Draugnath

### Signs and Portents

- Soft winds and warm weather persisting around those near death. - Quiet singing of childhood hymns on the eve of battle.

Draugnath, otherwise known as The Sleeper, is the Erraté of Death and Order. Ruler of the Realm of Manismortas, Draugnath is the antithesis to Jiggormund and Casaoul, the Realm of Chaos and Life. Stands as one of the Pillars, four gods of neutral standing that the people of Veiltouria view as fundamental aspects of life, with neither positive nor negative leanings.

> *'*We give thanks, oh mighty shepherd, for the chance to live and love. We give thanks, oh mighty shepherd, for the breath to call our last.
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> Those who rouse the Sleeper, those who hurt and burn, your end draws swift and near. Those who rouse the Sleeper, those who rush the works, you face her awakened wrath.
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> The Sleeper’s touch is gentle, the Sleeper’s touch is kind, the kindness in the Sleeper’s hands does not extend to mine. I am death’s herald; I am your fate consigned. Look upon me, foul sinner, look upon me and despair. Draugnath waits for you in the realm of death, I shall send you there.
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> At the end, when thou chest has fallen still, feel the grey embrace. At the end, when thou hands lay down the till, face the Sleeper’s grace.'
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- The Prayer of the Sleeper

## Description

Despite his grim aspects, Draugnath is a respected, if not beloved god. It is well known that Draugnath does not crave death, nor does he try and hasten mortals towards their end. For Draugnath knows that in time, all things die, and he will be there when they do, a comforting presence for all. He does not covet the inevitable, but instead smiles at the full lives mortals have lived, not passing judgment on their actions but instead celebrating the brief, unique and beautiful collection of experiences they represent. There is much debate among mortals as to Draugnath's gender, and there are sects of the Faith of the Sleeper that call Draugnath the Grandmother.

His realm, Manismortas, is a quiet and lonely place. It is not the destination for any soul, but instead a gateway, and any that arrive their will soon be shepherded on to another realm of their choosing. And so Draugnath sits, in self imposed isolation, waiting until he is needed to usher another into the waiting arms of death.

Unlike the other Erraté, Draugnath predates the creation of this Realmsphere. He is unique among all his kin, who are only the latest in a long iteration of primordial deities, constantly reborn when one world ends and another begins. In the case of Draugnath, he has always been there, at the end of all things, waiting for the last life to end. And then he waits again, in quiet solitude, until a new Realmsphere emerges, and other gods grow to become his siblings.

As a result Draugnath takes a distant, but affectionate stance towards his Erraté brethren. Each one is familiar to him, and yet different, and he knows in time they too will pass. Unlike his siblings, Draugnath birthed no Íshnubar, for he would rather not deal with their loss in the future.

It is rare for Draugnath to be angered, but it can happen, particularly when a god or mortal ushers in an instance of mass death, culling the lives of the mortals he loves too early. In these occasions, Draugnath reveals himself to be the most powerful of all the Erraté.