> *“All I see, all I know, all I find.” -inscription from the Grand Necropolis, attributed to a lost text of Nessa.* Occupying a place of mixed dread and reverence, most consider Nessa to be a necessary evil and constant in the universe, given her domains. Represented both as the somberness of grief and agony of the inevitable end, it is little wonder that people speak of the goddess in hushed tones and pay her tribute mostly to avoid her attention. She occupies a special place among the [[Orcs]]’ traditions, as she is seen as their patron deity and creator, the source of the chants that power [[Elementalism]]. Nessa’s power is known in every corner of the East and everyone gives her the proper due, for fear that she might visit them sooner rather than later. ### Titles and Honorifics Nessa wears many names across the east, some more charitable than others. The orcs refer to her as the Eternal Watcher, but her other appellations include Lady Death (most commonly), the Pale Rider, the Queen of Night, the Sword of Execution, the Ravager, the Mournful Reaper, and the Mother of Misery. It is often a custom in human lands to avoid using her name directly. ### Symbols and Favored Weapon Skulls and skeletons are inevitably part of Nessa’s iconography in most circles, but her symbol among the orcs is generally a red eye on a field of black. Humans usually depict her as a dark-haired woman with pale skin, holding a scythe or a deck of fortune-telling cards. The [[Elves]] represent Nessa as a woman covered in eyes, wielding a sword they call “the Merciful One”. Her weapon, if it can be called that, is more commonly known to be a scythe. ### Domains and Powers Above all other things, Nessa is the goddess and personification of death itself. In this role, she comes to everyone in their own time, sometimes gentle and merciful and at other times vicious and unjust. Seen as the utterly impartial judge who metes out the length of every individual’s lifespan, it is little wonder that she is spoken of with such reverence and terror. Her other chief domain is knowledge: Nessa is the guardian of life beyond life and keeper of secrets, so it is not uncommon to see her iconography in the form of her all-seeing eye graven on the doors to scholarly repositories. She is also seen as a force of order (alongside [[Tek]] in [[Creation]], in contrast to the endless chaos of life represented by [[Aimti]] and [[Mode]]). Interestingly, despite being the creator of the Orcs, Nessa is seldom perceived or depicted as a war god, instead the unfeeling Reaper who comes to those slain in battle and those who die in other ways alike. Nessa oversees the passage from one world into the next, judges the contents of the soul, and ushers them on—if myth is to be believed. It is said that the fundamental laws of the universe, including [[The Seals of Magic]] (see [[Magic]]) were inked into being by Nessa. This is hotly debated in certain magical circles, however, as so little is known about the scope of the power of the gods that some say not even divinities are able to break the Seals. That said, Nessa retains her position as the immortal lawgiver in most Eastern religious traditions. ### Manifestations and Personality Nessa’s nature, like the very Death she represents and rules, is mired in secrets. Perhaps because of the nature of the dread most view her with, very little has survived [[The Revealing]] and [[Godfall]] about the goddess’s personality itself. Her characteristics are much more supposition and extrapolation based on the religious orders that survive, with everyone adding their own opinions about the nature of the Eternal Watcher. Myth portrays Nessa as serious to the point of joylessness, a solemn and secretive goddess who seldom makes use of her voice when her presence is enough. Some attribute to her kindness, particularly the elves and orcs, but most paint her with a far more indifferent brush. Often she is matter-of-fact in her descriptions: one cannot negotiate or appease or bargain with Lady Death, only answer to their appointed end and justify their actions taken in life. Her knowledge and wisdom is seen as omniscient, and she is a goddess that deals only in truths, concealed by mystery as they may be. It is rumored that she chose an avatar, [[Sorne Fire-Heart]], several years prior to [[The Great War]], and ascended to a restored full power at the moment of Sorne’s disappearance in 1008 RY. This is conjecture for the most part, but her clergy certainly believe it to be true and state that the goddess is much more present and active in the world again, though her hand is so subtle that few notice it. ### Worshipers While almost everyone in the East pays Lady Death her due in their own way, very few devote themselves entirely to the Goddess of Death. Even in Orcish society, she sits among the Eastern pantheon as one god among several, and is hardly a chief deity. Most people would rather ward her off than worship her, but there are several notable holy and knightly orders who consider her their patron. Clerics of Nessa can be found tending to libraries and necropolises alike, guarding the tombs of scholars and mages alongside kings and emperors. [[The Sacred Grey]] are an order of religious knights in [[The Kingdom of Talin]] who guard [[The Grand Necropolis]] in the capital [[Étain]] and consider Nessa their liege. Additionally, [[The Knights Penitent]] in the East consider her their patron goddess as well, wearing a weeping modified version of her all-seeing eye as their heraldry. Notably, there have been several necromantic cults and guilds of assassins that claim to honor the goddess as well, including the more vicious members of [[The Hushed]] in [[The High Kingdom of Leus]]. Nessa has a complicated relationship with undead, as some of her followers will seek out and destroy the creatures as perversions of nature and others actively create them. Perhaps most interesting is her relationship with the elven Court of Autumn, where she is honored alongside Aimti—a position no other god can claim. ### Dogma and Anathema As the Eternal Watcher judging the departed, Nessa requests the sanctity of the dead be respected. She is also an inherently lawful figure, though her conception of justice is broader reaching than that of a king or emperor: Nessa is the great equalizer who brings all to their final accounting. She is said to frown on those who desecrate burial sites and most sects that follow her will assert that she has a special hatred for undead and necromancers. Nessa is a presence of humility with a great distaste for arrogance and pretension, and hates both deception and the violation of oaths. Thus, any agreement sworn in the presence of Lady Death is said to take on a special significance. ### Enemies In the days of her avatar after the Great War, it is rumored that Nessa and [[Sol]] essentially came to blows in opposition, but that was not necessarily reflected among their followers. Nessa also remains an open opponent of [[Void]] and its [[Demons]], though her followers do not typically go out of their way to hunt down such foes the way Aimti’s servants do. Many an aggrieved loved one has also cursed her name, and some necromancers seek to usurp her power over the dead for their own gain. However, like always, it is Lady Death who inevitably has the final say.