Stitchers of Milcon

The Stitchers of Milcon are an religious order of clergy dedicated to the god Milcon and his domain of the Grave. Stitchers are unique among religious orders for their lack of dogma and extreme ubiquity throughout Holos—nearly every town that has a graveyard or cemetery has a resident Stitcher. Because of this, different communities have very different relationships with their Stitchers, with some towns or villages regarding them as pillars of the community and some shunning them or considering them to be a necessary evil to ward off dark spirits or necrophages.

Structure

Unlike the Matronies of Porcia or the Beaconates of Uriah, there is no organization around which the Stitchers congregate. The singular focus of their task—to tend to the dead and the loved ones of the dead—and their lack of complex scripture means that they have little need for hierarchy or ranks beyond priests and acolytes. Each graveyard or temple to Milcon is kept by a Stitcher. Other Stitchers or acolytes may be present at the graveyard to assist with their duties, but beyond doing the delegated tasks of the Head or High Stitcher, there is no difference between the ranks.
Moreover, as a result of this lack of hierarchy, there is no international community of Stitchers that gathers regularly except to combat necrotic forces during times of great crisis. For this same reason, there is no international headquarters of the Stitchers, though large settlements may have larger temples where Stitchers gather more frequently.

Public Agenda

The role of a Stitcher revolves around three simple tasks:

1. The preparation of a body for burial or disposal through mortuary rites and cleansing rituals.
2. The purification of a body to encourage the spirit to move on to the afterlife and the sanctification of a body to prevent it from being desecrated by necromancers or necrophages.
3. The comforting and consoling of a body's living loved ones through prayer, service, and empathetic listening.

Some Stitchers go out into the world to proactively prevent the desecration of the dead, though this is seen as an aberration and not in the spirit of the work that most Stitchers do. Those that do go out into the world to hunt down dark forces are called Watchers.

Mythology & Lore

Stitchers broadly follow the faith of the Heavenly Council. However, because of the universal nature of death, many Stitchers in communities outside of the Heavenly Council's faithful also worship or pay homage to deities outside of the Council and many other religions incorporate the worship of Milcon into their own faiths.
One of the most pervasive beliefs about Stitchers is that they are reincarnated as dogs, so as to serve mortals again in their next life. Some take this a step further and believe that the spirit dogs or death hounds that prowl the Ethereal Plane are actually reincarnated Stitchers that act as guides and protectors of the dead between their passing and the Moon's Eve, when spirits are taken to the Realm of the Souls for the Judgement of the Turning. Still others maintain that a Stitcher's connection to dogs or jackals or wolves is more sinister and that Stitchers are actually all werewolves or jackalweres. However, this is likely a kind of fear mongering against the order, as the acceptance of death is not always an integral part of a culture's understanding of the cosmos.

Divine Origins

The Stitchers trace their origins to the god Milcon himself, who is said to do many of the same things that Stitchers do for his wife, the Dying Goddess Sidduril. Milcon provides medicine to soothe her passing, sews up her ever-opening wounds, and keeps hungry spirits at bay through prayer and ritual.

Priesthood

Stitchers of Milcon are appointed through the community, usually with the task being passed down through the generations or by those who seek to show their dedication to the God of Death after the passing of a family member or loved one. 
Stitchers of Milcon most often wear vestments of black robes with red lining or detailing. When "stitching" or preparing a body for burial, Stitchers use bright red thread blessed by the blood of a dog or a jackal or the blood of the Stitcher themselves. Some Stitchers, particularly those in Nioa and Iroa, don dog-masks. There are a number of explanations for this practice. Some believe it is in reference to the belief that all Stitchers are reincarnated as dogs to further serve as protectors in life and death to the mortals. Others maintain it is to prevent a confused spirit from knowing the true identity of the Stitcher and then haunting them or their families. 
Many Stitchers also keep dogs on the premises of their graveyards or temples, believing that they help ward off evil spirits. Some claim that these dogs are actually reincarnated Stitchers who continue to serve Milcon and the dead even after they themselves have passed on.

Granted Divine Powers

Stitchers have some healing capabilities in their role as clerics that work on the border between life and death. More to their craft, Milcon grants Stitchers the ability to detect and ward off dark spirits, necromancy, and undead creatures and to put their souls to rest. This is because Stitchers specifically pledge themselves to follow Milcon in his Grave domain form. Stitchers are experts at stabilizing a wounded mortal as well as using divine magic to transfer life force from a sinful or cursed soul to a virtuous one, though this skill is known only to a few who work in Milcon's Grave domain.

We Do Not Fear Death For We Know His Gaze

Type

Religious, Holy Order

Alternative Names

We That Do Not Fear Death

Demonym

Stitcher

Deities

• Milcon
• Sidduril

Notable Members

• Bassa