(the pronoun 'he' is used in this text for convenience only) -=============================- The immortal called Achernar was once known to mortals only as Nada, the Embodiment of Change. He was worshipped as such for centuries, until the time came for the completion and fulfillment of Himself. Change itself, by its very nature, cannot remain constant. And so came the time that the Embodiment of Change revealed His true name, Achernar, to a lowly priestess named Katia. Nada had long had influence over that final, greatest Change, the ultimate transition of Death, and when He fulfilled Himself, He changed His focus from the sphere of Change to the gateway of Death. And so was born the Church of Achernar, amongst the faithful servants of Nada. Now called the End of the River, Achernar still holds influence over Change, and Time, but He is known first and foremost as the hand of Death. His followers share in common a respect for death, the afterlife, and the power associated with it. Although not necessarily a religion of shamanism, the faithful of Achernar hold great respect for those who commune with spirits and the power to be found in drawing from the spirit world. The Church of Achernar is very loosely organized, usually only drawing together to face a threat against the faith as a whole. Because of this loose organization, there can be found much diversity within the church, the following varied in their reasons for, and method of, worship. Because Death itself is a neutral concept, as are Time and Change, beyond the constrictions of morality, followers of Achernar may range from principled healers to the most diabolic unholy priests. At varying times, people of differing professions may be counted among the membership of the church, but only once was it a status reserved only for the clergy. What is always held in common between the faithful is a profound respect for the power of Death, often revered as the greatest, final Change that one can experience, the culmination of all Time, the inevitable passage for all mortals.