¶ NECRA: GODDESS OF DEATH
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NECRA |
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| WORSHIPPERS: Orderlies, Gravetenders, Mourners CONSIDERED SINS: Heretical Magic, Untimely Death, Disturbance of Rest ALIGNMENT: Divine Pantheon GRANTED BOON: Ability to see the presence of a soul in a deceased body. |
Necra, also known as The Undermaiden, or The Veiled Lady, is the goddess of death, decay, and the afterlife.
Necra takes the appearance of a thickly robed, towering skeleton with intricately engraved bones of gold-woven obsidian. Beneath her ever-shifting hood, her eyes burn brightly as blue flames. She is historically depicted with her head hidden within a mourning veil, though within recent years Necran artists have begun depicting her with an exposed face.
¶ Domain
Necra presides over death, the spirit, and the underworld. The souls of the deceased are guided to her realm by her servant, Charon, to the caring cradle of her ashen plains. The underworld was a place of peaceful nothingness, for souls to lament their lives and process their loss before moving on and embracing Rebirth.
However, this has shifted. Ravox's influence and Necra's fatigue resulted in the reshaping of the underworld into a training ground. Souls are given physicality, weapons, and drive. They clash into one another in battle after battle, under the watchful eye of Ravox's training. Rebirth is offered now only as a reward for patience, cleverness, or prowess.
Necrans report that this drastic shift of structure aligned with her discarded veil. Some theorize it to be in preparation of a new calamity, but the exact cause is yet unknown.
¶ History
Psydon was the first, Necra was the second. This much is indisputable, according to all records of the era. They were lovers at a time of peace and prosperity.
Necra was the first mortal to die, though her soul had nowhere to travel. Psydon granted her divinity and form through sculpting at his potter's wheel with His own flesh, a freshly severed finger and thumb, from which He shaped her new visage. With her first Rebirth, she brought forth the Underworld of old- a serene landscape of ash and woods beneath a sparkling sky of stars.
¶ Controversies
The greatest sin of Necra, considered by the masses, was the aptly named ‘Butchery of Psydon.' When He bravely defended his world from the emerging arch-devils of hell, He had suffered a grievous wound yet did not fall. It was by her hand only which He took His last breath, and His corpse was crafted into The Ten. Whether this was a mercy killing or an attempt to gather power is heavily disputed by various religious institutions. Grenzelhoft's clergy in particular has grown to consider worship of Necra perhaps the most grave sin, as she took the Creator from the world. The church of The Ten, however, attributes this action to some unknown wisdom or foresight experienced by Necra and only Necra, justifying her actions out of some unseen necessity.
The restructuring of the underworld has provoked much distaste, from particularly Eoran pacifists, who cannot bring themselves to consider an afterlife of combat and strife worthy as anything but a punishment. Necra is unmoving on this matter, despite Eora's distaste.
Within the new underworld, communion with spirits have given rise to rumours of a lush, forbidden grove, unlike the ashen plains the dead find themselves inhabiting. Perhaps these are only rumours, or perhaps seers have discovered something hidden.
¶ Iconography
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¶ Gallery
