Death collector

An important part of daily life is dealing with the death. Especially in cities it can be a huge problem if the death are not dealt with. In order to provide a proper transition from this plane onwards the death are cared for by the priests and priestesses of Avien, deity of death, in their temple. Inside the temple the bodies are protected from evil magic like necromancy or the possession of evil spirits, but this is not the case outside the temple. For this reason people who feel death coming often move to the temple beforehand and spend their last days there. When this was not possible, the bodies have to be transported after they were found. This is were death collectors come in.

Process

When a death body has been found, someone will send a message to the temple of Avien. Immediately there will be a group of two to five death collectors send to the given adress. They will wrap the body in black cloth and carry the body to their cart and move it to the temple. One of them will stay behind and treat anyone who has touched the body with holy water from Aviens temple. Before leaving they will clean any blood or grime from the room and pour the remaining holy water over the resting place of the death person and the door of the room and the house. During the whole process, there is no communication between the death collectors themselves or between them and the other people present. They move as instructed, as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Appearance

Death collectors are clothed from head to toe in grey clothes. Their clothes consist of baggy grey pants that come together around the ankles and a baggy grey long sleeve tunic. Their heads are covered with a grey veil that is less obscured around the eyes and they wear grey gloves and shoes. These outfits make them seem almost identical to each other, removing almost all personality except for their differences in height and a slight variation in general build.

Social status

As they deal with the messy parts of death and take beloved people from their family and friends, death collectors are seen as social outcasts. They will be avoided as much as possible when they move through the street and in the house. Especially with the covering clothing and there efficiency, there are no sentimental feelings or warmth in the whole process, making it often a very alien experience for the people present and giving death collectors an even worse social image.
Due to this social status there is no such thing as wanting to become a death collector. If someone finds themselves in that job, that means that they were desperate enough to consider it. For this reason the people who perform this job are often older street urchins or widows and widowers with nothing left as the temple of Avien provides good shelter and food for those who will work in return.

Alternative Names

Takers

Type

Religious

Alternative name

Another name for death collectors is takers. This is because once they arrive at the body, they will immediately cover and take the body. There is no room for anyone present to interupt the death collectors to say goodbye before they take the body away.