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The Origin of Mortem and his Cult It has been said, only three aspects of the realms are absolute: time, space, and death. For as long as the descendants have walked the material plane, time has ticked by, space has been traversed, and lives have ended. Whether it be through bloody battle or the decaying effects of disease, thousands have come to the end of their journey, to face the final adventure; that which is beyond life itself. Some go without choice, others willingly, accepting what fate has assigned them with no words or tears. But one would ask, why is death? What do the Aenguls and Daemons achieve through the ending of life? Those who ask must look past such foolish questions, one must not blame the effects of death on those above, but instead, accept it’s cold grasp, for the ending of life is as natural as the woodlands of our world. As this realm came to be, as the descendents first explored what they’ve come to call home, no matter how often it is changed, death was at all times absolute. Though it was saddening to watch loved ones and enemies alike fall, no one has truly questioned why it is so. But for those who do, for those who find themselves approaching Death’s Door, they may come to find their answers, as horrifying as it may be…. ~ It has been said for centuries by those who’ve walked the fine line between life and death, that an unknown figure would approach the dying as they take their final breaths, and an offer would be made. For obvious reason, these tales would be marked as delusions, dreams of those near death. But that is far from the truth. Those select few approached by this unknown creature were chosen, chosen to do the will of Death itself. Now, it is time to look past those simple questions of why? But instead one must ask, who? Who is Death? Once more we must return to the chosen view, visited by Death itself. And what is this offer? The concept of death is the ending of life. As life draws to a close, many must say goodbye to what they hold dear. Those who accept what they are leaving behind, who say their goodbyes without fear of the beyond, are visited by the mysterious entity that is titled Death and ushered forward, to what awaits them in the afterlife. Others who are not willing to say goodbye, who are not ready to pass on from the material world, are returned through the mystical powers of the monks. But what of those not yet prepared to pass on, but have given up on the world or have made peace with life? They are given a third option. Something both similar, but vastly different from the return to life. They are given the title of Reaper, and they serve Mortem, the Aengul of Death. “He who embraces death oft comes to cherish life…” From the Journal of the Arch Reaper The Beliefs of Mortem Death is the absolute end to life. Those who deny death are not yet ready to pass through the threshold into the afterlife. Those who taint death via the corruption of the dark arts are the greatest of enemies to Mortem. Necromancers, Death Knights, Ghouls, and creatures of the Spectral persuasion are all considered enemies to Mortem. The Spectral creatures are not of immediate threat and those of the cult can make an attempt at aiding them in passage to the afterlife. Self sacrifice is our tool to stop the defilement of death. We who accept this role give our soul, body, and mind to the Lord of Death. Though we serve death, we cherish life. For those who are not yet ready to die, are to be preserved and helped through the best of our ability. Through self sacrifice and the gifts of our god, we take on the pain, the weakness, and the corruption of this world so those living, can continue to live in happiness and tranquility. Life is the ultimate gift bestowed onto all creatures Death is the ultimate end, willing or unwilling. We come upon this great blessing through great trauma. Those who’ve given everything but lost it all are visited by Mortem and given his blessing. Reapers are only to raise arms in self defense, or against those that taint death. All Reapers are to remain neutral. If you are incapable of saving the life of the dying, do not throw your life away over it. Instead, one must ease their passage from our realm. We serve Mortem, not ourselves. Personal relationships must remain that, personal. From the Teachings of the Arch Reaper The Gifts of Mortem Through Mortem, we receive his blessing. Through his blessing, we cleanse this world, protect it’s inhabitants, and protect the most sacred of truths: death. To use Mortem’s blessing, we must first commit self sacrifice, whether major or minor, we inflict harm to ourselves to aid those most in need. Each blessing requires ritual components to work. The Ritual of Healing Through Mortem’s blessing, we take upon the wounds inflicted upon those we intend to save but heal them of their ailments. The petals of a rose are required to begin healing. As one progresses through their training, they become more capable in healing more severe injuries, to the point one can make the ultimate sacrifice and end one’s life for another. Tier 1: One can heal minor injuries. Cuts, bruises, small burns. This causes great strain and pain to the healer. Tier 2: It is possible to heal the minor injuries at a greater rate, with less strain and pain. The healer can begin to heal fractures to bones and minor illnesses. As before, it would cause great strain on the healer. When healing fractures, great pain will be felt in the bones of the healer. The effects of the illness will be felt, just weaker. Tier 3: The healing of fractures and minor illnesses causes less strain on the healer. Tier 4: Broken bones can be healed but it'll cause great pain, as if the healers own bones were breaking. More serious illnesses can be healed, but as before, the healer will feel the effects on their own body. Tier 5: All forms of healing before this point are much easier, and are much less staining on the body. The Ritual of Purification With the blessing of the Lord of Death, we cleanse the tainted, but through doing so, we take the taint upon ourselves. The ritual components required are a bar of gold, the tainted object, the petals of a daisy, and salt. Tier 1: Only minor purification can be done. Examples being small animals and plants. Tier 2: The corruption taken in from minor purification is reduced greatly. Tier 3: The purification of people is possible, but in minor amounts. This causes great strain on the healer and is irreversible. At this point, the healer will be forced to wait out the taint or corruption. Tier 4: The corruption taken in from purifying people is reduced. Now purifying land and people in greater amounts can be done. As before, it will cause great strain on the body and if over done can and will result in death. Tier 5: It is now possible to purify a creation of corruption, the Undead creation of a necromancer being an example. In doing so will cause great sickness to the Reaper. The Ritual of Banishment This is a ritual made solely for wardomg undead from a person or location. It in other words, is a form of exorcism. If a ghost or creation of necromancy is causing problems in a location or to a person, this ritual can be done. It causes a form of holy energy to be released around the location or person, causing the warding away of the undead. Ghosts or necromatic creations. It causes discomfort for the undead creature. This can only be done by a Reaper that is both tier five in healing and purification. Components needed for the ritual include: the blood of a dead man, golden dust, and the petals of a lilac. Resistance to Corruption and Taint This is self explanatory. The body is blessed with a natural resistance to corruption and taint. The Reaper is still capable of dying to the taint or corruption, but you are capable of taking more into the body and healing over time. It is much like a normal illness. From the Teachings of the Arch Reaper Advantages and Disadvantages of the Magic Through some odd hours of work, I believe I’ve come across a way of making a darker clerical magic, that creates true meaning to self sacrifice. This server’s clerical magic is very diverse as is, but it leans towards a lighter road of Rp, so I thought it be quite interesting to introduce a more neutral magic that is meant to preserve life and worship death, while bringing a darker form of Rp to the table. With that being said, I believe the disadvantages and advantages are relatively close, leaning more towards the disadvantages outweighing the advantages. Advantages You have the ability to heal the wounded, tainted, or corrupt. When the Reaper does the healing, they take on minor versions of the injury, instead of the full on injury. This magic gives an interesting spin off of emotional trauma. Instead of suicide ending it all, or character losing themselves to depression, they can be visited by Mortem, allowing for a darker type of roleplay, that is not immediately evil. Unlike other clerical magics, this is not focused around combat or power. Now I understand that sounds odd as an advantage, but I feel it brings a strange twist of clerical magic to the table. Something that I’m hoping many can appreciate. Corruption does not affect the Reaper as strongly as others. Mortem has blessed them with the ability to slowly heal through corruption and taint. It can still kill them, but it can be overcome. Disadvantages Through the healing, your character sustains minor versions of the injuries that are healed. The more severe the injury or corruption, the more severe the injuries sustained to the healer. If the healer crosses the red lines, they are signing a death wish. Not all injuries can be healed. Unlike the clerical healing of say Tahariae, where you can heal a stab wound to a vital organ, the healing of Mortem cannot do the same. If a Reaper of Mortem were to make an attempt at healing say a heart or lung wound, they would take on the wound in full and die. The followers are a neutral party, that for the most part, are not meant to do either good or evil. The healing is not as powerful as Tahariae’s. Clarifications on the Magic and Mortem This is not a dark magic. It is a form of healing that leans more towards the neutral goal of protecting life and preserving death. Mortem is not death, but instead an Aengul that respects death and wishes to see it both respected and safe. The above writing is from the beliefs and knowledge of the Arch Reaper. With that being said, what is there is not immediately the truth. I’m willing to discuss with the Lore Team if they have questions or if this is accepted, what Mortem does. But for now, imagine all writings above as the beliefs of a fanatic follower. Mortem has nothing to do with souls. See above. The term ‘Reaper’ is used to describe a cleric of Mortem. If you cross a red line when it comes to the healing or purification process, you literally die, as you are welcoming too much into one’s body to handle. Though, the ultimate self sacrifice can be made for the greater good, I suppose. The ‘Cult’ of Mortem is a very conservative religion or following. This ‘Cult’ does not hold death above life. They hold life above all, but accept death as the ultimate ending and protect that through their actions and faith. I understand the tier system is out of date, but I find its the best way to measure abilities. Progressing through the magic is based entirely on how often it is used. As it is used, the body becomes more used to the suffering. I ask that if it's accepted, I nurture and watch over the magic, to keep it from being abused, metagamed, or powergamed. Mortem is a minor Aengul. Red Lines for the Magic Making an attempt to heal injuries that will end lives, examples being injuries to vital organs, will result in your death. This magic is not offensive in any way. It is used purely for healing and purification of people and the world. To use it offensively would break the lore. The only way to come across this magic is through the cult of Mortem. Though the wounds inflicted through healing are weaker versions of those inflicted directly, those doing the healing cannot simply ignore it or shrug it off. It will still hurt like hell if severe enough. Just because the magic allows for the purification of corruption does not mean you can just instantly purify undead and they fall apart. The purification sticks to people or the land, unless one is tier five at both healing and purification. It is impossible to heal a mental, emotional, or spiritual wounds. This magic isn't based on stamina or concentration. It's based on how much the body can take. Once it has reached it's limits, you either stop or die. Wounds suffered directly still affect the Reaper. All injuries are not suddenly made weaker, but instead, wounds only received through the healing process is weaker to the body. Edits

So as a new player I was looking for Orc history or timeline, but found nothing but a few unspecific events. In order to advance roleplay and make applying easier I suggest adding something like this.