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.
Shai (pronounced SHY) is the god of judgement, souls, the dead, inevitability, and the moon.
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
Description
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.
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.
Shai is not only a judge of the dead, but their guide as well, shepherding souls to their destination in the afterlife. Many cultures see them not as a cold and aloof adjudicator, though some certainly do, but rather as a kindly yet strict figure, one who wishes a happy outcome for all but who is forced to make the best of events that have already transpired.
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.
Followers
Shai'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.
Church structure
While temples to Shai only loosely affiliate with each other in most places, in regions following the Khapeshan pantheon these temples organize into more hierarchical church. As the proper interment of the dead is particularly important in this pantheon, the church maintains correct practices and ensures all the rites are followed.
Holy text
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.
Relations
Clerics of Shai intentionally maintain neutral relationships with the religions of most other deities - their roles are involved enough without being drawn into the affairs of other faiths. They do, however, have mutually good relations with followers of Socharin and Mithrai. Nyxras and Ubellur are their greatest enemies, though they do not usually set out to actively counter the actions of the devotees of these gods.
Depiction
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. In Khapesh and surrounding regions, Shai is often pictured with the head of a jackal.
Variations by pantheon
| Pantheon | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aserdian | Saiph | 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. Copies of his holy text, Emerging Forth into the Light, 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. |
| Chaskan | Shai | In the Chaskan pantheon, Shai is 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. |
| Hellean | Psais | In the Hellean pantheon, Psais oversees psychopomp ferrymen that transport the souls of the dead. 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. Psais is also seen as the god of personal sacrifices. |
| Khapeshan | Shai | In the Khapeshan pantheon, Shai is seen as being especially concerned with the proper interment of the dead. Their clergy is responsible for overseeing burial practices in many larger settlements, ensuring the proper procedures and rites are performed. Shai's followers believe deviating from these processes can have large consequences for the soul of the deceased, potentially even leaving them forever stranded without judgement. Shai's faith in the Khapeshan pantheon also places great importance on the protection of the dead, and their clerics often guard tombs and burial places from looters and necromancers. |
| Laurentian | Saiwalo | In the Laurentian pantheon, Saiwalo is thought of as an almost jovial character. Rather than simply being judged upon death, the soul shares 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 plane of their choosing. |
| Dwarven | Annom | In the Dwarven pantheon, Annom is the Crypt Guard. They are less concerned with judging the dead, as in the Dwarven pantheon souls find their way to the appropriate planes on their own, and far more so with protecting the bodies of the deceased in the mortal realm. Annom is often depicted as a statue, vigilantly standing over the tombs of respected rulers. |
| Elven | Satres | Satres (pronounced SAT-rees) 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. |
| Orcish | Yadalser | In the Orcish pantheon, Yadalser takes a rather militant form as an vigilant enemy to all undead. Though the god's followers are opposed to the existence of the undead in all pantheons, clergy of Yadalser in particular are the most likely to actively seek out and destroy such creatures. Yadalser's clerics often serve as hunters of necromancers, wandering the land in search of their foes. |