Eltharel, the Gray Lady

Greater Deity

Domains: Fate, Grave, Knowledge


Cultural Names: Eshma’rin in Nurathar, Mùyè in Shen-Su

Domain

Eltharel resides in the Citadel of Remembrance, a solemn realm in the Shadowfell, where memories linger and souls prepare to pass beyond. Shrouded in mist and silence, the Citadel is filled with still water, faded paths, and monuments to the forgotten. It is a place between life and death, from which Eltharel watches, judges, and guides.

Creation and Divine Role

Eltharel emerged when the first breath ceased — not to end life, but to ensure that death would have meaning. As Lymarel shaped form and Yssarel filled it with breath, Eltharel laid down the passage between.

She does not bring death with cruelty or judgment, but serves as its guardian and guide, ensuring souls are not lost, stolen, or tormented beyond their time. She measures endings, not to deny them, but to honor them.

After the loss of her sister, Eltharel' sight was taken by the pain of that death. Since then, she has relied on memory, and intuition, walking the boundary of mortality by sense rather than vision.

She stands as one third of the Prime Trinity, with Lymarel and Yssarel. She is not feared by the wise — for she does not demand, but accepts.

Worship and Doctrine

Eltharel is venerated in rites of passage, funerary observances, and quiet remembrance. Her worship is somber but not sorrowful. Followers do not seek to master death, only to walk beside it, and help others do the same.

In Nurathar, as Eshma’rin, she is evoked at river burials and tomb sealings. In Shen-Su, as Mùyè, her name is written on lanterns released down ghost roads. Among the Ssith’katha, as Sszal’rithen, she is remembered in sacred silence by those preparing for their end.

Clerics of Eltharel choose from the Fate, Grave, and Knowledge domains. They are stewards of memory, destroyers of undeath, and guides for those departing life.

Tenets:

• Honor the dying and the dead.

• End what clings unnaturally.

• Ease suffering without delaying the path.

• Memory is sacred. Preserve it.

Echo of Creation — The Shroud of Final Twilight

The Shroud of Final Twilight is Eltharel’s Echo of Creation, a funerary veil woven from the very edge of mortality. It does not burn or blind, but reveals — illuminating spirits, exposing the undead, and wrapping the soul in peace.

It grants the bearer the ability to calm the dying, banish the restless dead, and sever the grip of cursed immortality. It is not a weapon — it is a truth.

Divine Mark — Death’s Oath

Eltharel’s Chosen bear the mark known as Death’s Oath — blackened veins that branch like the roots of an ancient tree, pulsing faintly with spectral light. In the presence of undeath or impending demise, the mark hums softly, visible even in warm air.

Those marked may sense nearby death, speak with spirits, and temporarily shield others from its grip. Their presence turns the undead away and comforts the passing.

Mythic Role in Eldareth

Eltharel’s presence threads through every end. She guided the first souls to rest, judged the first murderer, and stood beside the first death with silence.

She did not punish the dying — she welcomed them. She did not hunt the undead — she released them. When the gods fled or faltered, she remained, still and certain, bearing witness to all who passed.

Just as Yssarel does not speak, Eltharel no longer sees, but her touch carries all the memory of what came before, and all the endings yet to be.