Kossuth
(a.k.a. The Lord of Flames, the Firelord)
Patron to creatures of elemental fire and those entranced by the intricate dance and destructive powers of flame, Kossuth holds little affection for his followers on Toril. He does, however, reward them frequently, and his cult continues to spread at what some might term an alarming rate. A distant and alien entity, Kossuth is an ancient Primordial not a deity in the same way the rest of the Pantheon of Faerûn is, though he is worshipped in much the same manner.
Kossuth seems to have some sort of plan for his mortal followers and rapidly growing church, but none except perhaps the highest clerics have any insight into what that plan may be. To devotees, Kossuth is the cleansing flame, the spark of innovation, the tempering force of reason, and the heart of all passion. They rank fire as the most important of the elements, and sometimes go to dangerous and damaging lengths to prove its supremacy. Kossuth is usually depicted as a huge pillar of flame boiling skyward.
Throughout History of Faerun, temples of the Firelord actively recruit from the ranks of the poor and the disaffected, offering a regimented program of progression through self-denial. New recruits adopt a repressive, ascetic lifestyle in hopes that, through recruiting other followers, they will advance to a higher level (“terrace”) of the organization. Each new terrace offers more benefits than the one before, enticing members of the lower ranks to greater and greater acts of religious devotion to advance to the next rank. As the stakes become richer, the associated risks become greater, and the faithful often immolate themselves in display of fire’s awesome power. Such a death holds little fear for the dedicated follower, however, who believes that those who die by flame in Kossuth’s service will serve him as honored warriors in the hereafter.
Skeptical outsiders view Kossuth’s church as a mysterious, highly complex organization that shuns critics but welcomes newcomers with a little too much enthusiasm. They cynically note the high death rate of young aspirants, suggesting that those in the upper echelons purposely send their inferiors on suicide missions to increase their own share of the spoils. The poor and desperate, who fill most of the lower ranks, angrily deny such accusations: For them, the Kossuthan church offers advancement through hardship that can lead to vast wealth and prestige.
Kossuth’s doctrine of elemental supremacy virtually ensures conflict with the other elemental lords, and the Lord of Flames harbors a special hatred for Istishia, whom he views as pathetic and weak. In response, the King of the Water Elementals instructs his followers to work against the plans of Kossuth at every turn. Open warfare between the two clergies is rampant. The Firelord interacts very little with the other deities of Faerun. Moradin and Flandal Steelskin honor him for the heat of the forge, but he barely responds. The return of Bane pleases Kossuth, however; the two deities seem to agree on the importance of a strong religious hierarchy and have a common intolerance for the ephemeral and unpredictable nature of chaos.
Divine Domains
Elemental Fire, Purification Through Fire, Destruction, Fire, Renewal, Suffering
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