Church of the Queen of Death

Mythology & Lore

Master over the skein of fate and the mistress of winter, The Queen of Death stands as the goddess of death. Her gaze follows and marks the end of each mortal life, watching over the transition between life and death and ensuring the natural transition is undefiled. Many funerals call to her blessing in hopes that she will protect the deceased from the terrible curse of undeath. Those who keep ancient lore believe the Queen of Death was once mortal herself, and is the only mortal to have ascended. Her rise instantly obliterated the previous, now-forgotten god of death, and the other gods quickly and fearfully destroyed the secrets to the rites of ascension.
Few existing visual depictions of the Queen of Death herself exist, with many temples merely using a raven as a symbol of her blessing. Those that do depict her, however, reveal a tall, pale woman wrapped in dangling black linens, her onyx-black hair straight and never ending, her face obscured by a white, porcelain mask.
The Queen of Death's holy day is the Night of Ascension, celebrating her apotheosis. The actual date of the goddess's rise to divinity is unclear, but the Night of Ascension is nonetheless celebrated on the thirteenth day of the tenth month. Many people of Krennica see this cheery celebration of the dead to be unnerving and macabre, but the Queen's followers believe the honored dead would rather be venerated with cheer, not misery.

Tenets of Faith

• Death is the natural end of life. There is no pity for those who have fallen.
• The path of Fate is sacrosanct. Those who pridefully attempt to cast off their destiny must be punished.
• Undeath is an atrocity. Those who would pervert the transition of the soul must be brought down.