Mormekar

Grave

The core of the Mormekim faith is the rite of the dead. Sacristies are holy houses of the rite, where ministers keep all the materials necessary to perform it: sacred ointments, linens, incense, and scriptures, within chambers of dark glory. Administering the rite takes four or five hours, and includes chanting a long series of prayers, most of which are admonishments to the spirit of the deceased, preparing it for the afterlife. One of the earliest chants informs the spirit that it has died, as many deceased do not realize they've left the mortal coil. Unless informed, they might haunt the living. The following prayer prevents that:  

Mormekar's symbol is his burnt staff, or another charred piece of wood. This recalls the pyre upon which the gods were burned, his staff, and the fire of death and rebirth he wields. When a simple, quick symbol of Mormekar is needed, people use a smear of soot.

"If I do not do my duty to Mormekar, what am I? I could ignore Death's decrees as others do, I could pretend death is beyond my ken as they do, but that would make me little more than a coward. I bear the burdens of duty, and all who would do what is right will follow in my steps."

— The fourth decree of the Minister Alonzo d'Eriq

  The Mormekim faith is one of duty, followed by few. While nearly everyone who worships the gods of the tree comes to the Sacristies for funeral services, most leave other matters of death to these strange folk, who are completely devoted to its ways. Donations given by the families of the dead more than fund the Sacristies. Some people believe the more generously they give, the kinder Mormekar will be to their loved ones, so the Sacristies often have far more money than they can use.   The faith can be explained in three utterances, often repeated by the Mormekim. Mormekar reportedly made these three statements to d'Eriq long ago:     Alonzo d'Eriq was the first to administer the rite when he founded the order of the ministers. He gave the order a twenty-step rite for preparing the dead, passed down from Mormekar himself. The rite connects the minister with the deceased's body and spirit, so all may be properly prepared for Mormekar. It should be performed within one day of death. Mormekim believe if this ceremony is not properly performed, the spirit might become trapped in the world, rising as one of the restless undead. Knowledge of the rite leads some Mormekim to believe, perhaps arrogantly, that they alone perform a proper and useful duty for the gods.   If a person dies and does not receive the rite, most clery of the gods of the tree can perform a fair approximation. An approximation is not the rite proper, though, and many faithful request their bodies be brought to the Mormekim if they die, even if they are far from civilization. Different societies have different notions about what happens after the rite—some burn the bodies, others bury them. The rite is a preparation, not the entirety of the body's disposal.   There is more to the faith than the rite, of course. The obedient brotherhood was formed to focus on the second utterance, though it is an edict all Mormekim obey. They stamp out the undead and those who would create the undead. Death must remain sacrosanct and inviolate.   The final utterance sets the Mormekim apart from other faiths of the pantheon: they expressly forbid any magic that brings a person back from death, and counsel their companions against the use of such magic. For this reason, it is usually impossible to raise a Mormekim, unless the deceased would return to perform a greater task for the sanctity of death.   Mormekim care little, if at all, about mortal society or matters of good, evil, law, or chaos. They strive to uphold their divine task. Their scriptures, prayers and everything else about their faith focuses on death, not life, and it is often said (and justifiably so) the Mormekim are more at home surrounded by the dead than the living.

There are no holy days, festivals, or celebrations among the Mormekim. They are a grim people.

Mormekar's chief concerns are claiming the dead, and ushering the reborn back to the Material Plane. His duty rules him, save for his love for Morwyn. He's fond of his daughter, and sees her regularly while he bears the dead to Maal's Kingdom, but Mormekar never joins Maal's arguments with the other gods. Mormekar cares nothing for the conflicts of Heaven, good, evil, and the rest. They're all the winking of an eye, here and gone in one slice of infinity. Thus he has no strong feelings about mortals, so long as they respect his authority. All things die, even worlds and planes. One day he will bury the gods, or burn them on celestial pyres. How death comes, and to whom, are not his concerns, as long as the order of dying is not unnaturally interfered with. Until the end of everything comes, the Wanderer attends to his duty, presiding over all the lesser endings of things.   Anyone familiar with the legends knows Mormekar's love for his wife is the only thing that takes precedence over his duties. Over the years, some have asked Death not to take them because they too know a stronger love, but this has never been known to succeed. Otherwise, the undead are an insult to him: a vile act that violates the sanctity of death. He charges all those who worship him to battle the undead, and the necromancers and other, vile beings who create them.