Ritual Casting (10 minutes)

The caster kneels beside the deceased and begins the ritual of preservation with solemnity and reverence. They place a copper coin on each of the dead's eyes and a pinch of salt on their lips — the copper to pay passage, the salt to ward decay. The caster then lays their hands on the body's chest and begins a slow, mournful chant — not a song of grief, but a hymn of stasis, commanding time itself to release its hold on the flesh. A faint silvery frost forms over the body, preserving it as if sealed in crystal. The body does not grow cold; it simply... stops. No decomposition, no rigor, no change. The ritual is deeply personal and many casters add their own traditions: a cleric might pray for the soul's safe journey; a wizard might speak the deceased's name and accomplishments; a druid might weave a crown of preserved flowers. The ritual is as much a kindness to the living as to the dead — granting time to grieve, to plan, to seek resurrection.