Hypnos and Thanatos

Twin brothers Hypnos and Thanatos are the gods of sleep and death. Originally two mortals, they slayed the previous ruler of the underworld in the time of the Old Ones, a power hungry demon whose name has been lost to time, and split the duties between them. They were so enraged as the injustice and cruelty the demon committed in its time as ruler of the underworld they insisted no one may know its name afterward, even going so far as to kill those that would try to speak or write it (after having given them fair warning). When the elven tempest god Deep Sashelas caused his own son Xolotl to be swallowed up by a great earthquake thanks to his temper, the Twins took pity on Xolotl and made him the Guardian of the Gates, the one who keeps souls in and mortals out. Recently, Xolotl allowed a mortal to enter to retrieve the soul of his lost love and caused a great disturbance in the underworld. Thanatos retrieved the soul and put the underworld to rest, but Xolotl lost many of his powers and now struggles to regain the Twin’s trust and favor. The twins tend to get along with nature gods, who understand that death is just part of the natural process. Surprisingly, many life gods are also counted among their allies as they both oppose the undead. They tend to be neutral to deities of the knowledge, light, and trickery domains, though they have been known to quarrel with trickster gods if their “fun” goes too far. Their biggest rivals however, tend to be war and tempest deities, some of whom think nothing of killing thousands on a whim. They reside under the Great Mountain and only rarely leave it.

Hypnos acts as the guide on the path to the underworld. He visits people in their sleep to decide whether it is time for their soul to move on, or if they still have purpose in the world of the living. If he decides that a soul has reached the end of its life, he will guide it with kindness to the underworld. If it is not yet their time, he offers the gifts of rest and healing. He is the more patient and compassionate of the brothers. His symbol is a winged hourglass. It is said that the old and infirm hope to see Hypnos before they die, and to die quietly in one’s sleep surrounded by loved ones is the greatest gift Hypnos can give. He is said to grant prophetic dreams, but such a thing has happened so rarely it is barely more than a legend.

Thanatos acts as the ruler of the underworld. It is his responsibility to judge the souls that are brought before him. He looks at every deed, both good and bad, that the individual has done in their time among the living to decide whether they deserve the gift of paradise or the punishment of something decidedly less pleasant. He is known to be quick tempered and callous compared to his twin. His symbol is a winged upside down torch. The dead are brought to a rough room under the Great Mountain, where Thanatos sits, larger-than-life, on a throne of skulls. Here he pulls visions of the deceased’s life to pass judgment upon them, and the soul watches their lives play out before them.

Their followers are expected to oppose murder and unjust killing of sentient beings. They also stand against anything that might be seen as an affront to their deities’ authority, such as creating undead or unnaturally extending ones lifespan. Followers of the twins tend to show utmost respect to the deceased, even enemies, as they believe that their Lords are the only ones truly capable of judging them. They might bury their foes after a fight or see to it that the remains are returned to a loved one. They communicate with their followers through dreams and visions, and it is very rare they are seen in the mortal realm. Paladins and clerics of the Twins will collect the weapons of their foes, or claws or teeth of beasts they kill, and leave them in the temples as offerings to the gods. The temples often hold an armory of such weapons, kept locked tightly away to prevent them from ever again being used to inflict cruelty. While many thieves have attempted to take advantage of the treasury of weapons within, these are closely and carefully guarded, and the wards and magics protecting them also seeming to hold an extra level of divine protection. Only the desperate will attempt to strike at these armories, as tales are told in the thieves' guilds of a terrible curse that will befall anyone who is in possession of one of these weapons. Priests wear robes of black with large wing-like capes along the back and a necklace in the shape of an hourglass, some even wearing actual miniature hourglasses. The temples are simple and often carved in to hillsides or underground, with a structure above or outside to allow entrance. They are always lit exclusively with torches, and a single ornate gate allows entrance, symbolic of the gates of death. Most temples have guard dogs, as a symbol of Xolotl, the patron saint of children and dogs and protector of the gates of the underworld. Their holy days are the rare solar and lunar eclipses, and priests who study the skies and divination are revered for their ability to predict these events. When these eclipses occur, worshipers will drop everything and head to a graveyard or other resting place. They see eclipses as a sign of their gods reminding them to ensure the souls of the departed are at rest, and so will repair gravestones and mausoleums or will take on a quest to put spirits to rest. Their holy days are the rare solar and lunar eclipses. Those worshipers who study the skies and divination are revered for their ability to predict these events. When these eclipses occur, worshipers will drop everything and head to a graveyard or other resting place. They see eclipses as a sign of their gods reminding them to ensure the souls of the departed are at rest, and so will repair gravestones and mausoleums or will take on a quest to put spirits to rest. Their holy days are the rare solar and lunar eclipses. Those worshipers who study the skies and divination are revered for their ability to predict these events. When these eclipses occur, worshipers will drop everything and head to a graveyard or other resting place. They see eclipses as a sign of their gods reminding them to ensure the souls of the departed have moved on, and so will repair gravestones and mausoleums or will take on a quest to put spirits to rest.

The second Saturday in August is Children's Day - a time to celebrate life and childlike joy. The day is devoted to the saint Xolotl, to honor life in the form of children. The day is filled with games and toys for children of all ages, and it is considered lucky to bring infants to this festival and put them in the arms of the statue of Xolotl. Dogs are a popular theme at these festivals as well.

## Heroes and Relics

Thanatos is said to have a huge, endless book bound in the skin of the nameless demon that formerly ruled the underworld. The true names of all the dead rest in this ledger, also said to contain the forbidden name of the demon; the first name in the book. The book is chained to his girdle, and never leaves his side. Many false relics have appeared, and anyone claiming to own one receives a swift and terrifying visit from one of their earthly servants.

Galia Wedne was a ranger and/or paladin of the Twins (the stories vary), said to come from the unforgiving tundra of the north where survival is difficult and life is brutal. A lich lord threatened her people so she fought him brutally, driving him away. With a group of other fighters, she tracked him south. She was said to hunt him relentlessly, continuing on as the group dropped from exhaustion behind her. Near the end, the lich itself began to fear her endless pursuit; it seemed she could go weeks without sleep, on minimal food and water. She tracked the lich for months across the entire continent until finally, she succumbed to exhaustion and fell dead. Galia pleaded her case before the Twins upon her arrival in the underworld, and Hypnos is said to have given her an hourglass, returning to her only enough life to complete her mission. She returned to the mortal world with renewed vigor and tracked the lich to a crypt by a major metropolis where, having thought himself free of his predator, he was again amassing an army of undead. Galia had to walk through the city to get to the crypt and the stories tell of the residents being drawn in by the strange power and mystery exuded by the stranger. There were witnesses who then told of how the hideous undead creatures seemed to fall apart when they came close to her, a strange aura seemed to surround her and destroy them as she walked past, her ultimate goal the destruction of the lich that had taken her friends. She dragged the lich, the creature terrified and quaking, out of the crypt so the crowd that had gathered could witness her judgement. She destroyed the lich and stood a moment, looking out over the people and the graveyard. The hourglass she wore at her belt dropped its last few grains to the bottom, and she fell to the ground, dead. A great rumbling came from under the earth, a crevice opening, and from inside it rose Hypnos and Thanatos themselves. They collected her body and the hourglass, Hypnos carrying her in his arms. Those that could stand to look upon the faces of the gods saw Thanatos emit a deep, ultraviolet light that spread across the graveyard and the corpses of the undead were dissolved, the graveyard now sanctified. It is said that graveyard remains a hallowed ground, incapable of tolerating the presence of undead. Earth from the graveyard is another false relic often found among shady black market dealers, said to be able to detect and destroy undead. The gods returned to the earth, the graveyard not only as it was before but better - the stones upright and cleaned, the earth tidy and flowers blooming. She is remembered in a way most do not realize - once called Galia Wedne's Day it has been shortened in modern times to Wednesday.

It is said that anyone who dies with unfinished business of great importance can plead with Hypnos for the use of the Hourglass of Second Life - given only enough time back on the mortal plane to finish one's holy quest. Should this time be squandered or the quest left incomplete, the soul will find themselves conscripted to the Twins' army of servants that shepherd the souls and monitor the mortal realm. To succeed, however, brings release to the afterlife and the rejoining of loved ones that have passed. Only one soul can be returned to the mortal realm at once, and the cause must be worthy, so such successful appeals are rare. Still, many have embarked upon quests with hopes of the Hourglass to allow them to finish.

The Thieves' Curse is put upon any one who steals weapons from the temples. It is said that anyone in possession of a weapon from a temple is followed reletlessly by a dark spirit, one that never ends until either the item is returned or the thief is found dead, their face frozen in fear, and the weapon missing.