The reaper of souls, the grim reaper, the flutist, and the servant of the afterlife—Ashus is the god of death. Different cultures have their own legends and names for him, such as Raasha and Anputhys. He serves as a part of the trio of death alongside Theratis and Aethys. Ashus is the personification of death, and leads all souls through the fugue plane to meet Theratis and receive judgment. He is the son of Elder Dobuna alongside his sister Alphus, and is said to be the father of Magmus and Omegus via a union with the primordial Azydos itself.
Not much is known about the silent deity, partly because most mortals try not to invoke his name out of a primal fear of death. In folklore, he was given his flute by the personification of Void. He spends the rest of time learning how to play the flute without a mouth, and while some myths claim that he plays the flute beautifully, others claim that he is actually quite bad at it but tries endlessly. That being said, the sound of his flute is the only music that the dead hear before they are herded into the afterlives.
It is common procedure in Abmarah to paint the dead with colorful patterns before burial or cremation, so that they fit in with Ashus and give the gray fugue plane some much needed color.
Followers
While most worship Theratis, Ashus does have a few followers and cults surrounding him especially in Eqos, such as the Temple Town of Oxrock. He is venerated alongside her on the festival of Ashrest.
Ashus has the ability to rarely grant 'positive-undeath' to some of his followers, which lets them keep 'living' a positive non-evil undeath as long as they or Ashus desire it to be. The only known person with this blessing in the modern day is Monk Kazeshi of Shidono Temple, a worshiper of the Long-Death.
Gallery
Ashus Portrait (Credit: Aaron)
