Teloiv

The Faceless Shepherd

The god of death is predominantly a caretaker for the deceased, guiding their souls to their respective afterlife.
He is commonly depicted as a blue skinned, gaunt humanoid dressed in worn strips of faded purple cloth, has a featureless face with lighter spots and markings, crowned by large intricate antlers, hunched over while bracing himself on a shepherd’s staff. It is said that everywhere Teloiv treads he is followed by rats and small specters.

Divine Domains

Death

Divine Symbols & Sigils

The Valley Spirit is the flower attributed to the god of death, as they are one of the few to bloom in the late autumn and early winter. They grow on creeping vines, typically have six petals, and range in color from a deep magenta to a rich purple.
Rats are a common pet among Teloiv’s followers, as they are his sacred animal and feature prominently in his iconography. Some people even believe that rats are the souls he comes across who aren’t bound to a god, reincarnated into a new form.

Tenets of Faith

Teloiv's followers are commonly referred to as Custodians or Stewards; they help the elderly prepare to pass, administer funeral rites and oversee interment, maintain the sites which house the dead, and calm restless spirits. His stewards generally wear a fairly thick veil, a simple way to imitate his featureless visage, and their seniority further adorn their heads with shed antlers. Devotees may set up a small shrine within their homes. Most often, though, they simply consecrate places of interment (cemeteries, mausoleums, columbariums) and conduct their business in service to him.
Despite common assumptions, the god of death is not outright opposed to necromancy. If a soul still clings onto the energy of life, or needs to be returned for a good enough reason, he will aid it in returning to The Grand Corporeum. But he will always collect when that purpose is served. Of course, he can only do this for the souls within The Supernal Realms, and only after gaining the consent of their patron deity. Some believe that the other deities will sometimes direct him to guide old souls back to be reincarnated when their realm gets crowded.

Holidays

Raetri Nox

Divine Classification

God

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Pronouns

He/Him

Names based on this deity: Telon/Telos/Tela - meaning "the end"