Psychopomp

Psychopomps are beings that guide mortal souls to their destined afterlives. Many psychopomps serve as agents to gods or are gods themselves.

Purpose

After a mortal dies and their soul passes into the Ethereal Plane, that soul needs guidance to reach its destined afterlife. Psychopomps fulfill this role. Many are agents of certain gods, taking that gods worshipers to their gods domain, or are simply beings beyond mortality who desire to guide lost souls. But not all psychopomps are benevolent. Some gods of death, hungry fiends, or desperate demigods will pose of benevolent psychopomps and instead take mortal souls for themselves and to increase their own power.

Most psychopomps utilize the River Styx as a way to move souls within the afterlives, as it connects all of the outer planes.

After the establishment of the Hermes Seal, the Ethereal Plane began to fill up with souls, leading to many of these souls to pose as false psychopomps or divinity in order to gather power and backdoor their way into a good afterlife.

Notable Psychopomps

Charon

Charon was the first psychopomp in Quelmar history and among the most powerful. They were the last son of the Ruby Dragon Sardior and were born alongside the River Styx. They possessed the Book of the Dead which recorded all deaths throughout Quelmar and wielded and Oar which could control the very waters of the River Styx. Throughout history they would meet souls on the banks of the River Styx where it bordered the Ethereal Plane and give passage to souls, for a payment of one golden coin. If a soul could not pay, they must wait for 100 years.

Charon used to be responsible for ferrying all mortal souls, but as new psychopomps emerged, they began to encroach on his turf and begin to take souls for themselves. While Charon never fought back, most psychopomps new better then to ever confront him directly.

Charon's services would continue until they were murdered in 925 PR by the Demon Lord Ratatrosk and the River Styx was destroyed.

Silent

Silent was a divine arbiter of death who had been sealed away for hundreds of years. After they were freed, they were hungry for souls and began to guide souls into their realm, even making deals with mortal adventurers for those adventurers souls after their passing.

Aliria Servine

Aliria Servine was once a mortal adventurer who came across Charon's Book of the Dead after his death. She learned how to wield the books powers and eventually bound herself to it. After a complex ritual, she created a replacement for the River Styx, the Passage of Souls, a new avenue for transporting mortal souls. Within the Passage she would manifest the Obsidian Bridge, a bridge that would take whoever walked across it to their destined afterlives.