The Patron of Death, Mourning and Preservation, Merripin
Merripin was the first mortal created by Veridandi the Patron of Time. He was the First to walk the mortal plane and were eventually followed by the numerous mortals the God of Life created, acting as a direct mouth piece for the gods will as well as telling their stories, effectively becoming the first prophet. However, because Merripin was the first, he was inherently flawed-as Veridandi didn't include what she refers to as 'an off switch'. Saddened that her creation suffered rot and decomposition while still being alive-becoming ostracized by the same people he once taught and led, Veridandi made him a deity and tasked him as the eternal keeper of the Scroll of Souls. Every being that has a soul ends up on this list and Merripin's job is to make sure that when the date and time next to their name is met, that they are collected and brought to him to be sorted into their afterlife. Because of this need to have a great spanning reach-Merripin employs his Warlocks to act as his Grim Reapers, to go into the world and collect souls of the recently deceased to bring back to him.
Merripin is a decayed skeleton corpse and to hide his hidious visage of a face, he wears a mask sculpted to look like the face he had when he was mortal as well as a human hair wig. Merripin is also the patron of Harvest; as Alma the God of Life is also the god of planting and it believed he walks the mortal plane upon the fall Equinox, bringing death to the land and an icey infertility to the soil. He is a very reclusive deity, almost as unseen as Delor. Many humans depicted Merripin being cold and unfeeling which is opposite of the truth; Merripin cares deeply for humanity-being the only god who was mortal at some point (excusing Zephyr who was a bird.) and despite age taking a massive toll on his body, remembers vividly how difficult it was to BE a mortal with flaws and sins and choices. Merripin understands that the world is not black and white, but various shades of a monochromatic grey. Because of this understanding, Merripin is also the Patron of True Judgement.
Merripin is noted for keeping a green house in his realm, the only speck of color in what is basically his dim dark basement office where he keeps his Warlock's souls separate from the common rabble that must be sorted. He keeps them eternal as they serve him until they formally request release from their contract or if they commit a crime that goes against Merripin's word. Merripin is unbothered by Necromancers and Liches, as in the end, they will all come to him one way or another and depending on if they used their 'extended time' wisely and gratefully, will be getting their reward or punishment.
Merripin is the only Patron who still has a festival, taking place on the cusp of Cybel's month. It is the one day a year Merripin permits the souls of the dead to walk the mortal plane once again to see how things have changed and check in on their loved ones, referred to only as Merripin's Night. Mortals leave out offerings in hopes of appeasing their deceased loved ones and will often hand out the extras to poor children and beggers to ensure everyone has enough to offer the ghosts of their past. It's also become a tradition to wear disguise as the positioning of the festival also aligns with the mating cycles of many monsters as they begin their 'rutting' season and become much more aggressive. It's strongly believed if one dresses as a monster on this night if you must be out, the beasts that walk the earth will not bother you. Merripin is also the one who taught humans how to preserve bodies post mortum-as well as taught them how to dry out their food for storage.....which makes him the Patron of Embalming.....and beef jerky.