There is a special protective aura gained whenever you are killed and subsequently ride - for any length of time - on the ship of the dead. This protection works separately to divine protection or death sheen or any of the combat regulators. It is particularly robust in junior players or those of middling standing facing opponents stronger and more senior.
Divine protection (see HELP PROTECTION) is lost the moment you commit any act of potential aggression or direct interaction with the "competitive" cut and thrust of Avalon life, e..g.. attacking someone or setting up combat-specific defences. Resurrection aura stays with you a little longer. It keeps you shielded from most aggression and strike attacks by those of higher - especially senior - standing. It will remain with you until you choose to initiate an attack against somebody else DIRECTLY by your own choice i..e. as if to say "I am back in the crucible of battle!" to the world.
The aim of the resurrection aura is to give respite from persecution and "grief" attacks from your opponent players of higher standing without cossetting or grossly restricting your freedom of movement and action while the aura remains in place. Divine protection is hard to keep up if you want to engage in the day to day life of the land, resurrection aura is easy to keep if you want a break from intense inter-personal combat.
You can tell when you have the resurrection aura protections by typing DEFENCES and noting it listed as a defence-or-countermeasure. It will also show in the fullprompt (see HELP PROMPT) by enclosing your defences in [] and on most clients highlighting part of the prompt in green.