The Witherers

Necromancy is not at all a forbidden art in most of Aotra. To reanimate corpses to use them to perform labor is seen by most as a fundamental part of civilized life--distasteful indeed, but necessary. Undead perform many of the most menial, backbreaking jobs in most Aotran societies so that living people don't have to. In cities, they work in construction, sewer maintenance, garbage collection, and more; in countryside, even the smallest family farms may have an undead farmhand. Most Aotran cultures justify the use of necromancy to create a labor force through their beliefs about souls: after death, a person's soul recycles back into the Myth, leaving a soulless corpse utterly devoid of any attachment to the person it once was. Thus, undead laborers are roughly on par with machines of artifice, in that they are magic-powered means to an end. The one exception to the rule of acceptance of this sort of necromancy is elven cultures, who almost universally abhor this use of necromantic magic, seeing it as a mockery of life.

Though the place of undead laborers within society is generally taken for granted among the majority of the population, a general sense of squeamishness about it pervades: few with the power to do it would actually want to be the reanimators involved in creating undead laborers. Enter the Witherers: a mystical cult known primarily for their open willingness to perform this sort of necromancy.

Small groups of the Witherers move often between cities, towns, and villages, performing necromantic rituals wherever they find demand. Conversely, whenever any Aotran needs to gain the service of an undead laborer, for most the first thing to come to mind would be to seek out the Witherers. Though the group is secretive about their true numbers, it is known to be quite a large cult; some estimate that more than 90% of the active undead laborers at any given time were reanimated by them.

History

The Witherers first emerged into the public eye in 144 YW in Lar Aslaki. Many believe that the group existed in some form long before then, though all the Witherers--notorious for being quiet on the subject of their origins--say in regards to that theory that 144 YW was when Atropa granted her blessing to spread her gift throughout the world. The internal history of the organization is relatively peaceful; the group is highly decentralized and averse to conflict for power.
In 22 YC, the Witherers were banned from Kassaan due to the belief common among elves that necromancy is an assault upon the sanctity of the body. The ban is still ongoing.

Mythology & Lore

The cult reveres a single goddess: Atropa. To them, Atropa represents the cyclical nature of life and death and the processes therein: the soul passing into the Myth, then into life again, and the body returning to the earth, or to find a purpose again. Though extremely morbid in nature, the Witherers are notably joyous people. They see this life and death cycle as a thing of beauty, a natural process no stranger than the growth of children to adults, a perfect work of design. The Witherers do not fear death, but they do not chase it either; they live content to be serving their goddess, and when their time comes, they die content to be moving on.
Necromancy is a sacred practice among the group. The Witherers wield a unique sort of druidic magic, one unlike any other druidic tradition in Aotra, one which allows them to reshape the very natures of life and death, to guide things through that holy cycle. According to their beliefs, to be able to give a corpse purpose and usefulness after its soul has left is an act upon which Atropa smiles. They take pride in their work, and their work is singular in quality; only rarely can other necromancers produce undead laborers as productive, intelligent, and long-lasting as those reanimated by the Witherers.

Tenets of Faith

The tenets of the faith of the Witherers are simple: allow the body purpose after the soul has left it; exist in peace with the living and the dead; and seek peace with mortality. The first two tenets guide how the Witherers interact with others outside their faith. The practice of necromancy is a devotional act that fulfills that first tenet, to give dignity and function to the bodies of the dead. The serene, untroubled nature of followers of the faith is part of the second tenet, as order and justice are fundamental underpinnings of the beliefs of the Witherers. Finally, the last tenet is something entirely internal. Witherers practice meditations, studies, and prayers to find solace in the simple, natural pattern of the life and death cycle, seeking to hold no stigma towards death.

"In Death as in Life"

Founding Date

144 YW

Type

Religious, Cult

Alternative Names

The Gift of Atropa (alternatively), Gravesavers (derogatory)