The Raven Queen

The Raven Queen is the goddess of death, burials, and transitions. She is widely respected across all of Keradrin, though only a few would consider her their sole or even primary deity.  She is worshipped individually and as part of the triad called The Fatespinners.  Within the Fatespinners, she is seen as the eldest of the triad, the cutter of the thread of life, the Crone.

Though her purview, death, is often considered a dark event, the Raven Queen herself is not a dark nor evil goddess.  Rather, her divine task is to see to the souls of those who have died, guiding them to whatever fate awaits them in the afterlife.  When a mortal dies, their soul passes into a beautiful, park-like garden in an other-dimensional space. Some believe this space is within the goddess' home realm of the Shadowfell, while others believe it is a pocket dimension unto itself.  The soul will make its way through the garden as the Raven Queen makes her assessment of that soul's life, and pass through a stone arch at the center of the garden, departing the garden and passing to whatever plane of existence is home to their destined afterlife.

The Raven Queen has temples in most cities and towns.  These are often near or on the grounds of cemeteries where those buried under the Raven Queen's aegis are laid to rest.  It is also common for the Raven Queen to have small shrines adjacent to mass burial sites such as military cemeteries.  All of her temples are surrounded by park-like gardens, a reflection of the goddess' extra-dimensional garden.  In the late summer, the temple's gardens are opened to all for the Festival of Return, where over several nights, families and loved ones of those who have died meet to celebrate and remember their departed, and invite their souls to return to the world of the living for a brief visit.  These events are far more joyous than somber in nature.

It is relatively rare for clerics of the Raven Queen to be adventurers; more frequently adventurers who follow the goddess are paladins or rangers dedicated to her most important cause -- the destruction of undead, whose very existence is anathema to her purpose of seeing that the souls of those who die pass to the afterlife in peace and security.  To further this cause, the Raven Queen is one of very few greater deities who make warlock pacts with mortals.  These pacts are never offered lightly, for the goddess will not hesitate to call upon her pact servants for dangerous missions.

Anyone may communicate directly with the goddess, providing they are willing to undergo a dangerous ritual that involves having a large amount of blood drained from their body.  Thus brought to the edge of death, they will be carried across the dimensions to the Raven Queen's garden and can speak with the goddess for a short time.  Because this is so dangerous, it is generally only done within a temple where experienced clergy can conduct the ritual and offer healing as soon as it is complete.  Yet the risk is very real, and some who seek communion with the goddess do perish in the effort.  Many devotees of the Raven Queen thus go through their entire lives without attempting it, and there is no shame in this.

The Raven Queen's symbols are a raven feather and the white porcelain mask that she wears, featureless save for the black eyeholes. Ravens and crows are sacred to her.