Zaelendris, the Lament of Whispering Wounds

Zaelendris the Lament of Whispering Wounds

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The Haunted
Worshipers: Ghosts, gravediggers, necromancers
Domains: Death, Magic, Repose, Undead
Favored Energy: Either
Favored Weapon: Light pick
Favored Creature: Whippoorwill

Legend
The protean lord of the spectral dead and perhaps all of necromancy itself, Zaelendris the Lament of Whispering Wounds seems to embrace the newly dead with the intent of allowing them revenge for transgressions against them in life, and succor for their pain. His worshippers are noted for their tendency to rise as revenants, should they fall in their patron’s service. As for Zaelendris itself, the protean lord appears as a trio of conjoined imentesh bound together by funerary wrappings filled with lines of prayers and curses.

The Haunted first manifested at the height of the NewGod wars in the hours following a great battle in the north of the Almuut peninsula. With the sun setting below the horizon and night approaching swiftly, a ghostly chorus of imentesh proteans spilled out from a hole in the sky where the moon should have been, with a trio of them merging together as an avatar of Zaelendris. As they sang, the thousands of mortal corpses littering the field of battle stood and raised their weapons once more. The empty shells turned against both Elemental and Deist stragglers alike, joined by the proteans, and the spirits of the dead who in life were forced to fight against their will. Led by Zaelendris the dead marched south, slaying everything in their wake, leaving behind only the empty ruins of the so-called Cities of the Dead. Those few escaping the carnage carried the harrowing tale of what they had seen, and this alone has largely prevented exploration of the ruined peninsula. The wealth left behind is a great lure, but those few daring the region claim that the risen dead remain, as do the eerie spectral proteans that first raised them from the grave.

Church
True to their patron’s name and portfolio, the church of the Haunted most commonly assembles in graveyards, catacombs, and forgotten battlefields. Blurring the line between the quick and the dead, the church includes various manner of undead who view the Haunted as a route to transcend their current existence, as well as mortals seeking to willingly embrace the very same. One of the church’s most profound acts entails wandering through the border ethereal atop such battlefields, releasing ghosts from whatever shackles them to the world still, collecting souls in an ever growing column, all singing an eerie hymnody to their protean patron.

Spell Preparation Ritual
Think back upon the name and face of a deceased person, either an enemy or a friend. Dig your fingers into the earth as if into the soil of a grave, knowing that the dirt and loam derives from the death of other creatures long passed. Whisper your prayers to the Haunted, asking the dead to intercede and carry your words to the Lament of Whispering Wounds.


See Also

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a - All text is Open Game Content.