LIBITNIA

Libitnia is known throughout the land as the Goddess of Death.  She lays claim to the souls of the most beautiful beings, getting some sort of sick satisfaction from holding all that beauty in the palm of her hand, totally under her power.  Her beautiful handmaidens venture forth and fill the minds of warriors with wild dreams of the rewards of dying in battle, convince jilted lovers that death is the only way out, and draw in the vain and convince them to die young and leave a pretty corpse.

While she inhabits a beautiful form herself, inside she is a hideous beast.  She hungers for blood, craves power above all, and attempts to manipulate with her every word.  Her only loyalty is to herself, and will only lend a hand to gain a future boon.

Libitnia manipulates so often, that the other Lords have grown tired of arguing (except Bellicosus, whose arguments with Libitnia are legendary) and she takes this to mean that she has won and they are none the wiser.  Thanatos tolerates her ways, Discordia does not wish to cause unnecessary confrontation, Bellicosus won't give an inch, and while not subtle or manipulative himself, he backs up his threats with force when provoked, and Nameless. . . well, he just sits back and lets her think she's the master manipulator as she does exactly what he wants.

Libitnia has the power of the succubus and the leach.  She can seduce any man into doing exactly what she wants, and then she sucks them of all their powers.  That is how she became a Lord of the Dead.  Her predecessor took her as his consort, believing her to be a willess, mindless slave.  But she already had much power at that time, and the more she drew from her "master," the more he was under her control.

The other Lords witnessed the whole thing, but did nothing to intervene.  Their beliefs, of course, being that any fool who bows to the petty and primitive desires of lust is not fit to be a Lord, and any fool who can't recognize their own self-appointed executioner does not deserve to live.

Libitnia is indeed cunning.  She has a sharp mind, and an even sharper tongue.  The Lords, however, have had decades to thicken their minds and skins against her, so her powers have little to no effect on them.  Against a mortal, though, her will is absolute.

To find out more about Libitnia, pick up the comic book LAZARUS: The Many Reincarnations, published by Lodestone Publishing.  Ask your local comic shop to order your copy today, and pick up your back issues at Amazon.com.