《Ranger of the North》Interlude 3: Ereshkigal, The Goddess of Death
Advertisement
Death has many names but Ereshkigal is the one chosen by the inhabitants of the Nox Isles and so is the most widespread. Each race, each culture have their own way of referring to Her.
Ereshkigal is the Goddess of the Dead, the Queen who rules the underworld. The hooded specter, all mortal races have revered and feared death since time immemorial. With even the Immortals having a healthy respect for Her power. Her cult is the most secretive of all. No knowledge exists of the true visage under the hood, no idols represent Her, no paintings depict Her, no poems worship Her. She is said to be the most beautiful... or the most hideous depending on which tale you choose to believe.
But all tales feature one common identifier, the Raven perched on her shoulder. The Raven is said to be the eyes of Ereshkigal. It ferries the souls of the deceased to the underworld where they are judged. Ravens are also considered to carry messages to the deceased, which is why they are fed during Ereshkigal’s feast when the night is the longest and the underworld the closest to our realm. The Raven is revered by the people of the North, their shamans put great stock in the advice of these mystical birds.
Her Blind priests operate in every city providing charity to the poor, medicine to the sick and, rites to the dead. They do not judge one by their wealth, their race, their creed, or their religion for Death comes to all equally.
Ereshkigal abhors the perversion of the natural order. Liches, Draugr, and all manner of undead creatures and monsters that pervert the natural order are hunted down by the Reapers. This order of secretive warriors is only ever heard of in rumour. No person has ever caught a glimpse of a Reaper in action or choose not to divulge if they have. But they do exist for no undead threat ever remains one for too long.
Advertisement
Even those Blessed with her powers, the Necromancer, the Blood-Mage, and the Death Knight are not allowed to command the dead without a price. They must provide appropriate sacrifices and bargain with the departed souls for their assistance. Often these sacrifices are of blood or life, of oneself or one’s enemies. When prepared her Blessed are a terrifying foe to face on the battlefield.
The Obsidian tower located in the Nox Isles contains the Trials of Ereshkigal. It provides a permanent conduit to her Dominion allowing easier access to Death Magic which prevents most races from living there. As such the isles are populated primarily by the races of the Underdark; the Vampires, the Drow, the Duergar, and the Svirfneblin.
Advertisement
- In Serial38 Chapters
Kingmaker
This story is on hiatus/abandonned. People die, then that's all... or at least, it should be that way. There may be anomalies, yes – the occasional hero of old getting reincarnated for some obscure purpose – but who knows what the gods are thinking. If they are thinking at all. If there are gods, to begin with. What would explain such a mistake, then? The hero mark wasn't given to our reborn champion, but to his perfectly normal sister. A prank from these mindless gods, perhaps. Luckily for him, he was done with this hero business and had other plans for his new life, so it's all good... Here is the story of one who isn't meant to stand among heroes, kings and emperors anymore, yet will find himself holding power over them.
8 156 - In Serial52 Chapters
A Mediocre Supreme Cultivator
A man gets yeeted into a cultivation world.
8 191 - In Serial36 Chapters
Queer Tales From A Street Nominally Associated With Your Reality
The street is not from your world, and yet it's attached, clinging like a shadowy limpet to the edge of your London, your city skyline stabbing into it from above. Or well that's what we tell ourselves, no one who lives here really knows. We are after all just regular folk displaced from our original realities. Just a bunch of folks with queer tales from a street nominally associated with your reality. What to expect: - A series of interlinked short stories gradually unpacking the lives, complications and mysteries associated with those who live in the street - A weird pseudo-British setting where physics works inconsistently, and houses move position regularly - Stories filled with LGBTQ+ characters, and in particular ones on the trans/nonbinary spectrum - Potentially iffy grammar, I'm new to publishing my work online, so whilst I am checking things before posting it’s a near certainty that some things will slip through - A schedule of one chapter every two weeks.
8 166 - In Serial56 Chapters
Sweet Child of Chaos
"Loving the monsters always ends badly for the human. It's a rule"Kisa Petrova finds herself being tortured day after day for over 30 years, what happens after she meets a certain werecoyote that too doesn't know how to be human?Let's add a vampire to this equation, shall we? Let's see what happens when we have a bloodsucker in Teen Wolf.
8 163 - In Serial104 Chapters
Junoesque ✿George Weasley✿
Junoesque(adj) Beautiful and imposing, like the goddess Juno //#2 in georgeweasley 15.06.2019#1 in georgeweasley 11.07.2019#2 in harrypotter 28.07.2019#1 in harrypotter 30.07.2019Cover by @kage_ino---Harry Potter is owned by J.K Rowling and Warner Bros. Studios. Blair Rosier however, is my character and adds a partial story line that I have made. But the main plot follows a combination of the Harry Potter movies and books. Enjoy!
8 133 - In Serial25 Chapters
✔️ ᴀʟʟ ᴏꜰ ᴜꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ [ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 1 ]
ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴍᴀʏ ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇ:- ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛꜱ- ꜱᴄᴇɴᴀʀɪᴏ- ɢɪꜰ ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇꜱ- ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇꜱ- ʀᴇᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ- ꜰᴀᴋᴇ ᴛᴇxᴛꜱ- ᴇᴛᴄ.ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ: 02/03/22ꜰɪɴɪꜱʜᴇᴅ: 07/12/22ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ: _ᴇᴜɴᴋᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ- ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ ᴏᴡɴᴇʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ɢɪꜰꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇꜱ ᴜꜱᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ -ᴅɪꜱᴄʟᴀɪᴍᴇʀ:- ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴇxᴄᴇᴘᴛ ʏ/ɴ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ -
8 68

