The Lantern Keepers

The Lantern Keepers maintain a solemn, hierarchical order. At the pinnacle sits the Pallid Flame, a high priest or priestess chosen through funerary omens and ancestral visions. Beneath them are the Dawnbearers (regional death-guides), Ashbinders (temple stewards), and Silent Cloaks (wandering mourners and field priests). Novices begin as Emberwards, trained in vigilkeeping, ritual preparation, and grief tending.

The culture of the Lantern Keepers is one of reverence, restraint, and quiet compassion. Death is not feared but honored as the final light in life’s journey. Silence is sacred, and every word spoken carries weight. Artifacts are preserved. Names of the dead are sung in low, lilting tones. Followers dress in muted colors and carry lanterns not for light, but for remembrance.

The church seeks to shepherd the souls of the dead to their rightful rest, protect mortals from the influence of undeath, and cultivate healthy mourning practices. They also combat necromancy, soul-binding, and defilement of the natural end. Their presence in towns and cities includes offering rites, ancestral ceremonies, and guidance for the grieving.

• Twilight’s Birth: Virelyn is born from the union of fading memory and finality, walking into the world as the First Mourner.
• The Kindling Vigil: The first lantern is lit atop a mountain where souls once wandered lost; it becomes the first sanctuary.
• Ashen Crusades: The Lantern Keepers fight undead plagues and rogue necromancers in defense of the cycle.
• Current Era: The Keepers are honored as guardians of the veil in most regions, though their somber nature breeds unease in those who fear death.

Important myths include The Song of the Last Light (Virelyn’s lullaby to the dying stars), The Mourner’s Bargain (the tale of the first human who begged Virelyn to spare a loved one), and The Lantern That Wouldn’t Go Out (a parable about grief carried too long). Myths emphasize accepting loss, honoring memory, and never severing the thread between the living and the dead.

The faith formed around ancient death-rites in scattered, pre-written cultures. The Lantern Keepers believe Virelyn whispered their rites into the dreams of the first grief-stricken mothers. Their earliest temples were cairns and lantern-lit caves, built where death had left a deep impression on the land.

The world is viewed as a path between lights: birth, growth, love, and finally, death. Virelyn is the last lantern—carried at the end of the road. The afterlife is a silent shore across a black river, and each soul carries a spark that must be preserved until it reaches the far side. The undead are seen as sparks stolen or misused.

• Death is sacred, not cruel.
• All things pass.
• Grief is not weakness.
• The dead must not be disturbed.
• Let the last light guide you.
• Memory is a form of love.

Desecration of graves, necromantic practices, and delaying the natural end of life are grave sins. Mercy-killings, respectful funerary rites, and truth in mourning are virtuous. The church teaches that denial of death leads to spiritual rot. Emotional repression is discouraged—but loud mourning is seen as private and to be honored in solitude.

Worship includes candlelit vigils, prayer-silence, bone-carving, and lighting lanterns in honor of the departed. The Day of the Last Ember, held at the winter solstice, is the holiest night, when all living remember the dead. Lanterns are released onto rivers or into the sky. Worship is often solitary or led by the Silent Cloaks in dusk-hour gatherings.

The priesthood is made of lifelong mourners and scholars of death. To become a Silent Cloak, one must undergo the Nine Nights of Stillness—a vow of silence among the dying or the dead. Their garb includes lantern-bearing staffs and ash-gray robes. They keep scrolls of names, and each is responsible for recording the full story of every soul buried under their care.

Clerics and paladins of Virelyn may invoke:

• Last Light (heals or harms depending on whether a target accepts death)
• Veilwalk (briefly see or speak across the veil)
• Ashen Ward (protects against necromancy and possession)
• Lament of Passing (calms undead or grieving creatures)
• Lantern’s Grace (creates a protective aura of soft twilight)