Lanush, Shepherd of Souls

Lanush (/lænuʃ/) is the god of souls, burial, gravesites, and death. It is his duty to guide the souls of the dead back into the Ether from which all things are born. As such, he is worshiped broadly by all people in Thesilae, with very few exceptions. His symbol is a golden shepherd's crook.

History

The Age of Twilight

In the time before Time began, Lanush was woven out of the Ether his mother, Vimeri had gathered from the Primordial Spirits which she herself had been born of. Lanush is her eldest son, younger than only Hasra. After his birth came Thesridan, who Vimeri wove from the remants of the same thread she'd woven Lanush from, thereby bonding the two brothers more powerfully than any mortal could hope to achieve.
Finally, Vimeri wove the goddess Niginni, who shared her mother's penchant for creation, and sculpted the shape of a world and a hundred thousand creatures to inhabit it. This world would become Thesilae, given life by Lanush and Thesridan as a gift to their beloved sister. But it became clear to both brothers that mortals, with their weak and fading souls, would not live forever. Knowing that their spirits would expire and vanish if they did not return to the Ether which they'd once come from, Lanush took on the role of their guide, and became the god of the dead and dying.

The Age of Dawn

According to the legends of the Age of Dawn- of which there are few, and those which exist are fragmented- Lanush granted his brother Thesridan's champion Nondra with undeath when her mortal life came to an end, having heard from his brother that she did not wish to ascend to divinity, but hoping to keep her with her family nonetheless. When Nondra agreed, he both turned her into a Death Spectre and created the draconic demigod Galegenides to serve as her eternal companion.

Description

Appearance

The Shepherd has many forms, but is typically depicted as a vaguely humanoid mass of swirling stars and space wearing simple black traveler's robes. In any form he takes, he carries the Guiding Star, a shepherd's crook of pure gold that can be seen as a constellation in the night sky.

Personality

Lanush is believed to be a kind god with a gentle affect. He does not judge the dead or dying- only guides them back into the Ether from whence they came. He is firm in his convictions, and cannot be swayed with emotional appeals when the time for a soul to pass on has come.

Worshipers

Most folk in Thesilae worship the Shepherd in small ways, through whispered prayers over a loved one's deathbed, trinkets intended to be buried with their owner, or tidy graves tended to by worn hands.
True worshipers of Lanush- the clerics, priests, and paladins who enact his will- are far fewer in number. Lanush's priests hold vigils at the deathbeds of the dying, preside over funerals, and perform the last rites of any and all who pass from the mortal coil. His champions perform far more dangerous tasks, confronting those who would force souls into undead servitude and cutting them down before their magics can fester and corrupt the land.
The temples of Lanush and Thesridan have become so intermingled though the years that they are virtually indistinguishable from one another. When a prospective new member of either priesthood arrives at such a temple, they are paired with a member who intends to serve the opposite god. This is a lifelong partnership, which will see them connected spiritually until the day one or both return to the Ether. At the end of their training, these prospective champions of life and death must pass the Rite of the Bell in order to earn a place among the temple's clerics and paladins.

Clergy

Clerics of Lanush are more commonly called Soulguides, as their primary duty is to aid the Shepherd in guiding souls back into the Ether. Where their partner utilizes the divine magics of life to protect and heal, Soulguides make use of necromancy to connect with and soothe the dead and dying when healing them is no longer an option.
Lanush's clerics share their title with the clerics of Thesridan, who they are partnered with, and whose responsibility is to guide souls from the Ether to the world of the living (during resurrections and births alike).

Paladins

The major difference between Lanush's clerics and paladins is in the duties they are ascribed. Where a Soulguide might serve in the same temple for their entire life upon receiving their title, the Shepherd's paladins (called Soulflames) are perpetually traveling in pursuit of the necromantic forces that would undermine the natural cycle of life and death. It is the mission of a Soulflame not to slay the undead, but to rout the evil forces responsible for forcing a soul into unwilling undead servitude.

Undead Servants

Rarer even than his mortal champions are the willing undead creatures who remain on Thesilae to continue aiding the Shepherd in his quest to guide all souls back into the Ether. It is believed that Lanush hand-picks these servants from amongst his best and brightest clerics and paladins, and his priesthood considers them their faith's greatest heroes.

Edicts and Anathema

Edicts

• Honor the deceased through rituals and memorials

• Lay bodies and souls to rest

• Tend to forgotten graves

• Comfort the dead and dying

Anathema

• Desecrate graves or destroy burial objects

• Create unwilling undead

• Plot the premature death of any soul

• Torment the undead

Artifacts

• Seal of the Voidmarcher: A vibrant silver ring set with a star-shaped voidstone. It was crafted by Agren, the smith of the gods.

Places of Worship and Holy Sites

Deity Information

Titles
Shepherd of Souls
Classification
Ethereal God
Portfolio
Souls, Burial, Graves, Death
Symbols
A golden shepherd's crook
Divine Realm
-
Alignment
Neutral Good
Gender
None¹
Presentation
Androgynous
Pronouns
He/Him

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Worship

Worshipers
Common folk, willing undead
Holy Days
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Major Temples and Holy Sites
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1. Gender is a mortal concept, which the Ethereal Gods, being immortal beings with no experience of mortality, do not adhere to.