actually here’s a question for you bc i was thinking abt the chevra kadisha which is a normal thing to think about immediately upon waking up — dwarves in orzammar seem to practice some form of entombment (? i could be wrong i don’t think we’re ever shown on screen) and andrastians obviously favor cremation, what do you imagine to be the practice of families like varric’s? what are their traditions regarding care for the dead or dying, do they have any specific mourning practices?
You know, we do put a lot of focus on death, around death, and what should be done during and directly after death.
I wrote what some called a ghost story, about how his family was interned on the surface side.
In Orzammar, it is called returning to the Stone for lack of better terms, and they've split the narrative on whether it's entombment into a physical stone, much like a crypt or surfaces if they are not of another faith have been implied to be buried.
Due to his banishment, Bartrand did not allow Andvar to be buried inside Kirkwall. Ilsa is interned alone, and Bartrand, due to his Red Lyrium corruption, had to be cremated. What was left of his bones ended up under watch - there was the minor implication that if Bartrand survies, Bianca has the shard to study it to help Bartrand, which makes Well, Shit hurt worse.
The Tethras Clan follows Orthodox mourning practices—the body must have someone with it until buried, there is help, and the family focuses on the funeral. The body must go into the ground quickly and be dressed simply. Mirrors are covered, clothes are ripped, and hair is not cut. The first thirty days are all mourning, and there is no headstone for a year. Ilsa is the only one with a headstone.
Sidri / @martyrmarked reminds him that lighting the Yahrzeit, remembrance candle on the anniversary of death, is important, as is remembering and passing things on, pulling things down, and not letting them rot.
He's not highly religious, but tradition also has value; he balances it with the present and the past or else one gets lost.
