The Sacristies of Mormekar

The sacristies of Mormekar, where the Mormekim (MORR-muh-kim) worship, were founded in their current form by a visionary justice of Maal. Named Alonzo d’Eriq, he claimed to have been visited by the Grim Wanderer himself. Mormekar told this Maalite of his deep displeasure, for the mortal races had come to lose respect for death. While they wondered at birth, the marvel for which his wife Morwyn is regularly praised, they hid from death. They celebrated the deceased’s life and then left the body to the lowest members of society, for at the time, gravediggers and crypt-keepers came from the dregs of the mortal races.
To make matters worse, some among the mortal races violated the sanctity of death, raising up the spirits or bodies of the departed to mock its stillness. This lack of respect made Mormekar’s duties more difficult to perform. Many who died had no idea they had passed. The god of the dead had to personally inform them, and lead them to Maal’s kingdom. Worse, many rose as undead, created by foul necromancers. The god charged d’Eriq with founding a church in Mormekar’s name, to ease the passage of souls with funeral rites given by the Grim Wanderer himself. His church would also “give rest” to the undead, and remind mortals that, just as surely as they are unified by birth, so too are they united by death—the only two things they all share.
The Maalite swore he would spread these lessons and he was true to his word. He traveled to the four corners of the world, teaching all who would listen the rites of the dead, and the wrath Death would unleash upon the disrespectful and blasphemous. For Mormekar left d’Eriq and his church, with words of warning: If his duties were made any more difficult by disrespect, he might prematurely claim the lives of all mortals, or refuse to return the reborn to the world. D’Eriq swore to Mormekar this would not be necessary, and the Mormekim of today see themselves as the inheritors of that promise.
Mormekar is fond of his church. It’s a rare attachment for the Grim Wanderer. As the Mormekim say, they perform a useful service for their god. Their rites properly ready the dead for Mormekar, and their opposition to necromancy pleases him. That said, fondness rarely extends into actual interference or guidance. Mormekar rarely speaks to his clergy or anyone else who worships him, except at the moments of their deaths. Unlike other gods, he has no domain where his faithful go, so there is no chance of standing at his side in the afterlife. He is a god of little warmth; worshippers understand this, and do not expect rewards.

Type

Temple / Church