Ghette

The God of Death
Also called: The One Who Waits, the Grand Psychopomp

Deific Rank: Greater Deity

Symbol: A lit paper lantern marked with a swallow

Home Plane: Raan, the Silent Field of Lanterns

Alignment: True Neutral

Portfolio: Death, souls, burial

Worshipers: Grave-diggers, morticians, embalmers, white necromancers

Cleric Alignments: TN, NG, LG, NE

Domains: Death, Repose, Void

Favored Weapon: Silence (starknife)

Ghette (Zhayt-teh) is the impassive and silent god of death. Ghette rarely speaks, and silently stands vigil over the dead as they enter the afterlife. The handmaidens of Ghette, the Argent Swallows, help the Grand Psychopomp in directing the flow of departed souls to their destined afterlives. Garbed in regal hooded robes of silver and black with his (or her, there is some debate) face covered by an impassive mask in the shape of a stylized avian face, Ghette does not pass judgment but simply assists the passing of souls and the cessation of pain. When the death god does speak, it is in a soft, neutral voice. Those who worship the death-god join Ghette in the Silent Field of Lanterns to rest, meditating upon the stream of mortal souls passing by, each bearing a lantern to light the way. Ghette abhors the undead, however, and many liches fear the silent wrath of the One Who Waits more than anything else. White necromancers who consider the death god their patron employ summoning, rather than animating, magic.

History and Relationships
Some hold Ghette to be the twin sister of Kanaste; others her twin brother. A minority sect even believes that Ghette and Kanaste are one and the same; another that they are halves of the same two-faced deity. Amongst mortals, only Ghette's highest ranked clergy know the truth, and they are bound by a powerful geas that even prevents them from being compelled to divulge it. The death-god was created at the same instant that the creator-god was, and the two are equal in power and authority amongst the Anur. Ghette is quiet and aloof, rarely mingling with other beings, deific or not. However, because Darja controls the Astral Plane through which the dead must pass, Ghette has come to be friends with the goddess of magic, and permits her habit of questioning passing souls, so long as she does not delay them overlong. Since she is not especially talkative herself, she makes suitable company for the Grand Psychopomp.

Nearly all cultures, even those which do not worship the Anuric Pantheon, depict their death-gods as wearing masks of one kind or another. It is believed, therefore, that Ghette simply changes masks to match the expectations of all peoples when the time comes for the journey to the Great Beyond.

Dogma
All is impermanent.

Death is merely a different journey.

Do not permit needless pain.

Suffer the undead not to endure.

Do not strive against the current of time.

Clergy and Temples
The clergy of Ghette's faith wear black robes with silver inlay, and when carrying out official duties wear avian masks. Many also carry symbolic lanterns. The temples of the death god are small and somber places, but are very well lit by dozens of paper lanterns. These are lit by the families of the deceased in memory of their loved ones. Although there are extremist sects that more actively pursue death as a matter of faith, for the most part, the clergy of Ghette are encountered providing funerary services and advising those left behind.

The Denied is a semi-heretical sect of Ghette-worshipping, non-evil intelligent undead. While they have occasionally been the subject of inquisitions, the Denied have endured for centuries. They seek a non-destructive "cure" for undeath, combat the use of undead by evil forces, and research white necromancy. A small number of the Denied are so-called "deathless" - undead-like beings reanimated by divine will and positive energy. Conflict between the Denied and the main body of the Ghettean faith arises from the dogma which proscribes suffering the continued existence of any undead, with no allowance made for ones that aren't evil.