T is for Thanatos, the Flame Lord...

Good Morning, All:

For my twentieth entry in the A-Z Challenge, I would like to introduce the twelth of the thirteen core gods of my consolidated pantheon, the fiery god of the Underworld. T is for Thanatos, the Flame Lord:

Thanatos, the Flame Lord
Thanatos is a god of fire, war, death and the Underworld. The Flame Lord is invoked on every major battlefield, and his followers include mercenaries, soldiers and warriors from every way of life. Temples and shrines to Thanatos, the Flame Lord, exist in many martial training halls and war colleges, as well as the sites of particularly bloody and brutal battles. His priests give holy significance to combat, and honor the passing of great warriors. Thanatos demands the following from those devoted to his teachings:

• Life is a battle, thus every battle should be seen as a testament and celebration of life. Victory is the greatest glory anyone could seek, and conquest is a sacred responsibility.
• That which does not kill us makes us stronger, and only the strong survive. The devout must never lose a battle through the ineffective use of superior force, lest they fall from grace.
• When a great warrior has fallen in battle, his passage into Thanatos’s realm must be observed and recognized, for his works on the battlefield brought honor to the Flame Lord. The burial of a warrior’s body is a great sacrilege, while a funeral pyre is considered fitting and appropriate in the eyes of Thanatos.
• Followers of Thanatos must always be the last to leave a violent conflict (whether individually or en masse), for to do otherwise is to dishonor the teachings of Thanatos.

Although Thanatos is skilled with every conceivable weapon, his favored weapon is the glaive, and his symbol is a crimson skull of flame.

Enjoy,
Flynn