The Shepherd

(Adding this so Wikia doesn't delete the Wiki) The Shepherd is a mantle that has been worn long before the Ascended was even recognized, as there must always be someone who takes on the responsibilities of guiding the dead. Whether it was under a different name or as an unknown figure practicing behind the scenes, there has always been a God of Death and there always must be a God of Death as long as life itself exists throughout the planes. Seeing as death is a universal concept and most souls move on to one of the Outer Planes, the Shepherd not only acts as a guide for the dead, but as a messenger and mediator between the other Ascended.

## History

The one currently bearing the Shepherd's role was once a woman named Vansus from the islands of Thayrus that began her life helping perform funerary rites for the dead in her city. This did not last long, however, as Vansus began following the current High Psychopomp and subsequently became a necromancer. After this, she began wandering throughout Thayrus, assisting spirits and sentient undead in their journeys to the afterlife along with teaching others about necromancy and the Shepherd, who at this point was mostly unknown to those outside of necromantic cults. Eventually, Vansus moved beyond Thayrus into other lands, continuing her work, and finding particularly great success in the Undead-filled land of Helgrad. It was in Helgrad, however, where Vansus met her end as all mortals do, having spent nearly a full century devoting her life to serving her god. But death did not stop Vansus as, after she was buried within the catacombs of her homeland, she mysteriously disappeared from her coffin overnight. While the details of what exactly happened to Vansus after this point have been lost to history and are now only told in legends, it is believed she became some sort of undead in service to the Shepherd, likely some form of lich or spiritual creature, and gave up on passing on to the afterlife to assist the world. For whatever reason, perhaps as some sort of tradition, some form of strange, divine death of the Shepherd, or reverence for Vansus over the previous Shepherd, Vansus discarded her mortal name and joined the Ascended as the being she had spent nearly her entire existence serving.

## Home

Like the previous Gods of Death before her, the Shepherd resides within the Necropolis, a grand city made up of lost and dead civilizations standing in the center of the Outer Sphere. It is the realm where all dead who pass on from the Material Plane are given judgement based on their actions, beliefs, and desires, whether that is being sent to one of the Outer Planes, being put in service as a psychopomp, or even being reborn as a sentient Undead.

## Relationships

The Shepherd is on relatively good terms with all of the other Ascended, both because of her important role in the cycle of life and death and her acting as a messenger within the pantheon.

#### The Charnel Man

One of the few exceptions to the Shepherd's positive relationship with other deities is the Charnel Man, who they views as the most vile and Evil creature in existence. This has led to an eternal war between both the deities and their churches, with even the most Evil Necromancers and Undead amongst the Shepherd's clergy being granted amnesty and special protection whenever dealing with the Charnel Man's followers. While Vansus has been less outright hostile than previous Shepherds towards the Charnel Man, she still holds a deep hatred towards him and continues fighting against his corrupt, twisted forces.

## Appearance

While mortals very rarely are able to view the Shepherd, especially in modern times, ancient texts described her as simply a dark-skinned Thayrusian woman, though after her death, some reported her as a more pale-skinned being in thick robes carrying a black torch. Other descriptions include large raven-like wings sprouting from her back and her carrying a metal quarterstaff as a walking stick.

## Symbols

The Shepherd's divine symbol is a black torch lit with a golden flame, symbolizing her role as a guide for the dead as a mortal and an Ascended. Due to commonly acting as servants for psychopomps, or even being disguised psychopomps themselves, whip-poor-wills are the most common animal associated with the Shepherd, along with ravens and other songbirds. The Shepherd's servants tend to wear black, grey, and white, to represent life and death, along with gold, to represent the fire from the Shepherd's torch.

## Church of the Shepherd

#### Worshipers

The Shepherd's followers tend to be those that deal with death or the past, including necromancers who do not create undead for nefarious purposes, morticians, archaeologists, and sentient undead. Necromancers who create undead perform elaborate ceremonies, always seek consent from the deceased, whether it is before their death or after, and ask permission from a psychopomp or the Shepherd herself before proceeding with the ritual in order to ensure the deceased's spirit is not damaged or misplaced in any way. A similar process is performed whenever an undead in service of the Shepherd seeks passage into the afterlife, after which they typically become a psychopomp. The Shepherd is most commonly worshiped in Sitrane, Thayrus, and Helgrad, though her worshipers can be found practically anywhere. The Shepherd is the most popular deity amongst Duskwalkers and is the chief deity of the Ilth'anvae pantheon.

#### Clergy

The Shepherd's priests are usually necromancers, clerics, mediums, or those who directly deal with the dead. Regardless of the legality of their creation in the region, the Shepherd has no qualms with the creation of undead as long as the proper rites are performed. Controlling undead who are not an immediate threat to the caster is frowned upon and outlawed by most sects, who view it as a violation of the spirit's will, no differently from controlling a living creature. Undead who attack the living with no proper reason and necromancers who defy her will are immediately branded as heretics. While evil undead are not always part of this group, almost all mindless undead like zombies and skeletons along with liches who create phylacteries through horrific means are. Along with this, undead that require life force from the living, such as vampires, are expected to prey on animals.

#### Temples and shrines

Temples devoted to the Shepherd are usually rather small and simple with a graveyard nearby or attached to it. The simplicity of her temples is so an ordained priest can easily and quickly create one practically anywhere so the dead can be buried. Larger and more elaborate temples tend to be older or in cities, with catacombs beneath them where followers are buried and undead-creation ceremonies are performed. The largest churches are the Vansus Cathedral in Thayrus, a grand necropolis built upon the catacombs in which the Shepherd was buried so long ago, and Chierno's Rest in Helgrad, a sprawling temple built directly into one of the many mountains dividing Helgrad and Sitrane, and reportedly the first one ever created.

Those who are not followers of the Shepherd are always welcome inside of her temples and graveyards, which are almost always used for local funerals. Undead and necromancers who have committed evil may seek out her temples in order to pray and repent for their foul deeds, usually by assisting priests with burials for many years.

#### Organizations

The Choir of Purgatory are a group of inquisitors who hunt down dangerous necromancers and undead, along with monsters associated with the undead.

The Order of the Black Sparrow is the Shepherd's holy order made up of paladins, and even some antipaladins, who are focused on exterminating daemons and their worshipers, often to a fanatical degree. Members of the Order are known to help psychopomps patrol the River of Souls and even venture into Abaddon to recover stolen souls.