| “ | Berath is the god that makes life end in death, and it is also the god that makes death end in life [..] for it has given us the promise of life's eternal renewal. | ” |
| ~ The Many Faces of Berath |
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Berath (BEAR-ath) (Aedyran: Berath, Vailian: Cirono, Glanfathan: Bewnen i Ankew / Ankew i Bewnen, Huana: Rikuhu) is the god of cycles, of doors, and of life and death itself.
Contents
Background[]
Berath is the god of death, doors, and the wheel of reincarnation itself. Portrayed as either a genderless deity or twinned male and female incarnation, Berath seldom speaks with their followers. Their priests are expected to be rational and unemotional, treating death with a dispassionate dignity.
Role[]
It takes many forms in different cultures, but their names are widely invoked by most people at one time or another. Theologians see Berath as the guardian of all gateways, including the gates of life, death, and rebirth that all mortals must pass through. [1][2]
Berath has a variety of manifestations, including:
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The Pallid Knight: One of the youngest manifestations of Berath, but quite familiar to kith. Stories describe her as a gaunt knight in black armor with black eyes, black hair, and milk-pale skin. She demands an impossible toll from travelers who have tarried too long on her lord's road. The person either surrenders, or fights the knight and kill themselves in the process, or flee from him to stumble upon the Usher. |
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The Usher: A much older manifestation. Kith have written stories, songs, and poems about the Usher for centuries. Sometimes he's folk, sometimes dwarf, and sometimes merely a walking skeleton. He never speaks, but he guides the way to death. And the next life. He also creates the circumstances for the wayward to stumble into their own graves. |
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Bewnen i Ankew and Ankew i Bewnen: In Eir Glanfath's ruins, Berath is depicted in the form of two semi-skeletal figures - one male, one female - literally called Life in Death and Death in Life in the Glanfathan tongue. Male and female, inside and outside, life and death - we often think of Berath by imagining two sides of coin, or the two end points of a journey. |
Rikuhu (Kohopa and Tangaloa): Many Huana worship Berath as Rikuhu the twin eel good of the cycle of life and death. Rikuhu is depicted with the two eels: Kohopa representing the overworld and life, and Tangaloa who represents the underworld and death, devouring one another. |
Cult[]
| “ | Berath teaches us that duality exists in all things. There is Life in Death, and Death in Life - embrace this duality and you honor Berath. | ” |
| ~ The Many Faces of Berath |
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Berath has a relatively small priesthood, in part because it does not speak often to them. However, Berath has many, many petitioners and occasional followers. While the common folk fear the priesthood of Berath, they respect them for their level-headedness and unflinching resolve in the face of endless death and suffering.[2]
People commonly place or carve the figure of Berath in doorways, windows, and other "portals" from one place to another, figurative or literal.[3]
See also[]
Gallery[]
A twinned display of the split aspects of Berath
Renders of the original statue by Dmitri Berman (model and Zbrush sculpt)
The Pallid Knight, an aspect of Berath
Fan art of the Pallid Knight by grim_glim
Map of the temple of Berath in Dyrford Village
References[]
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