Marg

Mawt, Morte, Mors, Mah, Maveth, Maut and many more.

Marg, the god of death, is the faceless and formless entity responsible for judging all souls that pass from the world of the living. It remains dispassionate and impartial in its duties, neither benevolent nor malevolent, simply fulfilling its eternal role in the cosmic cycle. However, on rare occasions, Marg indulges in games of strategy with souls, offering them a fleeting chance to choose their own fate. Despite countless attempts, no mortal has ever bested Marg in these challenges.

Marg is nearly universally feared, though not because it is cruel but because of the inevitability it represents. Though all souls were once destined to pass through Marg’s realm for final judgment, the emergence of the Soular Winds has changed this, diverting many souls from their fate. Marg’s followers respect and revere death as a natural part of existence, while others worship the god out of fear of the unknown.

History

Marg’s role as the judge of souls began when mortality itself was introduced to the world. Marg’s faceless reapers ferried the souls of the dead across the River Styx to face their final judgment, ensuring that the natural balance between life and death was maintained. Tireless and impartial, Marg has faithfully performed this role for eons, maintaining order in the cosmos.

However, Marg harbors a deep aversion to one thing: immortality. The god vehemently opposes any return of mortals to life once their time has passed. Should a mortal be resurrected before Marg’s reapers arrive to claim their soul (and scholars debate this occurs mere moments after death), it goes unnoticed. Yet Marg loathes the idea of cheating death through undeath, such as when mortal souls are twisted into specters, wraiths, or other such abominations. Marg also despises any attempts to undo the mortal condition and imposed its will so that even celestial, infernal, and other immortal beings could die, though only on their native planes. To Marg, all beings, from the mightiest deity to the lowliest creature, must eventually meet their end.

Complicating this eternal work, the creation of the Soular Winds (a mysterious cosmic force that pulls some souls away from Marg’s judgment) introduced a disruption. At first, this did not concern Marg, who lacked the conviction to feel wronged. But as the millennia passed, the sheer number of souls lost to the Soular Winds began to trouble the god. Although Marg remains dispassionate, a growing unease festers as the god contemplates what this imbalance might mean for the cosmic order. With each soul lost, the delicate balance between life and death, which Marg strives to maintain, becomes more precarious.

Dogma

Death is the inevitable conclusion of all life, and Marg’s followers embrace this truth. Life is fleeting, and no matter one’s power, wealth, or virtue, every soul must face Marg’s cold and impartial judgment. The faithful believe that death is not something to be feared but accepted as the natural end to all things.

Resurrection and the creation of undeath are seen as unnatural disruptions to the balance of life and death. Followers of Marg view these acts as affronts to the natural order, as all living beings, mortal or immortal, must eventually meet their end.

While natural healing and remedies are accepted, more extreme adherents oppose magical healing, believing it to be an artificial extension of life that delays the inevitable. Life’s time must come, and Marg ensures that every soul reaches its destined end.

Save for those lost to the Soular Winds, though mortals have yet to learn the Winds exist.

Tenets of Faith

• Death is Inevitable: All living beings must die, and no soul should be returned to life unless it truly isn’t their time.
• Reject Immortality: Immortality is an abomination to Marg. Never seek to extend life beyond its natural limits.
• Revere Death, Do Not Fear It: Understand that death is part of the cycle of existence. Fear may be natural, but acceptance is wisdom.
• Death to Undeath: Undead creatures are a perversion of life and death, and it is the duty of Marg’s followers to return these souls to their proper rest.

Rituals and Practices

• The Last Rite: In some cultures, followers of Marg weigh the body or offer symbolic weights to reflect the soul’s journey, ensuring its safe passage across the River Styx.
• Feast of the Departed: Once a year, Marg’s faithful gather to honor the dead, feasting in their memory and giving thanks for the balance death brings.
• Requiem aeternam: Marg’s followers recite a prayer at the moment of death to ensure that the soul can peacefully transition into the afterlife, untouched by undeath.
• The Silent Vigil: When a prominent individual dies, a Silent Vigil is held to honor the moment of judgment, during which Marg’s followers remain silent for an entire day.

Consequences of Transgression

• Interference in Judgment: People who raise the dead will be brought before Marg’s followers to be properly judged.
• Undeath is an Abomination: Those creating the undead will be hunted by Marg’s followers until their soul is sent to Marg to be properly judged.

Worshipers

Worshipers of Marg include a wide variety of people, from those who work closely with death to those who revere it as part of the natural cycle. Morticians, gravekeepers, and executioners often pray to Marg to guide the souls of the departed. Warriors, especially those who see death daily, may honor Marg in hopes of being judged fairly when their time comes. Among these worshipers are also scholars and philosophers who contemplate the nature of life and death, seeing Marg not as a malevolent force but as a necessary one.

Among the more fervent followers are Marg’s priests, who dress in dark robes and veil their faces, emulating the faceless reapers of their god. These priests perform the sacred rites of passing, ensuring that souls find their way to Marg’s judgment without falling prey to necromancers or becoming trapped in undeath.

Orders and Sects

The Mourning

This sect serves as caretakers of great cemeteries and necropolises, ensuring that the dead are undisturbed and that their souls rest peacefully. They are often silent, communicating only through written word or gestures.

Reaping Shadows

An elite sect of assassins and warriors devoted to Marg. They believe in the inevitability of death so devoutly that they end the lives of those who have cheated death with the use of powerful magics.

Scions of Finality

A devout order of priests and monks dedicated to upholding Marg’s will by hunting down the undead and ensuring that they are returned to the cycle of life and death.

Campaign Updates

Koa keeps It among the seven of his ideopan.