Azif

Central to the worship of the Numina is the sacred flame. Among his other epithets, Vanu Mar is known as He Who Ignites The Sky (e.g., the sun). According to legend, fire on earth was sent from the sun, arriving as lightning bolts that blasted the ground and set fire to forests. Such earthbound fire is the domain of Azif, eldest son of Vanu Mar. Because his domain is fire in the hands of mortals, Azif is numbered among the Adrasta, the gods of man.

To make the sacred flame, a huge stack of cut wood is gathered outside the temple to be blessed by a priest of Azif. The priests carefully select some of that wood to be brought into the temple and ignited. To make it sacred, priests pray over it, light incense, and pour clarified goat butter on it (representing Anasara). If a priest were to let the sacred flame go out, the traditional punishment is that he be buried alive. If something were to fall into the flame, the flame would be contaminated and it would have to be extinguished, and a new sacred flame would need to be created.

Images of Azif typically take the form of a tall, bronze-skinned man with plaited blonde hair. However, it is not uncommon for him to be depicted with the four arms and ornate jewelry of a Khul wardancer. Azif is also represented as a flaming eagle, or phoenix, and it is this representation of Azif which is emblazoned on the banners and tabards of the city of Gervasa.