Kossuth

Kossuth: The Lord of Flames, the Firelord

Symbol: A twining red flame
Home Plane: The Elemental Plane of Fire
Alignment: True Neutral
Portfolio: Elemental fire, purification through fire
Domains: Destruction Fire
Worshipers: Druids, elemental archons (fire), fire creatures, Thayans
Aliases: N/A
Cleric Alignments: N, CN, NG, NE, LN, LG, LE
Favored Weapon: Spiked Chain (a tendril of flame)

History/Relationships: Kossuth (Koh-SOOTH), spoken like a whispering flame, is the patron of all fire elementals as well as any who view fire as a purifying and revitalizing force. He is normally depicted as a huge pillar of flame boiling skyward. He represents the burning away of the old to make way for the new with the cognizance that the way to change is harsh and measured. He is the fire in the hearth which appears comforting but which may turn on its owner at any time and burn the house down. He is the mystery of fire, the unknowable secret that speaks inspiration to smiths and death to crazed people who burn things and people for pleasure.

Like all the elemental lords, Kossuth seems to hold little affection toward his followers on Abeir-Toril. His reactions seem calculated in end result, if alien in logic; he moves toward a certain end, but has not shared that end with anyone on Faerûn. He seems driven, however, to collect more followers to do his bidding in the Realms than any of the other elemental lords—perhaps because he burns them out so quickly. The alien and uncaring stance of Kossuth and the other elemental lords has led to the mistaken impression in the Realms that they are only lesser powers and their followers merely bizarre cultists. During the Time of Troubles, Kossuth was not spotted in the Realms.

Kossuth readily accepts what offerings are burnt in his name, but is said to prefer garnets, topazes, citrine, fine smithwork in iron or precious metals, nuts, fine oils, aromatic resins, and meat. His gifts to his followers are the ability to use fire to their greatest benefit and protection from heat and flames. Kossuth is the only elemental lord who seems to return kind for kind; he rewards those who have been most faithful to him or made larger sacrifices more than he does newcomers to his faith or those who give only a token offering.

Dogma: The teachings of the Kossuthan religion on Toril are built around an assumption that those fit to succeed will do so and that the faith of Kossuth is innately superior to other faiths, especially those of the other elemental lords and particularly to that of Istishia. (The Istishian and Kossuthian churches hate one another.) Fire and purity are one and the same; the smoke produced by fire is created by the element of air in its jealousy and through the impurities of the material being cleansed by the flames. The driving force in the Kossuthan church is ambition, and the reward of successful ambition is power. Kossuthan doctrine also speaks of the inevitability of change to a higher state being accompanied by difficulty and personal pain of one type or another. "No pain, no gain" is most definitely a Kossuthan sentiment.

Novices in the Kossuthan faith are charged as follows: "The eternal Kossuth sends his pure fire to cleanse us all and temper our souls to a more pure state. Expect to be tested and strive to rise to the challenge, no matter what difficulty or pain it brings you. Follow the Promised above you, for they have proven their worth and achieved a higher state which you too can find in Kossuth's service. Find the true vision, the final goal of your life, and pursue it utterly. Give yourself totally to the cause, and it will return eternal rewards to you. Guide the teeming masses to the pure light that is Kossuth so that he may reforge all life into its essential form, and complete order and harmony will follow."

Avatar/Manifestations: Kossuth has manifested sporadically in the Realms, but much more frequently than the other elemental lords. Any significant blaze is viewed as a manifestation of the Firelord by his faithful. The followers of the Tyrant Among Fire report seeing their lord amongst the flames of every burning building. Needless to say, this has done little to endear them to the residents of such buildings. (More times than not, the presence of any follower of Kossuth near such a burning building reveals the source of the blaze.)

Agents/Petitioners: Kossuth sometimes sends servant creatures from the Elemental Plane of Fire such as fire elementals, salamanders, fire snakes, efreet, fire bats, smoke and magma para-elementals, and azers to do his bidding or aid followers. Starting a fire successfully is always seen as a sign of Kossuth's favor, as is successfully forging a piece of smithwork.

The Church of Kossuth: Before the Time of Troubles, all of the elemental cults had clerics in their ranks. Now, only specialty priests remain. Why Kossuth abruptly decided to convert his clerics to specialty priests is unknown, but the Kossuthan church considers it one of the elements of purity within the faith that those closest to Kossuth are allowed to concentrate on the spells and activities that are of most interest to their lord. Since the Godswar, the Kossuthan church has added several monastic orders and an order of crusaders to the church to fulfill duties in the ranks of the priesthood previously tended to by Kossuthan clerics.

Followers of Kossuth on Abeir-Toril seem to be plotters and schemers intend on cleanly reorganizing the world as it is into their own vision of perfection—through abrupt and violent means if necessary. Of all the elemental cults, Kossuth's is probably the most dangerous and unpredictable in that individual churches of Kossuth are led by powerful leaders with a rigid priest hierarchy beneath them but no ultimate authority other than Kossuth to report to—and Kossuth does not seem much to care what they do, as long as they honor him. Its priests and members are quick to resort to violence and quick to take offense at the actions of others; the "justice" of a Kossuthan is harsh, quick, and brutally suited to the offense or the crime.

Temples of Kossuth are led by a great many proud, deadly, and determined individuals, all convinced that their way is the way. Strict obedience is required—or rather, demanded—within the church. Those who go against the wishes of the ruling priests frequently find themselves tossed into a nearby river or lake and effectively excommunicated from the church. (Splashing a follower of Kossuth with water is considered an insult.)

The priests of Kossuth are organized into two factions: the Tendrils of Flame and the Burning Braziers. The Tendrils are those who operate the various temples across Faerûn, catering to the faithful and preaching the word of Kossuth to the masses. The Tendrils perform most religious ceremonies and see to the observance of rituals and holidays. They hold most of the power in the faith and hurl themselves into regional intertemple and local political frays, generally making themselves famous or infamous near their temples.

The Burning Braziers, also known as the Brazier Brigade by critics of the church, are the adventuring arm of the faith. These frequently embittered priests are often former members of the Tendrils who fell out bandly in a political squabble in their former temples. They venture forth out into lands that have not seen the "wisdom of Kossuth," often leaving burning buildings in their wake. Preaching the word of the Tyrant, they discover new areas that are ready to accept a church of Kossuth. (Pragmatically, most folk would say that they look for areas ripe for picking—those with weak leadership or little protection.)

Novice Kossuthans are referred to as the Lightless. Upon taking the Oath of Firewalking, they become full priests and are known as the Promised. In ascending order of rank, the titles in general use by the Promised are: Torch of the Faith, Righteous Flame, Devoted Blaze, Zealous Pyre, Pillar of Flame, Fury of the Faith, Flamebrother/Flamesister, Inspired Forge, Numinous Blaze, Most Fervid Fire, and Eternal Flame of Kossuth. Specialty priests of Kossuth are known as firewalkers. Monks of Kossuth are known as Faithful Flames. Kossuth's priests are organized into temples. Each temple is led by an Eternal Flame who is a specialty priest. Under the Eternal Flame are three Most Fervid Fires, and under each of them are two Numinous Blazes. Under each Numinous Blaze is one of every other rank of clergy member down to Devoted Blazes. A temple has as many priests of Devoted Blaze rank and below, novices, and members of the laity as it can support, with the breakdown of numbers of each rank of priest being as equally divided among the Zealous Pyres as possible. Progress through the ranks is through experience until the rank of Devoted Blaze, and then only through the recommendation of two higher-ranking priests when an opening occurs.

Promotions are always confirmed by the temple's Eternal Flame, who may negate any promotion or promote anyone to any position as she or he wishes without following normal procedure (within the limits of the numbers of each rank of priest allowed in a temple). In primitive or nomadic societies, Kossuth is served by shamans who are allied to no particular temple but held in great respect by their communities, which usually fear them. Shrines and temples of Kossuth are always made of hard stone, ceramic, and metal so as to withstand the hottest natural blaze and most magical ones. Most are rather solid and blocky in general feel with soaring central elements or columns to give the impression of huge bonfires blazing up from the floor. All are well lighted at all times. Gems and precious metal usually encrust most surfaces of the sanctuary but are sparsely distributed elsewhere so as to enhance the sumptuous effect of the holy sanctum.

Day-to-Day Activities: Tending to the fires of the church and making sure that they never go out is a job for the Lightless. Other members of the church of Kossuth plan ceremonies (weddings, funerals, fire-walking), instruct novices, tend to the day-to-day growth health and wealth of a temple and its clergy members, and pursue promotion, promotion, promotion. Being the leader of a temple means that a priest can finally do what she or he wants to, rather than what his or her superiors say. Most priests become addicted to the desire for power this atmosphere breeds and grow into small, power-hungry tyrants prone to unscrupulous behavior and to overreaching their limits. Thought this may not be the path Kossuth intended for his faithful, he speaks not a word against it. Most temples, led by power-hungry Eternal Flames, pursue goals of conquest, land acquisition, wealth, and rulership, making alliances with whoever is most expedient to their goals but conforming to a strict and peculiar code within their own ranks.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The Oath of Firewalking is an introductory initiation that all priests of the faith must undergo in order to be granted first-level spells. As a priest rises in level, his faith continues to be tested by these fire-walks. The faithful must pray to Kossuth each day at sunrise and at highsun before taking their meals, thanking him for the hidden fire of life energy that burns in all things. Other than this daily ceremony, the church observes two personal ceremonies and each temple holds a yearly festival.

The Oath of Firewalking is a solemn oath taken when a novice becomes a priest. The strength of this promise is tested when it is first taken and again when a Kossuthan priest rises in rank by a walk over burning coals. The coals become hotter and the walk longer with each Firewalk: How Kossuth or his senior clergy members know what is in the hearts and minds of those taking the test is unknown, but Kossuthans with doubts or who are secretly plotting against their temples (for instance) are often horribly burned by a Firewalk or die on the coals, while priests who are single-minded in their purity of purpose and loyalty walk unscathed.

The Unity of Fire is the ceremony that Kossuthan specialty priests undergo that allows them, upon reaching a certain level of skill, to call forth fire elementals from the Elemental Plane of Fire. The ceremony is preceded by a day of constant chanting and prayer, after which the elemental is summoned. When the elemental answers, it is given a gift of food prepared by the hand of the ritual celebrant and a coffer of worked copper or other precious metal full of coins, gems, and jewelry to carry back to Kossuth with the good wishes of his faithful. On the birthdate of the Eternal Flame of each temple, that temple holds a festival. The Eternal Flame invites Kossuthan high and senior priests from other temples, local and foreign dignitaries, and others whom she or he believes the temple will benefit from by currying favor with. These people are pampered, given special gifts, and courted to become future allies of the Eternal Flame and the temple.

Major Centers of Worship: The Kossuthan church frequently builds its holy shrines near large sources of fire, such as volcanoes, or in hot, arid areas, such as deserts, but most often builds its large temples in cities and countries of substantial size (the better for them to be used and later controlled). The village of Lundeth in the Anauroch desert is a popular destination for the faithful of Kossuth. Of course, the largest temple to Kossuth in Faerûn is the Flaming Brazier in Bezantur in Thay, home to the Red Wizards, who have much respect for the Tyrant Among Fire.

Affiliated Orders: The Kossuthan monastic orders are known as the Disciples of the Phoenix (good-aligned), the Brothers and Sisters of the Pure Flame (neutral-aligned), and the Disciples of the Salamander (evil-aligned). They are very insular orders who maintain abbeys composed of monks of only one order and who have very rigid traditions of scholarship and martial prowess. Each order has particular tabboos applying to the behavior of its members that date to the founding of the order. The crusading military order of Kossuth is the Knights of the Fire Drake. This order's members guard the holy sites of the faith, lead the faith's numerous holy campaigns, and provide personal protection to Eternal Flames. The church of Kossuth also has many affiliations with the Red Wizards of Thay, since many Red Wizards are Kossuthans. A number of zulkirs work with the church and the church with the zulkirs in endless power plays within Thay and in preparation for conquest beyond Thay's borders.

Priestly Vestments: Those who follow the Tyrant Among Fire dress in light robes of red, crimson, and orange. The use of armor while participating in a ceremony in a shrine or temple is forbidden to all priests except those of the Order of the Fire Drake. The flame of Kossuth is worn as a holy symbol and is usually formed of a ruddy gem (often flamedance) enchanted to glow with an inner fire that is set into jewelry. Embroidery depicting flames of various hues is a popular decoration to ceremonial robes, and the decorations grow more elaborate and expensive with increases in a Kossuthan priest's rank.

Adventuring Garb: Reds and crimsons are the favored colors of the Braziers, though they wear whatever clothing is appropirate in style to their current location. Priests are allowed to wear up to chain mail and shield in the field, althoug hamgical protections are preferred. Most Kossuthans are extremely fond of magical items that do loud, flashy, sudden, and brutal damage, and display them prominently in an offensive posture at the drop of a hat.