Veles, Lord of the Dead and the Underworld
(a.k.a. Father Death, Lord of the Underworld and Keeper of the Forgotten Dead, Thanatos)
Veles is the god of death, decay, and the deep places where the dead are not laid to rest, but wander. He governs the passage between life and death, and his dominion stretches beneath the roots of the world—where memory fades, names are lost, and the living dare not tread.
Veles appears as a gaunt figure cloaked in grave-soil and fog, his face obscured by a crown of wormwood and bone. His eyes are pale, lidless orbs that see the souls of the living as easily as those of the dead. When he walks the mortal world, he is said to raise no shadow, and animals fall silent in his presence.
The chosen Mortkeeper, usually a Priest of Veles or if one is not present a chosen representative - an elder of the village or grief touched youth, speaks the names of the dead aloud into the earth, believing Veles will gather them and hold them safe from being lost to the winds of time.
Woven shrouds made of old wool and bone-thread, buried beneath the standing stones.
A single iron coin, not for passage, but for silence—placed on the tongue of a goat’s skull, then burned in the ritual fire.
These offerings are not given with hope, but with fear and respect. For Veles does not grant boons. He grants truth, and that is a heavier thing.
They wear robes of grave-soil brown, stitched with bone-thread, and often cover their faces with veils made of woven hair. Around their necks, they carry name-stones—smooth pieces of shale or obsidian, each inscribed with a forgotten name.
Mortkeepers are tasked with speaking the names of the dead, maintaining the boundary between the restless and the lost. They do not fear death. They listen to it. Their role is not to mourn, but to remember, and ensure no spirit fades into true nothingness.
They are often found at the edges of villages, alone, or walking the barrow-paths under moonless skies.
Those who speak too freely to the dead, or dig too deep into the old lore, may find their dreams filled with hollow voices, and a pale man standing at the foot of their bed.
Veles appears as a gaunt figure cloaked in grave-soil and fog, his face obscured by a crown of wormwood and bone. His eyes are pale, lidless orbs that see the souls of the living as easily as those of the dead. When he walks the mortal world, he is said to raise no shadow, and animals fall silent in his presence.
Symbols and Representations:
He is not often depicted with clarity—his form shifts, seen only in silhouette or in the decay left behind. His presence is known through markings, offerings, and subtle signs carved into places of death and forgetting. A spiral carved inward on stone or bone, signifying descent into the depths and the winding path to the forgotten. A crown of twisted roots or antlers, placed upon cairns or graves, marking ground that belongs to him. A worm or serpent devouring its tail, painted in grave-soil or carved into wood—not eternal life, but eternal decay.Rituals
Velesnacht – The Hollow Night
Held during the darkest part of the year—often in late autumn when the last leaves fall and the soil hardens with frost—Velesnacht is a night of remembrance and dread. It is believed that on this night, the barrier between the living and the dead thins to near-nothing, and the Lord Below walks among his lost.The chosen Mortkeeper, usually a Priest of Veles or if one is not present a chosen representative - an elder of the village or grief touched youth, speaks the names of the dead aloud into the earth, believing Veles will gather them and hold them safe from being lost to the winds of time.
Offerings
To win favor or insight from Veles, mourners bring offerings to the glen: Black honey harvested in moonlight, dripped into the earth like tears.Woven shrouds made of old wool and bone-thread, buried beneath the standing stones.
A single iron coin, not for passage, but for silence—placed on the tongue of a goat’s skull, then burned in the ritual fire.
These offerings are not given with hope, but with fear and respect. For Veles does not grant boons. He grants truth, and that is a heavier thing.
Priests of Veles, Lord of the Underworld and Keeper of the Forgotten Dead
The Mortkeepers, Bonebound, Whisperers of Lost Names
Priests of Veles are called Mortkeepers—those who walk between the living and the forgotten. They do not command respect with volume, but with stillness, with presence, and with the unbearable weight of memory.They wear robes of grave-soil brown, stitched with bone-thread, and often cover their faces with veils made of woven hair. Around their necks, they carry name-stones—smooth pieces of shale or obsidian, each inscribed with a forgotten name.
Mortkeepers are tasked with speaking the names of the dead, maintaining the boundary between the restless and the lost. They do not fear death. They listen to it. Their role is not to mourn, but to remember, and ensure no spirit fades into true nothingness.
They are often found at the edges of villages, alone, or walking the barrow-paths under moonless skies.
Whispers in Balgrendia
It is said Veles remembers all names, even those scratched from stone and burned from parchment. Some believe he waits not only for the dead, but for the day the living forget themselves—and then he will come to claim them too.Those who speak too freely to the dead, or dig too deep into the old lore, may find their dreams filled with hollow voices, and a pale man standing at the foot of their bed.
