"A worthy enough cause. You seek to help the living, and I seek to help
the dead. Two sides of the same coin."
A former Tabaxi man, his fur white as the snowy peaks he came from, has
travelled far and made it eventually to
Leilon. Able to control the line between life and death that he himself
walks, this undead feline seeks to promote the power of the office of Death
in the world after the Time of Troubles left it in a state of disaray.
In recent times, the lizardfolk of the Mere of Dead Men named him Claegssthisis, meaning 'The one who embodies death'.
Word count: 107
Appearance
Skin
Fur as white as snow
Age
25
Background History
Arctic Wind Through Pine is a Tabaxi snow leopard from the clan that once birthed Shadow of the Pride, the tabaxi hero who legends say helped defeat Count Strahd von Zarovich and his god, Vampir.
Pine grew up learning those stories, and others, that his clan told. He was curious, as all cubs were, but the actions of their local hero seemed so far beyond all of them that they were always distant to his mind. In truth, much of his life felt distant and unreal to his eyes, the clan's daily lives filled with joys and frustrations he simply didn't hold.
As he grew, so did he grow apart from the community, and started to take longer trips into the surrounding areas, at first to help with foraging and hunting, but then later still to the taller mountains where he felt drawn to seek out the more forbidding areas where much of life was as distant as he felt it was, while at the same time feeling more pertinent in the very struggle.
If asked, he didn't know when the calling came to him, but over time he found himself seeking out those who had fallen on those icy rocks and laying them to better rest, especially those whose rest had been disrupted by magic, going against the natural order. When at times he did return to the clan, or other townships nearby, they started to look at him differently, as if his calling set him further apart from their brighter lives, and perhaps that was so.
Of religion he knew little, and thought on it little. He held no particular god in his heart, no prayers towards one nor another, all he had was his task and the powers that came to him more easily as the years passed and his role, his duty, became more engrained. If there was a god, they had not made themselves known, but his powers maintained.
He had long since moved from the peaks that had been nearby where his clan stayed for part of the year, little to hold him there when the frozen rocks were free of restless dead, each body he'd sought out put to better rest. He travelled now along roads and paths, between townships towards other regions, other mountains whose howling snow-covered peaks could use his brand of care. Sometimes he travelled alone, but other times he travelled with others along more dangerous routes, knowing his own skills were not always enough to ensure his own tasks could be completed.
This was one of those times. He had found a small township, and yet his drive to return to the mountains had temporarily abated enough in a way that was its own sort of warning. This would be a more difficult task, wherever he ended up next, enough that he found himself looking for those around, wise enough to understand that he had found himself there for a reason. Coincidences had often happened on his journeys, useful contacts, a journey made easier by a cart, or warriors set on a journey that might have ended up with him dead. So he let himself have this rest, keeping to himself for the most part, but also keeping his eyes open. Whatever power was guiding him, this was one of those times when more than his own paws were needed for the task ahead.
Word count: 0
Outsider Perspectives and Words of Wisdom
The stories here, and his journal, are up in full on my Archive of Our Own page here, for ease of reading.
This stone pendant looks ancient. However since it absorbed the power of
the Dragonblood ruby it has been restored, the engraved design on it
clearly showing a new symbol of the
Dead Three.
If Pine ended up being the template for a god of death, what would that be like?
Neutrality
Pine is a neutral character and that would have remained. As a god he would not care about whether something was good or evil, or their actions in life, as he didn't generally in life.
Functioning death
Pine wants death to function as it should. Facilitating the passing of souls to their next stage of life, whether to a God's domain, to the river of souls, to being subsumed into the faewild etc.
Race and species would not concern him. Unlike most gods, he wouldn't only be concerned with the humanoid races, or even his own, but all death, including animals and plants, insects and even larger scale. All of it was part of the 'machine', and he is there to make sure it works as intended.
Giving rest
He has always been about bringing rest to those that want or need it. This was primarily on the mountains before, but it would have expanded to include everything when he got the godly upgrade.
People would petition him at funerals for the easing of the deceased into the afterlife. The living could petition him if they wished to end their life early to avoid suffering, such as soldiers slowly dying on a battlefield, or someone with a chronic illness or suicidal tendencies etc. So long as he judged that was genuinely their wish, he was likely to grant it, as that was the path they had chosen. He could be petitioned by people to clear up dead/ghosts/undead that had been risen against their will, or by sentient undead if they wished to finally rest and move on.
He would not respond to requests that were within the remit of the Three. He would not be interested in people attempting to get revenge etc, that was Bhaal's domain, or to bring death through the living actions, that was Bane's domain, or about raising the dead or embodying fear of death, that was Myrkul's domain.
The Clergy and followers
Gods need followers, but what would Pine's be like?
I
think that Pine's followers would probably not be seen much in the
larger cities except for maybe a small shrine or something, as it was
far more likely that the Three would hold a far greater presence there
where humanity's desperation and need for prestige held sway in places
like that. Because his own domain does not take from the Three, I could
even see people worshipping them as Four in cities maybe, venerating
them all, but using them specifically for different purposes depending
on circumstance.
I
could see Pine's specific clergy being scattered throughout the land,
some of them travelling, others tending small shrines or crypts. The
lower classes would likely fill the ranks of his followers the most,
because they need him the most.
The
clergy would preside over funerals, they would lay the dead to rest,
they would build crypts like Pine had done to make sure the dead didn't
become restless before they could move on. They would go to far flung
regions or places in order to lay lost dead to rest, such as mountains.
The clergy would receive some sort of extra protection from Pine when
doing those sorts of missions.
Pine's
clergy would not take bribes, and indeed that could end up with the
person getting cursed by the God for that insult. People could donate
or give their time to helping the clergy, but if people tried to get
Pine or his clergy to overlook a dead person, that was not seen at all
in a good light. Things that threatened the working of how the dead
were meant to function would be seen that way. If there was a clash
between requests of domains, Pine would come to an agreement with the
Three over it, and then act accordingly, but it would be a compromise on
both sides.
Pine's
clergy could wear whatever they were most comfortable in, and what was
the most practical for the weather etc. He was always a practical
person. His clergy would likely wear a cloak with a long white or white
and spotted stripe going diagonally over the back of the cloak as
reference to Pine's tail, and a visible brooch, cloak pin, or pendant
with a cat's skull with an ouroboros in its mouth on it.
Ritual instrument
Often religions have their favoured instruments and accoutrements for rituals and other ceremonies. Pine's would be the Carnyx. It creates an otherworldly sound that travels for miles, undulating in the air. For those that hear it, it is a reminder of the passing of life, and of the ever present cycle where living is not the only state something living can be.
In ritual ceremonies those around would fall silent to hear the sound that caries through the air, the living falling into a hush in those moments, the breath of life pausing at the solem reminder of what comes after, some even saying it can bring the sounds of those beyond. For some people it is a time of reflection, for others it is a comfort to know that death was not the end for their loved ones, merely one step on an ongoing journey.
But should there be a time when the God's anger has been unusually roused, when something has brought his attention negatively, those very same sounds turn more like a banshee's wail; a call to war. It the only warning they will get, that death and those that serve hunt them. For those people, it is likely the last sound they will ever hear.
Other Gods
In life, Pine had always been sort of passively seeking someone who brought with it the same feelings and sense of connection that he'd had with the dwarven lorekeeper he grew up learning from as a cub. This is a character trait that is likely to exist afterwards, as we saw he continued to exhibit it even after he became very powerful as a cleric.
If he ended up a god, I could see it being seen with Jergal the most, as the god with the most knowledge about death, especially as Jergal had never forced Pine to do things in life, like the Three had. Pine had also noted a certain level of isolation, exhaustion of the tedium, and depression in the elder god, and if possible he would try and alleviate that in his own ways, even if it was just company in his library.
He had a complicated relationship with the Three, not only because they forced his compliance through fear, and then manipulated him into making an agreement that didn't serve his own needs as much as it should. But at the same time they had helped him, and there were times when Pine certainly reached out to them, desperate for guidance. I could see him having a more equal relationship with them afterwards, each tending to their own part of death. While he understands their actions, and he respects them, he also understands that they will manipulate him in negative ways if they think they can get what they want. It would all depend on the balance of their interactions after ascension.
He would likely work with other gods on occasion if the situation called for it, such as if there was a situation that required them to remedy, but those would be the exception not the rule. He has always been a hermit, and while he can and has worked with others, it was always for a task needing outside help.
There's also the possibility that he forms a connection with a God that is more of his opposite, which would counterbalance the isolation and loneliness that both Pine and likely Jergal both fell into. Life is the other part of the cycle after all, and Jergal doesn't seem to have found that connection with Ao. But Pine could, but only so long as it didn't drag him into politics, which he would despise.
Politics
In general Pine has zero interest in politics or power struggles. Less than zero as he actively dislikes it. He would stay well away from any godly political manoeuvring, this likely backed up by Jergal's own stance of non-engagement. He just wants to do his job.
Agreements
We saw that Pine was very driven, beyond all other concerns, to be true to his agreements, and to being trustworthy. I'm not sure how this would be seen, other than his agreeing with Jergal's terms for becoming a God that were pointed out when the death god spoke to the group in Uthtower. Perhaps there is something in his clerical teachings about it, or perhaps he gains a second domain that includes it. Or maybe the clergy could be witnesses to agreements, and make those agreements binding to those involved with immediate cessation of life being the penalty for not sticking to it.
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