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
Comments