Preacher to the Dead

The Preacher to the Dead is the head of the religious order in charge of quieting the restless dead in accordance with the respect they deserve as our ancestors and forebears. This job is much more important since industrialization resulted in a population boom for the living, and consequently the dead.

The Preacher to the Dead is the only individual in the city (along with the Master of the Dead, in extreme cases) allowed to burn dead bodies. It is seen as a last resort. The idea is that the Preacher of the Dead is least likely to approve burning, and so should be the one to make the call. Burning a body is taboo because it means the family soul will wander and never return, which is disrespectful, sad, and may cause later family members to be possessed by the evil smoke spirits of spurned ancestors. Also sometimes we preemptively burn people deemed evil.

Perhaps the most beloved Preacher to the Dead, Ngal El-Kasho, is the originator of the name “dream haunters,” the term for the restless dead used most by those religiously sympathetic to their plight.