Black Roses

Followers of Laravelle, the Black Roses are a clerical order that strive to tend to the dead and those left behind. They perform funeral rites, tend to graveyards, cemeteries, and mausoleums, and provide comfort in the grief of orphans, widows, and friends.

They usually dress in black mourning garments, with a heavy black veil that obscure their faces and black lace gloves. This makes most of them indistinguishable from one another, and (in their beliefs) lets the Black Lady walk amongst the mourners without ever making her presence explicitly known.

It is not forbidden to show their faces, but many Black Roses consider it part of their devotion to Laravelle to keep their true visage hidden as their lady does.

Funeral Ceremonies

A common funeral ceremony performed by the Black Roses progresses as such:

1. The body is given to the Black Roses, along with jewelry, clothing, and a portrait of the deceased (if there is one available). The body is washed and preservatory enchantments cast to keep it fresh until after the ceremony is completed. Then the Roses anoint the body in perfumes and oils, utilizing paints to bring back the color to the corpse. Then it is dressed and hair brushed and styled, before being brought to a private viewing chamber.
2. This private viewing chamber - generally called a Family Room - is reserved for relatives only. If there are no relatives, exceptions can be made, but this place is set aside for those who share blood with the deceased, generally. It is a small windowless room, so that time cannot be tracked by the sun's movement in the sky. Candles and burning incense keep the room lit and the scent fresh. This is a time for final goodbyes, and a Black Rose will accompany the family to prompt them, should the family feel unsure as to how to give their loved one to Zelentium.
3. The Family Room is opened to all friends of the deceased. Since these rooms are generally quite small, it falls to the Roses to organize groups to file in and out. A small altar at the door acts as a charity spot, where food, drink, and gold may be donated to the temple on behalf of the deceased. This is considered to be payment for the services of the Black Roses, and a donation is usually made out of the deceased estate. But friends and family are also encouraged to leave a material expression of their gratitude for the clerics' expertise and professionalism in such a difficult time.
4. A funeral procession, headed by a Black Rose with the iconic bronze censer, leads the coffin carrying the deceased to the plot where they will rest until the body is completely gone. Generally, the Black Roses encourage whole body burials in graveyards, cemeteries, mausoleums, and similar - coffins, they feel, are the best vessels for the body to lie within as it is returned to Kona-Karr. At request, however, they can perform cremations and do indeed have specially designed furnaces for just such a task.
5. The body is laid to rest. A Black Rose delivers a prayer, asking that Laravelle delivers them to the waiting embrace of Zelentium. This is usually framed like a parent giving their child to a groom, in contrast with how he is usually talked about as nothing but the entity that is Death. Laravelle, and therefore her servants, are a romantic lot, so perhaps it is to be expected that they would view death as a tragic (but beautiful) affair that brings tears to the eyes.
6. After the body is fully interred, the Black Roses will be the first to lie a bouquet of the eponymous flowers upon the tomb, before leaving the loved ones of the deceased to add their own. Most of the priests will depart back to the temple, sans maybe one who has been guiding the family through the process and will stay to be a shoulder to lean on.