Night Mistress

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The Raven Queen, more commonly known as the Night Mistress, dictates when it is time for someone's soul to be ferried off into the afterlife. To the Night Mistress and her followers, death is a natural thing, one all living things eventually have to face. Priests of the Night Mistress, known as Gravesisters, often call for her blessing during funerals in hopes that she will protect the deceased from turning undead, a fate viewed with utter disdain by the Night Mistress and her followers.
Besides death, she is also the patron of winter, as her powers sweep the land with cold, so that plants may die, only to be reborn when spring comes next year.
Contents

Description

Appearance

Ancient books, carved stones, and old tapestries depict the Night Mistress as a tall, slender woman with pale skin, piercing eyes, and black curly hair. She is often seen wearing a black coat of raven feathers and a matching masquerade mask. On each of her shoulders sits a pair of ravens, acting as her messengers from beyond the Shadowfell. She is often shown wandering cemeteries or households of the elderly and sickly.

Commandments of the Night Mistress

Commandments of the Night Mistress

• Death is but another journey, one all living things must embark upon eventually.
• Seek to punish those who would defy their fate, death comes for all.
• Remove all traces of undeath from the mortal world, what is dead, should remain so.

History

The Age of Arcanists

The Raven Queen's ascension didn't occur until the golden age of magic during the Age of Arcanists, as up until then, it had been the patron deities of each race's responsibility to oversee the dead of their respective races. During this age, when magic and the individuals using it were at their peak, many mortals sought to defy the gods and ascertain their own portion of divinity. One such individual was a powerful spellcaster whose identity has been forgotten to time. It is believed that during her time as a mortal, the woman who would later become the Raven Queen witnessed first-hand the horrors of some of the first necromancy and the use of necrotic arcane energy, leading her to pursue magic for the purpose of combating those who'd dare to disturb the dead.
Whether through the interference of the gods or her own ambition, the mortal ascended to godhood shortly after her death, much like Emperor Arterius Thran would several centuries later. While the Raven Queen shared her seat among the other Prime Deities, she refused to reside within the High Heavens, instead taking up residence within the Shadowfell, a realm of negative energy that mirrors the Material Plane.

Maiden of Death

The Raven Queen takes on many names across several cultures and is often viewed with a mixture of both respect and fear. Being responsible for ferrying the souls of the dead to their respective planes, the Raven Queen adopted a sect of angels of death called the Knights Corvus. Their task is to hunt down lost souls and ensure that the many souls waiting in the Ethereal Plane are judged accordingly.
Besides her angels, there are also paladin and clergy orders on the Material Plane who have adopted the name of Knights Corvus, traveling the world to offer the judgment of the Night Mistress to those who would disturb the grave and those who eternally slumber beneath.

The Rhanic Empire

Shortly after the formation of the Rhanic Empire, the Raven Queen received her own holy day to further solidify her divinity and quell the stories of her being an ascended mortal. As such, she additionally became the God of Winter, with her holy day taking place on the 25th of Snowcall, called Winter's Eve: a celebration in Wildemyst associated with sharing gifts and kindness across families, while huddling up around the fireplace as the snow gently falls outside.

Places of worship and holy sites

Wildemyst

The Night Mistress's reputation as the Goddess of Death does come with a sense of dread, which is why her following remains relatively small. The majority of people throughout Wildemyst celebrate her holy day of Winter's Eve as a cheerful event where families come together in the heart of winter, sharing food and pleasantries.

• Hall of the Dead: Halls of the Dead are funerary structures that contain the bodies of the deceased, and they can be found in almost every major city where the Prime Deities are openly worshiped. These sanctuaries are maintained by the Gravesisters, an all-female clergy who have dedicated their lives to tending to the deceased and rooting out unjust necromancy.
• Chantry of the Divine: The largest temple in the Rhanic Empire, located in Evergrace. The temple is dedicated to all the Prime Deities.

Symbol of the Raven Queen, by Midjourney

Deity Information

Type: Prime Deity

Title(s):

• The Night Mistress
• Mother Of Ravens
• The Gravekeeper
• Maiden of Death

Common symbol: A raven sitting on a withered bush with a crimson backdrop

Gender: Female

Alignment: Lawful Neutral (LN)

Home Plane: Shadowfell

Worship

Worshipers:

• Knights Corvus
• Gravesisters

Holy Day: Winter's Eve (25^th of Snowcall)

Major Temples: Hall of the Dead

Associated domains:

• Grave
• Death
• Life

Gallery

Art of the Night Mistress in humanoid form