Dearil, God of Death (Dear-ill)

What is believed about Dearil?

Personality-wise Dearil is considered to be almost entirely neutral: although tales are told of him punishing those who defy him with methods worse than death. (This seems not to be referring to those who resurrect or get resurrected, but instead to a much larger scale - although there is no known proof of this happening). There are a few accounts from people who have died only to be brought back alive. Everyone reports some sort of presence, there to guide them to the afterlife, appearing as soon as they die. Most report recognising this as some sort of servant of Dearil. On occasion, people someone they recognise as Dearil himself come to guide them. People who experienced Dearil report far higher rates of comfort in their death than those who do not. It is assumed that Dearil only takes it upon himself to escort those who he deems worthy to the other side, and so it has become to be seen as a great honour.

How is Dearil portrayed?

Common depictions of Dearil show him dark robes, covering his face, with three crows surrounding him. It is a common superstition that it is bad luck to portray Dearil with his face, or any skin showing.

Where is Dearil portrayed?

Like every god, artwork of him can be seen within temples dedicated to him, as well as temples dedicated to The Nine. Additionally, cemeteries, crypts, mausoleums and tombs will often have statues of him or the three crows. It is not unheard of for people to be a sent small crow insignia or drawing. These are always unsigned and are taken to mean implying you want that person dead. In other cases, people will keep a small memorabilia of a crow to help ward them against death.

How do people pray to Dearil?

Prayer for Dearil once someone has died is customarily done with rose oil, lavender oil, or lemon oil, rubbed into the palms of the hands while the prayer is continuing (those who cannot afford these items will usually use part of a lavender plant, as that grows almost anywhere and is widely available for free). It is common that prayers that are done for reasons outside of recent death involve placing a stone on the ground, then lifting your arms up to the air. This is meant to symbolise that although your body stays on Nalbon, your soul is set free.

Why do people pray to Dearil?

The most common (but not only) reasons to pray to Dearil are: to ask for an easy passage to the afterlife for a recently deceased loved one, to ask for a painless death when it is your time. Some people will pray to Dearil to prevent death in times of desperation, although officially this is frowned upon by the church.

Domain: Death
Animal: Crow
Colour: Black
Alignment: True Neutral