Dhoutr¶
God of death, constructed by Bhreia's Brother from his own body. Ruler of the Internal Plane of Darkness.
Pronunciation: dow-ter
Plane of Existence: Internal Plane of Darkness
Domains: Death, corruption, disease, anxiety.
Created in a fit of jealous anger by Bhreia's nameless brother (see Timeline), Dhoutr slithered as a shapeless dark mass from the skies and settled deep within Bhreia, where he has corrupted the souls of every living person since. Upon the death of a creature, their spirits are sent to his domain and doomed to roam there forever. Their eternal suffering feeds Dhoutr, who in turn remains powerful enough to continue his corrupting influence. Despite the negative connotation that he brings, some say that his arrival is what brought great balance to the world. Still, others say the world would be a better place without death.
DM: Supplemental Facts
The plane that Dhoutr rules is a sort of inferno, with the most egregious crimes being punished internally while the outer layers are more like a purgatory. The living don't know the details of this plane since it can only be visited by those truly dead.
TODO: This needs work.
Hidden Children:
Worship¶
Dhoutr has many followers across Bhreia who congregate in temples commonly found in large population centers. There are two main distinguishing features of these temples: first, they are constructed from oily black stone, simply enough named Black Stone, and secondly, they host at least two tall pillars per temple on the temple grounds.
These fifty-foot pillars are the final destinations for the most devout followers of Dhoutr, the Santekka, or Stylites in the common tongue. The Stylites ascend these pillars and remain seated atop them until they die from starvation.
Occasionally, elemental forces remove Stylites from their pillars., When this happens, they must beg to be re-seated by other followers if they can no longer physically ascend. Stylites must survive for at least two days to fulfill their holy duty or be doomed to wander the infinite fields outside Dhoutr's inner sanctuary, forever looking for a way inside.
Fun fact: If lightning strikes a Stylite and kills them, this death is seen as most unfavorable. Dhoutr, or so the followers claim, requires suffering since life is suffering. A lack of suffering in this life means eternal suffering in the afterlife.
Etymology (Meta)¶
From Proto-Germanic root dauþuz, meaning to die.