Carnificius, god of death

Names and epithets: The Selfslayer, Akhlys,
The Falxer, Moros, Anaplekte, Munus Ak'ludi Rex.
Alignment: LN Domains: Death e Grave

Symbol: falx

An old goblinoid weapon, the falx was adapted from the scythes they used when enslaved by the Amaranthine Empire. 

On its balance as sword of killing and scythe of harvesting, it's considered perfect for reaping one's enemies.

    Among the oldest of the northern gods, his worship began during the amaranthine height. The ancient amaranthines had a tradition to celebrate their ancestrals with death matches among slaves. As time passed, this became a custom to honor the soldiers fallen in battle with fights among gladiators drafted from conquered peoples. Such was the case with the hobgoblins, except for an unknown individual, which instead of giving in to the courage and iron of amaranthine veterans, overwhelmed them with ingenious and amazing barbarities. This affronted the very core of the amaranthine civilization, and so numerous warriors and beasts were sought to kill the gladiator. Archers, rhinos, megatheriums, demons and people maddened with promises of riches, blood and renown. The gladiator executed all of them, becoming feared and revered in equal measure, shaming the aristocracy and inspiring the slaves. Unbeaten for years, his apex was to slay a beast from far lands called Tartaran Boar.

    After some moments, he jugulated himself. The shock of seeing the invincible gladiator committing suicide dazed the whole arena. Soon came whispers and hearsay, of how this warrior was death incarnate, so fatal that only he could kill himself. This belief spread, catalyzing his glory into true apotheosis.

Oh, the sheer irony of the god of death being forced to be such, like if he continued  to be a slave, even nowadays. If you think this is bullshit, tell me: Have you ever seen any mention of Carnificius wishing to be a god when he slayed himself?

-Kerviridi, gravedigger at the Chouette fiefdom

    Became Carnificius, god of death. A giant hobgoblin, of tattered trousers and a chest striped with long red scars. His face is wholly tattooed in white, perfectly defining the bone underneath, in contrast to dark and empty eye sockets which still can target precisely where to cut with his falx, itself capable of beheading a dinosaur.

    Just as the gladiator had fans and enemies, the present deity is hated and loved: to most of the northern empire, is to be feared, and his ghastly and goblinoid appearance matches the universal rejection of death. However, to the empire's slaves, many of which are goblinoid themselves, Carnifex is a watchful punisher, providing them with revenge when the empire ignores injustice. A tale which scares a few and lulls others is how the maganchos, Carnificius's secret thralls, can emerge from the darkness within water wells, using hooks to drag the unjudgeable to the arena where Carnificius will make them pay for their crimes.

Strigil

    This tale is singularly uncanny because of four facts: the loathing towards death obliges the empire to employ public slaves to maintain graveyards and public catacombs; these very slaves clean and prepare corpses for burial with small, sharp curved tools called strigils; Carnificius's cult trains the thousand of executioners employed by fiefdoms and imperial cities; and public slaves are used to inspect and repair aqueducts throughout the empire. Some combine these details into proof that there's a secret organization of assassins and vigilantes.

    Another duty of the cult is to keep "dead" places, namely, which became deserted after disaster, disease or warfare, and convert them into necropolis. Walls become headstones, basements are connected as a single vault, and this way an empty village may still shelter the lifeless. Each necropolis must have at least one priest to guard, appease and look after the dead. A necropolis must be examined every ten years, to check if the dead may let the living come back.

The newest and greatest necropolis is on the imperial far south, made from what was left of Ashbel after its sacking during the Retaliations War. The upper echelons of the cult request the use of the rare and valuable railroads, to transport the bones overcrowding necropolises at the north and house them into this vast and wasted mournful sanctuary.