Sorar, the Gateholder

In the northern Lake of Ghosts lies an old castle, as sprawling with apparitions as the surrounding water. This is Shiras’ pathway to Ober, and also the gate to the Otherworld, to which all souls are bound to travel. The creator of this gateway, and one of the lords of the Otherworld, is Sorar, who is also on the side, the primary goal of worship in the Six Baronies, as well as a general god of death in all of Shiras. He is described by his prophets as a humanoid collection of dead (but not rotten) meat, sewn together with a multitude of eyes and with a mask as his face. From his back and limbs, a number of appendages sprout, which are used to grab hold of the ethereal essences of the dead and send them to the Otherworld, which is rumoured to surround Ober.

Worship
Sorar is worshipped by many cults and individuals, though only the ‘true’ Cult of Sorar practices the many macabre rituals to keep the ethereal essence flowing and the passage to the Otherworld open. The leaders of this cult, called the Gate Prophets, are recognized by two pairs of extra eyes; one pair above the normal eyes to see the gate to the Otherworld, and one pair beneath to see the souls that must pass. The cult resides in the castle on the Haunted Island, and has many places of worships throughout the Six Baronies, though the Gate Prophets are almost entirely within the boundaries of the Lake of Ghosts.

Heroes
Sorar’s most famed Heroes are three Gate Prophets, who go only by the names The Cleanser, The Guide and The Embracer. All have the shape of six eyes floating inside the hood of a ragged robe, whose feet and hands are entirely visible, and akin to those of a poor, old man. The major difference of these three is the colour of the robe and the specific Prophet. The robe of The Cleanser is a blood-stained dark grey, and he is tasked with the seeking of those souls who are tainted by evil in their essence and so must be, well, cleansed. The robe of The Guide is a shining white robe with stitches and dirt stains by the feet, as he is tasked with finding those souls who had been especially charitable and hard-working, or perhaps kind and honourable, and to guide them to a special hall of those favoured by the gods. The last, brown and featureless robe is recognised as The Embracer. This last Prophet’s job is to take the rest of the souls to Sorar’s embrace, so that they may pass over to the Otherworld.

Sorar’s fourth and less known Hero is Mor’tim, the only half-breed Troll/Goblin in all of Ardalor. A more or less man-sized, bluish-green Goblin with an abnormally long nose and large tusks, he wanders the Eastern Goblin Jungle as a preacher of Sorar, and is the one who introduced the Voodoo to the Trolls, so that they could withstand the Goblins’ numbers in accordance to an old debt between Sorar and Saidera.