Jergal

Jergal was the seneschal of Kelemvor, Lord of the Dead, whom he served just as he did Cyric and Myrkul before him. Jergal was the Lord of the End of Everything, Faerûn's original god of death before he eventually ceded his position. Caring for little besides an orderly accounting of the fate of the world as it slowly sank into death, the Final Scribe was the one who kept the records of the ultimate fate of all the dead. He was venerated under the name Nakasr among the successor states of Netheril. "The throne is yours. I have grown weary of this empty power. Take it if you wish—I promise to serve and guide you as your seneschal until you grow comfortable with the position. Who among you shall rule?"

- Jergal conceding his divinity and throne to the Dark Three

Description
Jergal was frequently depicted as a member of an ancient alien race that resembled a cross between a humanoid and a praying mantis. He was a wizened and insubstantial creature, mummy-like in appearance with gray, tightly taut skin. His elongated skull hosted bulbous, yellow eyes devoid of life and insectoid mandibles, as well as a nose and ears barely distinguishable from the rest of his head.

Jergal's lengthy, claw-like hands and forearms were covered by a pair of white gloves. Most of his form was also covered, hidden behind a gray, shadow-filled cloak that seemed to absorb the very atmosphere around it and moved as if blown in a wind, even if none was present. Its outer surface was a gate to the Negative Energy plane. In his clutches was a quill with fresh ink and a thick scroll covered in an intricate and incomprehensible script.

When Jergal spoke, his voice was chilling and seemingly disembodied, echoing with the dry whisper of a tomb that had long been forgotten.

Jergal was also known to take on the form of an old mortal man with a great white beard and sunken eyes that still held the spark of energy and betrayed his sharp intellect. He could take the form of any undead creature, amplifying the form's abilities with his gear and enervating touch unless the creature had such a power of equal or greater potency.

Manifestations
Jergal's favored manifestation was simply the sound of a closing book, carrying a chilling feeling of finality.

No matter the manifestation, when Jergal spoke, his voice was chilling and seemingly disembodied, echoing with the dry whisper of a tomb that had long been forgotten.

Personality
Although his nature was that he must be loyal to the office of death, he could subtly undermine the holder of that office if he or she was not true to the office's responsibilities.

Relationships
Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul inherited most of the portfolios of Jergal when he wearily stepped down from his position and then faded into near-obscurity. The death of those deities left Jergal in the service of Cyric and then Kelemvor; he worked well with Kelemvor, but retained his scorn for Cyric. He spent much of his efforts combating Velsharoon's efforts to prolong life into undeath.

History
Jergal was an ancient deity, older than many of the greater gods of Faerûn. In the time of Netheril, he was a greater deity himself, with the portfolios of the Dead, Murder, and Strife. With the long aeons, he became bored with his position of power, and allowed for three mortals, known as the Dark Three, to each take up parts of his divinity. Bane assumed the portfolio of Strife, Myrkul the rulership of the Dead, and Bhaal the portfolio of Murder. Jergal himself faded from his great stature, and became a seneschal to Myrkul, a position he kept even after his master perished and first Cyric and then Kelemvor assumed his place.

During the events surrounding the rise of the cult of the Absolute in the late 15 century DR, Jergal manifested an avatar called Withers in a temple dedicated to himself that had lain abandoned for over a century—or rather, interred his avatar within the temple at some point in the past so that the True Souls would eventually awaken it. As Withers, Jergal provided magical support to the adventurers, in exchange for a pittance of coin compared to the usual cost of such services. He accompanied the True Soul on their journey, but aside from resurrecting dead allies and summoning additional help when asked for, he did not intervene directly. However, he might have shown great kindness to the tiefling sorcerer girl named Arabella, soothing the girl when she was distraught over the death of her parents, showing her a glimpse of her destiny that filled her with joy.

In an extraordinary turn of events, Jergal intervened to save the Dark Urge from eternal wandering in the Fugue Plane after being killed by his father, Bhaal. Jergal provided him with a portion of divine power, enabling a second chance at life. The intervention was unusual for Jergal, who typically served as a neutral observer and record-keeper of mortal and divine affairs, but so were the times. This act eradicated the brutal, evil aspect of the Dark Urge, leaving him reborn and free to live a life separate from his past and his ties to Bhaal.

In the, after the war the Absolute rained on the city of Baldur's Gate and many of its citizens suffered ceremorphosis, Jergal-as-Withers confronted a mural of his three inheritors—Bhaal, Myrkul, and Bane. He expressed contempt for them, ultimately dismissing them as "vermin." Jergal proclaimed that the souls of those transformed into illithids were lost and that the gods noticed it. The god walked away from the mural claiming that the Dead Three's time as gods was at an end.