Mourners’ Guild of Oð

The Gray Guild

The caisson carrying High Lord Adárran III’s sarcophagus stopped before the steps of Kyrm Oryroð. The procession of mourners that followed filed into two lines, marching to their places in a circle around the carriage. Each of the five score mourners were draped in heavy black robes with hoods drawn low. Each held a heavy mortuary ring and hammer which they began ringing in slow synchronous measures, once for every year of the High Lord’s reign. A second, more numerous crowd of gray robes formed behind them. This group was comprised of men chanting ancient hymns of the death god Drāūn, and women who wept and wailed, begging mercy for the High Lord’s soul. Beyond the gray robes stood the Oðyr, by the hundreds of thousands, filling the entire breadth of Temple Square in respectful quiet.

Mourners’ Guilds are not uncommon in Old Empire cities and towns. The Mourners’ Guild of Oð fills the role that was occupied by the Shrine of Drāūn before the Occupation. When a person has died, the Mourners’ Guild is often summoned to remove and bury the body. If the family wishes to have a ceremony and mourners present, additional services may be added.

An often overlooked facet of the Guild is their detailed attention to record-keeping. The Gray Edict of 55 DR established the Mourners’ Guild as record keepers for the city-state. All births and deaths within the region are registered with the Gray Guild. Record keeping within the guild has been something of an after thought. Records are kept in local halls with varying degrees of organization. Finding records requires knowing which hall the records are kept, and paying for access or a researcher to find the correct box, file, and document.

Members

As the service drew to end, a horseman rode forward and placed a hand on the sarcophagus. A fine black cloak hung from his shoulders and the Iron Crown sat heavily upon his head. After a moment’s silence, Edgur III sat upright in his saddle and looked out across the assembled populace. Those close to the High Lord could see tears streaming down his face and wondered whether the Unseen Son would be able to address his new subjects. As the High Lord composed himself, Eldryr surreptitiously wove a series of ælàmra Sōróltrū spells throughout the square to carry his voice to all corners. When the signal was given, Edgur III spoke. “Thank you for your time, your tears, and your toils. You have lost your Lord and I have lost my father. I promise to everyone here, on this day, witnessed by the soul of my father, that I will restore the glory of this great state, and that I will not rest until this is done. Should I fail, do not fete my passing, instead strike my name from every record, page, and stone. By the greatness of Roð, we will rise again and the world will be awed by his Anvil’s peal. For the Iron God demands that the struggle and sacrifice of every Oðyn be rewarded. Let the Ages tell the story of our labors and our triumphs. Bear witness to this promise, sworn upon the body of my father.” As Temple Square erupted into a deafening explosion of cheers and applaud, High Lord Edgur Rott III turned his horse and rode back to Kryr Shùrulm. He never addressed the City of Oð again.

  • Nefvèlen the Gray, Guildmaster, Master of the Gray
    • Salmor the Gray, Kreyàrdi Master of the Gray
    • Ðinynda the Gray, Kyàrdi Master of the Gray
    • Drādàranna the Gray, Naryàrdi Master of the Gray
    • Alánfvor the Gray, Pryàrdi Master of the Gray
    • Ēgin the Gray, Sulyàrdi Master of the Gray

Organization

The Mourners’ Guild is divided into branches that serve different towns, regions, and wards within Oð.

Services

Services provided by the Gray Guild include: corpse retrieval, embalming, casketmaking, funerary preparations, stone carving, cemetery maintenance, grave digging, interment, wailing, final rituals, and grieving management. Most of these tasks are done for a fee. Poorer folk usually perform most of these tasks themselves. Most cemeteries outside the city walls have a section set aside for pauper burials, though no stone markers are permitted.

  • Casketmaking
    • Soft Wood (cheap): 20-35d
    • Hard Wood (average): 45-135d
    • Inlaid Wood (rich): 1-3cr
    • Iron (sealed): 2,1/2-5cr
  • Cemetery Maintenance: 1/2d per flock per week
  • Certificate
    • Birth: 15d
    • Death: 15d
  • Corpse Retrieval: 1-1,1/2d per st. per dm.
  • Embalming: 1-1,1/4cr (uncommon, requires special facilities; most bodies in Oð are dipped in Wheel oil for 5-15d)
  • Final Ritual: 50-150d
  • Funerary Preparations: 15-45d
  • Grave Digging: 15-45d (2-man team, excavation and refilling)
  • Grieving Management: 5-15d per session
  • Interment: 10-30d (coffin bearing, lowering)
  • Records Search: 15-30d per watch
  • Stone Carving
    • Text: 10-30d (name, birth, death)
    • Images: 60d-1cr
    • Shaping: 15-45d (style of stone)
  • Wailing: 5d per mourner

History

Following the Occupation of Oð, returning residents found a city that was mostly uninhabitable. Countless bodies were stacked in the town squares and alleys, slick with preserving oils deposited by Kyrm Oryroð’s omnipresent Wheel. Some of those that could be identified had lain undisturbed for almost 30 years. Removal of the corpses was one of the High Lord’s top priorities. Without a local surviving Shrine of Drāūn to lead their efforts, a guild of mourners was formed to deal with the dead. Created in 55 DR, the Grey Guild was assembled from returning folk that wished to stake familial claims. Since very few of those that originally fled the City survived to celebrate its liberation, descendants were required to prove their family’s holdings and assist with rebuilding efforts. Very few of those returning had the means to do this. The High Lord decreed (i.e., The Gray Edict of 55 DR) that service within the Grey Guild would be repaid with claim assistance. The Oðyr dead were carted into the countryside and given proper creek-side burials while the Acèntyri dead were unceremoniously tossed onto giant pyres.