Selathei, the Sighing Veil

Domain: Farewells, Parting, Grief Before Death
Titles: The Last Touch, Lady of Soft Endings, The Graced Parting
Symbol: A sheer veil with a falling tear
Origin Among Mortals: Selathei was born in the space between presence and absence — in the last embraces, the final words, the slow quieting of hands once held. She came into being not with death, but with the knowledge of its approach. Where Surnazhul is the final silence, Selathei is the moment just before — the breath that quivers, the tear that falls, the words too heavy to speak aloud.
She was woven into being from grief lovingly carried, from the ache of letting go, and from the deep need to say goodbye when time no longer allows it.
She is the last kindness in a cruel world.
Nature of the Sighing Veil: Selathei is gentle and ephemeral. Her presence is like a breath of wind through lace, or the warmth of someone who has just left the room. She does not stop death, nor delay it — she simply softens its edges.
She walks beside the dying whose souls are still tethered by love or regret, offering quiet, wordless comfort before Surnazhul takes their name. Some say she holds your hand just long enough for your loved ones to say goodbye. Others believe she carries your last thoughts to those who could not be there.
Her sorrow is not her own — she carries ours.
Manifestation & Imagery: Selathei appears as a figure veiled in gauze so fine it seems made of mist. Her form shifts subtly — always beautiful, always fading. She is often depicted standing just behind a seated figure, hand gently resting on their shoulder, a single tear trailing down her veil.
Her symbol — a sheer veil with a falling tear — is etched into parting gifts, stitched into mourning garments, or worn as tokens by hospice caretakers and those who tend the dying.
Worship and Followers: Selathei has no temples — only places of parting. Garden benches where lovers said goodbye. Bedsides where last breaths were taken. Crossroads where soldiers embraced before war. Her followers, known as the Vowkeepers, are hospice workers, farewell-singers, letter-carriers, and memory-binders. Some serve alongside priests of Surnazhul, others walk alone.
Her rituals are quiet and deeply personal — whispered farewells, offerings of lace, or the tying of parting ribbons to trees or stones.
Her name is often invoked in three moments: when someone is leaving forever, when a death is imminent, or when grief arrives before the body is gone.
After the Dark Awakening: In an age of ruin and sudden death, Selathei’s role has become both more vital and more mourned. So many lives are cut short without farewell. So many die unseen. And so, her presence has become more active — appearing unbidden at the sides of the dying, even if no one is left to say goodbye.
Some Weavers claim they’ve felt her touch just before a loved one passed. Others believe her veil brushes your face when grief strikes hardest, and if you weep then, she weeps with you.
Where there is a longing to say goodbye — Selathei listens.
Notable Sayings & Myths:
“She cannot stop the ending — only hold your hand until it comes.”
The Farewell Rose: A myth in which Selathei gives a grieving widow a single bloom that carries her husband's final thoughts. The rose never withers.
The Echo Lament: A song said to summon Selathei’s attention when sung over a dying child. It is said she sings back, just once, before the final breath.
The Tear-Veil Oath: A rite among the Vowkeepers, binding them to carry a last message — even across years, war, or silence.

“I do not take them from you. I only help you let go.” — Selathei, the Sighing Veil