Rovin

Rovin, also known as the Spirit of Ravens, Grandfather Raven, or the Raven Spirit, is a great Wild Spirit and the natural embodiment of all ravens. Rovin represents the facets of the mind that grant understanding, cleverness, intellect, and perspective. Raven is associated with wisdom, cunning, trickery, knowledge, and the moment of transition between death and the afterlife.
He is said to be fond of riddles and wordplay and likes to test the wits of his followers and anyone else who wishes to uncover his secrets and knowledge, which are said to be infinite and everlasting.
Rovin is believed to personally come to take the life of those who are about to die, guiding the souls of the to the Gate of Mortality as a flock of black ravens. However, though Rovin represents some facets of death and facets of the mind that grant his followers the vision to see and the knowledge to understand, some of his teachings have also been perverted by some of his wayward shamans and druids; those who cruelly embrace necromancy and the raising of the dead in their quest for knowledge and power at the expense of others.
The Raven Spirit lacks the forthcoming nature of most other deific beings. While he may resurrect a Revenant to fulfill some clandestine purpose, he rarely communicates what that purpose is. When he does, it is typically in riddles, only to snatch up their souls to ferry to the afterlife as quickly as they've completed their purpose.

Depiction

Most visages of Rovin depict him as a large, black, three-eyed raven cloaked in a shroud of its own feathers. Other times he will be depicted as a raven with a skeletal head. Crows are also depicted as symbolizing Rovin's presence, and the presence of crows and ravens over a field of bodies after a battle is seen as an omen of his presence.

Tenets of Faith

Rovin requires nothing of his flock but the promise to always pursue such ventures, but individuals that do not learn from their mistakes he views as unworthy, and he rewards those that cleverly adapt to challenges presented before them.
Like a doting grandfather, he calls his followers fledglings and pays close attention to those who demonstrate feats of tremendous intelligence, guile, and acts of kindness towards ravens, who are viewed as his flock. Those who do are said to earn his respect and favors.
Shed no tears for those who have passed. Death is natural. Each life is like an hourglass, the sands slowly running out until its time is up. When one dies but is brought back to life through Magic, it wasn't yet their time to die. Death is powerful, as is the moment when a soul crosses the Gate of Mortality. Oppose the creation of undead, for they are abominations to the natural law, and death is necessary for the natural order to function.
Test one's wit constantly. A sharp mind makes for a sharp flock. Life is a quest for knowledge and for mastery of an ever-increasing body of information about the world. Collect knowledge for knowledge's sake, and strive to better one's self through learning. Some of Rovin's followers hope to better the world through the pursuit of knowledge, while others hope to gain the means to impose their will on the world through such. For Rovin himself, knowledge is all that matters. Knowledge is neither good nor bad, neither fair nor chaotic, and it is best to gather it in a spirit devoid of ethical judgments.
Learning is vital for self-improvement. From one's mistakes, one learns to better one's self and expand one's perspectives. Teach those willing to learn, but abandon those who refuse to learn from their mistakes.
Think outside of your current understanding. Problems can be solved through creativity. Do not box yourself into rigid thinking or strict regimes. Always seek wisdom in the unexpected to solve disputes. Wit, humor, and cunning are invaluable for planning ahead. All deserve and need to be entertained and surprised by the unexpected, although preferably in a manner that leaves them wondering, and thinking for some time. One should live a life of unpredictability and abstain from repetitive habits.

Followers of Rovin

Rovin is popular with wizards and sorcerers, and many state-sanctioned necromancers revere him. As a spirit of death, wanderers of the wilderness look to him for safe passage into the afterlife.
Clerics and shamans of Rovin, known as Fledgelings, are most often elderly, although more youthful individuals are not discouraged to participate in his reverence. Newer clerics are expected to defer to ones of higher status at all times.
Clerics of Rovin commonly administer funerals among Vaskan populations and members of the Hunter's Keep and are expected to aid in the transition into the afterlife. Using various kinds of magic, priests are called to aid those that are dying (calming loved ones, easing the dying's pain, or even speeding a person's transition). With permission from the family, a member of Rovin's flock will oversee the death of a person, silently observing and taking notes. When the body does finally die, Rovin's flock also handles all matters with the burying of the body as elegantly as possible.
Some clerics of Rovin or beast-tamers that revere the Raven Spirit may serve kings and powerful leaders as raven handlers for the purposes of sending messages by raven-flight.
Clerics also arbitrate tribal disputes, give advice on magic, investigate magical curiosities and create magic items. More powerful clerics use their magic to fortify their tribes' holds. Priests are also responsible for keeping libraries of magical information and aiding the research of new magical spells.
Most of Rovins' fledglings believe that the undead are an abomination and rarely miss an opportunity to destroy them. They believe that magical research is a secondary role of the priest. They are known to cast Raise Dead (at no cost) for exceptional members of the flock, as well as casting Raise Dead and/or Resurrection in return for materials that can be used for magical research or for other items of interest.
Priests and shamans of the Raven Spirit wear layered full-length hooded robes of alternating gray and black with great feathered mantles of raven feathers. They wear hoods that include a veil to cover their eyes. They wear jewelry with skull and gem motifs on their arms and necks as well and carry staves.
As with most spirits in the Pantheon, temples to Rovin are extremely hard to come by and are usually found in the wilderness, most prominently around Vaskyr. Temples to Grandfather Raven are often found in old, long-abandoned, underground crypts and catacombs that are used to protect the bodies of the dead.
Temples have various mages researching spells on a permanent basis. Each temple will specialize in a school of magic, although most necromantic formulas are shared between the various temples. Priests are also responsible for aiding people on to the afterlie.

Portfolio
Knowledge, Secrets, Trickery, The Afterlife, Ravens

Divine Classification

Wild Spirit

Religions

• Pantheon of the Wild

Alignment

True Neutral

Species

Giant Raven

Realm

Eternal Hunting Grounds