Ezlore, sometimes referred to as The Raven King or the Spirit Shepherd, is the god of Death, Afterlife, and Ravens. Along with his wife, Essie, Ezlore is the only other mortal that ascended to godhood after life. Legend has it that after dying and being buried under what is now the mountain, Sorg, Ezlore's spirit refused to move on from this world. Leaving a wife and young child behind he felt he still had a duty in this world. Lost and confused he began to wanter back to Westlight, his home in life. Upon arriving he expected to have a hero's welcome, instead he found nothing. No honor guard, no parade, no citizens welcoming him, and no happy reunion. All he found instead was his wife half mad with grief, and his only son in the care of the nurses and midwives. He tried to comfort his wife, but found that though he could see her, she could neither see nor hear him. He later came to understand that most people were unable to see him in his new form, and if they could, they only saw a raven. The raven had long been a symbol of death and the afterlife in traditional Khalan beliefs. Discouraged at his inability to help his wife, he left Westlight to wander the countryside. Ezlore spent many years wandering aimlessly, searching for a purpose. Searching for why he wasn't allowed to simply fade away.
He spent decades traveling from town to town searching for a purpose. He began to think that he would never find one, and be doomed to wander forever, when he stumbled across another like him. A spirit, this one an elf, wandering Fárïne looking for a purpose. Unlike those still living, Ezlore found that he was still able to communicate with the spirit. In talking with the spirit, Ezlore found that this lost spirit was once a member of a proud army, long before his own time. He has been searching for purpose for neigh on two centuries and was yet to find one. Upon hearing this, an idea came to Ezlore. Surely if there were two of them, there were more. And if they traveled together, spirits in hiding might be more likely to come out and talk. In life he ruled the mighty Kingdom of Thimor, and lead it armies to many a victory. Now in death, he would roam the face of Fárïne looking for others like him. Those that were lost, without a purpose, and lead them to a new future, whatever that woud hold.
In the years that followed, Ezlore and the elf gathered many more wandering spirits. Some of them were warriors like them, others were commoners, nobles, and even some animals. Eventually their numbers grew so large, that where ever they went it was said that the ravens could block out even the sun.
Around this time, a young General Khalix, was fighting his was across the continent in an effort to unite it. Ezlore and his group came across General Khalix during one of the many battles he fought. As they sat on the side and watched, Ezlore began to have a strange feeling. As the soldiers were dying, he could see their spirits leaving their bodies. Most of them were leaving and fading out of this world, and on to the next. A number of them stayed, and looked around confused as to what happened. As he continued to watch the fighting, he began to feel a tug towards those spirits left behind, almost like a string connecting them. He experimentally tugged at one of the strings, and found that it snapped. As it snapped the spirit it belonged to turned to look at him and whispered, "Thank you" as he began to fade from this world. As this happened, Ezlore became away of thousands more strings tugging at him; those he gathered. He knew what he had to do, free the spirits so they may move on happily. In doing so he would be alone again. It was a difficult decision that he pondered over for many days, before finally severing the ties of all those who followed him.
In doing this, he found that a weight was lifted off of his shoulders, and that there was a new sense of purpose within him. A divine sense that he was to be the shepherd of these lost spirits. It was he who would send them on to whatever lay after this world. His mind set, he fashioned new robes for himself out of the ravens that he so often appeared as, and took up symbolic weapons, to cut the strings that held spirits to this world.
It is not known if he ever got to see his wife, Essie, again after both of their ascent to godhood. This is a hot topic of debate amoung many religious scholars. Many point to one fact as proof that they were reunited in godhood: If you pay close attention to battlefields, look for the nurses and healers. Almost always, they have ravens nearby. Not getting in the way, merely observing. Working in tandem, on to save them on this world, and the other to guide them to the next if needed. For many this is proof enough that the Spirit Shepherd and the goddess of loyalty got the ending that many feel they deserved.
Ezlore is commonly worshiped in Khalix, as are the ravens that have come to be associated with him. It is believed that the presence of ravens at a battle or funeral are a good omen, as it means the spirits will rest peacefully. Conversely, ravens present at a birth or wedding are a cause for caution and worry. Legend has it that Ezlore can still occasionally be found wandering the countryside wearing a ravenfeather cloak with the hood up, and a raven mask protruding underneat. A curved khopesh in each hand, ready to pluck the strings and release those stuck in this world
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