Soul Keepers of Abbrus
Commonly worshiped among the five human Tribes is the God Abbrus, the God of Death. Although he is accompanied by darkness, he is not an evil god, but the ever-mysterious ferryman who comes to take one's souls to the afterlife. He is both the Judge and the Bargeman to take souls to the afterlife, and his followers practice and encourage his dogma in communities throughout Evermeyst and in particular among the five tribes.
Priests who worship and follow Abbrus are known as the Soul Keepers. They often help with funerary rites, hearing of final confessions and even settlement of legal and financial affairs before or after one's death. The Soul keepers encourage and teach the following dogmas of Abbrus.
Settle all mortal debts through honest discourse:
Mortals must openly address financial, emotional, and karmic accounts at the deathbed to maintain cosmic balance before passing into the next realm.
Encourage repentance and forgiveness for all:
True neutrality demands compassionate conversation; by forgiving enemies and reconciling grudges, no soul remains shackled beyond the veil.
Honor the cycle of life and death by unburdening souls:
Death is a passage of balance; unburdened hearts ensure the weave of creation and annihilation remains intact.
Career
Payment & Reimbursement
Often, food, shelter, and housing as minimums. More wealthy clients pay well for soul keepers to watch over them, guide them in legal matters, and help ensure them a place in the afterlife.
Other Benefits
All Soul Keepers are versed in the following skill:
Skill: Religion
Description: Followers gain proficiency in the Religion skill, representing their deep knowledge of death rites, funerary law, and the protocols of the afterlife.
Soul Keepers may call upon the Following benefits from their God Abbrus once per day (Long Rest):
Spell: Death’s Reprieve
Description: As an action, the caster can cast Spare the Dying at will and, once per long rest, cast Revivify without expending a spell slot.
Components: V, S, M (a black rose petal infused with the dying breath of a crow)
Type: Resistance
Type: Necrotic Damage
Description: Followers gain resistance to necrotic damage, reflecting their communion with the threshold of death.
Type: Ritual Power
Enhancement: Funerary Rites Last Twice as Long
Description: Any ritual related to cremation, burial, or soul-sending performed by a follower endures for double the normal duration, deepening its potency.
Type: Divine Guidance
Advantage: Checks to settle estates and negotiate death bargains
Description: Abbrus’s hand guides followers when they draft wills or mediate final confessions, ensuring fair passage.
Perception
Purpose
The Soul Keepers' main purpose in Evermyst is to teach the understanding that all life ends. They encourage the settlement of affairs before death. They help and guide those who are near death and the families of those who have recently died. They prepare the dead and perform funerary rites, and also stand watch over the dead until the god Abbrus takes their souls to the afterlife.
Soul Keepers tend riverside shrines, graveyards, and temples. They perform watch over the dead until they are laid in the ground and the sun rises the following day, or the fire dies from their cremation. They are often requested and tasked with the delivery of final payments to clear debts, or to deliver letters or documents to loved ones and even enemies after ones death.
Social Status
The Soul Keepers are respected members of every community. They are often sought after for legal advice. protection and guidance. If a Soul Keeper offers his services, it is not only encouraged to accept them but considered an ill omen if you refuse them.
Soul Keepers have an interwoven place in many of the Societies of Evermyst. Although mysterious in nature, one seeks their guidance and protection to ensure a place in the afterlife and to avoid the potential of falling under the curse of undeath.
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