Vesper
The god Vesper, also known as The Spirit Guide or The Ferry of Soul is a deity that is often associated with death, though he is technically of the domains of life and fate, in charge of the portfolio of "choice". Vesper's role is to guide mortals throughout life, allowing them the freedom to make their own choices in life that lead to their eventual death and, more importantly, their afterlife. Vesper and his followers see life itself as a sacred journey to death and the afterlife they end up in as a just reward for a life lived. This makes Vesper an important counterpart and ally of the deity Kelemvor. While Vesper is meant to guide Mortals throughout life until they die, Kelemvor then judges the souls and guides them towards their intended afterlife - those who followed their chosen faith truly are sent towards the afterlife of their respective faith, those who were faithless or adhered to a false rendition of a deity's teachings are judged by Kelemvor. Therefore, Vesper's main responsibility is to ensure that all souls are able to reach Kelemvor to be judged.
This has caused Vesper and his followers to be staunch opponents of those who would either cut a life short, or those who would prevent souls from reaching the afterlife. Therefore, deities associated with murder like Cyric and Bhaal and their followers are hated enemies of Vesper, as are demons, hags, yugoloths and the like who would use souls for their own gain. Vesper's stance towards devils is more ambiguous however, since Asmodeus does have the legal and divine right to corrupt mortals and use their souls for the Blood War. In the end, Vesper has an extreme distaste of all the devil's practices that cause a soul to be used as a comodity, be it as a powersource, currency or otherwise, but, bound by the Pact Primeval, Vesper and his followers are unable to act against these practices. Vesper therefore teaches his followers to be careful when dealing with devils, and to only strike out when one transgresses by ending a mortal's life prematurely without being able to claim that life through a contract or other deal that is the devil's mainstay.
Surprisingly, Vesper is not an opponent of necromancy, unlike Kelemvor. Seeing the body as a mere vessel for the soul, Vesper cares little for the body once the soul has left it behind. Those who choose a fate of undeath over the afterlife are merely enacting their own free will and do not transgress against Vesper's teachings. However, those who would bind a soul in a body against its will, and those who would use a soulless body to slay others raise the ire of Vesper and his followers.
Those who die in service to Vesper get to serve him in the afterlife, assisting those lost souls wandering the Fugue Plane. This has caused many to see Vesperites as selfless individuals, for not many would choose eternal service over living another life in the fantastical plane of another deity. Many mortals will therefore pay respect to Vesper and his followers, but chose a different deity as their patron.
Divine Domains
Life and fate
Divine Symbols & Sigils
An empty, hooded robe
Tenets of Faith
Vesper asks his followers to persue three great acts or roles and allthough a person can fulfill all three acts, most followers specialise in one of these. The three great acts, or the "paths" as they are called are:
-To guard mortals against those who would do harm them and bring their life to an untimely end. If a person should die, guard their souls until they are able to pass on and prevent their souls from being used against their will.
-To heal, and allow mortals to live a full life without having to succumb to injury or disease.
-To teach mortals on the afterlife and how their choices in life affect the path their soul will take when they leave the material plane behind. In this role, followers of Vesper will also teach mortals about other faiths and to advise them on following one that suits them. A mortal does not have to become a vesperite, for any faith will help guide the soul towards the afterlife of their respective deity, as long as the follower conducts itself according to the tenets of their faith. However, if one is informed or educated and still decides to remain faithless, this is their own prerogative.
Physical Description
Identifying Characteristics
Vesper generally appears as a tall hooded figure without a body, not unlike the shapeless souls he guides. The floating hooded robe contains a seemingly endless depth or void. The figure is often seen standing on a wooden boat, guiding the souls on their journey like a ferryman guiding his charges to their destination.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
In life, Vesper was a scholar who dedicated his time and energy to the research of one topic in particular; what happens to mortal being after they die? Many faiths answer this question in many ways, and so Vesper was often mocked by his peers for dedicating is life to a research subject they deemed impossible to answer. Nevertheless, his obsession carried on until the day of his passing, where he was greeted with a harsh reality. While there was an afterlife, and there were processes in place to guide souls to the appropiate afterlife, the journey that is 'life' lacked any kind of order, causing many souls to be stranded. These stranded souls had been unable to decide upon a path or faith in life, either because they did not know better or because their life ended too soon. And so these souls waited to be judged, confused and lost in the endless grey realm of Kelemvor known as the Fugue plane. Vesper, having studied matters pertaining to the afterlife for his entire life, started to guide and comfort these souls, explaining them what was coming and in some rare cases even allowing False or Faithless souls to see the error of their ways by reflecting on their choices in life. When it was time for Vesper's soul to be judged by Kelemvor, he was so impressed with Vesper's inquisitiveness, and his conduct both in life and during his time as a wandering soul, that instead of judging Vesper as the faithless soul he technically was, Kelemvor offered him the unique opportunity to remain within the Fugue Plane and assist Kelemvor by continueing to guide the wandering souls.
Vesper agreed and over time grew in his new responsibilities. Learning more about the afterlife than he had done in all his living years. As Vesper's confidence and guidance improved, a realisation of the shift he caused manifested on the material plane, resulting in a small following who started to beseech Vesper as a deity in his own right, causing Vesper's powers to grow. The appreciation of Kelemvor and the other deities for Vesper also grew, and eventually Vesper was raised as a deity himself. Vesper's following and his powers have grown since, allowing him to become an important ally of Kelemvor and a key figure in the guiding of lost souls.
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