Nimriel, Queen of Graves

The Fourth Sister of Oros

(a.k.a. the Bloody Matron, the Crone at the Crossroads)

Holy Books & Codes

• The Taphoikion: A book of last rites and rituals detailing how to prepare a person for death, as well as how to conduct many different funerary rites.
• The Dirge Amaranthine: A hymnal collected and distributed by the Church of Nimriel. It contains ancient canticles, psalms, and antiphons focused on the domains of the Queen of Graves.
• The Confessions of Athar: A tome detailing Athar's descent into insanity as he explored the depths of Trolox's realm in search of ancient secrets. Banned in most kingdoms, the book's madness is considered dangerously infectious by many experts.

Tenets of Faith

• Death is part of life. To run from death is only delaying the inevitable. I will not shy away from it.
• Desecrating the dead is the most heinous of crimes; life is fleeting, but the afterlife is eternal. Should I find anyone disrespecting the dead, they will meet justice by my hand without mercy. And may Nimriel take them.
• The undead of Verathrox are abominations, but the deathless of Nimriel are holy. I will devote myself to destroying the one and revering the other.
• The dead deserve respect, and should be preserved physically and in our memories. I will never suffer a body to lie unburied or unnamed.
• Cold eyes, cold heart. My enemies can expect no mercy from me, save for a quick death. Torture is a needless delaying of the inevitable. The lives I take are sacred sacrifices to my queen.
• There is only sorrow. Only the weak hide their scars. I will show the world as it is - a glorious nightmare.
• The deathless are the true expression of existence, for they are beyond life and death. I will emulate their ways and destroy those who would defile their timeless perfection.
• I will bathe in blood and breathe in iron. Where there is no conflict, I will create it. Where there are skirmishes, I will make war.

Holidays

• Gravestide: A holy day honoring the dead. Popular activities performed on Gravestide include the cleaning of grave sites, making offerings to ancestors, and releasing glowing lanterns into the air or into a body of water. Priests and worshipers of the Queen of Graves will frequently parade the bodies of the recently dead on this holiday, holding free burials afterwards.
• The Festival of Spears: A raucous four-day celebration of past wars. Specific practices tend to vary from nation to nation, though always include huge mock battles that the faithful hope will satisfy Nimriel and keep any new wars from breaking out in the coming year.
• Maiden's Lament: This sacrificial holy day, called the Varnoktonos in the High Holy Speech, venerates Nimriel as the Bloody Matron. The day's primary practice is the public ritual slaughter of several young adults via exsanguination and ritual bleeding - an offering and oblation to Nimriel. Maiden's Lament is a solemn day that is not celebrated, so much as suffered, in most kingdoms.

Temples & Shrines

The temples of Nimriel have the appearance of dark and ancient cathedrals, while a single stone in an empty field or graveyard might serve as a shrine. Beneath buildings devoted to Nimriel one will inevitably find catacombs filled with crypts of the dead, typically priests or affluent townsfolk. Being entombed in these catacombs is thought to bring favor from the Queen of Graves.

Providence

Nimriel shows her favor through the spontaneous appearance of stigmata. White roses are believed to bring good luck by her followers, most especially if the rose bears large thorns pricked with fresh blood. Her displeasure is signified by an unexplained taste of rich soil, the feeling that something important has been lost, or terrifying nightmares that do real damage to the dreamer’s body.

Rituals

• A seeker looking to speak with the dead may hold a vigil at the edge of a graveyard or battlefield while wearing clothes dyed in blood
• A seeker wishing to be delivered from a haunting must lay out bones in a spiral, then chant hymns while proceeding solemnly around the spiral, trailing a white scarf on the ground behind them
• A seeker trying to rid themselves of bad dreams can sleep with a white dog that has been consecrated to Nimriel standing guard over them
• A seeker who desires healing from a sickness of the blood must wear a bracelet of rose thorns around their wrist for four days without tending to the wounds, at which point the bracelet will draw out the infirmity then wither away
• A seeker who wishes the death of an enemy can spend a season growing white roses in soil watered with at least a single drop of the enemy's blood, only to eat them (thorns and all) once they are ready to harvest

Scions

• The Masked Matron, Scion of the Vigil
• Aegnor Cinnadral, Scion of War
• Castigator, Scion of Torture
• Trolox, Scion of Dread

D&D 5e Rules

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Domains: Death, War, Blood, Nightmares
Favored Weapons: Spear, Glaive

Pathfinder 2e Rules

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Domains: Death, Healing, Nightmares, Zeal
Alternate Domains: Soul
Follower Alignments: LE, NE, LN
Favored Weapons: Glaive
Cleric Spells: 1st: grim tendrils, 3rd: ghostly weapon, 5th: crushing despair
Divine Ability: Constitution or Wisdom
Divine Font: Harm or Heal
Divine Skill: Medicine

Holy Symbol

Divine Classification

Deity

Religions

• The Brisingelion

Alignment

Neutral Evil

Realm

Sasona, the Bashful Twin

Parents

Oros, the Infinite Spirit

Gender

Female

Ruled Locations

• Sasona, the Bashful Twin

Sworn Enemies

Undead, Demons, Death Kisses, Night Hags, Red Hags

Favored Weapon(s)

Spear & Glaive

Sacred Animal(s)

Dogs & Wolves

Sacred Color(s)

White & Crimson

Patron Kingdoms

Kharagess, Empire of Bones

Common Worshippers

Gravediggers, Assassins, the Cursed, the Haunted

Preferred Offerings

Bottled Tears, Obelisks, Grave Stones, Human Sacrifices