Deaths have always been part of life in Idia.  However in most circumstances they have little in common with the deaths seen in the outside world.  Their manner, the way they happen, what is left after differs sometimes drastically from what is normally considered death.  There is also, a number of types of deaths that can occur.  Permanent or temporary, deaths where the person is still there after, whether the same or somehow different, and deaths that are curses, that leave the person suffering for eternity.  Each death seems to be associated with a cause or need.

In the Glade lie the dead children.  This is supposedly a terrible place, the cries of the tormented can be heard and the presence of pain and suffering felt in the air.  The glade is guarded against entry from the rest of us and there lie the children.  This death is not peaceful, it is our equivalent to the concept of hell.  The death occurred on the outside, associated with abuse.  At the time of an abusive situation, a child, who was either unprepared for the situation, or overwhelmed by it became struck in the body, left to endure what was happening.  Because they were unable to deal with it, and unable to leave the incident resulted in their death.  They became caught in that moment, in the abuse that caused their deaths.  As their bodies remain unchanged over the years, their minds and souls are torments with that experience.  They can not be reached, nothing can be changed.  This is a permanent death and one that is greatly feared.  The term 'dead children' became a way to scare people into learning the rules of outside involvement.  "If you don't know what you are doing you will end up with the dead children"  Many have talked about rescuing the dead children, believing it cruel to leave them in such a state.  But it is now recognized, at least by those of Idia, that this is impossible.  Once a body is taken into the glade there is nothing that can be done.

When others die inside, sometimes they stay around.  They are dead, claim to be.  And in some cases we have witnessed the death, however those that die remain as part of our community.  They become ghosts, either just by name or by appearance.  Those that do not remain exactly as they were, become transparent, there is something in their eyes, a lack of life.  The ghosts are still active, they contribute and live amongst us.  Many have now bonded together into a clan of ghosts.  They have a culture of their own, when a ghost comes into being they are taken into the clan to be taught their new life.  Leaving behind the duties and responsiblities they held before they died.  We are unsure what is the cause of these deaths, they seem to happen without cause.  These deaths are not feared.  There is a lot of reorganising when one occurs, new responsiblities, new relationships.  But in general its just seen as part of the changing form of the dynamics of Idia.

Finally there is the true dying.  Like on the outside world people of Idia can die, body and soul.  There is no life after the death.  We have a funeral and place the body in the cemetry.  These people are gone forever and missed dearly.  These do not happen often, thankfully.  We have recorded 4 permenant deaths since Idia was formed.  This is not intergation.  The person is not moved into another or as part of the whole system.  All they were, all they know is lost forever.

Death happens within Idia, not regularly, but it is a possibility.  This amazed me when I first realized, for at the time I thought of Idia as a creation of my mind and therefore not real.  When then would deaths occur.  It seemed bizarre.  These people were suppose to be a coping mechanism, why then would they die when they were still needed.  But as time went on and I realized that Idia is more than a coping mechanism I began to understand.  In our world death is a possibility, it is part of the life that was created.  When the plague hit a year ago and people started getting very sick and dying we thought we would be wiped out.  The knowledge that all could end, that we were living people rather than a coping mechanism hit hard then.  We left it too long, holding onto the fact that as such we would never die,