(Published. My Character's religious reasoning on a certain aspect of the world.)
This is a scripture of the High Priestess and Exalted of the Grey Lady.. The purpose being to pass on her knowledge to those unfamiliar with her ways who continue to seek more knowledge. And for those who already follow her ways to uphold them. To whomever reads this whole, may the Path of the Grey Lady inspire you.
The topic of death, undeath and the return of the once dead has always been a conflict between those who think upon it. In this scripture, I write what I have learned and observed over the course of my life in the Lady’s graces.
In this world we live in, we all have a mark upon us. We live, we have purpose, we pass on that purpose. And we die. A curve of life before a curve of death awaits us. Nothing lasts forever.. But upon death, there the purpose we have lived for and the deeds we have done will decide our fate. For the Lady is a Divine of Order and Judgement along with Death. It decides how the Grey Lady will judge us to set us in the realms we are to remain in for all of eternity. But this should not damper spirits upon us. If you are true of heart and have done little sin, continuing to seek redemption, then the Lady will bring peace on you. If you are false of heart and have done many evils upon the world, then the Lady will take no mercy. If one reasons to himself to sin and do deeds at the same time.. one does not fix their inevitable fate if they fail to stop their ways. ...If you are true of heart and have remorse over the many evils you have done, continuing to seek redemption, then a lighter punishment may be on the horizon in the afterlife- whether you believe in it or not. There is always hope.
I have seen it.
Whether peace in heaven or eternal punishment in hell awaits us, the Lady is the one who judges.. Not us. Though we can guess and ponder all we want. She takes no bribes, and she takes no favors unless it is for those who closely attuned to her ways. She judges unscathed once the soul comes to greet her in her realms of grey, purple, and black..
As I write, I recall the recoiling face of another when I spoke of death, patience and redemption. Not all understand this semblance of peace.. And choose to live life without brooding in thoughts of death and the afterlife. And you may turn away if you feel to recoil on what I write. But I do not mean to write in a way to gloss over the pain one feels, and I do not mean to write in a way where one should embrace death anytime of the day. There is a grief that one has to overcome and a fear for the inevitable end, as death should not be hastened nor ignored. Death should not be a glossed over occurance. We find others pass away, we feel pain, we feel grief.. And we move on. We must, or we falter. Then there comes the grief of early deaths, of war, of murder and revenge.. But that is irrelevant to the purpose of this scripture.
There are two factors that interfere with the Curve of Life and Curve of Death, as I write to continue. The revival of those who died.. And the raising of those who died. I make it clear now that they are not of the same, nor does the Lady consider them the same. What is the difference between these two?
The will of the soul.
I have great belief that Shalherana, she of Life, would not tamper with an un-willing soul.. And he of the Undead, Skraag, would tamper thoroughly with souls and defile them. Two different deities, despite words of ‘fading’ from our realms or ‘anchoring’ to the realms, that will continue to work their mark upon the world as the Grey Lady does. A back and forth occurrence.
I write into reviving.. And to your disbelief, reader, or your connection, it has and does occur. Those who pass rarely do return to us through Shalherana’s guidance. Un-perturbed from the injuries they once beheld to death. Clueless to what occurred.. But it may be for the best. It is my belief that those who return are given chance to. Some who die have died through murder, revenge, hasty death, even war.. Perhaps Shalherana takes pity and upon some occurrence, their souls float to either follow the Grey Lady or return to Shalherana.
I have been asked many times if the Lady or I disfavor those who revive, and that is not so. I do not and I do not believe the Lady does.. The Lady does frown on those who revive, for they delay final death for a little bit longer, but she does not disfavor those who return due to untimely deaths that occur against their will or against their set fates. For why would the Lady disfavor the work of her mother? Vengeful as many would paint her to be, she is not one for ill will. She knows the fates of all. As mentioned earlier, we all have a mark upon us. This mark signifies the end of our fates in this world. To my beliefs, it was not yet their time to die due to their untimely nature of death. They return to continue on their natural course in order to fulfill their fate.
I delve into Undeath now. One I consider defiling the Grey Lady’s ways and Shalherana’s ways. Death and Life. Necromancy is the raising of the dead into figures of death. Of rotten flesh and white skeletons. Skraag is the deity of such necromancy, rumored to steal the souls that willingly go to the afterlife, for peace, for judgement, for whatever it may be and embed them through divine magic into bodies long rotted and unrecognizable. This realm he fills with his toys are the Sorrowlands, and to my later understanding, in other directions... The name itself displays the symbolism of its ways. “Sorrow” as those who return in undeath are sorrowful. For what creature would wish to come back to our world bereft of their choice to speak, choice to eat, choice to think? To attack the living upon sight as some Divine created them to? To move upon command and not of free will? They are no longer living as they once were. No memories of who they were and who they knew. Who they loved, and who they hated. Truly a torturous punishment for any who die, regardless of their good deeds or sins.
No creature would want their agency taken away, I promise you. The soul is trapped with Skragg in the Sorrowlands.. forever moving from undead to undead, I assume, after being struck down by a wayward figure. There are so many, it would not be un-likely to think so. This is a defilement of death and disturbs the natural transition of life and death as it should be. Necromancy goes against the will of the soul and its fate. This is why the Lady has great dislike towards Skraag’s ways.. “Beware the soul stealer”..
Testing fate is un-resolvable.. And un-reprimandable. Tempting as it may be to go against one’s fate, the Lady will always repay such twice-fold. Here we hope to reach an understanding on our views towards the Divines upon one's fate in Life and Death. May the reader become more familiar and aware of their surroundings.
I conclude here the views of the High Priestess, who shares the will of the Grey Lady, on that of Death, Revival and Undeath.
Signed,
Ashna Khovr
High Priestess of the Grey Lady
The topic of death, undeath and the return of the once dead has always been a conflict between those who think upon it. In this scripture, I write what I have learned and observed over the course of my life in the Lady’s graces.
In this world we live in, we all have a mark upon us. We live, we have purpose, we pass on that purpose. And we die. A curve of life before a curve of death awaits us. Nothing lasts forever.. But upon death, there the purpose we have lived for and the deeds we have done will decide our fate. For the Lady is a Divine of Order and Judgement along with Death. It decides how the Grey Lady will judge us to set us in the realms we are to remain in for all of eternity. But this should not damper spirits upon us. If you are true of heart and have done little sin, continuing to seek redemption, then the Lady will bring peace on you. If you are false of heart and have done many evils upon the world, then the Lady will take no mercy. If one reasons to himself to sin and do deeds at the same time.. one does not fix their inevitable fate if they fail to stop their ways. ...If you are true of heart and have remorse over the many evils you have done, continuing to seek redemption, then a lighter punishment may be on the horizon in the afterlife- whether you believe in it or not. There is always hope.
I have seen it.
Whether peace in heaven or eternal punishment in hell awaits us, the Lady is the one who judges.. Not us. Though we can guess and ponder all we want. She takes no bribes, and she takes no favors unless it is for those who closely attuned to her ways. She judges unscathed once the soul comes to greet her in her realms of grey, purple, and black..
As I write, I recall the recoiling face of another when I spoke of death, patience and redemption. Not all understand this semblance of peace.. And choose to live life without brooding in thoughts of death and the afterlife. And you may turn away if you feel to recoil on what I write. But I do not mean to write in a way to gloss over the pain one feels, and I do not mean to write in a way where one should embrace death anytime of the day. There is a grief that one has to overcome and a fear for the inevitable end, as death should not be hastened nor ignored. Death should not be a glossed over occurance. We find others pass away, we feel pain, we feel grief.. And we move on. We must, or we falter. Then there comes the grief of early deaths, of war, of murder and revenge.. But that is irrelevant to the purpose of this scripture.
There are two factors that interfere with the Curve of Life and Curve of Death, as I write to continue. The revival of those who died.. And the raising of those who died. I make it clear now that they are not of the same, nor does the Lady consider them the same. What is the difference between these two?
The will of the soul.
I have great belief that Shalherana, she of Life, would not tamper with an un-willing soul.. And he of the Undead, Skraag, would tamper thoroughly with souls and defile them. Two different deities, despite words of ‘fading’ from our realms or ‘anchoring’ to the realms, that will continue to work their mark upon the world as the Grey Lady does. A back and forth occurrence.
I write into reviving.. And to your disbelief, reader, or your connection, it has and does occur. Those who pass rarely do return to us through Shalherana’s guidance. Un-perturbed from the injuries they once beheld to death. Clueless to what occurred.. But it may be for the best. It is my belief that those who return are given chance to. Some who die have died through murder, revenge, hasty death, even war.. Perhaps Shalherana takes pity and upon some occurrence, their souls float to either follow the Grey Lady or return to Shalherana.
I have been asked many times if the Lady or I disfavor those who revive, and that is not so. I do not and I do not believe the Lady does.. The Lady does frown on those who revive, for they delay final death for a little bit longer, but she does not disfavor those who return due to untimely deaths that occur against their will or against their set fates. For why would the Lady disfavor the work of her mother? Vengeful as many would paint her to be, she is not one for ill will. She knows the fates of all. As mentioned earlier, we all have a mark upon us. This mark signifies the end of our fates in this world. To my beliefs, it was not yet their time to die due to their untimely nature of death. They return to continue on their natural course in order to fulfill their fate.
I delve into Undeath now. One I consider defiling the Grey Lady’s ways and Shalherana’s ways. Death and Life. Necromancy is the raising of the dead into figures of death. Of rotten flesh and white skeletons. Skraag is the deity of such necromancy, rumored to steal the souls that willingly go to the afterlife, for peace, for judgement, for whatever it may be and embed them through divine magic into bodies long rotted and unrecognizable. This realm he fills with his toys are the Sorrowlands, and to my later understanding, in other directions... The name itself displays the symbolism of its ways. “Sorrow” as those who return in undeath are sorrowful. For what creature would wish to come back to our world bereft of their choice to speak, choice to eat, choice to think? To attack the living upon sight as some Divine created them to? To move upon command and not of free will? They are no longer living as they once were. No memories of who they were and who they knew. Who they loved, and who they hated. Truly a torturous punishment for any who die, regardless of their good deeds or sins.
No creature would want their agency taken away, I promise you. The soul is trapped with Skragg in the Sorrowlands.. forever moving from undead to undead, I assume, after being struck down by a wayward figure. There are so many, it would not be un-likely to think so. This is a defilement of death and disturbs the natural transition of life and death as it should be. Necromancy goes against the will of the soul and its fate. This is why the Lady has great dislike towards Skraag’s ways.. “Beware the soul stealer”..
Testing fate is un-resolvable.. And un-reprimandable. Tempting as it may be to go against one’s fate, the Lady will always repay such twice-fold. Here we hope to reach an understanding on our views towards the Divines upon one's fate in Life and Death. May the reader become more familiar and aware of their surroundings.
I conclude here the views of the High Priestess, who shares the will of the Grey Lady, on that of Death, Revival and Undeath.
Signed,
Ashna Khovr
High Priestess of the Grey Lady
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