Zyphus

## History

Followers of the Grim Harvestman believe that the god arose from the first maddened soul to die a pointless death. It is written that since that time, every mortal that dies in the same meaningless way is destined to be absorbed by Zyphus after death. This puts him in direct competition with the goddess Pharasma, and his followers believe that once he has acquired enough souls he will be able to engineer the death of Pharasma herself. Cults of Zyphus believe that even though the deaths they help arrange are not truly accidental, these souls are still dedicated to strengthen their patron.

## Appearance

Zyphus appears as a tall man covered completely in black, loose fitting clothing with only his face visible and tattered hooded cloak of the same color. He carries a large bone scythe and his outfit is decorated with a skull motif. His face is grey with no eyes and his lips missing, leaving his teeth displayed in a permanent grin.

## Relationships

Zyphus has minimal interaction with the other deities save for Urgathoa and Pharasma. Urgathoa will occasionally involve Zyphus in her plans due to the two's similar views and alignements, though Zyphus himself rarely has similar plans due to his more impulsive nature. As to Pharasma, Zyphus views their relationship as a fierce rivalry though it is unknown whether she feels the same way.

## Church

Zyphen cults are widespread, although never large in numbers. They worship in abandoned graveyards that are no longer under the protection of the Lady of Graves. His symbols are often found on arches or vaulted roofs of active graveyards as well, but there are meant to ward off the Grim Harvestman.

## Servants

Servants of Zyhus tend to be found in small, well-hidden enclaves made up of those bitter over their own tragedies and loss. His followers strive to collect souls for the Grim Harvestman in the hopes that he can gain enough power to engineer the death of Pharasma and thus claim the souls that would have gone to her realm to be sent on to their reward. These enclaves tend to occur near sites of massive death, from old battlefields and mass graves to the graveyards of abandoned towns.

## Temples and Shrines

Temples and shrines to Zyphus do not exist as such aside from the occasional simple altar found in his followers enclaves. The altars tend not to have his symbol on them, in direct contradiction to the practice of marking his symbols on arches or vaulted roofs of active graveyards to ward him off. Instead, the followers of the Grim Harvester will anoint the altar by arranging an accidental death at the desired location and then placing the altar on that spot. Oddly, the "accidental" requirement simply means that the victim cannot be directly murdered and must unknowingly do something that triggers their death.

## Presence on Fynn

The worship of Zyphus is not as rare on Fynn as one would expect given the hidden and rare nature of Zyphen enclaves. While the enclaves are rare, many slaves within the Federation of Free States worship the Grim Harvestman in hopes that he will claim the lives of their masters and grant them a chance to flee to freedom. That is more common amongst the crueler slave owners, though one or two Zyphens can likely be found in any slave pen.