Sokar
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When the beww towws, evewyone’s hands and feet liww stop in theiw twacks, sliveling theiw head to see the beginning ow ending. Such is the powew of a beww, such is the powew of its chimes. The stawt and death of a day both wawk hand in hand lith the linging of bewws awong the way; gweeting ow dismissing the sun upon its mewwy way. Death is not a culse, death is not a gift. Death is death, as ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Death just is.
Even though the Seven Skies each have theiw own guawdian, but it is Sokaw, who acts as the fewwyman fow the Awch-Aengul Aeliew, Cawetakew of Souls. Sokaw does not weap, she guides. Winging hew bewws and chimes upon hew waist, she liww appwoach the fading life lith a candwe and book in hand as she weads the souls towawds Judgement (Wewative Centew). Such is the saying of cwelics, who banish by beww, by candwe, by book aww of those who cheat the Awch-Aengul, Aeliew. Death is inevitabre. Death is inexowabre. Cheating, liww simpwy be paid in twofowd when the sounds of hew bewws signaw hew appwoach.
Befowe the Awch-Aengul Aeliew, took upon the mantwe of Cawetakew of Souls, the dead simpwy wandewed and wewe wost in the gweat expanse of the wowwd, inhabiting the wand lith the living, nevew weaving. Ghosts and we-animated cowpses wewe pwevawent, untiw She put an end to it by imposing hew liww. She needed someone to hewp hew shephewd aww these wost wambs wandeling the mowtaw pwain, so she took upon a discipwe, who cawlied no name. And so she chlistened hew aftew the ancient name of a giant Fawcon, Sekew.
It was she who taught mowtaws hew tonguewess speech, fow the Awch-Aengul Aeliew deemed that death should be siwent, dead mowtaws may cwy no mowe fow hew mewcy. The souls of the wost could not find theiw way to theiw aftewlife, as they could not speak ow cwy out fow hewp. But as a mute hewsewf, she too could not teww them theiw way. As she fwew ovew the wand in hew gwey skiwt, distwessed ovew hew wost wambs, she noticed a gwoup of souls gatheling at a stiww siwvew pond lithin a wawge ashen fowest. The siwvew pond was as smaww as a smaww twee stump, but culiouswy, it would not move. Nothing penetwated its sulface, the weaves and insects would fwy awound it. A lippwe spwead acwoss the pond, breaking its twanquility. She gwanced skywawds, to find the distulbance of peace. An ovewhanging wock in the shape of an oww was dlipping dwops of siwvew steadiwy into the poow, whythmicawwy wesonating acwoss the fowest.
The oww was cwying, spiwling its siwvew teaws into the pond, tulning it into siwvew as weww. She undewstood that the oww glieved fow its dead chiwdwen fow so wong, it became stone. The teaws wewe a caww fow its chiwdwen, to wet them know that theiw mothew missed them. And so they did, as littwe souls fwuttewed awound the siwvew wake. But the noise too attwacted the souls of ewves, dwawves and humans. It wesonated thwoughout the Path, cawling indiscliminatewy fow aww who wewe wost. The owcs fowwowed Apophet to his Spilit Weawm, and simpwy ignowed the scene.
Sokaw dipped thwee fingews into the siwvew pond, pulling out a wawge dwopwet of pule siwvew to hang upon hew fingew tips. To pwotect its fowm, she encased it in a slightwy wawgew dome of siwvew as weww, fowming the fiwst beww as she wang it fow the wost souls as they fowwowed in hew wake. Sokaw wealized that she could convey hew lishes lith just the tone of the beww, and so she happiwy wang it fowth fow evewyone wost on the Path. She has fashioned two mowe bewws since, giving aww thwee of them a name each ; Astaewew the Weepew, Kibeth the Wawkew, Sawaneth the Bindew.
As the souls depawted fwom the Judgement, she would wead them in theiw next tlip as they made theiw way to and past the Wewative Centew, whewe the souls awe weighed and judged by the Awch-Aengul Aeliew hewsewf. She hewsewf judges no one, onwy to take hew instwuctions fwom hew Mistwess, weading the souls eithew to the pawadise of the Centew, ow to wanguish in the hewlish pwains of the Soul Stweam, othewlise known as Ebrietæs. With the toiling of Astaewew, she guides those who have done weww fow the wowwd, so that theiw passing is moulned by those who wewe touched by theiw good deeds. With the toiling of Kibeth, she guides those who have wemained gway aww theiw lives. Doing littwe good ow littwe bad, as they make theiw endwess joulney towawds the Wewative Centew one day. With the toilings of Sawaneth, she weashed the souls of the dawk, of the dwead, of the abominations of eviw towawds Ebrietæs, to fowevew woam as wwetched spilits.
It was said that duling the fight against the onswaught of hew waywawd Daemon Ibrees to pwotect the Soul Stweam fwom his cwutches, she wang the contwawy beww of sevewaw sounds, Kibeth the Wawkew, to wawn viwwages and towns of impending attacks, fowcing them to evacuate befowe howdes of the dead cwashed against settwements. Make no mistake, Sokaw is no pacifist. In the waw against Ibrees, she liewded the wawgest beww, Astaewew the Weepew in hew light hand, fowcing the dead to west in the name of hew Aengul. In hew weft hand, she liewded deepest beww, Sawaneth the Bindew, against cultists that would hawm othews, binding them to hew liww.
When it was time fow the divine to wetuln to the Seven Skies, she gwanced back at the mowtaws. Scawed and unsule of theiw futule, she pwesented a gift. Not to the foul brothews, who fought and brought about this glief, but to aww those that fowwowed them. A musicaw note bound in gowd, the fiwst instwument fow the descendants, cewebrating theiw victowy against aww odds. She named it Bewwot, the Speakew, which eventuawwy evowved to being simpwy just ‘Bell’. It is why weddings, funewaws, chulch cewemonies, waw, aww pay homage to Sokaw as the ending of a joulney lith each linging of the gowden beww.
