Deal with the Death God: The Reluctant Destiny of the Priestess Danyelle Obrove; Or, The Adventures of Danyelle Obrove and Her Putrefactive Benefactor; Or, Saleswoman of a Death; Or, Necroeconomics
Death isn’t attractive. Giving praise and devotion unto death is even less so. No one knows this better than Neophron, resident god of death of the world of Lathyrus. Who wants to dedicate their life to worshipping
death when there are gods of the feast, the forge, and the hunt--deities overseeing the glory of
living-- to worship instead?
To make matters worse, Neophron’s underworld is only one of
several anchored to Lathyrus. Those hunts-gods and crafts-gods and feasts-gods
each have an afterlife for their devoted to arrive at when they die, to continue enjoying their god’s domain even when their time on Lathyrus is up. Neophron’s underworld, centered as it is on shadow and decay, makes convincing people to worship him an even more arduous task, considering all of the more enjoyable alternatives.
Neophron understands that death is a tough sell. It’s very difficult for him to accrue followers. That’s not to say that he doesn’t try very hard, however. Sometimes the god just has to get
creative...
Ivran Obrove was an elven dignitary traveling back to his home in Martslocke Forest after a mission of diplomacy to the human capital. Ivran was journeying at a brisk clip by horse along the path back to the forest, bedecked in fine fabrics and jewels, as elf nobles are wont to be. The path home proved unsafe, however, and Ivran was ambushed by bandits. They stripped him of his finery and beat him, leaving him for dead there in the middle of the road. Neophron sensed that the noble was near death, and, before Ivran could beseech the help of the elf-gods of the woods, he interjected and offered to save his life instead, for a price.
”Ivran Obrove,” said the god,
”I shall offer to save your life in exchange for a pledge of your service to me as my High Priest.”
What better servant, Neophron thought to himself, than an elf? They lived so long that he wouldn’t even have to grant him the boon of immortality. And they were pretty, too. A high priest with an elf’s good looks would have a much easier time winning over new followers. What a
steal.
Ivran stared at the dread visage of the world’s Lord of Decay, Master of Mausoleums, and First Necromancer. A lifetime, maybe more, of servitude to Neophron was
not something he was looking forward to at all. That threw a wrench in his plans of pursuing elven pleasures and
not having to directly answer to a god. He was an avid worshiper of his home’s deities, for certain, but high priest? That wouldn’t do at all! Battered and bleeding, Ivran Obrove attempted to bargain with the god.
“That’s very generous of you, Your Direness,” said Ivran, wincing from the effort of speaking with so many broken ribs,
”but does it have to be me in particular? A life is a life, after all, it doesn’t have to be mine that’s sworn to you, does it? My cousin Irvin’s always been rather gloomy, always had a macabre view of the world. Why not secure his service?”
Neophron only stared. The
impertinence of this mortal! How dare he attempt to bargain for his life with the lives of others? Still, it didn’t matter that it was Ivran in particular that became Neophron’s high priest. He just wanted an
elf for the job. Yet the god thought that the offer should come with
some sacrifice to Ivran. No deal with a deity should be without its price.
”Promise me the life of your first-born child, Ivran…” Neophron stared at the elf through eyes darker than a starless night sky.
“And we’ll have a deal.”
Ivran took a sharp extended inhale through his teeth, in part from the pain of his splintered shin bone, but also because that was a pretty steep price to pay.
”I don’t know, Nephy, it seems like you’re asking an awful lot for something the wood-gods would give me for free. What about my third-born child?”
”Your second-born, then.”
Another inhale.
”I’m still not so sure…”
”Alternatively, I could just kill you.”
”Second-born child it is!”
Danyelle Obrove is the daughter of Ivran, brokered for her father’s life in exchange for lifelong service as the god Neophron’s high priest. On the evening of her eighteenth birthday, she was alarmed to learn that she would have to leave her life in Martslocke Forest in order to complete whatever task Neophron demanded of her. Cursing her father’s name, but unable to fight against divine mandate, Danyelle left her home to meet with the god in his underworld and learn what tasks his high priest was required to perform.
”Public relations, mostly.”
It is Danyelle’s duty to travel the breadth of Lathyrus and attempt to convert people to Neophron’s worship, trying to show the benefits of allying oneself to the god of death. She offers demonstrations of Neophron’s burial rites and (perhaps a little paradoxically) the vast necromantic power he could bestow upon his followers. She shows the people how the god could benefit them in life by gifting his faithful with boons of mineral wealth from his subterranean underworld. Danyelle also stresses her god’s dual nature to the people of Lathyrus, of how Neophron can be a god of living a full life
before death. Every soul Neophron receives is precious to him, but he is not eager to claim them before their time. The god is more than willing to show generosity and mercy, such as when he rescued Danyelle’s no good lowlife bastard of a father from his injuries, asking only for a
mere trifle in exchange.
Yeah.
The high priest’s other duties involve encouraging Neophron’s
other devotees to continue their worship. Even necromancers need a morale boost sometimes.
Danyelle also occasionally assists in ferrying lost souls sworn to Neophron, helping them find their way to his afterlife by stowing them within her body as she travels. Interacting with souls is a privilege that no other god grants their followers. Mostly, Danyelle is happy for the extended company on the road, even if they
are usually dour Neophron devotees.
Danyelle was far from pleased when she learned that her father had sold her life to the god of death. Four years after her departure however, and four year into her
long tenure as Neophron’s high priest, she’s finding aspects of the work that she enjoys. She doesn’t prefer all of the walking, but she’s glad to be able to see the beauty her world has to offer, from the idyllic farmlands of the human kingdom, to the opulent halls of the dwarven citadels, to even the glimmering seas beyond.
The vast necromantic power is nice, too. Save for the smell.
It wasn’t the life Danyelle would have chosen, but she’s getting used to it. She receives few successes in her attempts at conversion, but it’s difficult to be disappointed when she didn’t decide to become high priest of her own will. Neophron
has noted a rise in followership thanks to Danyelle’s help, though. It is thanks to the elf that death on Lathyrus is looking a little more attractive.
Her Soul Purpose in Life; Or, Hither and Wither; Or, Additional Information
Elves on Lathyrus sprout branching antlers on their heads, and commonly grow slightly taller than other Lathyran races, averaging at about 6 feet. The elves don’t grow their tree-wrought domiciles so high because of a love of nature, but so that they don’t hook their antlers getting through the door! Danyelle falls within the average, standing at six feet tall without accounting for her antlers. But hey, she’s still extremely young for an elf! Maybe in a century or two she’ll graze the branches of her former home.
As Neophron’s high priest, Danyelle carries a relic spade with her on her travels, to channel her magical power and as a symbol for her god’s connection to proper burial practices. Neophronite necromancers are to treat the bodies of the dead with great respect, even when using them as tools. When a ghoul’s services are no longer needed, they are returned to their grave.
Strange though the practice may be, Neophron’s high priests act as missionaries because the god values earning new followers more than anything else. Let the lesser clergy tend to his temples, Danyelle has
real work to do.
Danyelle has taken up the practice of swallowing the souls of those
not pledged to Neophron in order to convert them during their stay within her body. The other deities would consider altering souls in this way a heinous blasphemy, but Neophron veils Danyelle from their sight while the process takes place. The god can’t say he totally approves, but he is quite desperate for new occupancy in his underworld. What’s a stolen soul here and there?
The Hither and Thither Expanded; Or, Drawing Back the Curtain!
The death-priest Danyelle Obrove is the alternate universe analogue of the wasteland bandit Daniel Obrove. She is not his former life, his blood relative, or a close acquaintance. She's the Obrove if Obrove were the reluctant servant of a struggling god of death, while
the outlaw threatens the frontier settlements of Planet Kudzu with destruction by weaponizing the local giant monsters!
Other Obroves can be found on their alt list,
here.
There are more "Danalogues" to come, eventually, so we kindly ask that you...
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