Elven Clerics of Death

Elven Religion
To understand the Clerics, you must first understand the elvish approach towards the gods, and towards the afterlife. Elves believe that all life, and all matter, is composed of life force – they call this ‘amna’. When an elf dies, the amna returns into the great cycle of renewal and change – like constantly shifting tides. An elf with more amna may be able to control the world around them – either by being a great leader or being able to manipulate magic. A fraction of an elven hero’s amna may end up in a child, and they may grow to be a hero themselves. In the tides metaphor, the entire world would be the water currently on the beach – swirling, interacting, chaotic. Meanwhile, the rest of the entire ocean would be the gods. Elves believe that gods form and fall just as mortals do – like waves on the sea. There are also a huge number of gods, as many as there are waves. They therefore consider human attitudes towards the gods to be very small minded – certainly the 9 exist, but they are not the only ones, and who knows how long they’ll be around for?

Elves do not therefore place great importance on the bodies of the dead. They have no history of burial, and they have no fear of undead to push them towards cremation. In the past, bodies would be left in a specific corner of the woods to be eaten by wild animals. As the elves matured as a race and began collecting in larger towns, the bodies would be placed on built platforms – this then evolved into the sky towers of today. The ethos behind the sky funerals is that of renewal – we are all made of the same stuff, which we only borrow. It is therefore only right to give the amna back.

Role of Clerics
The Clerics are caretakers of this cycle, this constant ebb and flow. They do not believe that they follow the will of an individual god – rather that they guide the uncontrollable force of amna to where it is most needed. They consider themselves to be conduits at best, and the best Cleric is not the most learned but the most open to the amna and the wisest in knowing where it should be guided. Symbols and ideology of the order include the moon and the ocean, as they both represent the shifting nature of the world. The garb is always a cloak which is black on the outside, white on the inside. The only exception is the current ‘Lady’ – the leader of the Clerics. Traditionally always a woman, their robe is silver inside.

‘Clerics of Death’ is actually somewhat of a misnomer, born of the fact that there is no accurate translation of their title in Elvish. A more literal translation would be Clerics of life, death and everything in between. Clerics act as not only the undertakers and caretakers of the dead, they also operate elven hospitals and hospices, including taking care of the elderly. They also preside over the ‘welfare’ system, which means that any elf can get food and clothing if they need it. Different from more conventional churches, the Clerics do not preach. They will offer counsel as part of their healing, but they see no need to proselytise – after all, it doesn’t matter whether anyone acknowledges they’re made of amna or not.

There is a corollary to this however. Although the Clerics will never preach to the people or try to convert anyone, there is a fierce doctrinal war being waged between two distinct sects of the faith – and they are always trying to convert each other. One school of thinking, named ‘Yra’ after the Elvish word for ‘all’, says that amna has no memory. You can have more or less of it, but once you die no part of you returns in a conscious way. The other school, named ‘Haran’ after the Cleric who originally argued it, is that although ‘reincarnation’ isn’t possible, amna does carry the memory of those who were formally made of it. Therefore, the amna of a hero could end up in a child, and they would carry that greatness.

As a final note, the focus on change and the lack of focus on preaching means that paladins are very uncommon in elven society. To be a paladin you must believe wholly in a cause, or in the cause of a specific god – whereas religion for elves is much more personal and much more general. In fact, paladins are generally viewed with caution by Clerics and religious elves alike – how can you trust someone who wilfully sees only one part of the whole, instead of trying to understand it in its wider context?

Clerics of Note
Zitian Holmarra - The only recorded male 'Lady' and leader of the Clerics of Death. Frustrated by the lack of opportunities for men in the military, Zitian turned to the Clerics. His zeal for personal power led to a schism between the Clerics and the Elven leadership which took over 500 years to heal. To this day there is a 'glass ceiling' which seems to stop the progress of male Clerics.

Haran Fernall - The Lady Haran served the Clerics around 1000 years ago. She was the first to argue that amna has memory, as she herself had had visions all through her childhood which seemed to show glimpses of her grandmother's life. The idea has since been adopted by the Haran Clerics, where it is popular with elves who want to believe they were born to greatness - or conversely, that they never succeeded because they didn't have the right amna, not because of personal failings.

Biyana Barrennow - A legendary Cleric from the Age of Heroes. Biyana was an acolyte in the order, living in a small village high in the mountains. For years, the village had been plagued by a pair of white dragons - the only way to stop them destroying the town was for a sacrifice of livestock to be made every month. After 2 years of this the dragons were fat and ready to clutch, and the village was bled dry. Finally, a hero came along - Varna Ophelim, the famous archer. She swore that she would destroy the dragons, and save the town. After three days, Varna still hadn't come back. It was Biyana who discovered her out in the snow, and who hid her in a cave to heal her. By the time they emerged, Varna finally healed, the dragons had destroyed the village in their rage. Once more, Varna hurled herself into battle, followed this time by the young Biyana. Again and again the dragons felled Varna with their chill breath and iron claws. Again and again Biyana called on the amna to bring her back, and keep fighting. Eventually, one dragon lay dead in the valley and the other flew away north, never to be seen again. Biyana's story, and her other stories with her lover Varna, are well known among the elves - if you ask most young initiates why they chose to be clerics, the name Biyana would come up almost every time.