Moros¶
"We humble ourselves before the Keeper and seek his permission to enter the places between life and death." — password of the Temple of Kae-Ferrel (S056)
Moros is the God of Death, Keeper of the Dead (S427), "Keeper of the Dead" in the Domain of Creation and a lesser god of the Kalari Pantheon in the newest reckoning (S420). He is "Moros, Keeper of the Dead in the Kalari pantheon" to the Elves who built his shrines (S053), and one of "the High Lords who serve Kalar" in the Vault of the Eye (S185). He is the brother of Tarus, the god of the hunt and battle (S429). In the old compendia he is "Lord of the Dead, Keeper of Souls (also, Lord of Undead)" (S372).
Principles¶
Six principles govern his faith (S427):
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- Death is a natural and transcendent event. All mortal creatures have a right to die at the appropriate time and a swift transition to the afterlife.
- The remains of the dead are sacred and belong to Moros and the deceased's descendants. Only Moros and his followers have the authority to use them for holy purpose.
- Death should have meaning. Unjust, traumatic, frivolous and wasteful deaths are an insult to Moros. These deaths often cause a recoil effect that leaves the spirit stuck in the mortal realm as ghosts, spectres or spirits. Moros sometimes grants them life (undeath) to help them receive closure so that they can return to him (Mummies, Wraiths, Revenants, etc).
- Death is when the spirit meets the soul. Anything short of this is still life (and not a complete death). Whether life is achieved through Negative energy (undeath) or Positive energy (typical life) is not relevant, only death is relevant.
- Your soul is intertwined with those of your ancestors. Hold those that came before you (your ancestors) in reverence, they have granted you power, and continue to grant it, even in death.
- When granting purpose to the dead, those purposes must respect the being's purpose in life. To give contrary purpose is a grievous insult and sin.
His colours are black, white and silver; his sigils skulls, bones and the candle (S427). The old compendia add "Jackal, Scarab, Wolf" (S429), and make him "creator of various corporeal Undead and Bone-Demons" (S429).
Orders¶
"The orders of Moros are generally very cooperative to one another, though they have different leadership. Shelter and assistance is given whenever possible between the orders" (S427). They are the Order of the Sacred Veil, which keeps burial places and "performs rituals, executions and consecrates the dead"; the Order of Wandering Spirits, nomads who "seek out and aid stranded spirits"; the Order of the Argent Skull, which "hunts necromancers, death mages, demons and any others that defile the dead"; and the Order of the Black Candle, "considered a little 'darker' than the Sacred Veil" for its communion with the dead (S427). They have their own page, the Orders of Moros.
Ascendants¶
Three Ascendants of Moros each have a wing in his great shrines, and each a trial (S053, S056).
Hesperos¶
"Guide. The Evening Star" (S053). His statue holds a lantern; his trial is to "lead ghosts to the lantern (which also moves) without them touching you" (S056). "The Guide lights the path through endless night."
Equidna¶
"Guardian, Jaguar guardian of the Dead" (S053). Her statue holds a sword; her trial is to "intercept and destroy ghosts before they can reach the white spirit" (S056). "The Guardian shields from lurking fear."
Ulchre¶
"Gatekeeper. The Stone Warden. Internment" (S053). His statue holds a key; his trial is to "entrap ghosts before they reach you" (S056). "The Gatekeeper holds the doors tight."
Shrines¶
The Temple of Kae-Ferrel stood on the outskirts of the high elven city of Anoth-Urulien, "once a shrine to Moros, Keeper of the Dead in the Kalari pantheon". It has three wings, one per Ascendant, chapels with "Ancestral Altars" where "the great elven families recorded genealogies", crypts for "prestigious and notable individuals", a Whispering Chamber "to meditate and communicate with the dead", and the Paths of the Dead, "a maze symbolizing the transition after death ... and distractions that would lead to failure" (S053). "One of the objects he was 'Keeping' was part (the claw) of the great primal red dragon Vixseranyol", locked in a secret crypt under three keys (S053). Its chapel doors read: "Through the shadowed veil we take flight, / Death's glow cuts through the night. / The passage is led by a ghostly light" (S056). By the Fifth Age the shrine is "fully Corrupted" by Teneb'Vari (S053).
The Well of Stars is a temple complex of Moros built over a shrine of Arya after "his followers were victorious over the Aryan faction in a great battle for the area"; afterwards its tunnel became "a holy place where high priests of Moros would travel to die. Once inside, they were killed by Aryan guardians". It "is inhabited by the descendants of extremist worshippers who believed in cannibalism. It was the highest honor to be eaten by others" (S523, S450).
Earlier accounts¶
The compendia of the Earlier Ages count Moros among the Twilight Gods, who "have taken over the dark side of their domains" yet "are not in direct opposition to Kalar" and "will ally themselves with the Kalari or Rakkai based on their own objectives" (S372, S429). The newest reckoning marks him with the sun among the Kalari (S420), as the Elves of Arne'Athosia already did.
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Moros is absent from the Fifth Age list of Kalari still worshipped and from the Night Gods alike; no source says what became of him after the Dark Sun.