The Mysta of Kelemvor

The Sacerdos (priests) of Kelemvor make up the greater Mysta (priesthood) who serve the God of Death. Made up of four tiers, the Mysta are lead by the Pontufex who resides on the island of Tenebris at the Great Mausoleum where they commune with Kelemvor and seek to protect the veil between the worlds. The other ranks of Sacerdos go from Acolyte to Sacerdos to Cantores (Singers) to Doomguide. The Sacerdos of Kelemvor are tasked with tending to the last wishes of the dying and providing burial services to those who died alone. They also set out to cure diseases and defend people from monsters so that folk did not die before their time. Their final and arguably most important task was the destruction of undeath in all its various forms as it was an affront to Kelemvor. (See: Kelemvor - Worshipers)

Structure of the Mysta

Acolyte

The acolytes of Kelemvor are trained at the Great Mausoleum on the island of Tenebris. Most acolytes take three years to become a Sacerdos with the most promising acolytes only taking a year. The acolytes learn about the sanctity of death, its role in the world, how to comfort those who are afraid of dying or have lost a loved one, and what it means to be a watcher and guide to the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead. Once they have mastered these skills the acolytes graduate to become a Sacerdos in the Mysta of Kelemvor.

Sacerdos

Sacerdos fulfill a variety of roles in the Mysta. Most are assigned to a settlement or small group of villages they travel between to minister to the people of Kauvet. In the course of their duties, they oversee burial rites, help families send the deceased to the Great Mausoleum to be put onto a Death Ship, counsel individuals, and deal with small imbalances in the natural cycle of life and death. This is as far as most Sacerdos advance in the Mysta of Kelemvor. If an individual shows great promise in the service of Kelemvor, they can prepare to become a Cantore in Kelemvor’s service.

Cantore

In order to become a Cantore, a Sacerdos must show they can care for not only the body but the emotions of Kelemvor’s worshippers as individuals pass beyond the veil. Traditionally, the Cantores would master songs and magic to help bring calm and peace to those who are in turmoil, but in recent times the practice has grown to include musical instruments, poetry, literature, and other forms of emotional cousel.
The Cantore perform at rituals and ceremonies of Kelemvor, serve as counselors to leaders, and are the primary lieutenants to the Mysta’s senior members: the Doomguides. To signify their skills, the Cantores wear grey robes marked by a silver lyre over the golden hand and scales of Kelemvor. Cantores who are not expected to advance further in the Mysta lead medium sized temples or smaller missions of the Mysta. Those who may continue to advance typically serve at a temple or are a servant of a Doomguide traveling Kauvet.
Many Cantores specialize in magic to support others and alter emotions to further their work. These skills are especially important to those Cantore who are in direct service to a Doomguide. The symbol of the Cantores is a silver lyre over the golden skeletal hand and scales. Typically each Doomguide is accompanied by two Cantores who they mentor and guide in the secrets of the Mysta and prepare them to further advance in the Mysta.

Doomguide

The senior priests and monster hunters of the Mysta are called Doomguides. They lead the larger temples of Kelemvor, hunt monsters and necromancers who desecrate the sanctity of death, and train the acolytes. The Doomguides are masters of martial combat and master magics that make them deadly one on one combatants who can handle even the most powerful necromancers. The Doomguides are Kelemvor’s blades on Kauvet who protect the sanctity of death and destroy those who seek to end lives before their appropriate time or rend the veil between the worlds.
Necromancers are the greatest enemies of the Doomguides, and they will pursue those who practice the necromantic arts without end. Many Doomguides become proficient in battle magics and other darker skills to overcome those who seek to usurp Kelemvor’s hold on the dead. No one knows exactly how many Doomguides serve the Lord of the Crystal Spire, but you can typically find a few in Acropolis, the Great Mausoleum, Rockshire, and Glimmerbrook. Their symbol of a red greatsword over the golden scales and hand is a welcome sight to those who are suffering for they know peace will soon be restored.

Key Temples

The Great Mausoleum

The Great Mausoleum of Kelemvor is located on the island of Tenebris in the far south of Kauvet, overlooking the vastness of the Southern Ocean as the final resting place for souls before they journey over the Southern Ocean into the next life and Kelemvor’s care. Here, the acolytes of Kelemvor are trained and initiated into the mysteries of the Mysta and decide which path in the Mysta they will take.
Made from black granite, the Mausoleum rests on a high cliff looking south over the ocean. Upon the floor of the Mausoleum, a golden emblem of a scale held by a skeletal hand decorates the floor. Overlooking this main floor is a tall statue of Kelemvor, seated in judgment of the souls of the dead, looking out of the main entrance to the temple. Wings aboveground hold the dormitories of the Sacerdos and Acolytes who live within while at the Mausoleum. On the second floor of the temple are the living quarters of the Doomguides (senior priests) and Pontufex (high priest) of Kelemvor.
On the first basement floor are the grieving rooms where penitents come to meet the Cantores (singers) or Sacerdos when seeking solace around the passing of loved ones or their own death. The Sacerdos teach that death is not to be feared but embraced as the next step in a mortal’s existence and Kelemvor exists to help things come at the right time, not too early or too late. He shepherds souls to rest and the peace which comes with the long sleep.
Further underground are the ritual rooms used by the Sacerdos, training rooms for the Doomguides who travel the land and defeat those who seek to bring death before its appropriate time, practice rooms for the Cantores, and the great library which holds the knowledge of the Mysta. In the lowest levels are enchanted chambers made to help monsters and other beings who bring untimely death, bring the dead back to life, or seek to break the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead. At the foot of the cliff is stone docks made from obsidian and lit by torches that burn with a gray flame. That is where the priests of Kelemvor send the ships of the dead into the Southern Ocean.

The Portamortis

The most visited temple of Kelemvor is located at the capital of Kauvet, Acropolis. In Kauvet above the Coemeturiam (cemeteries), the Portamortis sits with its chambers descending into the earth. Aboveground, opaque obsidian walls make up the wide portico and wings of the temple where the people of Kauvet can come to seek solace about the passing of their loved ones or respite in their last days. Belowground are chambers for the Sacerdos to perform their non-public duties. In some of the rooms, they inter and preserve the bodies of the deceased and prepare them to go to the Great Mausoleum and be sent into the Southern Ocean on a Ship of the Dead. Other rooms are designed for the Cantores and Doomguides to train, Sacerdos to study for promotions in the Mysta, reading rooms, and meditation chambers. The Mysta maintains a second library here that is second only to the Great Mausoleum. Rumors circle that the Portamortis guards a dark secret of the Acropolis known only to the royal family, the Doomguide who heads the Portamortis, and the Pontufex.

The Osseus Septentrionalis

The Osseus Septentrionalis was once the crypt of the necromancer Osdominus Ater who created an enormous boneyard to develop a more powerful source of necromantic energy for her sorceries. The greatest Pontufex of Kelemvor in Kauvet’s history, Lux Bellator, led twelve Doomguides and thirty six Cantores against Osdominus and sealed her away to end her reign of terror. In order to prevent other necromancers from taking advantage of the dark energies that surround the Ater Boneyard, Lux ordered the construction of the Osseus Septentrionalis to guard the boneyard and serve as the final testing ground for Cantores who seek to become Doomguides. Cantores who seek to become Doomguides must enter the Ater Boneyard from the Osseus and return with the heads of three greater undead to help keep the boneyard in check.

Famous Figures of the Past and Present

Medea Griseo the Aurum Draconis

A famous Doomguide of the current era, Medea has found many promising young Sacerdos of Kelemvor in her travels. Medea is a master of radiant magic and is famous for summoning a golden draconic spirit to assist her in battle. She is said to have delved deeper into the Osseus Septentrionalis than any but Lux Bellator. Medea has turned down many appointments to prominent temples of Kelemvor to continue wandering Kauvet defeating monsters and necromancers.

Jason Argos

The Pontufex of Kelemvor as of 228 AL, Jason is known to be a brave warrior and wise leader. He led a ship of Sacerdos as a Doomguide to explore the islands of Kauvet in his youth and returned with a golden sheepskin that could protect the wearer from all necrotic energy and a young girl named Medea Griseo who later rose to prominence as well.

Lux Bellator

The greatest Pontufex in the history of Kauvet, Lux led the Sacerdos against the necromancer Osdominus Ater and oversaw the construction of the Osseus Septentrionalis. Lux was known for her use of a golden sword and radiant magics to beat back the forces of undeath Osdominus called from the Ater Boneyard.

Caeman Tarius

A famous Sacerdos, Caeman is known for his architectural prowess in the service of Kelemvor. Under his guidance, the Sacerdos erected the Great Mausoleum and Portamortis ages ago. His vision and design has allowed the Mysta to prosper as they continued to grow after Caeman’s death.

Avis Carmen

The first Cantore, Avis was said to have the most beautiful voice in the Mysta of Kelemvor. The Pontufex at the time was so moved by Avis’ singing they established the order of Cantores to better serve the people of Kauvet using her methods.

Hymn of the Doomguide

Lord, lord of the dead, Your mercy the hope of the dead, Every threat, who would end people's rest, Must face the doomguide's wrath.
Every necromancer and sorcerer, Who blaspheme upon death’s door, Can never rest, for we are the blessed, Who serve the lord of death.
Our swords and our flames, Will quench undead rage, Protecting the people who live, For you are the judge of the damned.

The Story of Lux Bellator

This is the story of the golden priest, Lux Bellator, warrior of light and protector of souls She faced down the darkness that enveloped the north, the barren boneyard of Osdominus Ater
The necromancer who raised up the dead These monsters they crawled, and creeped, and slithered that crept into cradles and keeps and homes
Her radiant staff she carried high, the crystal bright with Kelemvor’s light That swept back the darkness and banished the beasts That freed our folk from Osdimus’s grasp
Into the boneyard the Lux led the priests The corruptors of death they called to account
Bravely the sung, for the lord of the dead Their voices called down the flames of the lord The undead were banished, their power now broken
Only the master, Ater stood then Bequeathed with the mantle, Lux went to battle She threw down the stealer of souls From these undead ashes, the light did prevail We remember her now for the deeds that she did