No physical description of the god ever really existed in any of the writings. It is often accepted that the god of death and rebirth should be depicted as a hooded individual, fully covered. Thana'Tomos is described as the all-encompassing embrace of death, or the bright light that floods the eyes of newborns, before they take in their first sights of the world. General depictions of the god by artists include an individual, half formed of the vast astral aether, half fluid or seemingly shapeless. His image is often one that captures cycles: life, death, rebirth, or a shape taking form and then fading into nothing. Some artists take liberties in depicting a man, untouched by time, perfect in every way, asleep. From his slumber arise images both dark and pleasant manifest, these images serve to represent his power over dreams and nightmares. Modern day depictions of the god draw comparisons to a robed, hooded being, gaunt or skeletal in nature, to represent his dead state. This entity is often depicted as a guide to souls, enveloping them in his arms, or sometimes, black wings. These images are considered too liberal, however, as none of the scriptures ever define Thana'Tomos as a deity that personally guides or retrieves, but merely one that waits and embraces.
Thana'Tomos is widely considered as the god of Death and Rebirth. When reading the scriptures, one could more aptly recognize that his domain more broadly falls under that of Cycles. His essence manifested and vanished with the ebb and flow of the Primordial, and this symbolic journey between consciousness and departing into the unknown gave rise to his association with the cycle of life. It is important to note that Thana'Tomos, in the later scriptures, decided to disperse his divinity into the Children, allowing us mortals to also engage in the same cyclical journey of our lord.
It is believed that Thana'Tomos acts as a guardian of thresholds, in this sense. Many writings depict him as a guide, or companion, to those who pass on from our realm to the next. It is said that he alone knows all the secrets and the paths of the mysteries that lie beyond the Primordial. This mastery over the Beyond is what grants him dominion over the cycle of Rebirth, as he considered both the last and first embrace. He is the soft darkness that ushers us to the Beyond, and the bright light that welcomes us into the world. They say that, though he may not have a face of his own, he takes on the image of those we may have known in our life before death, or perhaps those who we are destined to love in the next life.
There are a few peculiar things that would anger Thana'Tomos, like the harvesting or coveting of Souls by those who seek to use them for dark or dubious purposes. To deny a soul passage into the next realm, is to steal from the very essence of our lord. It is considered a dangerous thing to tamper with the matters of Thana'Tomos, who in the end, claims every soul. Those who are found to be guilty of the act of messing with souls, suffers a fate most horrible, and mysterious. What happens to a soul that Thana'Tomos refuses to allow into his realms? What happens in the case of a soul that does not enter rebirth? These are the mysteries that most scholars choose not to dwell on, for fear that they stumble upon secrets not fit for us children.
On this matter, we do recognize that some souls are not fit to pass on to the next step of their journey, these are curious entities, indeed. They who cannot move on to the next, are tethered to the Material by various means and reasons, often related to their own acts or the acts of others that cause them to stay and cause a ruckus for it. Fascinatingly enough, however, it is not unheard of for a soul also simply refuse to move on, entities with such power have strong wills that allow them to remain through sheer choice. Scholars often wonder if perhaps there is a liberty to choose to pass on to the realms of Thana'Tomos. If so, why do most choose to leave and not remain? Perhaps, there is more promise in the next life than there is left in the life that remains here. Perhaps, someday, a brave enough (or foolish enough) scholar will have the interest to find out, and tell us all about it, if they even can.
One of the most peculiar aspects of Thana'Tomos, is his association with Nightmares and Dreams. It is said that this association came from loose interpretations of chapters in the scriptures, where the lord of Death decided to name each and every beast that roamed the Material before our coming. One aspect that really lends itself to his association with these domains lies in the fact that they are things that manifest in our sleep. It is often considered that Thana'Tomos was the first to sleep, or perhaps, the One Who Sleeps, and this title lends itself to his power over things that come from sleep.
Dreams are considered glimpses into the realms beyond, where Thana'Tomos is master, and through these glimpses do the children find safety, shelter, or sometimes inspiration. It is as if enjoying a feeling of reminiscing on a bygone experience that we can only ever comprehend on a hunch. It is believed that, perhaps, shared experiences and imagery attests to a unifying experience through the journey of death, as so many would claim to have dreams that they share with others, or can recognize patterns within them.
Nightmares, then, are a dangerous topic, but one that begs to be explored, nonetheless. If we are to believe that Thana'Tomos is master of the realms that we sometimes peer into when we sleep, then it is equally plausible that he is in charge of those that frighten us when we venture through them. These, perhaps, are realms meant for divine punishment for a soul crossing, or maybe, they are dark realms that one can get lost in without the guidance of Thana'Tomos. Many consider these realms to be trials, as they are trials to suffer through in our sleep. These trials are perhaps way to test the soul of an individual, and we are but merely experiencing a small glimpse into the tribulations that await us in the next life.
Consider this query, what if these realms are simply manifestations of the slumbering god's imagination? It is believed, that, some of humanity's most brilliant ideas, and biggest fears, manifest through the dreamscape of our sleeping minds. Some would even argue that liberties taken by artists and writers to manifest such colorful ideas and frightening visages, are the works of Thana'Tomos, brought to life through art and expression of the psyche. Curious that many of the real-life monsters and entities of light that we experience, may have some connection our lord who dreams. What become of the soul of a monster? Many scholars argue they have none, they simply fade into the chaos that they came from. If so, is the chaos just the dreams and nightmares of Thana'Tomos?
There is a fable told by older generations of a soul that refused to move on to the realms of Thana'Tomos, and the opportunities it got to encounter both in his extended time here on Lumis and with our lord, the Dead God. Though there are many versions of this tale, one of the best-known versions is the one enclosed in this scripture.
"There once was a man from a bygone age,
Who lived to be all: soldier, poet, king, and sage,
He left a legacy that was sure to live on
And soon time came to pay his dues.
The spirit was strong, with a path to choose,
And so, he remained, though his body had gone.
Now, it's said that he wandered the earth
to watch his own legacy, who gave him is worth
It was one Winter's coming, the Dead God did see,
That the man was still yearning, to wary to be.
'Be gone and be still', our lord did speak
'You've lived and you've died, what more could you seek?'
