The Grey Maiden, Erela
Goddess of Transitions
Erela was the first mortal deified by Adar and Lagahashra and is the last god mortals see. She is the goddess of transitions: between sleep and wakefulness; between past and future; most infamously, between life and death. Her position as the goddess of death is why people fear and reject her if they think of her at all.
Erelea also observes the weave of fate and destiny, for each choice is a transition between possibilities. Will you go left or right? Will you say yes or no? Will you save yourself or sacrifice yourself? When you are born, it is said that The Grey Maiden sees the possibilities for your life laid out before her, and from the tangle of choices, she will observe the path you tread from cradle to grave.
The Grey Maiden typically presents herself as a young woman with patches of translucent skin that show the bones beneath. The Grey Maiden travels the world for her devout worshippers, giving the gift of death to those who need it most. To the terminally ill, to the elderly, to the incurable, death comes as a relief. Erela comes to them in the guise of a young woman and will comfort the dying before she grants them release.
Clergy
The religion associated with the Grey Maiden - the Church of the Long Death - reminds people through its very name that life is a roundabout way to death. Her priests and priestesses are officially called The Silent Sisters and Brothers but have many unpleasant epithets. Clergy and adherents of the Grey Maiden often report a calling - as though the Grey Maiden chose them, not the other way around. As the goddess of fate, feeling called to service is certainly not a coincidence.- Because they are closely attuned to Fate, the Silent Sisters and Brothers do not speak, lest they reveal information that mortals were not meant to know (performing the verbal components of spells at casting is not considered speaking). The clergy provides many services related to death that most other people wouldn’t offer. They provide hospice care (for people who are dying and won’t recover), perform autopsies, embalming, cremation, transportation of the bodies of the dead, and preparation of the dead bodies for funeral rites. The Grey Maiden’s clerics basically invented the fields of anatomy and of forensic science.
- Families may obtain a necronym, called a Grey Name, for a deceased relative from the Silent Sisters and Brothers in exchange for a donation to the Grey Maiden's order. Traditionally, the deceased are thereafter referred to by the Grey Name as a sign of respect. This name was often the only one inscribed on gravestones in the past, though now it is more common to have the necronym in addition to the given name.
Divine Domains
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Tenets of Faith
- The Grey Maiden teaches her followers to accept the inevitability of death and the (often) unavoidable tragedies of life. The time you have is precious because it will end. Don’t seek to hasten death or fear it - simply embrace your mortality. You should take comfort in knowing the universe has a plan for you. Do not judge others for who they are; they are doing the best they can with what life has given to them. Composure and acceptance are traits the Graveguard encourages in her followers.
- The Grey Maiden frowns on prematurely ending lives, but makes no judgments about the cause of death. To her, the greatest sin is thwarting the normal cycle of life and death. Thus, undead are considered profane and necromantic magic must be stamped out wherever it arises.
- A violent and painful death is said to be a sign of her disfavor.
Holidays
A day to celebrate and remember those departed. Many dress up in costumes and makeup. At night, people write a note to a deceased loved one and send it up in the sky via paper lantern. The lantern lights up on its own, showing that the departed one’s spirit has risen to the mortal world to join its loved ones. Once the lantern is lit, it is released into the sky so the spirit may return to the spirit realm before the night ends.
Social
Family Ties
Other Information
- When someone dies, her clergy are almost always the ones to prepare the corpse for their final rites regardless of their religion.
- The Grey Maiden does not get along with The Dreamwalker. The reason Erela’s clergy remain silent is to avoid revealing secrets that could influence the flow of fate. The very act of telling a prophecy deprives people the choices that make their lives their own.
- She is nonjudgmental but brutally honest.
Divine Domains
Grave, Twilight
Death, rebirth, fate
Holy Symbol
Caterpillar, Phoenix, Spider
