Thul

Intermediate Deity

Symbol: A skulls with flaming eyes

Colors: Black

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Celestial Symbol: The Constellation 'The Commandment'

Home Plane: The Pale World

Portfolio: Death, Undead, Liches, Winter, Bargains

Domains: Death, Law, Earth, Magic

Cleric Alignment: LE, LN, NE

Favored Weapon: Soul Taker (Scythe)

Other Names: The Necromancer, The Breather, The Frozen Dream, The Seller of Souls, Lord of the Undead, The Dragon of Death, The Necromancer (Elves) The Black Dream, Dread Breather

God of winter, necromancy, death and the undead, Thul is seen by many as a god of bargain making, deals and promises of power in exchange for the turning over of one's soul to him. He is god of the unliving, winter, and deal making and bargaining and the vice of greed and a covetousness is part and parcel of his mode of operation. In the beginning stood Thul with Vardama for they were to govern the passage of the afterlife and the flow of the River of Souls. But Thul began to love the Dark and sought to unleash upon the world lichdom and necromancy to be used to extend the stay of the dead and to entrap their souls. The power that souls presented was great and the trafficking of souls-stuff with creatures of grim origins, such as the Daemons of the Void, proved to be a lucrative gesture on the part of the deity. In this he found power and so he often may bargain with the souls of the dead and the living and entrap them into his services. Liches both mortal and dragon, owe him their power and he makes false promises of eternal life to those who fear death, making them into wraiths and binding them to his will. Recently, Thul has turned his attention towards Artifice and the twisting of its power in the use of dark forms of necromantic magic-technology.

Dogma

Life and existence is little more than a grand joke being played upon you and others. The ultimate lesson in life is that everyone and everything dies and that even the greatest of the dragons must eventually be subject to death and in death they become subject to Thul. Only in undeath can true power be found. Pray to Thul and serve his servants for the liches and vampires of the world are his emissaries and chosen people. Those who hasten the death of others in the name of Mundus and all that serve him maybe rewarded when it is there time to stand before the uncaring throne. When death has swept over the land and the cold embrace of unlife has granted everyone peace, then shall Thul rest.

Clergy and Temples

A dark god with a very secretive clergy, Thul's association with the arts of necromancy and the desire to unleash them upon the world has caused most nations to outlaw open worship of him. Instead his temples are often buried deep underground or hidden within places that have become locations of hags and other forms of undeath and creatures associated with the night. There is no centralized authority to his secretive clergy but instead there are many different smaller cults and sects scattered across the lands. His priests share his dour outlook and gloomy attitude on life. The winter is their most holy season for it represents the death and chill of the earth and the welcoming of winter is for many servants of Thul is an opportunity to endear themselves into service of their master.

Part of this endearment is the ongoing attempt to translate the Scriptures of Thul and recreate the book on the mortal plane. This ongoing effort has spanned centuries. It is said that his mortal servants ever attempt to duplicate this dread book, which contains numerous divine spells and rituals and fragments, it is said, of the spirit of the deity himself. Pieces of the book are completed here and there as Thul gradually opens the minds of those priests and Necromancers to understand and translate it. The completion of the scriptures of Thul upon the mortal plane will do nothing less then grant the deity access to the material world.

Clerical Vestments

The traditional vestment of Thul is largely unknown, but likely resembles the traditional robes of a necromancer.

Avatars

Thul Mundus’ favored form is that of a great, powerfully built and dark armored warrior bearing a scythe stained with the blood of souls and forged from the ethereal spirits of lost ones. A simple rope is wound about his waist and tied to it is the corrupt and wicked book known as The Scriptures of Thul which contain within them secrets and lies and dark untruths related to the nature of the world. To read it is to believe a lie and to lose ones soul utterly and completely to Thul. Sometimes he appears as a great dracolich which is a form he has recently adopted in his attempts to entice those dragons who are ancient and fear dying of age before glory, into his service