Caedes

## Universal

Caedes is one of the gods that is most consistent across all fronts. It is universally agreed that his role is to come to the plane of mortals, collect the soul of the dead and guide it to the Black Iron Gate. He has no say as to what awaits souls on the other side, his job is merely to deliver them.

## Caedes', God of Death

A skeletal figure wrapped in a cloak of rotting black feathers.

### Aspects

Death, Time, Fate

The humans believe that Caedes is master over his domain of death. He decides when and where each soul will perish, all according to his divine plan. He is an organised and effecient diety who owns an hour glass for each and every soul letting him know when they will pass. It is believed he meets each and every soul personally after the body has been properly serviced in a funeral rite.

Failure to respect proper funeral rites, or otherwise disrespecting the god of death is what leads to the creation of undead, as a divine curse.

## Two Skull

Emphasizing the duality of Caedes', as both killer and saint, is very important to the dwarves. They depict Caedes' with twin skulls forming a third face between them. Dwarves are the only race not to depict Caedes' as a crow in any shape.

### Aspects

Death, Community, Time

Many Dwarven cultures and religions do not believe

that Caedes' is a god himself, but rather, the single most powerful servant of the gods. Despite not being seen as a true God, dwarves still hold a great respect for him, and adorn their tombs with his colors and symbols. Unlike other races, dwarves have no fear of being lost, forgotten or cursed by Caedes'.

## The Rook

An elf who hides his true face behind the skull of a crow. Dignified but kind

### Aspects

Rebirth, Endings, Rest

Elves view Caedes' not as a god of death, but a god of renewal. While he may

have power over death, he is not the cause of all deaths. Caedes' true role is believed to be the preparation of the soul for new life. Once Caedes' beings the soul to his domain, he will begin cleaning it, carving away it's imperfections before it can be released back into the world and take on new life. Elves often choose to bury their dead quickly, wanting Caedes' to collect the soul as soon as possible. Rites are far less important to them, though they would perform them if they had the resources and time, instead they focus on having the body returned to the earth before the sunset. The emphasis on time comes from the idea that the longer the soul exists outside the body, the easier it becomes corrupted or damaged by outside forces, and in extreme cases the soul will rot, leading to the creation of undead, and damning the soul forever.

## Lich King Caedes

A rotting corpse with the literal severed head of a massive crow stitched over his true head

### Aspects

Undeath, Secrets and Arcane

Hobbits and humans share many similarities in

culture, and Caedes is no exception. The differences between hobbit and human depictions of Caedes come mostly in the form of a more laid back and less vengeful personality. In hobbit myths the appearance of Caedes' is more often a friendly greeting, wildly different than the cold and haunting appearances in human myths.

## The Twincrow

A two headed crow who bears an eye on his chest. One head is kind and loving, the other cold and wicked.

### Aspects

Death, Life, Fate and Gallows Humor

There is a new interpretation that has gained far more support over the last few generations, with the rise of undeath. A new group claims that the explanation for Caedes' origin as a mortal is simple, he is no god, rather he is undead, the very first of his kind. Following this logic, the new church reveres undeath as a blessing from the gods, not a curse. They dedicate themselves to Caedes' , in hopes that he may leave their souls be when they die, and share with them his secrets to eternal unlife. Most who desire undeath believe it is simply the soul living on without a functioning body, they don't seem to have an answer for the dead who appear to suffer in agony.

### **Caedes, Soul Scavenger**

There are some who believe that Caedes' is no more divine than wind or earth elementals, he is simply a manifestation of the universe built to perform a simple task, disposing of souls. Much like elves, most athiests subscribe to the idea that upon death the soul begins to spoil, but unlike the elves, instead of a process of renewal, what awaits beyond the Black Iron Gates is nothingness, a waste bin for discarded and broken souls.

## Rituals or Celebrations

### **Cleansing of the Hands**

Its generally accepted that those who touch the corpses of intelligent beings get sick. This is believed to be the work of Caedes', punishing mortals for laying hands on the unclean flesh. However, Morticians or others who must work with the bodies of the dead to make a living choose to partake in a ritual. The ritualist prepares a bowl of ice water and dons the mask of a crow or raven.

They say a short prayer over the bowl before placing their hands in the bowl and ask Caedes' for his permission to touch the unclean, and only once they have been given a sign may they remove their hands. Should the sign never come, or the ritualist remove his hands before it is complete, the body is to be beheaded and cremated, for fear of its rise as an undead.

Its generally agreed upon that the best Morticians lack feeling in their hands.

### **Funerals**

A funeral is a time for mourning the loss of a loved one, obviously funerals are held by all races, cultures and religions, but should the dead have been a follower of Caedes' or his pantheon, there are several details which are key to the ceremony.

In order to best help the departed move on effectively a traditional Caedes funeral has many components:

* The body must have been treated by a mortician
* A small shrine with an object of significance of the departed.
* The event must be public
* In some cases, they should be burried with the corpse of a bird in their arms

### **The Day of Goodbyes**

Originating as a halfling tradition, but has since become one of the largest and most celebrated holidays in all of Andrasa, the day of Goodbyes is held on the last day of each year. A portrait, article of clothing, or object of significance belonging to each and every person to pass away that year is thrown into a large pile and set aflame while priests of Cadeus recite the names of each loved one allowed.

The prayer is simple and often repeated by the crowd. For Example

Priest: *"John Doe, Age 20, Heart Attack, Friend and hero. We celebrate your life."*

Crowd: *"John Doe, We Celebrate your life!"*

While a funeral is a very formal affair in which loved ones plead for the safety of the soul, the day of Goodbyes is more for the living than the dead. It celebrates the time spent with the departed. It is a time for drinks, dancing, cheering and years as we all take the first step towards moving on.

## Legends and Myths

### Human Myth of Caedes' Origin

Caedes was created by the other gods after a mortal man took the life of another. The gods were unfamiliar with the concept of death at the time. This strange new concept would require a god to rule over it, so the gods decided to gift that honor to the one who invented it. After inability to decide whether the murderer or the victim was the true creator of the first death, the gods took their souls and combined them into one entity to rule over all of the dead and guide the passage of souls to the great beyond.

## Controversy

### **"True Divinity"**

While Caedes' is generally considered divine by most religions, as he is the most commonly interacted with, he is often used as an arguement against the idea of any form of "true divinity" in general.

True divinity is the idea that the gods are not born or destroyed, they simply are, and have been since reality formed. This arguement is often used to discredit so called ""Ascended" beings like Appla of Ev-Mellen as gods. If you were not born a god then you are not a god and you will never be a god. Period. However, in the very same religions that preach the idea of true divinity, there dlegend and stories pabout how Caedeswas once mortal, but the gods bestowed divinity to him upon his death., thereby contradicting themselves.

### **Undeath**

Another issue some take with the god of death beyond his origins, is the idea of undeath. While many accept the idea that Caedeus is a god of balance, and brings rest to the dead, the question remains, where do undead come from?

Are they the souls that Caedeus left behind? He's a god, why couldn't get find them? Or is this a punishment? If Caedeus' role is to prevent undeath, then why do the dead build shrines to him? Its become more and more popular a belief that the God of Death is not as benevolent or even fair, as he was once believed to be.

## Trivia

- I stole him from the Mythicc campaign

- he's based on a drawing I made while listening to "O Death" from Until Dawn.￼