The Mask

The Mask’s arrival came when the first of God's children began to age, a concept the immortal gods had not yet experienced. Of the Gems that had been touched by Kalio, a black gem of volcanic glass had remained quiet and silent, not forming a consciousness, and remaining still in the world, while its siblings reached out and explored the world.   As that first man aged into adulthood, the Gem formed into an feminine being, childlike and unsure of things, following humanity as it aged, and went through life, and to some of the poetic texts from the first age, the Mask is known as Humanity’s Child. As the world experienced life, the Mask slowly matured, until finally, the oldest of humanity’s first could only feel pain, unable to move, or perceive the world. Death had never come to Kalio, and some suggest, had the Mask never discovered its existence, Kalio herself never would have perished in the Void War.   However, The Mask was not vindictive or destructive when she approached the pained elder. She was smiling and quiet, and carried in her hands, a wooden mask carved and painted to look like the man when he was full of life. She had kissed his forehead, and laid the mask on his chest, and the man’s soul finally released from his body, passing on from the mortal coil.   Despite the gentleness held at the core of this god, The Mask is feared by the living, and most of their worship is meant as respect, and a ward against them in life. Families and undertakers often give them the most worship, as they want to help those in their family transition to a new life without issues, along with protecting the body from the pains of undeath.   However, the Undead actually see the Mask as their primary god, venerating them above all else, seeing her as the first transition that they must undergo before they reach the state of undeath, and it is by their grace that they get to experience life in a second state. When their lessons have been learned, they will pass on again, and be able to experience life from a new perspective.   Across Kalio, traditions of funerals involving burial masks have been common since the days of the void war, although individual cults have different traditions on what that mask is, and what it is supposed to represent. As an example, some of the followers of the Mask in Ephox believe that the Mask is meant to preserve the memories and knowledge of the person who has passed on, and the more accurate it is of the person in life, then when their next life begins, they may be able to take inspiration and knowledge from the last life. However, in Ayru, masks are designed to emulate monsters that would have scared the person in life, as it as meant to help guard them on their path through reincarnation, as the face of what they fear will guard them.