History of the Reaper

Myrkul is believed by scholars of our ancient history to be a mortal princeling known as Myrkul Bey Al’Kursi from the far off land of Murghom, whose name is documented in the annals of history of Jhaamdath, Netheril, and Raurin (all of which suffered terrible calamities), and whose name means Myrkul Lord of the Kursi People.

Myrkul dabbled in the mystic arts and more specifically necromantic arts, drawing knowledge and power from the ruins of ancient Imaskar before becoming embroiled in events that led to the downfall of many kingdoms in Raurin. He then travelled far and wide to great empires of magical lore such as Netheril and Jhaamdath, again becoming involved in events that would lead to the destruction of both.

Death walks behind each of us, every day. Nay, don't look back nor try to run—none can outrun his fate, though many try strange and elaborate ways of doing so. Death is patient and comes for you when he's ready—oft when you least expect him and least want him. It's the way of Death.

Oren Bel Danarr, Sage of Triel, Musings on the Realms

When the Rashemen city of Mulsantir was ravaged by a plague known as the Black Whisper, only two faithful priests of Myrkul, were willing and able to tend Rashemi that died within the streets. He, along with his brother Araman, were offered as a "sacrifice" and they were given the names "Akachi" and "Eveshi". Akachi became a favored priest, seemingly immune to poison and disease.

As such Myrkul allowed the other priests hiding in the temple to be stricken with the plague and die. Akachi was anointed as High Priest, and continued to spread the teachings of the Lord of Bones and acted as Myrkul's hand of justice. For his service as his Chosen, Myrkul took the Silver Sword of Gith from the Nine Hells and gifted it to his high priest.

Faithful of the Kalahb: The Faithful of the Kalahb was the first of Myrkul’s apostles, established around -500 DR after Myrkul became Bey (head) of the Al’Kursi tribe of Murghom. Myrkul formed a close council of his favoured kin known as a Rak’Sha (honour guard), and together they plundered the Imaskari ruins of Raurin to the south, growing mighty in magic and power.

After the jealous rulers of Mulhorand discovered the power of Myrkul, the Faithful of the Kalahb were exiled from Mulhorandi controlled territory, and those that they caught were cursed into a bestial form – such is the unjust savagery inflicted upon our faith.

The Faithful of Bones: Myrkul and the Dark Three ventured into the lands of Jhaamdath around -360 DR, spreading chaos and unrest in their wake. Myrkul established another following, known as the Faithful of Bones for the bone covered robes he wore and his chosen moniker (the Lord of Bones).

The Faithful of Bones became very active in the final years of Jhaamdath, experimenting with various means of undeath using the vast supplies of corpses made available by years of warfare. The tsunami that destroyed Jhaamdath spread the Faithful of Bones south along one of the well used trade routes to Calimshan, where it found a home in the city of Tulmon. This is also where Skullspire was erected, our first temple.

The Faithful of Bones spread out of Tulmon to Calimshan and back into the Vilhon Reach when it was resettled. Much of the power of the modern Church of the Bone Lord comes from the Faithful of Bones.

As in Murghom and Jhaamdath, when Myrkul made his way to Netheril he established a following to worship himself in preparation for his ascension to godhood. This following was focused mostly upon the eastern lands of Netheril and found particular favor among the aspiring arcanists that could not hope to join the ranks of the Archwizards (without considerable luck and outside assistance), but were as reviled as their superiors by the common folk of Low Netheril.

Independent arcanists fled the fall of Netheril by magical means and more than a few were able to reach the Savage North. The followers maintained contact with one another and setup a network of towers and wizard’s holds that became foci for Netherese refugees and places for the Faithful of Skulls to re-establish.

The refugees of Low Netheril abandoned their traditional gods out of spite for the evils they suffered, and instead a wave of new religions arose out of the merging of local beliefs with migrant worship. Jergal was one of the gods abandoned because of his indifference to the plight of the Netherese, and instead people turned to the worship of Myrkul the Skull Lord offered by the Faithful of Skulls.

Myrkul traveled as a powerful adventuring necromancer, traveling with Bane and Bhaal his mortal years during the Shadowed Age of ancient Netheril, each dedicated to a quest to attain divinity for themselves.

The trio scoured the Realms for power and information to get closer to godhood, and slayed one of the Seven Lost Gods in the Year of Sycophants, −357 DR. That year they led a coalition of forces drawn from the Moonsea North, and slew Maram of the Great Spear at the Monument of the Ancients in the Frozen Forest.

They embarked into the Gray Waste, and after slaying legions of undead, stood before the Lord of the End of Everything - Jergal.

So Myrkul ascended, or rather descended, as the Lord of the Dead, ruler of the underworld. While he would never have the predominant worship that Bane, or Bhaal, had in Faerûn he became a symbol of fear that every mortal would recognize and remember that had successfully out maneuvered the Tyrant Lord Bane.

While Myrkul Bey al-Kursi, Crown Prince of Murghôm, himself ascended to godhood from a mortal life eons ago, his divinity was first encountered by his future initiates when a ‘Speak with Dead’ spell was cast upon the head priest of an Ancient Temple of another deity. The Lord of the Dead conveyed the truth of his Holy Dogma through the vessel of that body.

In the Year of the Fanged Gauntlet, 202 DR, Eltabranar began a series of retaliatory raids, skirmishes and campaigns against Mulhorand and Unther that would come to be known as the War of Claws. These ended in the Year of the Avarice, 204 DR, when Mulhorand defeated Eltabranar. But Mulhorand and Unther invaded the Council Hills in the Year of Spoiled Splendors, 211 DR, and the Arkaiun army held them off at Cullrin Fields so their fellow Arkauins had time to abandon their lands and flee their city for sagety. The Faithful of Kalahb went south, settling the land that came to be Dambrath and Estagund.

The Faithful of the Kalahb apostles still survive today in the Knights of the Undying Dragon that operate out of the ruins of Castle Al’Hanar, these honored dead are locked in an eternal battle with the dracolich, with each reforming to continue the fight after a defeat. Every rising, closer to ending the ancient enemy.

1021DR, When the Cult of the Skull was ended and replaced by the Church of the Bone Lord, Cyruk became just another name of Myrkul. In the aftermath of the destruction of the Cult of Skulls, the Cult of Bones expanded north to fill the void, absorbing the surviving worshippers of Myrkul (and a few remaining lichlords that retreated into hiding), they were brought into the fold of the new Church of the Bone Lord, ruled from the Conclave of Doom that convenes in the Skullspire in the city of Tulmon.

Myrkul would again ally himself with Bane and the two conspired to take the Tablets of Fate from the overgod Ao. While Bane wished for ever increasing power, Myrkul wished only to understand the dead, and death, better through Fate. In response, Ao banished all of the gods from their respective Realms, forced to live on Toril in mortal forms that held a mere fraction of their divine power.

Sometime in the first half of the year 1358 DR, the gods appeared in the Realm of Faerûn as vulnerable as they would be with their divinity stripped. Our Lord of the Dead was powerful in his own right, unlike other gods that had power bestowed upon them. They had never earned that power through studious experience. While it was unclear where Myrkul first turned up, at one point he traveled alone to the Goldenfields, a temple dedicated to the Earthmother Chauntea, where he fought the High Priest Tolgar Anuvien and his temple forces. Myrkul did not destroy the temple outright, but he left Anuvien dying on the ground after the battle.

On Eleasis 13, Myrkul assisted Bane with their continued pursuit of the Tablets of Fate. Our Temples created and casted a mass-scale death spell that, by use of their true names, killed all the assassins throughout Faerûn. These souls were consumed by Bane and his worshipers. They failed in an ultimately futile attempt for the Tyrant Lord to assault the Temple of Torm's Coming, in the city of Tantras, where one of the tablets rested under guard.

Myrkul learned of the location of the other Tablet of Fate and our faithful recovered it to his realm, the Great Waste. Remaining in his realm with the Tablet, Myrkul sent his honored Night Riders to intercept the mortal named Midnight at High Horn, as he knew her to be in possession of the other divine artifact.

After Midnight and her companions arrived at Waterdeep, Myrkul followed from Hades through the Pool of Loss beneath the Yawning Portal Inn. He rode through the city with a horde of undead and fiends, finding Midnight, her allies and the remaining Tablet of Fate taking refuge in Blackstaff Tower. He briefly reunited the two divine slabs and ascended the spire towards the Celestial Stairway. Our Skull Lord is the only god to have ever glimpsed what lies inside the Tablets of Fate.

A magnificent battle ensued in the skies above Waterdeep, and when the Lord of Bones was battling legions on his ascent, he was disintegrated by the newly Ascended Mystra, (Midnight was Mystra's Chosen) with the Spellweave. The mortal avatar of Myrkul was destroyed in an eruption of plague and death. Some of the dust from this explosion drifted far to the north and came to rest in the Mere of Dead Men southeast of Neverwinter, causing outbreaks of undead from ancient battles in the area. Some went to the Sea of Swords.

“That which was dead could not truly die.” – a phrase in reference to Myrkul’s death.

After the Second Sundering Myrkul has restored himself as the Reaper, now the god of death who brings the souls he claims to Kelemvor, the god of the dead. Kelemvor then judges the fate of the souls. Every human cemetery or mausoleum is engraved with Myrkul's holy symbol.

The Faithful have been scattered for far too long, it is time to reclaim our temples, relics and power disciple...