Death
The Final Truth
The first mortal to be born, and the first creature to experience death.
Divine Domains
Death holds dominion over its namesake; Death: the act of a creature's soul leaving its body and traveling into the roots of the World Tree. It grants its clerics access to the Death, Healing, Plant, Madness, and Repose domains, as well as the Decay, Psychopomp, Resurrection, Souls, and Truth subdomains.
Artifacts
Death's primary herald, Thanatos wields a powerful scythe known as the Reaper's Blade, capable of rending souls from the body with a single swing.
Holy Books & Codes
Death's holy book is simply known as The Truth, a book that states the importance of death as a part of the natural cycle to maintain the fabric of the world.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Death's holy symbol is the outline of an a skull, void of any features.
Tenets of Faith
The followers of Death, the seekers of the Final Truth, seek to help maintain the order between life and death. Thus, they must follow the following code;
- All things must die. When my time comes to be judged, I will go willingly and without question.
- I will seek to bring things to their natural end. Those who would go beyond the natural will see the judgement of my blade.
- I will not hopelessly cling to things when it is time for them to pass. To do so only inflicts and prolongs grief.
- I will see that the dead and fallen are properly treated and buried, even if they were my enemy in life, as to lessen any chances they have as rising as an undead.
- Death comes to all equally, and like it I will hold myself to that impartiality. I will not let the forces of chaos, evil, good, and law stray me from my path.
- I will always seek the greater truths of the universe, so that when I stand before the Gate my knowledge will open the door.
Holidays
The celebration of the first and the last days of the year are especially important to the followers of Death, as they view the dates as a spiritual transition from the death of the old year into the birth of the new. They also observe a solemn holiday on the 28th of Skova, known as the Day of Reaping. This day is the same date as when Grimm, the first undead, escaped Death's judgement and brought undeath into the world. They day is spent hunting undead or helping protect bodies from transforming into undead. It is a stark opposition to the Grimmian holiday on the same day, the Day of the Laughing Skull, in which members of the Dark Carnival purposefully unleash as many undead horrors as they can on the world.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Deaths' divine goals are simply to keep the cycle of life and death in balance; their duty is to judge the souls of the deceased and send them to their proper afterlife. His only main obstacle is Grimm and his undead prodigy, and thus Deaths only other goal is preventing the further spread of any undead scourge.
Physical Description
Identifying Characteristics
Death's avatar has never manifested in the world, as it instead always prefers to send its herald, Thanatos to enact its will. For the rare few who have travelled all the way to the Gate of Truth and then returned to the world of the living, they always state the Death appears to them as a blank and formless outline of themselves, and speaks to them in their own voice and memories.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Death was the first mortal being created in the 9th year of existence, while the universe and its law were still being formed by Thanaloc's eternal chase of Protos. Then unnamed, it was shaped by the Author and Draganna Kalila Piitag out of pure Cosmic force and was granted time and a will of its own. The creation gazed at the wonders of the shaping universe, but then perish only 24 hours after its birth. It was then granted a glimpse of something beyond even the Authors sight, transforming into the concept of Death.
Death was mostly passive for the first ninety-nine years of creation, but in the hundredth year, it spoke the words of that all shall one day end, from which the Four Apocalyptic Spirits were birthed. Death immediately bound and imprisoned the creatures behind the Gate of Truth, waiting for when the time was right for them to be set upon the world.
In the year 1207 A.C. the then demigod Alka successfully climbs the World Tree to the Gate of Truth and meets with Death, transforming into a full deity. From the bandaged wounds of his climb, Death shapes Anubis, the Alkan god of embalming and caretaking of the dead.
In the year 1430, the demigod Hunginn seeks knowledge of Alka's ascension, so he too climbs up the World Tree to the Gate of Truth. Death simply tells him of a great secret, which completes his transition into a deity. Later, in exchange, he takes one of Hunginns children, the deity Vidoopnir, and instils him outside of the entrance to the Gate of Truth as another deterrent to those who would seek entrance.
In the year 1480, the demigod An also ascended to the Gate of Truth, becoming a full deity on the process. As she met with Death, the ashes of one of her companions who had fallen in the climb coalesced into Mel, the ursan goddess of grief.
In the year 1582, not to be outdone by her peers, the demigod Neko also climbed to the Gate of Truth, seeking the transition into a full deity. As payment, Death took something precious from her, and crafted it into Sinha, the nekoan god of the Transition between life and death.
In the year 2010, a mortal human spirit reached the Gate of Truth to receive Death's judgement; it is unknown what was levied before him, but he refused to accept Death's truth, instead fleeing down the tree, an inverse of the normal climb of the Root of Souls. This act corrupted his soul and flesh, transforming him into the first undead creature. He took up the mantle of Grimm, the Dark Carnie, stating that he will never give up the fun of the mortal plane, and Death has sought to recapture the soul ever since.
In 2169 A.C. Eve gave birth to the stillborn child of Menoti, and in her devastation, prayed to Death to give the child another chance. Death, enacting an unknown price, agreed, and split the soul of the child in twain, creating Shi and Ihs, the first of the Dualox and the god of duality.
Gender Identity
Since Death always seems to appear as a reflection of whoever it interacts with, it always has the same gender as the viewer, leaving many to speculate that Death may not even have a true gender or even form when not observed.
Failures & Embarrassments
Death failed to stop the descent of Grimm, who then transformed into the first undead and spread his condition around the realms.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Unlike the majority of the other gods, Death seems to have a multitude of heralds, which many believing that he has a separate herald for every living thing. As Death's true form is mysterious and not well known, his heralds are often depicted in literature and sculpture instead of Death itself, and many stories interact with the heralds differently, depending on which species his telling the story. Stories over these heralds seem to change in appearance and motivations over time, leaving many to believe that the herald of Death is more a position that devout followers can gain after their death. Others believe that the only way to become a herald of death is to kill the previous one (a nigh-impossible task, as it seems that the heralds of Death are immune to conventional harm), in which the slayer takes on the duties of the slain herald. The duties of these heralds are to collect the souls of those who have their souls aligned in perfect balance, to ensure that soul's safe delivery to death for judgement, as well as hunting down powerful creatures who have avoided their own death.
The most well-known herald of Death is the one that comes for humanity, a skeletal figure known as Thanatos, who seems to be much more active in the mortal world due to the ever-changing nature of humanity.
The herald of the Tyrhin is well-fit and jovial male, leading many to believe that it may Wuko the Monkey King, the missing Primal Beastman of the ape-folk, who is on one final journey, that being ushering the souls of the Tyrhin to the afterlife.
Death's servitors are a race of outsiders known as Psychopomps, souls of mortals who lived life without a strong commitment to the forces of good, evil, law, or chaos. The act as guides for the souls of the deceased, helping move departed souls through the Root of Souls and the World Tree to reach the Gate of Truth for judgement.
Death is a member of the deific group known as the Thirteen Star-Bearers, whose likeness makes up some of the major constant constellations. Death is represented by the final, thirteenth constellation, the Follower, who waits silently behind all, for their time to collect the others.
Death forever holds enmity against Grimm, the Dark Carnie, who was the first soul to reject its judgement and turn to undeath.
Adinos, the patron spirit of the Tribe of the Eternal Way, decried the way of the gods, stating that Death was just a gatekeeper and a tool for them to use to convert mortal souls into outsiders, eternally bound to the whims of the gods. He supposedly circumvented his own judgement by allowing his followers to consume his body and soul and pass his spirit into them.
Family Ties
Death spoke the spirits of the Four Horseman into existence, often referred to as Uriel, Theria, Pollyon, and Charon, and views them similarly to impatient children.
Shi and Ihs, the twins of duality, view Death as their surrogate father instead of the Titan Menoti.
Relationships
Divine Classification
Supreme Deity
Alignment
Neutral
Realm
Church/Cult
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Death is known by many names:
To the people of Ardlam, they are known as Amandu'
The people of Armarium speak to them as Seb
To the people of Ixuil, mostly those of the Tribe of the Eternal Way, Mlangɒ, meaning "The Jailer"
For the people of Kirru, they are known as Tahene
For the people of Skovasil, Death has two names; the first being Shubuzini and the second being Mlozhu. The first is a welcome name spoken by the people of the Free Lands, meaning Blessed Sleep, while the second is spoken with distaste by necromancers, translating to Enemy.
For Urrok, they are known as Fufɛŋst, or The Transformer.
In Usoram, they are known as Modviva, or The One Who Waits.
Date of Birth
1st of Vata
Date of Death
1st of Vata
Life
9
9
0 years old
Siblings
Children
Quotes & Catchphrases
Followers of Death often state the following phrase
"Behold the Truth": Said when a follower makes judgement upon another, especially in relation to a crime the accused has committed.
"May You (They) Find The Gate": Said as a burial rite to the dead in the hopes that their soul reaches the Gate of Truth unhindered.
"You (They) Cannot Run From the Truth": Said when hunting the enemies of the church, it is an affirmation to put a stop to whatever plot the enemy has convinced.
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