Sorentas

Description

Appearance

Sorentas appears as a hauntingly beautiful yet unsettling figure, her skin pale and tight against her thin frame, giving her an almost skeletal appearance. Her hair is a mass of black thorns, twisted into a crown that merges with a set of tangled, jagged horns. Despite her gaunt, deathly look, she retains an ethereal beauty—a reminder of her mortal origins. She clings to this humanoid form as a symbol of her connection to her past life, maintaining a visage of grace while commanding the forces of death and undeath.
Her eyes are deep voids of darkness, reflecting both the forbidden knowledge she guards and the weight of her domain. She wears flowing robes of black and silver that seem to shift like living shadows, always enveloped in a faint, cold mist that clings to her presence. The air around her is filled with whispers, as if the dead themselves are constantly conferring secrets to her. Though her appearance is often intimidating, her followers know that there is far more to Sorentas than the image of death and decay that she projects.

Personality

While many outsiders believe Sorentas to be a chaotic and malevolent figure, due to her association with the Odelates and her dominion over necromancy and the undead, those who truly understand her know that she is more complex. Sorentas has a caring nature toward her followers, whom she affectionately refers to as her "children." She deeply values those who choose to walk the path she has laid out, nurturing them as long as they obey her principles and respect the boundaries she sets.
To her followers, Sorentas is a protector, offering the gift of secret knowledge and a deeper understanding of the forces of life, death, and undeath. She teaches that death is not the end, but a gateway to power and knowledge, a force that can be mastered and bent to one’s will. She cares for her followers deeply and provides them with the tools to transcend mortality—whether through the pursuit of forbidden knowledge or through necromantic power.
However, Sorentas is also unyielding and ruthless when it comes to those who defy her. She holds tightly to her rules and principles, and any follower who betrays her trust or deviates from her path will find themselves cast aside, left to wither without her favor. When crossed, Sorentas becomes cold-hearted and distant, severing the bond she once shared with her followers. In these moments, her title as the Lady of the Wretched rings true, for she has no mercy for those who go against her will.

Symbols

• Crown of Thorns and Horns: Representing her dominion over death, secrets, and twisted knowledge's power.

• Black Rose or Thorned Vine: Symbolizing beauty in decay and the pursuit of hidden knowledge through the cycles of life and death.

• Open Eye with a Skull: Reflecting her mastery over necromancy and the undead, and her desire to uncover the secrets of the afterlife.

Biography

From Mortal to Goddess

Sorentas’s story begins with tragedy. Once a mortal woman who served the previous god of death alongside Allishae, Sorentas was driven by grief after losing her child during childbirth. In her desperation, she begged the god of death to restore her child’s life, but he refused, citing the natural laws that govern life and death. This refusal ignited a deep resentment in Sorentas, and she turned to the forbidden art of necromancy, seeking to defy the very forces of death that had taken her child from her.
As Sorentas grew in power, her understanding of death deepened, and she began to see death not as an end but as a gateway to knowledge and control. Her ambition led her to betray the god of death during the Diathan War, where she killed him and took his power for herself. This act of defiance cemented her place among the Odelates, the rebel gods, and she ascended to godhood as the Lady of the Undead.
Upon her ascension, Allishae took the place of the previous god of death, but Sorentas carved out her own path. Rather than controlling the natural cycle of death, she became the goddess of necromancy and secrets, focusing on the power that death and the undead could offer. For Sorentas, the dead hold secrets that the living cannot comprehend, and those who embrace death can unlock untold power. She was banished from the Material Plane by Allishae and Silica, the goddess of knowledge, but she continues to influence the world from the shadows, nurturing those who seek her forbidden wisdom.

A Different Kind of Care

Though she is often misunderstood as purely evil or chaotic, Sorentas’s followers know her as a caring and nurturing goddess. To those who are loyal and obedient, she offers a form of protection and empowerment that few other gods can. She teaches that death is not something to be feared, but embraced as a tool for power and understanding. Those who follow her receive the gift of secret knowledge, the ability to command the dead, and an understanding of the afterlife’s mysteries.
However, her care is conditional. Sorentas demands loyalty and adherence to her teachings, and she does not tolerate betrayal or defiance. Those who attempt to control the undead or practice necromancy without her blessing will be swiftly cast aside, their fates left to the mercy of the forces they sought to manipulate. Sorentas’s affection can be both a boon and a curse—those who remain in her favor are treated as cherished children, but those who break her trust are left to suffer alone.

Relationship with Allishae and Silica

Sorentas's relationship with Allishae, the goddess of death, and Silica, the goddess of knowledge, is one of tension and opposition. While Allishae upholds the natural cycle of life and death, Sorentas seeks to bend death to her will, keeping the dead bound to the world of the living. Silica, who encourages the sharing of knowledge, opposes Sorentas’s hoarding of secrets and hidden truths.
Despite this, Sorentas views her opposition to these goddesses as necessary, seeing herself as the only one with the courage to delve into the darkest corners of existence to uncover the truths that others shy away from. She believes that power comes from knowledge, and knowledge from death, a concept both Allishae and Silica refuse to fully accept.

Worshipers

Followers and Beliefs

Sorentas’s followers are primarily necromancers, seekers of forbidden knowledge, and those who have experienced loss but refuse to accept the finality of death. Her worshipers see death as a means to an end, believing that by embracing undeath and necromantic magic, they can access the secrets of the universe and transcend their mortal limitations.
Sorentas is especially revered by those who seek power through knowledge and manipulation. Necromancers call upon her to raise the dead, controlling armies of the undead in her name. However, her followers must always remain loyal and obedient to her teachings, for Sorentas does not forgive betrayal.
Scholars of the Forbidden are also drawn to Sorentas. They seek out her dark wisdom, hoping to uncover secrets hidden by the dead and the mysteries that linger beyond life. To them, Sorentas is a goddess of hidden truths, a keeper of knowledge that others are too afraid to pursue.

Temples and Sacred Sites

Sorentas’s temples are often hidden in desolate places, far from the prying eyes of the living. These sacred spaces are guarded by her undead servants, filled with ancient tomes, relics, and the remains of the dead. Crypts and catacombs are the most common places of worship, where her followers perform rituals to raise the dead or seek her guidance in uncovering hidden knowledge.
Secret Shrines: In more civilized lands, shrines dedicated to Sorentas are hidden away, known only to her most loyal followers. These shrines are often small and unassuming, but they serve as powerful nexuses of necromantic energy.

Legacy and Impact

Sorentas’s legacy is one of defiance, power, and hidden truths. She stands as the goddess who rejected the natural order, choosing instead to shape death into something that could be controlled and manipulated. Her followers respect her for her willingness to face the unknown and her commitment to sharing her forbidden knowledge with those who are loyal to her.

While many fear her as an Odelate and associate her with chaos and evil, her followers see the caring nature beneath her cold exterior. To those who remain true to her teachings, she is a mother figure, providing protection, knowledge, and power. But for those who defy her, she is a ruthless and unforgiving goddess, casting them into darkness without mercy. Sorentas’s influence continues to grow in the shadows, her children spreading her teachings of necromancy and the pursuit of secrets that lie beyond the veil of death.