Shai

One good deed cannot outweigh a life of evil, just as one misstep cannot erase all the altruism that came before. Not in this life, and certainly not to Shai. They will judge your true heart as they have millions and millions before: impartial, impassive, objective. Shai will determine your path after death and open the correct gates for your soul.
—Except from a sermon by Khapeshan priest Tereru

Shai (pronounced SHY) is a pantheonic god commonly associated with judgement, souls, the dead, inevitability, and the moon.

Aserdian pantheon

Saiph (pronounced SAIF) is a god of souls, the dead, inevitability, and the moon. In the Aserdian pantheon, Saiph is a kindly shepherd that guides souls after death. Compared to his interpretation in other pantheons, followers of Saiph de-emphasize their role as judge, believing that the decision as to a soul's final destination is ultimately made by the individual in life, and that Saiph merely watches and oversees the process. The god is also sometimes seen as a divine arbiter of balance, mediating between Saclateni and Errai in their cycles of creation and destruction.

Though Saiph's faith has no church structure, their clergy maintains close ties with each other. The priesthood of the god is frequently involved in funerary rites, as they are often called upon to entreat their god to guide the deceased to wherever they may go. Inscriptions and manuscripts dedicated to the god are often buried, burned, set adrift, or otherwise interred with the dead.

Saiph is typically pictured as an androgynous figure with a kindly face, often with an entourage of psychopomps surrounding them. In some depictions, most notably those of the catfolk of the eastern Laqto Rainforest and the cities of the Jarohi Coast, Saiph takes on a skeletal appearance.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Securely inter the dead, maintain balance, protect burial places, allow others to choose their own fates
Anathema: Raise or disturb the dead, allow forces of creation and destruction to act unchecked, unseal a tomb

Chaskan pantheon

Shai (pronounced SHY) is the god of judgement, souls, the dead, inevitability, and the moon.

All mortal souls make their way to Shai eventually. Each soul finds its way through the ceaseless parade of others to face their judgment in Shai's court, where their accomplishments good and bad are weighed against each other on the Scales of Justice. Shai rarely takes long to reach their verdict, quickly determining if the soul should rest in death. No decision is made lightly, however, and Shai often pauses for deliberation when a particularly remarkable soul stands before them. They are a strict god, one who makes their decisions coldly and emotionlessly. Nothing can be hidden from them; in fact, attempting to do so is believed to be cause enough to undo any good deeds in life.

Reincarnated or resurrected individuals are often said to have been denied by Shai. Such a ruling would not be as a result of any transgressions - any evil actions would simply determine the destination of one’s soul - but rather because Shai concluded the individual had more to do in life, as they had with Socharin at the end of the era before creation.

The god's most devout followers are those that are involved heavily with the dead. Many who concern their lives with the preservation, interment, and protection of the dead worship the Impassive Judge. Shai is also seen more broadly as an arbiter of balance, not only after death but also in day to day life. Some take to praying to them in lean times, in hopes that they will bring an equal number of days of plenty. Judges and others involved in legal matters often take to following Shai as well.

Shai's origins are often described in a cryptic manner. In most stories, they did not exist until Socharin died after his great primordial battle with Lotan. In the wake of the first death, the arbiter of the afterlife was born. They judged Socharin, the first and only deity to be given such an honor, then turned their attention to the mortal souls that had begun to arrive and would do so until the end of time.

Shai's holy text is Emerging Forth into the Light. This lengthy tome includes instructions on the correct means to bury or otherwise inter the dead, as well as steps meant to guide the soul of the deceased as they make their way towards judgement and then their eventual destination. In some parts of the world, excerpts from Emerging Forth are written on coffins, funerary urns, or objects left with the dead.

Some cultures conceive of Shai as a larger-than-life judge, often with the trappings such a role would involve, seated on a grand throne awaiting those requiring a verdict. More commonly, however, they are depicted in a rather more mundane manner, standing next to their scales wearing austere clothes as they wait to weigh each soul in the endless procession. Nearly all portrayals of Shai include a large entourage of psychopomps surrounding them.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Securely inter the dead, protect burial places, consider all arguments without emotion or bias
Anathema: Allow emotions to cloud your judgment, raise or disturb the dead, unseal a tomb, steal from the dead

Hellean pantheon

Psais (pronounced SIGH-ahs) is a god of the dead, souls, learning, and history. The last of the Hexad to be born, Psais is closely tied to dusk and to endings.

Stately and imposing, Psais is a god who performs their role amongst the divines with utmost solemnity. They are the Ferryman, the overseer of all psychopomps as they transport the souls of the dead to the afterlife. In regions following the Hellean pantheon, coins are often buried with the deceased, or placed in their mouth or over their eyes, to serve as payment for the psychopomps and, in turn, Psais. In fact, many coins minted in these regions bear the god's likeness.

Psais is connected not only to those concerned with the dead but also to those who record the stories that would otherwise be taken to the grave. They are the patron of historians, chroniclers, and others who preserve their own experiences and those of others through writing. Psais themselves often converses with the souls they ferry after death, adding their insights and experiences to the vastness of what the god already knows. Though most worship of the god takes takes the form of pensive prayer and rituals performed at their temples, schools often have small shrines to Psais in order for both the students and teachers to learn from the god directly.

Psais is usually depicted as a solemn figure dressed in the hooded clothes of a mourner. Their ferry is a simple craft, little more than a flat raft that the god pushes along with a long pole upon which a lantern is affixed.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Record history, securely inter the dead, learn as much as possible
Anathema: Raise or disturb the dead, keep secrets, prevent things from coming to their natural ends

Khapeshan pantheon

Shai (pronounced SHY) is a god of judgement, souls, the dead, and the moon. They are the judge of the deceased who determines if they are worthy to pass into their afterlives and their guardian who keeps them safe from threats beyond death.

All those that die face Shai eventually to have their hearts weighed on the Scales of Judgement - as much as some may try, there is no way to avoid their verdict. Those who did their duty in life are honored by Shai with a passage to the afterlife, while those who shirked their responsibilities or performed foul deeds are tossed to his hounds. The god judges all impassively and impartially, strictly following the ancient rules of the gods.

Before judgement, however, all souls must first make their way to Shai. Such a journey is fraught with dangers, for Shai is not the only god who is concerned with those that have died. Apep too seeks souls for his own purposes, as he desires to consume them to provide him strength in his battles against the gods. The time between one's death and their arrival at Shai's court is perhaps the most perilous period for any soul. Upon death all souls enter the Rivers of the Dead, great divine waterways that collect souls from the mortal realm and carry them towards Shai. Complex rites performed for the dead by priests of Shai, as well as texts, maps, and other items interred with the deceased, are all intended to ward souls and provide them with the knowledge necessary to navigate the Rivers successfully, while avoiding Apep who lurks in the recesses of the waters. Even those who are sure they will be judged unworthy by Shai still consider such a fate preferable to being eaten by Apep.

The clergy of Shai are intensely concerned with the proper methods to inter the dead. Funerary rites and rituals are of central importance to his religion, all carefully recorded and preserved so they will never be forgotten. Indeed, Khapeshan burial practices have changed very little in millennia, in large part due to the diligence of Shai's priesthood. These traditions are recorded in Shai's holy text, Emerging Forth into the Light. This lengthy tome includes instructions on the correct means to bury or preserve the bodies of the deceased, as well as steps meant to guide the soul as they make their way towards judgement and then their eventual destination. Excerpts from Emerging Forth are commonly written on coffins, funerary urns, or objects left with the dead, in order that they will not forget the instructions when they find themselves along the Rivers.

The grand temple of Shai is located in the city of Apis, believed by many to be the oldest settlement in all of Khapesh. The temple there has been used continually by priests of Shai for at least seven thousand years. It is old enough that there are inscriptions in the reliefs on the walls that are written in languages so ancient that their very existences have been otherwise forgotten. Outside the city are a large number of mortuary complexes and tombs for Khapeshan royals and elites, all dutifully preserved by Shai's clergy. Smaller temples and shrines to the god are commonplace across Khapesh and in other regions where the pantheon is followed, often with their own extensive crypts, catacombs, or other manner of tombs.

Shai is depicted as a figure with the head of a jackal, often holding an ankh or a scale.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Securely inter the dead, protect burial places, consider all arguments without emotion or bias
Anathema: Attempt to shirk judgement, raise or disturb the dead, perform improper burial rites, unseal a tomb

Talgazan pantheon

Saiwalo (pronounced sigh-WAH-loh) is a god of souls, the dead, stories, and judgement. The god is thought of as an almost jovial character. Rather than simply being judged upon death, when an individual dies their soul is given the opportunity to share stories of their life with the god, with the hopes of impressing them with tales of great deeds. If Saiwalo is entertained, then it is believed they will take particular favor on the soul and ensure they find their way to a destination of their choosing. All are given exactly one chance to meet Saiwalo - it is up to them to make the most of it.

Saiwalo's followers are a motley mix with varied interests in the god. Those who deal with the proper interment of the deceased solemnly follow Saiwalo, but so too do bards and skalds more concerned with merriment and entertainment. All, however, see the act of having an interesting life to be the greatest tenet of the god; a boring life is a wasted soul, so they say. This does not mean that only heroic adventurers are seen positively by Saiwalo, however. All challenges and opportunities can be interesting in their own ways, depending on how one approaches them.

Saiwalo is most often depicted in an emaciated form, half-desiccated yet preserved by the cold winds. A very different depiction favored by some thinks of them instead as a ruddy-faced portly figure.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Share stories, entertain guests and friends, securely inter the dead
Anathema: Steal from the dead, avoid interesting opportunities

Elven pantheon

Satres (pronounced SAH-trees) is a god of the moon, the tides, judgement, souls, and the dead. Their domain over the moon is thought to be their most important aspect, through which they control the regular cycles of the lunar phases and the tides. Through the moon Satres provides a light to guide the deceased into their next life, a belief curiously similar to those of the gnolls of the Urra Highlands and otherwise absent from the other major pantheons.

Though Satres is a god of judgement, they are not a judge of the dead - in the beliefs of the Elven pantheon, the dead have already chosen their own afterlife through their actions in life. Instead, Satres is concerned with matters of fairness and justice, and many law-speakers are also priests of Satres who entreat their god to provide them guidance on how to resolve ambiguous or unusual situations. Temples to the god are places where disputes can be arbitrated in front of a neutral party that is sworn to ensure equitable outcomes.

Before the collapse of Eita, it was common for elves in the kingdom to bury their dead at sea, to be taken by Satres in the tides. This practice has largely fallen out of favor in modern times, though some isolated populations, such as the Mamurat elves of the Ucrisla Tidewall, still continue the tradition.

Satres is often depicted as a judge, frequently with a moon-disk above their head.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Consider all arguments without emotion or bias, arbitrate disputes
Anathema: Make hasty decisions, intentionally lead others astray, raise or disturb the dead

Orcish pantheon

Yadalser (pronounced yah-DOLL-ser) is a death god, both the judge and protector of the deceased. Upon death the deeds of all souls are weighed by Yadalser, after which the god determines their destination in the afterlife based on their worthiness when alive. Souls are given the opportunity to explain their actions to the god, and Yadalser is thought to act with leniency towards those that commit morally grey acts if done in pursuit of a greater goal.

There are two things, however, that Yadalser never tolerates. The first is selfishness; a lifetime of self-interest is one of the quickest ways to have one's soul condemned by the god. Perhaps the only faster method is to engage in necromancy and raise the dead. In the Orcish pantheon, Yadalser takes a militant form as an vigilant enemy to all undead. Their clerics often serve as hunters of necromancers, wandering the land in search of their foes.

Temples to Yadalser are widespread. Most are located above or near burial sites, such that the priests there can better protect the bodies of the interred. The god and their clergy are not particularly prescriptive about burial practices as long as the dead remain safe. The orcish tradition of binding dead bodies with chains is thought to have originated with Yadaler's clergy as a method of restraining the dead from harming the living if they were to be raised.

Yadalser is depicted as a stoic and imposing figure. In some imagery he wears the same type of cursed death mask often used in orcish burials to dissuade necromancers.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Destroy undead, securely inter the dead, protect burial places
Anathema: Raise or disturb the dead, act selfishly, unseal a tomb