Death Watch is a group that commits their lives to the endless task of eradicating undead creatures of all kinds. Many members are worshippers of the Raven. Some simply have a grudge against undead. The reason does not matter, so long as they are dedicated to the cause. The Death Watch are a reclusive bunch. They reside in an ancient temple safely nestled in a canyon beneath the towering peaks of the Titanspine Mountains. While this temple serves as a worship space for the Raven followers, the actual Death Watch headquarters and living space is safely housed in the ancient catacombs underground. Despite its seemingly grim location, Death Watch Temple is a peaceful, and some might say soothing place. Fields of white flowers blanket the canyon floor, traditionally cultivated by Death Watch since the days of its foundation. The Tempest may rage and Surge above, but the volatile storm never seems to disturb them. Death Watch is known for taking regular trips to a place they call Raven’s Rest, ruins of an ancient city where undead spirits have run rampant for thousands of years.
Region: The western peaks of the Titanspine Mountains
Restrictions: None
Distinguishing visual: Members of Death Watch all wear a raven skull as an amulet.
Skills: Lore (Religion), Weaponsmithing, Brewing
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The temple of the Death Watch is split into two sections, the religious domain above ground that is run much like a typical cathedral on its own in the mountains with a commune of followers that work to keep everyone fed and worshipping their god, and below a cavernous structure that houses that militant forces that train for the ultimate goal of removing the undead.
The Soaring Flight temple- A beautiful monolithic structure built in a valley at the base of a mountain, surrounded by a field of white blooming flowers. The convent that tends to Soaring Flight is made up of many varieties of people, most of which have lost someone and have seen the devastation their undying bodies or souls have wrought on their communities.
Soaring Flight is run by Director Viv’ienne Gran’De’Lione, an elderly elven woman covered in black tattoos of feathers.She has spent her centuries raising the orphans that come here, and ensuring the community stays strong enough to further the mission of those below.
Death Watch Convent- The structure in the caverns below the temple, building holy reverence into the stones of the cavern as both functional and reverential. Every stalactite is designed as a flying raven, watching the followers from above. The primary structure is built as a large open field for training, with various barracks and reliquary vaults surrounding them.
The convent is run by Vow Director Cypress Vale, a middle aged half elf man who is never seen without his official robes and a raven mask, with a single eye in its forehead. He trains the warriors in the Death Watch in a variety of methods, all with the focus of completing the vow he and the leaders before him took;
“Life is precious, and Death is complete. To vanquish the world of any path that diverts from the Raven’s plan, is to be destroyed in the absolute. His flight is the one True Path.”
This particular zealotry for the Raven’s Path belief, and disdain for any other form of afterlife, has been known to cause some friction between the Death Watch’s temple and other religious institutions. Many Raven temples simply turn a blind eye to the fervor of the Death Watch. Nature followers, who may believe in reincarnation and circular life cycles, tend to struggle the most to meld into the Watch.
Though the Death Watch is most recognized by the Raven pendant they all adorn, those that have left on mission may keep a design of a Raven skull with a single eye on their person, to differentiate themselves from other Raven churches.
Order of the Watch, and Order of the Path.
Order of the Watch is the section of the Death Watch tasked with missions to find sources of undead. They are often trained to enter communities, and survive alone with the goal of getting back to report their findings. “We are the eyes that seek the blasphemous.”
Order of the Path is the section trained to exterminate the source. Though they are all trained with this in mind, those trained in this order rarely withdraw and fight to the death, be it their own or their target. “We are the wings that cut the blasphemous down.”
