Myrkul

Title(s): Lord of Bones, Lord of the Dead, Old Lord Skull, The Reaper
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Autumn, Corruption, The Dead (Formerly), Decay, Dusk, Exhaustion, Old Age, Parasites, Wasting
Favored Weapon: Scythe

Myrkul, also known as the Lord of Bones, was one of the Dead Three and the god of the dead, as opposed to the god of death, which was the province of Bhaal. His portfolio of The Dead and his home, the Bone Castle, were both usurped by Cyric after the Lord of Bones was destroyed atop Blackstaff Tower in Waterdeep during the Time of Troubles by Midnight. Later Myrkul's portfolio of The Dead passed to Kelemvor when Cyric was driven from the City of Strife by an alliance of deities and denizens.

Myrkul had a cold, malignant intelligence, and spoke in a high whisper. He was always alert, never slept, and was never suprised. He was never known to lose his temper or be anything other than coldly amused when a mortal succeeded in avoiding his directives or chosen fates. His influence in Faerûn was imposed through fear and he was a master of making mortals terrified of him through his words and deeds. At times, just to remain unpredictable, he seemed almost kind and caring.

His cowled skull head was known in nightmares all over Faerûn and he was the one deity that almost all human mortals could picture clearly. Myrkul took care that all mortals thought of him often - he was even known to materialize beside open graves, scythe in hand, just to gaze around at gathering mourners for a few silent seconds before fading away in order to remind everyone that he was waiting for them all.

Although Myrkul was slain by Midnight during the Time of Troubles, his power was not entirely destroyed, coming to rest at least in part in a powerful artifact called The Crown Of Horns. The Crown of Horns has since the Time of Troubles continued to corrupt mortals and spread the influence of Myrkul throughout the Realms, keeping the dead god from slipping out of existence.

Worshipers

Initiates to the faith first heard the word of Myrkul through a speak with dead spell cast on a temple's most revered deceased former high priest. Such spells allowed all within hearing range to comprehend the corpse's words.

The clergy of Myrkul were charged to make folk fear and respect death and the power of the almighty Myrkul so that no one stood against the church or tried to thwart its activities. Myrkul's priests were expected to spread the word that touching a priest of Myrkul brings death. They were expected to tell all folk that those in the service of Myrkul had perfect patience and could be trusted utterly - then conduct themselves accordingly.

Myrkulyte clergy were to teach the stories of past and future doombringers - mortals who roamed the land avenging dead friends, masters, and blood kin to whom they had sworn oaths, and slaying those who scoffed or who held other gods supreme over the Lord of Bones.

Recent rumors and sightings have reported followers of Myrkul in the areas surrounding Sundren, with several murders being attributed directly to them. This resurgence in worshipers following Myrkul has alarmed many of the organizations pledged to defending the city and it's people, leaving citizens wary of leaving their homes at night.

With the growing presence of Myrkul's devotees, now known to be working with the Black Hand, Cyrcists and Kelemvorites alike are growing wary of the return of the dead god's servants and the potential for his rebirth.

This article uses material from the "Myrkul" article on the Forgotten Realms wiki at Wikia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.