Malakien the Beautiful
Much like the Imperial Religion, Luthaenelists believe death is a beautiful part of the cycle of life. This belief is personified in the most beautiful of the Gods, Malakien Goddess of Death. Malakien -- also claiming the domains of Peace, Balance, and Justice, among others -- is known to be serene yet fervent, and ever-graceful.
Malakien is usually shown in the same way, although her species tends to change depending on the ethnicity of the deceased. She wears a long brown garment, muddy at the hem, and sinched with a golden thread. She has strikingly sharp, nearly elf-like features, with long flowing auburn hair beneath a golden diadem bejewelled with andalusite. Her deep brown eyes are kind above a warm, peaceful smile. Usually, she stands next to or sits upon her Sacred Cart, in which she collects the spirits of the dead to bring them to rest. The cart's wheels are nine-spoked, representing both Malakien's place in the Muenjotu, as well as wholeness and completness. At times, Malakien can appear not as a beautiful young woman but as an elegant, but terrifying crone. She is usually shown in this way when displaying her upset with something, such as with those who do not accept their mortality, or the final chapter of the Sacred History of Maletsok.
Malakien is revered across Maletsok for her role in laying souls to rest in the Northern Wetlands to usher them into the Kolaluth, but she is most worshipped and praised in her Homeland city of Onalasivet by the Markisian Wanderers (see Luthaenoism). In that city of the dead is her temple: a shrine marking the spot where she laid the first spirits to rest after the erruption of Mount Darbreduun.
Role in the Sacred History of Maletsok
Malakien claims the final chapter of the Sacred History, and is an ever-present legacy of the calamity as much as Mount Darbreduun itself. In the wake of the flood of fire, there was a great cry from the Maletsokish folk, both living and dead. Among those cries was the silent tearfall of Elatien the Cloaked, who had made his noble sacrifice to protect the poor folk. These cries moved Malakien's heart, who hailed righteous anger at her fellow gods before returning to the land. She took up her cart, wherein she gathered the spirits of those lost in the slag and brought them north. There in the swamps she buried them. In doing so, she brought peace to Maletsok, which inspired the Maletsokish peoples to be vigilant against conflict and violence.
Cult - Markisian Wanderers
They appear without warning in the darkest hours of most people's lives, and disappear without a trace, leaving those they meet at peace. The Markisian Wanderers are the oldest cult in Maletsok, claiming their origin at the moment Malakien began laying the dead to rest in the Northern Wetlands (see Semseach in Maletsok Islands). This group can be found in nearly every Maletsokish settlement, but have their largest population centres in the North in their Goddess' Homeland.
They are masters of the dead, using ancient rites to do whatever possible to send souls to a peaceful departure to the Kolaluthaenut and help the families of the deceased cope with loss. They most commonly do this from their temples, where funeral rites are administered and the dead are buried. However, they also live up to their namesake by wandering Maletsok, guided by Malakien, searching for the deceased -- both on this plane and the Merikesken Plane -- to bring them to rest. Markisian Wanderers are also sought after for council and their abilities to travel the Ethereal plane and speak with the dead.
Unlike other death cults across the Empire, however, Wanderers are also champions of justice and fierce attackers of hypocrisy. For authorities, they can be excellent aids who criticize unfair practices, or troublesome agitators who can bring about their downfall.
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