Death & Burial

As a warrior people, Khanshael often die. They fall in battle, get killed defending their territory or that of the Dhe'nar, or they die of old age. When a dark dwarf dies, his clan is saddened. A day of mourning is held, in honor of those who have fallen.

On this day, all work ceases. A great procession, carrying biers on which the corpses are carried, makes its way through the community. Khanshael warriors line the path to the tombs, and clash their weapons on their shields. A great, dirge-like chant, remembering the deeds of the fallen, echoes in the caverns.

The fallen Khanshael is then laid to rest. He is adorned in ceremonial garb, often with his weapon of choice at his side or in his hands. His armor and other effects are passed on to either his eldest child or his wife, if he has no children. His tomb is then sealed, and carved with sigils and runes to insure its sanctity.

The Khanshael never burn their dead. That is a fate they save for their enemies. Great funeral pyres burn on the site of a Khanshael battle, sending flames high into the sky, cremating the remains of those who have fallen against the Kin in battle.

All Khanshael are accorded a burial, save for traitors and murderers. The Khanshael do not leave their fallen on the field. In fact, several stories speak of daring raids in which a few of the Kin sneak into the enemy's lair, to steal the corpses of their fallen. The Khanshael brook no dishonor of their dead. They will do anything within their power to retrieve their fallen.

The Khanshael hold a special reverence for the dead. One of the Kin will never defile a tomb or a body. They will strip their fallen foes of any useful equipment, but will commit no other atrocity on the corpse. They will simply throw it on a pile and eventually burn those corpses to ash.