Zōval

**Zōval**, Lord of Death, is the Vozonid god of death, and the judge of the afterlife. He is sometimes simply known as **Death** in Vozonid folklore.

Some Terrans call him **Hades**.

## Appearance

Zōval is commonly seen wearing black-green robes and wearing a golden helmet. Greater statues of the Lord of Death were sculpted from black minerals and rocks.

His chariot is pulled by hyenas burning with green flames. In Vozonid culture, the hyena is a symbol of death.

Zoval's weapon is a black spear wreathed in green fire.

## Worship

Temples of Zoval have black banners with red stripes, colours associated with funerals and cremations.

Hyena sculptures are used instead of gryphons in Zoval's temples.

## Mythology

Zōval's servants are the berzatri, earth wights who bring the dead to his court below the worlds. The white berzatri bring the virtuous and righteous to Paradise, while the black berzatri drag evildoers to Hell.

Zōval is seen as the judge of the dead: whoever who dies will be judged by him in his underworld court, assisted by twelve earth wights. Each wight records an aspect of the deceased's life, usually the sins, offenses, accomplishments, and harm they had committed in life.

### Sins

If the dead have committed certain major sins, he orders his spirits, the berzatri, to drag the condemned to Hell. His same servants also bring the dead to his court: white berzatri gently escort the righteous to be examined, before they may enter Paradise; but black berzatri drag the wicked to be judged. In some cases, a very evil soul will be taken straight into Hell, to be tortured forever or destroyed.

He is assisted by twelve officials, who write the deeds and motivations of the dead. One of them, Katazoripo, records everything good about the deceased, ensuring a chance that the deceased will enter the bliss of Paradise instead of eternal torment in Hell.

Certain sins will never be forgiven, marked in red cuneiform in the scrolls of the judge-wights. These range from genocide, willingly spreading a deadly plague, extreme rudeness as a lifestyle and an ideal, and fraud. Lord Zoval would sometimes weep from reading the charges and then become so angry, that he yells the punishment of the accused, and the black berzatri immediately drag the criminal to Hell.

Like many death deities, Zoval has a hatred of necromancers, because they are among those who turn the dead into mighty abominations. Worshippers of Zoval regard mutated immortality as acceptable, but will kill necromancers as though the latter were reckless murderers and tormentors.

### Exceptions

Some people are unable to enter the Underworld due to their innocence or their great wickedness. The very wicked wander the Earth as powerful monsters and demons, while the innocent and the disfigured would have to be reborn to live a better life.

Reincarnation may be very shameful and degrading to the dead and undead, more feared and dreaded than demons and hell: but it will become the only way for them to find their own purification.

## Relationships

He forms a trio with Zomjonōr and Sammakari.

Emperor Alhjozor was believed to become one of his greatest servants, a god of death who hunted evil spirits and slew the mightest demons. His pet hyena, Alguin, ascended as a hound, sometimes growing large enough to be the demigod's flaming steed.

## Trivia

Zōval was largely inspired by Yanluo Wang, Mandos, and Hades.

Yanluo Wang is the Chinese Buddhist depiction of Yamaraja, the Hindu god and judge of the dead. Mandos is the Vala (archangel) who oversees departed souls in Tolkien's fictional world.

Hades is the Greek god who rules over the underworld.