> [!infobox] > ![[Raven Queen.png|300]] > ###### Information > | | | > | ---- | ---- | > | **Titles** | Keeper of Winter's End, The Memory of Death, She Who Remembers the Forgotten | > | **Domain** | Loss, Memory, Winter, Ravens | > | **Gender** | Feminine | > | **Alignment** | Neutral | > | **Artifact(s)** | The Sorrowful Crown | > # Symbol > ![[Raven Queen Symbol.png]] ### **Description** The Raven Queen is neither one of the Modern Pantheon nor counted among the Old Gods, existing in the liminal space between life and death, memory and forgetting. She governs the transition of souls from life to whatever lies beyond, ensuring that death comes at its proper time and that the memories of the departed are preserved. Unlike [[Neraxis]] who revels in death's despair, the Raven Queen views death as a natural and necessary transition, though she mourns each passing with profound sorrow. ### **Appearance** The Raven Queen appears as an ethereally beautiful woman of indeterminate age, with pale skin that seems touched by winter frost and dark hair that flows like liquid shadow. Her most striking feature is an elaborate crown of raven feathers and crystalline ice that forms naturally around her head, marking her dominion over death's winter realm. She is draped in flowing robes of midnight blue and black, embroidered with intricate patterns that seem to shift and move like living shadows. Ravens of unusual size and intelligence constantly surround her—perching on her throne, circling overhead, and serving as her messengers between the realms of the living and dead. Her eyes hold the weight of every death she has witnessed, reflecting both infinite sadness and profound acceptance of fate's necessity. ### **Worshippers and Clergy** Her followers include mourners, undertakers, those who have lost loved ones, and scholars who study the mysteries of death and memory. Her clergy, known as the Ravensworn, dress in black robes trimmed with white fur and wear silver masks carved to resemble raven faces. They serve as funeral directors, grief counselors, and keepers of the dead's memories. Many of her faithful are those who work closely with death—battlefield medics, plague doctors, and those who tend to the dying. The Ravensworn maintain extensive records of the deceased, believing that preserving the memory of the dead honors both the departed and their goddess. ### **Dogma** - Death comes to all in its proper time; neither hasten it unnecessarily nor flee from it when it arrives - The memories of the dead are sacred and must be preserved lest they be truly lost forever - Comfort those who mourn, for grief is love with nowhere to go - Undeath is an abomination that traps souls in a state contrary to natural order - Ravens are sacred messengers; to harm them without cause brings the Raven Queen's displeasure ### **Manifestations** The Raven Queen manifests through sudden gatherings of ravens that appear at moments of death or great sorrow. Her presence is marked by the temperature dropping noticeably and the appearance of frost on windows even in warm weather. Those about to die sometimes report seeing a beautiful woman surrounded by ravens just before their passing. Her followers may receive visions through dreams filled with the sound of raven calls, and important messages sometimes arrive via ravens that speak in perfect Common before disappearing. During times of great tragedy or mass death, witnesses report seeing her walking among the fallen, gently closing the eyes of the dead. ### **Relations with Other Deities** The Raven Queen maintains an uneasy neutrality with most deities. She works in quiet opposition to [[Neraxis]], viewing his delight in death's despair as a perversion of death's natural role. She has a complex relationship with [[Fate]], sometimes cooperating in matters of destiny while disagreeing on the extent to which mortals should know their fates. Sylphara respects her role in the natural cycle, though they differ on the value of preserving what has passed versus nurturing new life. Among the Modern Pantheon, she occasionally works with [[Ana]] on matters involving the boundary between life and death. She also has a close relationship with [[Zigor]]. ### **Holy Days and Rituals** **The Night of Remembrance** occurs during the first new moon of winter, when followers light candles and speak the names of all who died in the past year. **The Raven's Vigil** is observed during particularly harsh winters, with clergy maintaining watch over the vulnerable elderly and sick. **Farewell Rites** are elaborate funeral ceremonies where the deceased's life story is told in full, ensuring their memory is preserved. The **Ceremony of the Final Feather** marks when someone is near death—a raven feather is placed beside them, and if it turns white, it signals their peaceful passing is imminent. ### **Favored Weapons and Tools** Her clergy favor scythes and sickles as symbols of death's harvest, though they rarely use them in combat, preferring to resolve conflicts through negotiation or withdrawal. They carry silver daggers inscribed with prayers for the peaceful passing of souls. Ravens' feathers are used in all ceremonies, and her followers often carry small vials of pure winter ice that never melts as holy symbols. The Ravensworn use special censers that burn aromatic herbs to comfort the dying and ease their transition. ### **Myths and Legends** Legend tells that the Raven Queen was once a mortal queen who loved so deeply that when death came for her beloved, she challenged death itself to single combat. Though she lost, her devotion impressed the cosmic forces, and she was transformed into the deity who ensures death comes with dignity rather than cruelty. Another tale claims she gathered the first ravens by offering shelter to ordinary birds during an eternal winter, and they transformed into her sacred messengers out of gratitude. The most persistent legend suggests that she maintains a vast library in her realm where every memory of every person who has ever died is preserved in crystalline form, and that true resurrection is impossible because she refuses to release these memories back to the world of the living.