One debate that often comes up on in the forums is the matter of the 'Death' of Thana'Tomos. As it is written in the old stories, the god of the life and death, whom we revere with outmost respect, seems to have very clearly given his essence so that we mortals could know true death as he did. When reading this piece of the legends, two houses of thoughts often form: is this to say that there are actually only 13 gods, or are we to still declare them as 14?
The first school of thought, argues that by giving his sacrifice, the god of death no longer resides in the Heavens and, therefore, his essence is no longer one counted amongst the divinities. The gods themselves seem to acknowledge the absence of their father, and they mourn for his passing. The train of thought is certainly congruent, and perhaps the foundation of this idea lies on a more direct approach to the matter. Certainly, there is no other means to go around it, but that has not stopped others for begging to differ.
The latter part of the question is often championed by other scholars who would say that the text clearly indicates that there is something left of the dead god, after all. The premise of this logic comes from the existence of the 'Soul', which Thana'Tomos himself explains is a part of him that resides in each of us. On the matter of the soul itself, there is no question, we have studied for eons the properties of soul and their metaphysical value or qualities that any adept healer or magic user may gain use of. The the question lies in its origin, for there are many who refute that the soul is, in fact, a godly essence. Some argue this by the mere existence of the Soul Gauge, which determines the puritty or corruption of a soul, how can something divine not be pure?
Believers of the Dead God would argue that the soul is a gift of Thana'Tomos, but it is mortal in nature for that was his will. He himself expresses that he wishes to learn all that we the children would experience in life with a piece of him in us all. This very piece enters a realm far beyond our understanding, where the god of death himself resides in secrecy. There have been many expeditions to the realms beyond and even explored planes of existence far beyond the bounds of the Material, and even still we have found a sign of him out there.
Then there is the question of the Tomb of Thana'Tomos, a curious thing. Though it is never explicitly mentioned in any of the scriptures we have in account, there is the legend of the Tomb of the Dead God. Supposedly, an undisclosed and mysterious place where the gods laid the physical remains of Thana'Tomos himself. This legendary tomb is said to be a wonder to behold, a myth of its own right. A myth indeed, if you ask me personally. Never has a trace of the thing ever been found, and countless claims of its location have been made in all manners of false scriptures, legends, stories and even prophecies. Still, there are those amongst us learned type that believe that if the tomb should ever be found, it would be evidence beyond the shadow of doubt that the god of death is truly....well, dead. However, in that same vein, those who believe in the ever lasting presence of Thana'Tomos, use the legend of the tomb as a means to voice the living presence of the god, if no tomb exists, then he is surely still alive somewhere.
Any ways, this note is getting long, and it was more so of a curious ponder than any means whatsoever to actually tackle the argument. If you ask me personally, there are far better mysteries to behold that wondering of a god is ever truly considered dead. Us, the living, will never truly know, will we?
