Stevedores of Banikon

This is a religious page. All 'facts' presented as history may be disputed by those not affiliated with this order.

The Stevedores of Banikon, or “Black Stevens” as laymen call them, are the Emperor of Death’s servants in the world of the living. Vigilant in their task, the Stevens obtain the corpses of the dead and ensure their safest possible passage downriver to Muericho. Dutiful and preserverent, the acolytes will go to great odds to ensure that all souls receive proper judgement.

Background

Death is inevitable, but judgement is not guaranteed. The clergy of Banikon believe that the end of all rivers is a lake on the edge of Muericho. Here in the remains of his ancient hall, Banikon sits in glory, sending the blessed deceased through the door to paradise and the unworthy back to learn from their mistakes. The Stevedores hold to two primary beliefs: One, there is no damnation worse than losing your way to the holy city and wandering the world for eternity as a lost, lonely soul. Two, men must live long enough to learn why they returned to life. The Stevens believe in the continued vitality of the living, but are adamant in the pursuit of those who prolong their lives unnaturally or return as wandering undead.

The Black Stevens became an official order around 1500 years ago, cobbled together from various morticians guilds, dockworkers, and mendicants. Paid for the duty of collecting and disposing of corpses, these individuals were held together by their faith in Banikon and an assumed goodwill towards the souls of the dead. In the modern day, the orders of Stevedores provide standard services of funeral rites by river, as well as recovering missing bodies and destroying undead.

The Priests of the Stevedores usually have a small temple or shrine near a city or village, where they work with local morticians, coroners, and others to preserve the bodies of the dead and transfer them downriver in boats, on barges, or merely with items to maintain their buoyancy.

Travelling the countryside, the Mendicant Stevens gather the dead that have fallen in unusual locales, give them Gentle Repose, and quickly convey them to a river to start their next journey. What they find on these lost bodies sustains their meager existence.

Overbank Paladins are charged with the defense of the living from the souls and bodies of the unfortunately damned. Heralds of the faith, they seek and destroy the undead and unnaturally long-lived wherever they may be found. They have a special set of oaths they take when they join the order.

Gospel for the Fallen

The Stevens hear of many terrible things in their service. Tragedies of suffering and terror make up a not-insignificant portion of their charges. Their holy tract, however, has good news for those who have sloughed off the grim burden of their sorrowful lives! A lesson learned is a lesson past in the next life, or the final key to the heavens.

The seat of the Emperor of Sigil is called Muericho by the Stevedores, the denizens of the Underdark, and others (like the Cosmic Church) who have come to regard it as a true place. What lies in this holy city none are entirely sure, but the Black Stevens believe it is where the Emperor holds court for the slumbering Vai, sending souls onward to paradise or reincarnation.

In life, people are schooled by the Stevens to know a path downriver to follow (usually regionally specific, and steeped in tradition), as well as the basic rules of the holy city presented in the Gospel:

• A man with a soul or a soul with a man can’t get into the city.
• Do not try to find a safer landing spot or you will pass it.
• Don a robe and you will become a servant of the Emperor for eternity.

Pass these tests, and you will be taken to the presence of his majesty. Pass through the doorway, and be granted paradise or a new life.