Undertaker

Undertaker is a krewe Archetype of the Bound. Undertakers try to help the living prepare for death, and study how the mythology surrounding death and dying interacts with the Underworld.

Undertakers take their name from their rituals, which foremost include funerary rites. Just as important are rituals that help the living understand and grow comfortable with death, as an inevitable part of the cycle of life. Both these practices are informed by common beliefs about death and dying, the mythology and folklore that is meant to guide us to our final rest. For Undertakers, these myths are not just something to passively record, but to experimentally validate and distribute. They hunt through the Underworld to understand what myth fed the creation of which Deep Dominion, and they use both traditional publishing and alternative media to spread a new gospel that will, gradually, turn the Underworld into a more welcoming place. They aspire to a future where Avernian Gates, while guarded, are kept open, and death is no longer something to fear.

Their facility with media also makes Undertakers the most likely to deal with security breaches. When too much information about ghosts or the Bound gets out, or gets into the wrong hands, Undertakers are generally the ones to step in and suppress it. This is unpleasant and often unsavory work, and can lead to conflict with krewes who believe in more openness about the world of the dead (usually Necropolitans). Still, Undertakers are also likely to have the most thorough contingency plans in place if their existence or the truth of the Underworld should get exposed.

Their research in the Underworld includes comprehensive investigations into the failures of past Sin-Eaters to effect long-term change, and thus some Undertakers feel qualified to dictate policy and doctrine to other krewes. They also, like Mourners, may become distracted from their higher aspirations by more worldly concerns: they are most likely type of krewe to liaise with other supernatural beings, to get their perspectives on death, but this can easily lead to getting dragged into their politics or schemes, where the unique powers of the Bound can become a valuable (and lucrative) asset. Because Undertakers frequently interact with living mortals who know nothing of ghosts or the Underworld, they are well-placed to abuse and manipulate those mortals instead of helping them overcome their fears. Undertakers who spend too much time plumbing the Underworld can also lost touch with the living entirely.

Undertaker krewes know the ceremonies Go With Love (•), Crow Girl Kiss (••), and Death Watch (•••).

References

• GTSE: Geist: The Sin-Eaters Second Edition, p. 47-49