Portfolio: Death, night, darkness, shadows, vengeance

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Alignment: Lawful Neutral

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Titles: The Brother of Shadows, the Wayward Lord, Night Maker, the Heart of Vengeance

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Domain: The Pit of Darkness

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Holy Text: Nocturnis Perpetuam “Book of Eternal Night”

Symbols: A jagged human shadow

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Chosen Weapon: Any small blade, particularly knife

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Dogma: “The darkness is not to be feared but understood. Let others cower from the shadows where you shall dance, learn, and act. Let others hide from the night where you shall revel in it and use the cover of darkness to your advantage. Let others beware the setting of the sun where you shall begin your work.”

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“Death is only feared by those who don’t know for what they live. Teach others not to fear death by living each day to the fullest. Death is dispassionate, impartial, and comes to all, even gods. Never scorn death, for it brings low tyrants as well as loved ones, ends suffering as well as steals joy. Death is the balance that gives meaning to life, and should be reverenced for its power and its peace. To prepare for death or avoid it is no sin, but to forever deny death must bring vengeance from the faithful.

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“Vengeance is the sword of the wise. Do not live for vengeance, but do not fear taking vengeance throughout your life. All mortals know when vengeance is born within them and must be sated like any hunger. To deny this is to poison the soul and enable the unjust. Aid those who feel the hunger of vengeance and do not shun the help of those who would aid your own vengeance.”

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Worshippers: Mourners, night watchmen, those who work by night, those in hiding, vengeance seekers, morticians, gravediggers

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History: Of all the Outer Gods who heeded the call of Aeinia’s people, none have walked a more twisted path than the Brother of Shadows. Originally a lesser power, Na-lok’s first incarnation was as a god of mountain heights, foresight, and contemplation, but he hungered for a greater divine role and requested such of his fellow immortals. However, when this impassioned entreaty was casually rebuffed by the other gods of his pantheon, Na-lok planned his vengeance most carefully. To begin, the god tricked Hemeena into relinquishing control of the light of day, and he used that control to temporarily bring perpetual night to Aeinia granting himself dominion over night and darkness. As the newly crowned God of Darkness, Na-lok focused not only on growing the darkness in the world, but also in mortals’ souls granting himself the further title of God of Corruption. He commanded his clergy to make war upon the faithful of other gods and spawned several other dark demigods to aid in the celestial conflict.

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As the Brother of Shadows’ vengeance reached its midnight hour, and with so many other planar powers opposing them, the Outer Gods became desperate to end the conflict. Morthios struck a bargain with the God of Night and relinquished his divine dominion over Death and the Dead, agreeing that all mortal souls would pass through the Pit of Darkness on their way to be judged. Satisfied with his role in their divine mission to rescue the world of Aeinia from other insidious forces, Na-lok finally relented and rejoined the Outer Gods as a member of their pantheon in full standing. However, the echoes of his betrayal have had longer lasting consequences, foremost among them, Mordalla, the God of Undeath whom he spawned from the Shadowfell and whose power has only grown. It is believed that

the Wayward Lord holds no regret for his actions, having viewed his betrayal as the nature result of vengeance well-deserved, and his relationship with several of the Outer Gods remains strained, particularly Bes-tera, whose faithful were the most affronted.

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Despite Na-lok’s vengeful nature and fatalistic view of death, the god is not without compassion. The Brother of Shadows has been known to take pity on mortals who are separated from loved ones by death, sometimes allowing them a last glimpse or message from the departed in dreams or whispered visions that come in the night. He has also been known to show mercy to those who face death with great courage on the battlefield or who stand against overwhelming odds. As he himself once stood against his entire pantheon, the god has great sympathy for those who walk so profoundly alone. Very, very rarely, Na-lok has been known to make deals with mortal souls who swear their allegiance to him and allowed them to escape death, or even more rarely, return from death. As the God of Death, Na-lok sees himself as both the keeper over that force of nature and also as its master, so he reserves his greatest ire for those who attempt to cheat death.

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The Clergy of the Church of Shadows: The Church of Shadows has worked very diligently in the last decade to shift its reputation and role as being predatory towards the mortal races to being an ally. Na-loks priests are now seen tending to the dead in even the most dangerous places, trying to bring dignity to their mortal remains. They have also begun to offer comfort to those who are bereaved after a loved one’s death, bring food, a few coins, or even helping to arrange funeral services. This compassionate service has startled many to which the faithful often reply “shade is a form of darkness as well, and we all require shelter from the heat of the day”.

Shadow Priests, as the clergy are called, often come and go like ghosts, preferring to do much of their work in secret, particularly when that means helping thieves or others who work under the cover of night. While protecting those who work in darkness often means protecting merchants who must travel in the evening, it sometimes means hiding a murderer or other criminal element, so secrecy is an absolute necessity.

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As his clergy now serve the God of Death, Na-lok has laid the momentous task on his clergy of hunting the undead and exterminating them from Aeinia. The Church of Shadows prefers to engage in this work alone or to keep their methods a secret, so that the more intelligent undead will not become aware of either their activities or their methods. There is even an order within the Church of Shadows, Mortalitasque or the “Killers of the Dead”, who themselves take on undeath in order to more effectively fight the menace of the undead. The Hunters of the Dead are Vampires, Ghosts, Revenants, and even a few Liches that have been allowed to defy death in order bring death to those who exist beyond its grace.

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Titles

(1st) Shadow Priest

(5th) Night Brother (must have rescued someone who works at night)

(8th) Night Father (must lead a congregation or circle of worshippers)

(11th) Shadow Lord

(20th) Night Master