, the Condesce was fought and ultimately killed by Roxy, Rose, Kanaya and John with support from Jane, Jasprosesprite^2, and Nannasprite; Roxy stabbed her for the final blow. [Collide]
Like all fuchsia-blooded trolls, her descendant Feferi was pushed to try to depose her by Gl'bgolyb. Ultimately such aspirations were cut short when Gl'bgolyb died and Feferi entered the Session. Like the Condesce, Feferi wields a 2x3dent, and her matespritship with Sollux parallels the Condesce prizing her Helmsman.
the Signless/the Sufferer
Descendant: Karkat Vantas
Beforan counterpart: Kankri Vantas
Killed by: E%ecutor Darkleer
[images show the Sufferer being tortured [5955], and an edit of Vivus’s image of the Signless from [5985 5x SHOWDOWN COMBO] into the colours and flat pixellated style of Hussie’s image of the Signless in [5958], Karkat, and Kankri with Karkat’s eyes to make him look alive]
Most trolls, when they are born, are adopted by a Lusus and given a Sign, in each case from a range of possibilities determined by their blood colour. The Signless, however, had a “mutant” bright red blood colour outside the hemospectrum and therefore had neither. He would have been culled, if not for the Dolorosa raising him alone. [Doc Scratch 5957]
Unlike the other Ancestors, the Signless remembered his previous life on Beforus. Inspired by these memories, he became a religious leader, preaching an alternative to the violent hierarchy of Alternia. At first he preached in secret, accompanied by the Dolorosa, the Disciple (his lover and closest ally) and the Ψiioniic. Their conspiracy grew, and resulted in an open interstellar war against the Highbloods, Sea Trolls and Condesce. [Doc Scratch 5954]
The rebellion was not successful. The leaders were captured, and variously sentenced. As the leader of the rebellion, the Signless was tortured, hanging in red-hot shackles shaped like the Cancer sign that later became a symbol to his followers. For this ordeal, he gained a second title: the Sufferer.
He refused to recant his beliefs, and before his final execution at the hands of E%ecutor Darkleer, his love for his people became “limitless burning rage”. As he died, the Sufferer issued the Vast Expletive, his “final sermon” which “echoed throughout the galaxy” encoding his teachings for a future successor. [Doc Scratch 5954, 5955]
Though the Condesce tried to strike the rebellion from history, the conspiracy did not die, and later followers secretly prepared for the prophesised coming of his successor. Thus when the Signless’s descendant Karkat arrived with the same bright red blood, a Lusus and Sign had been created for him, and he could live like a normal troll. [Doc Scratch 5956]
Like his Ancestor, Karkat struggled to deal with the social constructs of the Alternian Empire, such as quadrants. He too became a leader - if only of the SGrub team - and peacefully ended Gamzee’s killing spree. Similarly to his Ancestor, he was friends with Kanaya and Sollux, but he never became aware of Nepeta’s crush on him.
the Dolorosa
Descendant: Kanaya Maryam
Beforan counterpart: Porrim Maryam
Killed by: Orphaner Dualscar
[images: the Dolorosa [5957], Kanaya, Porrim with Kanaya’s eyes]
Like other trolls with jade blood, the Dolorosa was responsible for tending to Mother Grubs in the brooding caverns.
[Doc Scratch 5957] At some point, she underwent the transformation to become a Rainbow Drinker. [seen 8080]
In the course of her duties, the Dolorosa discovered a grub with bright red blood. She realised that this grub would not be adopted by a lusus, and abandoned her work in the caves to raise the grub herself.
[Doc Scratch 5957] Under her care, the grub became the Signless, and she accompanied him as a close ally until their rebellion was defeated and she was sentenced to slavery. [Doc Scratch 5959]
As a slave, the Dolorosa was on a ship belonging to Orphaner Dualscar that was captured by Spinneret Mindfang. Mindfang mind controlled and sexually assaulted the Dolorosa in front of Dualscar, and planned to manipulate her new slave into a matespritship. [Mindfang 5407] Considering the Dolorosa’s blood colour to be too far beneath his kismesis Mindfang, Dualscar had the Dolorosa assassinated. [Mindfang 5408]
Her descendant Kanaya similarly was a friend of Karkat, had flushed feelings for Vriska and was briefly killed by Eridan (before she too became a Rainbow Drinker). And with similar devotion, she carried the Matriorb and with it the future of trollkind beyond the rule of the Condesce.
the Disciple
Descendant: Nepeta Leijon
Beforan counterpart: Meulin Leijon
Killed by: unknown
[images: the Disciple [5958], Nepeta, Meulin with Nepeta’s eyes]
The Disciple was the closest ally and lover of the Signless, in a way that was said to 'transcend quadrants’. She carefully recorded his teachings. [Doc Scratch 5958]
When the Signless’s rebellion was crushed, E%ecutor Darkleer was ordered to kill the Disciple. But he refused. The Disciple thus escaped, and for the rest of her life wrote the teachings of the Signless on the walls of caves in animal blood, preserving them for his later followers. [Doc Scratch 5959]
Her descendant, Nepeta, likewise lived in a cave where she hunted wild animals and wrote on walls, was the moirail of Equius, and had a crush on Karkat.
E%ecutor Darkleer/the E%patriate
Descendant: Equius Zahhak
Beforan counterpart: Horuss Zahhak
Killed by: unknown
[images: Darkleer [5656], Equius, Horuss]
Darkleer was a soldier, a member of the prestigious Archeradicators. He was assigned to execute the leaders of the Signless’s rebellion. While he executed the Signless without hesitation, he was unwilling to execute the Disciple, and allowed her to escape. For this failure, he was banished, and became known as the E%patriate. [Doc Scratch 5959]
Impressed by this unique act of open defiance from such a high-ranking troll, Mindfang protected him from the Highbloods for many sweeps.
To her frustration, he never stopped mourning his fall from grace. [Mindfang 5655]
When she lost her arm, he built her a robotic replacement. [Mindfang 5656]
His descendant Equius was similarly strong and skilled at robotics, likewise aspired to be an archeradicator, was the lasting moirail of Nepeta, built a robotic arm for Vriska, and was killed by Gamzee.
the Ψiioniic
Descendant: Sollux Captor
Beforan counterpart: Mituna Captor
Killed by: E%ecutor Darkleer
[images:
Ψiioniic
[5958]; I did my best to fill in the hidden arm, Sollux, Mituna]
The Ψiioniic was an escaped slave, a psychic of “unequalled telekinetic ability”, and a close ally of the Signless during his rebellion. [Doc Scratch 5958] fter the rebellion’s defeat, the Ψiioniic was re-enslaved and grafted to the Condesce’s flagship as her 'Helmsman’.
Psychics in the Alternian Empire were commonly used to facilitate instellar travel in this way, and with the Ψiioniic powering it, the Condesce’s flagship was by far the fastest ship in the fleet. The Condesce was so pleased with this arrangement that she extended the Ψiioniic’s life to match her own near-immortality.
[Doc Scratch 5960]
In this way, the Ψiioniic lived until the meteors from the reckoning began to fall on Alternia. Racing to return, the Condesce forced him to leap thousands of light years in only hours. Before this effort could kill him, Gl'bgolyb released the Vast Glub, and he died with the rest of the trolls still in the universe, including his descendant Sollux. [Doc Scratch 5964]
Like the Ψiioniic, Sollux was a powerful psychic, and friends with Karkat. Similarly to the Ψiioniic’s eventual fate, one instance of Sollux died propelling the trolls’ asteroid. The Ψiioniic’s role as the Condesce’s prized Helmsman is also reflected in Sollux’s matespritship with Feferi.
Marquise Spinneret Mindfang
Descendant: Vriska Serket
Beforan counterpart: Aranea Serket
Killed by: Summoner
[images: Mindfang from [5375]; I added the top of her head, trying to imitate Hussie’s style. Vriska and Aranea with Vriska’s eyes.]
The diaries of the pirate Marquise Spinneret Mindfang are one of our main sources on the Ancestors.
Mindfang’s powerful mind control abilities allowed her to build a large fleet of pirates known as the Glamblignants, [Vriska 5375] more powerful even than the forces of the local sea troll royalty Orphaner Dualscar, her kismesis. [Mindfang 5407] As an established pirate, she could protect the E%patriate from the Highbloods after he was banished.
[Mindfang 5655]
Mindfang routinely captured Dualscar’s slave ships and took the slaves for herself. One of these slaves was the Dolorosa, and Mindfang planned to manipulate her into a matespritship.
[Mindfang 5407]
Disdainfully, Dualscar had the Dolorosa assassinated, and Mindfang ended their kismesissitude. [Mindfang 5408] Dualscar ineffectually escalated attempts to capture her, [Mindfang 5410, 5413] but eventually gave up and took his evidence on her to the Grand Highblood, who killed him. [Mindfang 5414]
Mindfang owned the stolen Magic Cue Ball of Doc Scratch, giving her access to unerring knowledge of the future. [Mindfang 5657] But when the Highbloods sent Neophyte Legislacerator Redglare to arrest her, Mindfang dismissed the threat, considering the appointment a token effort that tacitly implied acceptance of her antics, and she did not bother to consult her “oracle”. [Mindfang 5417, 5418, 5419]
Mindfang was thus unprepared when Redglare’s dragon lusus Pyralspite destroyed her fleet, swallowed her lusus, and burned away her Vision Eightfold, and Redglare cut off her arm and apprehended her.
[described in Mindfang 5642, animated in 5644 Seer: Ascend]
When Redglare took Mindfang to trial, Mindfang used her mind control to turn the anger of the audience against Redglare so that they collectively attacked and hanged her. [Mindfang 5647, 5648, 5649, 5650]
Then, wielding Redglare’s cane, she killed His Honourable Tyranny and escaped [Mindfang 5651, 5652, 5653, 5654]
to the E%patriate’s castle, where he built her a new robot arm. [Mindfang 5655, 5656].
According to her visions in the cue ball, a long time later, Mindfang became the matesprit of the rebel Summoner, and ultimately he was the one to kill her. [Mindfang 5658]
As a wiggler, Mindfang’s descendant Vriska discovered Mindfang’s diaries on a meteor [Vriska 5374] and became obsessed with her Ancestor. She pushed herself to live up to her image of Mindfang, roleplayed her in FLARP, and recovered Mindfang’s treasures such as the Fluorite Octet.
Many events in Vriska’s life echo Mindfang’s: her relationships with Tavros and Kanaya, her relationship with Terezi including loss of an arm and an eye to her and later direct confrontation, her temporary kismesissitude with Eridan, and Equius rebuilding her arm.
Neophyte Legislacerator Redglare
Descendant: Terezi Pyrope
Beforan counterpart: Latula Pyrope
Killed by: Mindfang
[images: Redglare, Pyralspite and Pyralspite’s eyes all from [Seer: Ascend], Terezi, Latula]
Redglare was a Legislacerator, a lawyer/bounty hunter whose job was to hunt down criminals and prosecute them before the enormous monster His Honourable Tyranny - largely a formality before their execution. [Terezi 3932, 3942] Redglare was talented but inexperienced when she was assigned to capture Mindfang. [Mindfang 5418] She was also, secretly, a devotee of the Signless, and wore a necklace with his symbol. [5956]
While most tealbloods had relatively unthreatening lusii such as cholerbears and spleenfowls, Redglare’s was a dragon, named Pyralspite, which could create enormous fires with the light from its red eyes. Pyralsprite destroyed Mindfang’s fleet and burned her eye, and Redglare herself confronted Mindfang and cut off her arm.
[described in Mindfang 5642, animated in 5644 Seer: Ascend]
But Mindfang got revenge at the trial, using her mind control powers to turn the bloodthirsty audience against Redglare instead of herself. The audience attacked Redglare en masse, and hanged her in place of Mindfang. [Mindfang 5647, 5648, 5649, 5650]
Later, Mindfang regretted having to kill her, writing that if not for Redglare’s preoccupation with justice, they could have been a “striking scourge” together. [Mindfang 5651]
This wish was fulfilled by their descendants Terezi and Vriska, who roleplayed in deadly games of FLARP as Redglare and Mindfang, together known and feared as the “Scourge Sisters”. Terezi, who aspired to be a legislacerator like Redglare and shared her concern with justice, also caused Vriska to lose an arm and an eye. Later, Gamzee reminded Terezi of their Ancestors’ confrontation as part of an effort to make her kill Vriska, and Terezi confronted Vriska while dressed as Redglare in a deliberate echo of the battle between their Ancestors.
Redglare’s devotion to the Signless was also reflected in Terezi’s friendship and at times romance with Karkat.
the Grand Highblood
Descendant: Gamzee Makara
Beforan counterpart: Kurloz Makara
Killed by: unknown
[images: the Grand Highblood [5414], Gamzee, Kurloz with Gamzee’s eyes]
Relatively little is known about the Grand Highblood. He was a Subjugglator, the highest authority of the land trolls, and apparently he held authority over at least some of the sea trolls as well.
We know that he was long-lived, capricious, and liked to decorate his walls with the blood of those he judged. Failing to amuse him was grounds for execution. [Mindfang 5414]
We don’t know when the Grand Highblood was born, or when and how he died. He may even have survived until the Vast Glub.
His descendant Gamzee aspired to be a Subjugglator as well, and during his
asteroid rampage, he likewise painted walls with the blood of those he killed.
Orphaner Dualscar
Descendant: Eridan Ampora
Beforan counterpart: Cronus Ampora
Killed by: Grand Highblood
[images: Dualscar [5408], Eridan, Cronus with Eridan’s eyes]
Orphaner Dualscar was Sea Troll royalty, a maritime authority and slaver, and for a time the kismesis of Spinneret Mindfang.
[Mindfang 5407]
He placed a great value in the Hemospectrum, and was disgusted with Mindfang’s disregard for it. Yet he also aspired to become the matesprit of the Condesce. [Mindfang 5413]
He arranged for the assassination of the enslaved Dolorosa due to Mindfang’s hemospectrum-inappropriate affections for her slave.
[Mindfang 5408] Mindfang thus ended their kismesissitude, and he unsuccessfully escalated efforts to arrest her.
[Mindfang 5410, 5413]
Ultimately, he abandoned his own efforts and gave his evidence on Mindfang to the Grand Highblood. But Dualscar’s presentation did not amuse the Highblood, and he was killed.
[Mindfang 5414]
His descendent Eridan played as him in FLARP, and retreived his belongings such as Ahab’s Crosshairs. Like Dualscar, Eridan valued the hemospectrum, was for a time kismesis of Vriska, tried to be matesprit of Feferi, and (temporarily) killed Kanaya.
the Summoner
Descendant: Tavros Nitram
Beforan counterpart: Rufioh Nitram
Killed by: unknown
[images: an enlarged/overdrawn version of the Summoner from [5658], Tavros,
Rufioh with Tavros’s eyes]
The Summoner was the leader of the Cavalreapers, one of the armies used by the Condesce in her interstellar conquests. He won his command through skill and bravery, and also led an “army of beasts” controlled using his powers of animal communion. As a commander, he underwent a “miraculous” transformation, gaining butterfly wings similar to a god tier troll, and this inspired his troops to follow him in a second rebellion against the Highbloods. [Mindfang 5658]
His rebellion was crushed, but in order to forestall further rebellions, the Condesce decreed that all adult trolls must leave Alternia to serve in her armies offworld.
[Mindfang 5658, Doc Scratch 5963]
At some point the Summoner became the matesprit of Spinneret Mindfang, and later he killed her. Correspondingly, his descendant Tavros was abused by Vriska, and at times she pushed him to be her matesprit. Vriska also attempted to make Tavros kill her in order to hurry her ascension to God Tier, but Tavros could not.
the Handmaid/Demoness
Descendant: Aradia Megido
Beforan counterpart: Damara Megido
Killed by: Condesce
[images: the Handmaid from [5969], Aradia, Damara with Aradia’s eyes]
The Handmaid arrived hundreds of sweeps after the beginning of SGrub, long after all the trolls in the universe were dead or gone. [Doc Scratch 5967] She was retrieved by Doc Scratch, who raised her [Doc Scratch 5968] and used her to carry out interventions in Alternia’s history, always pushing towards greater violence and oppression. The “Demoness” thus became a figure of troll legend, a portent of disaster. [Doc Scratch 5969]
Though she became suicidal in this inescapable service, the Handmaid was cursed, unable to die until her master permitted. [Doc Scratch 5968] The curse was finally lifted when the Handmaid was sent on a final, fatal mission to recruit the Condesce as she returned to Alternia. [Doc Scratch 5970, 5971]
Her descendent Aradia was also a time traveler, and was fascinated and history. In contrast to the Handmaid who could not die, Aradia could act after death, and spent a long time as a ghost.