The Bane of the Dead

After death? It is not my place to say where the soul goes. But our bodies should rest, not be animated in some mockery of the life-which-was. It is the sacred duty of the living to safeguard the dead, and show respect to the fallen. Those who do not, those who would use the dead for their own ends, should perish from this world as punishment for their sin.

— Kelph Donnor, Orator of the Sun

The existence of undead in the world is something which is known even down to common folk, a product of dark and evil magic wielded by twisted souls. How close this is to truth is a matter for philosophers, but there is a sect following the Light of Eternity devoted to nothing other than hunting undead and those who create them. They are the 'Bane of the Dead', adventurers with a goal they consider a holy missive. Over the years they have grown from a small band into a serious force to be reckoned with, and slowly their identity has changed from adventuring party to a sect focused on the relationship between their deity, the undead, and the world.

Public Agenda

The Bane of the Dead is relatively open about their motives, though not always discussing their origins. Primarily, the sect is interested in decrying the very idea of creating undead and convincing others to do everything in their power to put an end to the practice. This has taken the form of the sect claiming and restoring an ancient temple to the Light of Eternity, and spreading word of their sacred duty to those who come to visit.

A secondary agenda of the Bane's non-adventuring members is to reach out to others who might share the same mission and thus develop relationships to benefit all involved. This has already brought about some progress, and has led to some notoriety as a sect active in Helenic "neutral ground". With a growing support framework, the Bane of the Dead also has given magical aid to fledgeling adventuring groups to fight against undead. Truly, Bane Tyrnon doesn't truly care one way or the other who does the deed - what matters is the destruction of undead and those who create them.

History

Tynon, I know you have suffered. You endured the loss of many friends, and were required to bury them with your own hands. But the gods will not do for you what you possess the power to do yourself. If you wish to change the world, then you must find motivation for yourself to act. Be the force for good you want to be, rather than demanding the gods do it for you.

— Brother Sirian, Priest of Sunlight

The Bane of the Dead began with an adventuring group known as 'The Bound Brotherhood' stumbling into a long-abandoned catacomb system near the Bay of Aurora. This awakened a significantly-sized force of undead which also managed to hinder escape simply by numbers. While steadily fighting their way out, the adventurers succumbed to the horde of undead one by one. Only two escaped the tunnels, but Tyrnon Cygnus was forced to watch his companion succumb to the wounds taken trying to retrieve the body of his lover. After ensuring all bodies which could be retrieved were given a proper burial, Tynon left to seek understanding on how the gods could allow such things to persist in the world. On discovering the Light of Eternity and listening to many lectures on the proper order of things, Tynon chose to stop asking the gods for intervention and act himself.

In the years following this, Tynon began collecting those who would also share in his vision. Among those were Kelph Donnor, Silver Rain, and Thalamar Stonefist. Kelph had lost his family to an undead horde, and converted to following an divine aspect known as 'The Sunfather' over the following years. Silver Rain was a notorious thief who operated in major cities along the southern coast of Helenic, and claimed to have undergone a religious experience drawing her to serve 'the Light of Eternity' and brought a considerable amount of wealth to help found the sect. Thalamar Stonefist chose to leave his clan hall after feeling more in tune with 'The Sunfather' while his clan was more aligned with 'The Father of Mountains'. Together, they dove into the catacomb system where this all began and carved through the opposition to retrieve the bodies of the Bound Brotherhood.

The later recovery of an old temple by Bane Tynon, Kelph's growing oratory skill, were joined together with Thalamar and Silver finding artisans to help restore the temple to a worthy shrine. When the temple was consecrated in the name of the Sunfather, before the eyes of those who had come to lend a hand in its rebirth, the Bane of the Dead truly begun.

Divine Origins

The Rhyliss Empire recognizes the deity involved as 'The Light of Eternity', sometimes named Apira. Other epithets have been applied to this same deity over the ages, one of which is known to be 'The Sunfather'. When Bane Tynon begun his sect, he rejected more of the gentler and less-focused aspects of Apira and chose to focus on the Sunfather's more aggressive (yet benevolent) tendencies against undead. Together with Thalamar Stonefist and Kelph Donnor, the trio pored over as many scriptures and writings they could find about the deity and began to narrow their focus on the aspect their goals were most aligned with. While Tynon and Kelph were eager to write a brand new scripture, Thalamar instead cautioned about potentially subverting existing sects who might be useful allies. If they undertook significant changes to existing religious paths, it could damage the message they wanted to send.

One of the more obscure incantations wrung from the scriptures became Thalamar's focus, concerning the conjuration of magical light. According to the scriptures, this light carried the full strength and warmth of the sun itself instead of being mere illumination. Over time, Thalamar learned to channel divine essence and shape this conjured sunlight into weapons capable of destroying undead outright.

Tenets of Faith

There are three basic tenets which underlie the Bane of the Dead, and even with the decade since its inception there has been very little change to them.
Firstly, there is to be no disturbing of the dead. A fallen person must be permitted to pass beyond into whatever afterlife their soul will journey to. This tenet is one which sets the Bane of the Dead apart from other sects following the Sunfather; it is widely believed the soul is permitted to return to the body if the gods and the person is willing, but it should never be forced upon them. Despite the disagreement, Tynon and Kelph both strenuously argue the rituals which can revive or resurrect the fallen are just as evil as the powers which animate corpses or bind spirits to tortured existences. Silver and Thalamar have shown dissatisfaction, but will not voice dissent in this matter.

The second tenet is to never shy away from confronting the undead. A contentious tenet, as this tends to suggest it is permissible to die facing a battle which cannot be won rather than fall back and return with assistance. Tynon and Silver set forth this tenet with the intent to foster the belief undeath can be fought and overcome with a strong enough willpower. Kelph, whose abilities lie in other areas than direct combat or divine magic, does not stress this tenet as much as the other two due to his lenience and understanding of such "cowardice".

Finally, the third tenet is to show all dead bodies due respect and give them a proper rest in accordance with the Sunfather's scriptures. In some cases this means burial in consecrated ground, while other cases it is recommended to use a funeral pyre. Thalamar is the primary proponent of this tenet, as it is his belief the consecrated dead cannot be risen into undeath and forced into servitude. The variety of rituals involved are all drawn from the scriptures studied by the dwarf priest, and reproduced without significant changes to their procedures. Therefore, these funeral proceedings are ones known to many residents of Erisdaire who know anything about the Sunfather or the Light of Eternity.

Let the Dead Rest

Type

Religious, Sect