Neb
Neb (a.k.a. The Pathkeeper)
Neb, the Pathkeeper, is the silent guardian of transitions—a divine figure who walks the line between reverence and dread in the land of Har’Akir. Once honored as a gentle psychopomp who guided the dead with wisdom and kindness, Neb has grown stern and remote, his divine mission reshaped by the corruption of the Dark Powers. Now, he is the unyielding sentinel of the threshold, feared for the grim discipline with which he enforces the division between the worlds of the living and the dead.
Neb is portrayed as a tall, cloaked figure with the head of an ibis, his sharp beak silent, his eyes unblinking and full of celestial knowing. He bears a staff of star-metal, streaked with faint constellations—an ancient relic said to glow faintly when near a soul straying from its destined path. He does not speak in words but in omens: the sudden flight of vultures, the cracking of ancient stone, the chill of wind in a sealed tomb.
To Har’Akir’s people, Neb is inevitability given form—the god who sees all comings and goings, who remembers every footstep and mourns none of them. The living appeal to him for safe passage through haunted lands or cursed ruins, while the dead must heed his unseen guidance toward the afterlife. He is not cruel, but to defy him is to invite ruin; those who disturb the dead or seek immortality risk his wrath, manifesting as visions, mirages, or soul-rending silence.
Though his demeanor is unyielding, some say Neb grieves for what he has become—his stillness born not from apathy, but from the weight of sacred duty twisted into isolation.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
A winding path beneath a crescent moon, representing the soul's journey beneath the eternal sky.
Tenets of Faith
Neb’s temples are waystations and tomb-sanctuaries, built at crossroads in the desert, at the edge of necropolises, or within winding catacombs. Marked with celestial maps and carved sandstone paths, they offer respite for the lost and warnings for the reckless.
Neb’s priests are gravetenders, spirit-guides, and watchers of the dead. Often solitary and wrapped in gray or deep blue robes, they carry staffs shaped like shepherd’s crooks or measuring rods. They serve as guardians of sacred sites, interpreters of signs, and witnesses to the final steps of the dying. Their vows often include silence, solitude, or never sleeping beneath a roof, to better emulate their god’s eternal vigil.
To honor Neb is to accept death as a journey, not a punishment, and to walk the path laid out for you with humility. To defy him is to become lost—perhaps not in body, but in spirit, forever wandering between realms, unseen by both gods and mortals.
Comments