BoDiddly said:
While all these readings sound [potentially] pertinent, let's narrow it down to our first round:
This Kirin-written book may be relevant to current questions AND the coming quest; feed two birds with one hoof!
And research on memories could provide enlightenment on those gaps in our collective recollections.
[...]
After checking Honourshine's opinions, set your selections and get to gathering intel!

Since you were just talking about soulmates, you suggest starting with the Kirinese book A-Ni-Ma. You reason that even if it does not answer all of your questions, it might still provide some insight into the Empire's culture.

Honourshine: "I'm curious as well. Why don't we read together, like we used to?"

You nod, and take the book out from the shelf. You remember back when you were young, and how you started sharing your textbooks together, as per her suggestion. Not only would Honourshine's company motivate you to read along, but discussing every few pages helped you better understand what you'd learned — and it showed in your marks!

With that in mind, you make your way over to one of the reading tables by the far wall, and take a seat next to each other. Then, you open the book in front of you, huddle together, and begin to read...

The book opens with a note explaining that it was translated from Kirinese, and originally written by monks. According to them, the soul is the mind's essence of life, and the counterpart of the body's chi. It is comprised of two elements: hei, or darkness, which embodies selfishness and preservation; and bai, or light, which embodies selflessness and sacrifice.

Souls are known to originate from beyond the firmament in the form of stars. Upon a creature's conception, a soul travels from the beyond and binds itself to the body. Then, upon the latter's expiration, the soul returns to the beyond. This process may be repeated multiple times, known as reincarnation.

Because each soul is unique, it is possible to recognize a reincarnated soul between the end of its previous life and start of its new one. However, souls change over the course of a lifetime, ever influenced by darkness and light, and thus are not easily recognizable for long after birth.

You remember Twilight Sparkle mentioning that most ponies cannot use Light and Dark magic without suffering terrible consequences. You consider that such spells may have a direct effect on the soul.

Honourshine: "What kind of effect, I wonder...?"

While souls are technically immortal, binding is only possible when a suitable body is found. Each body possesses a threshold of darkness and light which cannot be exceeded. When a soul is no longer able to reincarnate due to an excess of darkness or light, it becomes known as a black or white soul respectively, and retires among the stars.

If, by magical means, a black or white soul is bound to a body, then the creature will lose its chi and enter a state of neither alive nor dead, or undeath, in which the body no longer heals nor decays.

Honourshine: "Hm. Well, that sounds horrifying."

You nod. Yet, thinking back on it, could this kind of corruption be related to how Solar Flare and Empyrius both lived for so long? More questions...

Furthermore, four classes of souls are currently known to the Kirin: yin, found in most critters; eru, found in kirin (and ponies); san, found in demons and dragons; and sin, embodied within divine beings.

In addition to the threshold of darkness and light, a soul can only be bound to a body of matching class. However, in the event of multiple simultaneous conceptions, it is possible for a soul of greater class to divide itself into smaller fragments, called twin souls. Two or more creatures embodying fragments of the same greater soul are known as yan, or soulmates.

You and Honourshine briefly glance at each other.

Due to the timely nature of soul binding, soulmates are often born of the same birth, or from group procreative rituals. Soulmates may also be completely unrelated in location and even species, yet such cases are rarely found. Soulmates are generally characterized by complementary personalities, behavioural synchronicity, and perfect nonverbal communication...

Honourshine: "So... what are you thinking? Twins? Or very close parents?"

The clock on the wall indicates half past three.

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