Written by Zanos, Second High Priest of the Holy Empire. 172 pages.
Preface
Long ago, in the ages prior to the Great Collapse, a vast Empire ruled over the land. Their rule was just and kind, and the mortals prospered. This was before The Fall, before the appearance of The Twisted Races and the monsters, before the Seals of Hell shattered. Mortals lived their lives in peace and tranquility, and happiness was as a pillar on which their hearts rested.
But up in the heavens, a great catastrophe was slowly approaching. The old gods, a pantheon of beings calling themselves the Brahman (“Ultimate Reality”, a choice of words that signifies their arrogance), were not inclined to take their duties of protection and guidance with care.
Consumed by their own self esteem and ego, they claimed to have created all there is, and demanded to be worshiped as creators of the universe, as the answer to all questions asked. As the ages passed, they grew fat with overconfidence and were addled by their own lies. They neglected their duties to the world, and let the mortals do as they may - without guidance, and without protection.
Inevitably, the price was paid.
The cataclysm bears many names - The Collapse, The Maelstrom, and The Fall are just a few. Our world was torn, ravaged beyond repair by the forces we so foolishly tempered with. Magic ceased to head out calls, and decimated that which it once helped nurture.
Monsters emerged from the shadows, beings of darkness and foulness controlled by their thirst for destruction. New races, creatures twisted and mutated by The Hole, stood up and claimed our broken land their own, and with their claim came the strife and the drums of war. The Seals of Hell broke, and a myriad of demons, devils and horrors from across the depths of despair began tearing to shreds our tortured world.
Indeed, all seemed lost. But like in the old mythos, inside this chest of disasters we unleashed upon our world, lay a glittering hope.
The Three Pantheons heard our prayers, and they answered them.
They rose to face the enemies of the mortals without delay. And thanks to their continued efforts and blessed guidance, we are able to live our lives as happily as we do today.
Who were the so-called ‘Brahman’?
We know little about the world before the collapse. What records survived were scarce, and very few of those talk about the old gods and the practice of their worship. What little we know is based mostly on word of mouth (that has passed since the collapse itself in such a manner and therefore is prone to errors). We are forced to consult their followers - the so called “monks of old”, for any substantial information. (For those who wonder, communing with our gods yielded very little; they deem this subject to be closely related to the collapse itself, and refuse to elaborate, fearing they might clue us in on the knowledge that led the denizens of the empire to bring upon themselves its collapse.)
We know they were, and still are, gods. Their power may pale in respect to that of the three Pantheons, but they still perform miracles beyond that which any mortal can perform. We also know the claims that they are fiends to be false - that much our gods have confirmed. And while it does not erase their past misdeeds, it is true that our gods have deemed the old gods to not be a threat to the world, and have permitted them to have followers, even if only a small number of them.
In short, we can conclude them to be some ancient deities, ones that have sinned against their followers but have sinned no more since.
What do their followers tell us about them?
Very little. It seems to me that they all fear we will deem them heretics for following the old gods.
But we do know these gods do not claim to have created the world anymore. In fact, they provide very little in the sense of metaphysical answers, and it seems they have no clerics or priests who serve them. Their doctrine centers around vague concepts such as “enlightenment” and “self growth”, without clearly providing any real substance to their teachings. It seems their faith is a watered down version of an older, richer in content philosophy, that they probably instituted as their worship in the old days. And while the layperson reading this might conclude that this so called “philosophy” is good, since it “led” to the creation of the empire, I will remind them to consider these two points:
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First, this “philosophy” has also led to the collapse of the empire and the collapse of the empire and to the many horrors mentioned by me earlier in this text.
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Secondly, we know very little, if anything at all, about what led to the creation of the empire. For all we know, the old gods could have arrived to our world in the middle of its 3000 years of existence.
So, their worship seems futile, barely a faith to be called so. But who are they? What are they like? These questions could lead us to better understand their hubris, to better recognize in ourselves the same sinful and abhorrent traits that have led them to forsake humanity and led to the empire’s doom.
The Old Gods
There are only nine old gods, a questionably low number. Some theorize there were many more before the collapse that have either perished or distanced themselves from the world.
It is, of course, total madness to listen to these theories, and like any scholar could tell you, the idea of a god simply ‘perishing’ (respectfully barring ragnarok related events and gods battling other gods) is far removed from reality. Some might have distanced themselves, but this hypothesis is not backed by any record or story we have gathered.
So, who are these gods?
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Indra, god of the atmosphere
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Agni, god of fire and lightning
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Kali, goddess of destruction
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Lakshmi, goddess of luck
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Rudra, god of storms and the dead
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Surya, god of the sun
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Ushas , goddess of dawn
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Varuna, god of order
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Vishnu, god of mercy
Just from this list, it should be apparent how flawed this pantheon really is. A goddess of destruction? A god of mercy, but no god of justice or vengeance?
But I digress. There are many points of interest in this list - the duality of Rudra might clue us on to how the old gods viewed storms, though this is not a particularly interesting subject (for those who wish to extend their knowledge on the subject of gods domains of powers and the influence it has on cultures, there are many scholarly books on the subject that are easy to find).
The fact that no god is hailed as king or queen of the pantheon paints a confusing picture, especially considering that we know for certain the empire had a singular ruler, an emperor.
And yet again, it seems that there are no night berries in the bush - we don’t know much more about the gods and their personalities, or even if they have those. It seems that most of the interactions the monks have with their gods is through either meditation (which involves little to no actual talk), or through the leading bodies of the monasteries, which include a complicated hierarchies (harder to memorize than a clairninan lord’s bloodline, I will tell you) and a set of seven holy warriors called “avatars”, who are meant as protectors of the monasteries. The old gods seem to keep their distance from us, despite it being the exact thing that caused the collapse.
That is, sadly, all that I know, and all there is to know. The old gods were foolish and haught, believing themselves to be above guiding and teaching the mortals of the world. It led to the greatest catastrophe that ever was or will be, and yet they still refrain from guidance and teaching, learning nothing from their mistakes. They are not monsters or demons, that is clear; but choosing between the two will leave the writer of this text hard pressed for choice.
Place in the world
Why then, you may ask, would the gods allow such beings to keep seeking worship? If they are so bad, so irresponsible, why wouldn’t the gods smite them and spare us from their wretched presence?
Well dear reader, this has no easy answer, but I believe I found it.
You see, it is a sad axiom of life that there will always be mortals living on the far edges of culture and society. The downtrodden, wretched, and unlovable. These few will not be willing to do what is needed to seek our gods’ love and guidance, and they will go on seeking guidance and acceptance elsewhere.
Is it not prudent, then, to give them a better option to fall to than fiends and made up beings? A safety net, one that might not be productive, but at the same time its harm will be mitigated by its small size and lack of resource?
That is why they were allowed to continue being, even after what their attitude has brought upon the world. A safe, unthreatening alternative to more extreme beliefs.