Funerary Block

In tincture and clinker, we swaddle your spirit with the blessings of Aquardion, that you may find comfort in your eternal rest...

— An excerpt from an Unexpector funerary rite.

A funerary block is the end result of Unexpector funerary traditions and are associated particularly with the cult of Aquardion, Goddess of Situational Irony. Funerary blocks preserve the remains of a deceased person in a compact, durable form.

Manufacturing process

Servants of Ironies initiated into the traditions of Aquardion anoint the body and wrap it in cloth while reciting the appropriate rites from the Incunabula. Historically, the body would then be placed upon a pyre to be burned; in modern times, for both environmental and logistical reasons, individual bodies are instead placed into a kiln fed with special charcoal to render them to easily separable ash.
A special clay brick - hollow, but with thick sides - is constructed from clay ideally taken from the banks of the Blue Silk River or, if the deceased lived somewhere else, from a similarly important body of water or deposit near where they were born. This brick is formed in a mould with any epitaphs - name, dates of birth and death, a quote, and so forth - arranged within it using separate dies. The departed person's ashes are combined with the ashes of the ritual incense, dry clay powder, and aqua Aquardion to form a thick, malleable substance. This substance is placed within the hollow of the brick, a top layer of regular clay is used to close the brick, and the mould is sealed. The funerary block is now complete in terms of components, but must be fired in a kiln and under the pressure created by the mould. The resulting funerary block now has a vitrified outer surface, an interior where the remains of the deceased are now firmly stabilized, and a layer where the block and the remains are partially combined.

Significance

Once created, funerary blocks are placed within sepulcres lining the walls, their markings facing inwards towards any visitors. A given graveyard may contain many of these sepulcres, both as surface structures and as catacombs. Eventually, after numerous generations have passed and no living descendants are likely to recall a deceased person, another layer of funerary blocks may be emplaced along the walls. This process continues until the interior of the sepulcre would no longer be accessible to visitors if more blocks were added, in which case a new one must be constructed. Lists of names are kept by Unexpector gravekeepers to ensure that living descendants can still find a block's sepulcre and pay their respects even if the block has become obscured over time.
Alternatively, the next of kin may take the funerary block and keep it in or near their home. The funerary blocks of notable figures throughout history may be incorporated into structures related to their most important work or ideals in life; the Court of Liars notably has the funerary blocks of all Master Harlequins embedded in the pillars of the chamber where the Council of Liars meets. Still others have been disposed of in less than legal - but, perhaps, more meaningful - ways, such as the blocks of famous explorers being dropped into the oceans of the Western Tesseract.
Eventually, though funerary blocks are rendered hardy against the elements by their construction process, weather begins to break down the stone, trace elements work their way out through the pores of even the most well-sealed container, and the sepulcres begin to sink due to the unrelenting force of geological circumvection. In this way, though they have been held back for a time, the deceased eventually become part of the natural nutrient cycle once again.

Item type

Religious / Ritualistic

Raw materials & Components

Creating a funerary block requires charcoal for the cremation chamber or pyre, incense, clay, and aqua Aquardion. Pottery glazes may also be appiled to the block for decorative purposes according to the wishes of the deceased or their families.

Tools

Funerary blocks are typically moulded and impressed with any decorative elements, not carved. Any dust emanating from a funerary block in the course of carving may contain particles of the deceased person's ashen remains; not only would breathing these not be a good idea, but losing part of a client's dearly departed kin to an errant breeze is generally considered in poor taste.