Alkhäd
The harvester and sower. The guide of the mist in the dawn and dusk of life. Alkhäd oversees the death rites and rituals of the andeamer. He seen in the consuming fire all but the High Priestesses of Mazarath are fed to. He leaves behind the ashes of the purified andeamer so the Void will not corrupt their physical bodies. It his mandate of cremation that all andeamer must follow, except the High Priestesses of Mazarath, or risk corruption from the Void, specifically Surgat Zagam.
Priests and priestesses of Alkhäd are responsible for funerary rites. They prepare the deceased for their cremation in a series of rituals. The first is a ceremony of remembrance not unlike some human funerals, that recount the individual and their life. The second is done in private in Temples. The deceased is bathed in purified water in a sealed chamber under the light of the moons through a glass window. These chambers are called Alkhäd’s Heart; they follow a very specific architecture. There is only one entrance. The window to let in the moon always lies directly above the bath where the body is submerged. The insolation of the chambers keeps so it is refrigerated, typically by magical means. The room is sealed at the entrance to keep the zhehrkh-shish within. This seal is done by magical means; symbols line the doorway and before leaving the priest and priestesses each state, one-by-one, “(the deceased’s full name) is not permitted to leave this heart of Alkhäd.”
The andeamer believed this is how their zhehrkh-shish is released. The cleaning of the body washes away life and all its burdens. The zhehrkh-shish is everything a person is: their mind, memories, personality, hopes, dreams, etc. The moon represents Mazarath’s light in the Void, a guide for the zhehrkh-shish so they will not stray and be ensnared by the Void or its minions. During this time, present priests and priestesses chant various prayers, actual quotes of Alkhäd meant to reassure and protect the newly deceased, again so they may not stray. Death is a shock for the living of course and sometimes the deceased may not know they are dead.
Once the second ritual is complete the body is left to dry in the chamber. The priests and priestesses will leave the chamber and return only when the body has dried. This is how they will know the zhehrkh-shish has left the body entirely. The third is the simplest. The horns of the deceased are covered in a protective armor of steel. This isn’t necessary for the deceased as is done more for the living as a means of remembrance. Horns naturally remain after death; this armor will protect the horns being tarnished in the cremation process.
When the horns are secured, the body is carefully placed within a box. This box is sealed by symbols to prevent possession until the body is actually cremated. Usually this process does not take more than a day, but the priest and priestesses will take every precaution to prevent Surgat Zagam’s meddling. At the time of cremation, the body is brought into another chamber, again designed with specific architecture.
This is the retort, the crematory. The body is removed from its box and set on a pedestal and depending on the location of the deceased, the retort can be started by a simple switch or must be lit by fire. Once cremation is complete the participating priest or priestess will recite the last prayer of Alkhäd and open the chamber. Finally, the remains are gathered into the urn provided by the deceased’s family.
Urns can be simple or beautiful works of art. No andeamer goes without an urn. Often, the Temple of Alkhäd provides its own, created by the clergy. This tradition has given their followers a place among pottery artisans in Ënokh over the centuries, aside from urn-making. The ones provided by the Temple of Alkhäd will be simple but will always bear the deceased’s names and horns.
The deceased’s family will then be given the urn now with horns mounted to its base. From there, the family places the urn with the rest of the House’s deceased. For more wealthy Houses this can be an entire room devoted to the House’s ancestors. Much large and longer standing Houses require entire mausoleums kept on their land. For the less wealthy, it will simply be a collection of urns.
Holidays
Alkhäd’s month is blurred one. Dubbed “the Twilight”, it is the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. Alkhäd is the guide of the mists and thus governs the matter of death rites. This month is a time of remembrance and reflection. Remembrance of the departed and their lives and reflection of the ending year. It is a solemn month and still frigid winter. The Twilight Hours are a ritual observance done among houses and families everywhere during the mid-month and lasts only a week. This ritual is carried out during the twilight hours of the day, dawn and dusk. According to andeamer belief, this is when it is most easy to convene with the unseen world. They gather among the urns of the deceased, typically this is a specific room in their homes. The family has the first and last meals of the day with their past relatives and in these hours the dead return to Ënokh, untainted by Surgat Zagam, to be among the living. The deceased can meet their newest descendants and the youngest will know their ancestors.
Deep within the ruins of Nir Rizaal are enormous catacombs that house the bodies of past High Priestesses of Mazarath. High Priestesses of Mazarath are the only andeamer allowed to deny cremation upon death since they are impervious to Void thus Surgat Zagam’s taint. They awaken on the second day of the month and return to Ursanistyn to gather with the living High Priestesses. During this month they feast and train before returning to sleep in their catacombs. This event has been observed for thousands of years since the establishment of the temple upon Ursanistyn. However, there are not as many High Priestesses of Mazarath emerging as one would think. These holy warriors have a longevity unusual even among the andeamer, so their numbers are less than a thousand total. Sometimes not all will awaken either; the Priestesses say: “they will wake if they want or sleep if they want.”
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