[than-uh-poh-lee]
Basic Information
- Name: Thanapoli
- Domain: Passage to the Afterlife
- Title: The Gatekeeper, The Soul Guide
- Alignment: True Neutral
- Symbol: An open gate with a rising sun behind it
- Primary Worship Area: Graveyards,
Physical Description
- Appearance:
Thanapoli is depicted as a tall, robed figure shrouded in twilight hues. His face is always veiled, obscured in shadow save for two faint lights where eyes might be. His cloak trails into mist, fading away behind him.
- Height: Unknown
- Weight: Unknown
- Distinguishing Features:
Personality
- Traits: Solemn, meticulous, and fair.
- Strengths: Possesses the divine power to shepherd souls between the realms of the living and the dead without prejudice, ensuring all are treated equally in death.
- Weaknesses: His deep commitment to balance and order makes him emotionally detached, sometimes perceived as cold or indifferent to individual tragedies or the emotional complexities of mortal lives.
- Goals and Motivations: His primary divine duty is to uphold the integrity of the afterlife’s laws and order. He seeks to maintain the balance between life and death, ensuring that the transition for each soul is seamless and just, without interference from external forces or biases. His isolation from the living serves to preserve the impartiality necessary for his role, though it also distances him from the changing tides of the mortal world.
Relationships
Family:
- Bastem: Some legends claim he is the child of Bastem, the lost God of Death, but details are scant.
Rivals/Enemies:
- Unknown
Attitude towards Mortals: Thanapoli does not speak to mortals unless their time has come. He shows no malice, only duty. For the dying, he is a silent companion. For the living, he is a presence best uninvited. Though feared, his guidance is always gentle, and his justice absolute.
Mythology and Worship
- Creation Myth:
In the veiled chapters of Staterum’s mythology, where the whispers of the living dare not tread too loudly, resides the mysterious origins of Thanapoli, he who watches over the dead and shepherds souls to the afterlife. Shrouded in secrecy and spoken of only by fools who think themselves above death, the story of Thanapoli’s birth is a tapestry woven with the threads of the unknown and the unquestioned.
It is said that Thanapoli emerged from the shadow of Bastem, the ancient God of Death. Unlike other gods whose creations were celebrated with fanfare and the joyous accolades of mortals and deities alike, Thanapoli’s advent was marked by a profound silence, a quiet so deep it echoed through the realms of the living and the dead.
Legend holds that as the mortal numbers grew, Bastem was unable to maintain their role as reaper of lives, and ferryman to the the after life. To Statera they pleaded their case, and in her benevolence, Statera gifted them a disciple, Thanapoli. Thanapoli ensured that the transition from the mortal coil was neither chaotic nor cruel but a passage guided by care and respect. His role was not to hasten death but to provide sanctuary and passage once life had relinquished its hold. Despite his critical role however, few dare speak his name, least they draw his unwanted attention to their household.
- Major Cults and Religious Practices: Thanapoli has no grand temples. His worship is quiet, often private. His followers, tend graveyards, maintain funerary rites, and recite the Lament of Passage for the dying.
- Festivals:
- Funeral Rites: While not considered a festival, nearly all funerals—regardless of region or belief—include silent prayers and offerings to Thanapoli. Family and friends seek his guidance to ensure the soul of the departed finds safe and untroubled passage to the afterlife.
- Clergy and Temples: Thanapoli’s clergy are few and cloaked, often mistaken for mourners themselves. His temples are graveyards and mausoleums—places meant to endure. No prayers are spoken aloud. Inscriptions carved in stone and offerings are the only rites.
Significant Historical Impact
- Major Plot Points in World History: Unknown
- Artifacts: Unknown
Quotes
“To live is to walk toward me. I do not hurry. I do not wait.”
Cultural Reverence
Thanapoli transcends the myriad cultures of Staterum. His name may not be spoken in daily life, and few erect grand monuments in his honor, yet across kingdoms, tribes, and faiths, one truth remains constant: death is his domain.
Regardless of belief, there is sanctity in funeral rites. Whether in grand tombs or humble graves, rites invoking Thanapoli—silently or symbolically—are observed by all. His presence is not celebrated, but acknowledged with solemnity and care. No one seeks his attention in life, yet all respect his role at the end.