The Ecosystem Ritual: a Sanctioned Guide on the Safe and Legal Disposition of a Loved One's Body

INTRODUCTION

The loss of a Loved One¹ can be an incredibly disorienting experience. In the midst of grief and fear, those they leave behind can feel pressure to make hasty decisions, often leading to tragic and lasting consequences.

It is for this reason that the Department of Interworld Affairs has published this official online guide on the safe and legal disposition of a deceased Loved One's body, in accordance with the legally sanctioned ritual of "the Ecosystem".

This guide exists not only to ensure legal compliance but also to protect mourners and the wider community from disastrous and irreversible ritual failures.

Please read carefully.

If any of the following steps should take more or less time than outlined below, please contact your assigned Accredited Shaman Social Worker (ASSW)² as soon as possible. However, please be advised that response times may vary depending on availability.

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THE ECOSYSTEM RITUAL

(Also known as The Blooming, or That Which Does Not Close in indigenous dialects).

The ritual is a structured, five-day process.

Day 1

You will require a Household³ and an Empty Room⁴. The deceased’s first childhood home offers the best chance for success.

[UPDATE: The Private Property Integrity Act takes effect nationwide on 13th January 2026. Under this legislation, mourners may no longer conduct Ecosystem rituals on property they do not legally own without the explicit, notarised consent of the property owner, regardless of the property's sentimental or ritual value. Any unauthorised use of private property for rituals may result in severe penalties and possible prosecution. Click here for more information.]

The Empty Room must contain an open door and an open Window⁵.

Once you have received clearance from your ASSW, carefully wrap the deceased in a Ritual-Appropriate Shroud (RAS)⁶, available for purchase from partnered businesses. Each shroud comes with a pamphlet detailing how to prepare the body, along with an illustrated summary of this guide.

Lay the shrouded body in the centre of the Empty Room with their feet pointing towards the Window.

Next, each mourner must bring in their most Cherished Possession⁷, destroy it, and spread the pieces into each corner of the Empty Room.

If all goes well, a dim glow will begin to peer through the Window as though it were dawn, regardless of the actual time of day. This light will remain for the duration of the ritual.

While it is strongly recommended that all mourners now leave the Empty Room at this stage, it is your choice to visit as you see fit, provided that visits are silent and not disruptive.

Above all, do not close the Window.

Day 2

Between 2:00am and 6:00am, strange weeds will begin to appear.

They will sprout first from the deceased's body, then thread themselves through the floor, walls, and ceiling of the Empty Room, maturing by evening into even stranger Blooms⁸.

They will look like no other plant in the world.

Please be advised that their scent is extremely potent, often described as a kind of “floral gasoline”.

Day 3

Between 4:00am and 7:00am, small insects will begin to crawl out of and feed on the Blooms, just as strange and incomparable. If mourners are still visiting, you do not need to close the door. The insects will not leave the Empty Room.

Then, around noon, a Bird⁹ will fly in through the Window.

You do not recognise it. You will think you do, but you do not. It cannot help this, so please do not engage.

The Bird will circle the Empty Room, then land beside a single Bloom. The Bird will then feed on any insects caught in that Bloom. And as soon as it has had its fill, it will depart back through the Window. It may return intermittently or only once.

Do not touch the Blooms. Do not touch the insects. Do not touch the Bird. Despite some common superstitions, the Department assures all mourners that none of them will touch or harm you, so please just leave them be.

Do not close the Window.

Then, at around 3:15pm, the deceased will begin to "phase"¹⁰ through the floor. This may go unnoticed until the body is already halfway submerged. This "phasing" will stop at approximately 7:00pm, when the top of the body is level with the surrounding floorboards or carpet.

It is at this point when you will have the final opportunity to say your goodbyes to the deceased.

To increase the chances of success, whisper near their ear any Secrets¹¹ you kept from them in life.

Once you've whispered your Secrets, all mourners must leave the Empty Room by 8:00pm with the door closed and locked.

The Department acknowledges that this stage can be difficult for some mourners. However, unwise emotional disruption has been identified as the most common cause of ritual failure.

Do not try to retrieve the deceased.

Do not try to join the deceased.

They are gone, and you will not see them again.

Do not interfere.

Do not close the Window.

Day 4

Throughout the day, the body will melt into a clear pink puddle.

Please ignore any noises you may hear from behind the door. They may range from faint to ear-piercing, but are otherwise beyond description. Due to their typically distressing nature, loud music and lively conversation are highly recommended to drown the sounds out. If neither are possible, it may be best to leave the Household until the next stage.

Do not open the door.

It is strongly recommended you do not look through the Window.

Day 5

Once the body has liquefied completely, at 3:26pm exactly, out of that puddle will crawl a Ward¹².

Once the Ward has emerged fully, you will not be able to enter the Empty Room, even if you try.

You will not hear anything behind the door or through the Window.

You will not be able to see through the Window.

You will not be able to enter through the Window.

You will not be able to close the Window.

Because of this, what occurs in the Empty Room until the ritual's end is completely unknown. All attempts at discovery have resulted in ritual failure, leading to Viceroy Brisbane's directive forbidding any more attempts.

All that can be said for certain is that as day fades into night, the darkness covering the Window will recede with the setting sun.

Everything that was inside the Empty Room - the deceased's puddle, the broken Cherished Possessions, the Blooms, the insects, the Bird, and the Ward - will be gone, leaving behind no trace.

The Ecosystem will be complete.

You will be able to enter the Empty Room again.

The Window will close itself.

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RITUAL FAILURE

It is absolutely vital that all the necessary instructions outlined in this guide are followed exactly and without exception.

Once the ritual has concluded, your ASSW will come to inspect the Empty Room from the outside. If the Window remains open, it will mean that the ritual has failed. The Household will then be condemned and scheduled for a controlled immolation.

The consequences of ritual failure are not to be taken lightly.

The following description has been confirmed by a recent Department study conducted under the Blackbox Martyrs Program.

If at any point the Ecosystem is disrupted, a sudden and impenetrable dark will fall on the Household that no natural or artificial light can pass through.

The deceased will begin to scream, and then the Ward will emerge.

All exits will be inaccessible.

No one outside the Household will be able to hear or enter.

All you will hear of the Ward is its sprinting footsteps as it collects everything inside - possessions and mourners alike.

The state does not know what will happen to you after you are taken, and no attempts at rescue will be made. Or permitted.

Please be careful.

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If you have any questions or concerns regarding anything covered or not covered in this guide, or if you would like assistance, please contact your ASSW or visit our Contact Us page to get in touch with us directly.

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FOOTNOTES

1. Loved Ones can be human, animal or other. Please consult the Department's guide for officially recognised Friends by clicking here.

2. Accredited Shaman Social Workers are specialised in ritual compliance and crisis administration with Viceroy-validated certification. Please note that while they may provide limited emotional support, counselling is not part of their remit. For resources to help you in managing your grief, such as when returning to work, please click here for our newly launched Wellness Portal to connect with community and private service providers (NOTE: Changes in the recent federal budget may affect eligible subsidies for low-income mourners. Click here for more information).

3. Households refer to any legal and enclosed home. The use of empty or abandoned properties requires a Temporary Ritual Site Permit (TRSP).

4. An Empty Room refers to a single, enclosed space inside the Household with no furniture, personal items, technological devices, or spiritual faultlines prior to the ritual commencing.

5. A Window refers to a single, unobstructed opening to the outside that can be opened. No intruders will be able to enter or exit. If there are multiple windows, only one should be open. Opening more than one can result in ritual failure.

6. Ritual-Appropriate Shrouds are para-degradable and handwoven fabrics made from sanctioned fibres (e.g. mycocotton, ool bark, ritual silk). All RASes must be untreated, unmarked, and uncut prior to use. Decorative alterations, dyeing, or non-sanctioned materials may result in ritual failure.

7. A Cherished Possession refers to an object so dear that destroying it feels like destroying a part of yourself.

8. Blooms are currently unclassified organisms unique to each Ecosystem. While the nature of their biology remains unknown, unsanctioned sampling is strictly prohibited under the Interworld Charter.

9. The "Bird" is a large bird-like creature that consistently appears in documented Ecosystem rituals. While it doesn’t resemble any known bird on Earth, birds are the closest known resemblance. All attempts at further classification have so far failed.

10. "Phasing" refers to the gradual descent of the deceased’s body through the solid ground, as if slowly swallowed.

11. Secrets: The more shameful, the more fruitful.

12. Wards are lower creatures from the Daughter-World monitored under Charter authority. While Wards display a wide range of physical variance (e.g. size, speed, limbs), Department inquiries confirm the following stereotypical traits: non-humanoid appearance, tattered robes, and, as quoted by one retired Ward Liaison Officer (formerly known as Ward-Trackers), "the most tired-looking thing you've ever seen".

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Authorised by the Department of Interworld Affairs under the Seal of the Viceroy.