CasusNO

The cult of the New God is a farce.
Astrid did exist. She had a revelation, and she preached the tenets of her new faith to any who would listen. Her rivals did stab her to death and toss her body out to be torn apart by wild dogs, but the notion that her wisdom arose from a power higher than the gods of the Old Faith is invention. The source of her visions was none other than Diabolus. He invented the gods of the Old Faith, nudging mortals to exalt the great fey and thereby imbue them the power from mortal faith and prayer. In doing so, he gained a permanence no other would enjoy. The “gods” needed him. The Devil also knew the great fey would become weary of the mortals and eventually withdraw from the world. This would cause mortals to conclude that the gods were myth. Once freed from the fear of divine retribution, mortals might fi nd ways to avoid the Underworld and preserve their identities beyond death.
Diabolus believed the great fey had served their purpose and that it was time to create a new religion to rise from the ashes of the old. He just needed a vessel to carry his message to the world. That vessel was Astrid. Of course, the cult of the New God has no idea that the deity they worship is actually the Devil. Many might scoff at the idea, especially since their faith steers mortals toward the light rather than swelling the ranks of the damned, but the Devil is cunning. He cares nothing for Hell and its denizens. He craves only power. If mortals exalt him to a position above the other gods, then let the grasping hordes of devils elevate a new leader. The signs of Diabolus’s infl uence are everywhere in the cult, from the use of the serpent in its symbols to the questionable tactics the cult employs—the Inquisition, crusaders, and even witch hunters. Diabolus does not intend to ever show his hand in the cult’s creation or its continued growth. He is content to let mortals believe he is the Adversary when in fact they advance his interests. This is why Devil worshipers and devotees of the New God wield different kinds of magic. The divide will persist until the cult stamps out all the competing religions and only the New God remains.