The Hourglass of Termin

The Hourglass of Termin is the symbol of the deity Termin's power. Termin uses this device to measure the balance of good and evil within a soul when it is brought before him in the Fields of Termin.

The hourglass is said to be constructed from a frame of ash wood. There is a round, outer section of this frame which is held by small pins to the inner part of the frame, allowing the inner section to rotate and spin the hourglass bulbs. This frame encloses the glass bulbs of the hourglass itself, which contain shimmering grains of what look like sand. Popular folklore states that carved on the frame are images of ravens, the animal of Termin. The eyes of these carved birds are embedded with tiny amethysts.

When a mortal dies in Galactus, their soul is brought by Termin to the Fields of Termin. Here, he holds the hourglass with its top pointed at the soul. The inner frame begins to spin, flipping over and over as it searches the soul's history and weighs each action as good or evil. As each action is judged, one single grain of sand changes color to become black or rose, with black grains symbolizing acts of evil and rose-colored ones indicating acts of good. When the hourglass finishes spinning, it rests as an hourglass on a table would, with its bulbs perpendicular to the ground. The rose-colored grains rise into the top bulb, leaving the pitch-black grains in the lower bulb. Termin then judges the proportion of the volumes of top and bottom, and sends the soul into Ydosgard in whatever form as appropriate to what their actions in life earn then.

Some believe that the soul anchor of Termin is hidden within this hourglass, or that the hourglass is itself the anchor. Termin is said to keep this hourglass in his possession at all times, and seems to draw power from it. Folklore suggests that the anchor is a polished orb of amethyst, blending in with the amethyst decoration on the frame of the hourglass.