Cult of Orcus

A cult that was prominent in Bal-Morath after the exile of Halames.

History

The Cult of Orcus has been in existence for centuries, since long before the formation of the Empire. Its worship of the Demon Prince of Undeath, Orcus, marks it as not a true 'religion' (which, by definition, follows a deity) but it is not far from it in terms of wealth, political influence and numbers of followers.

Until the middle of the 1st Century the Cult was relatively quiet, practising its worship in relative secrecy but once the residents nation of Bal-Morath were transformed into Tieflings the Cult came out from the Shadows and proclaimed itself as the 'voice' of this new race, arguing strongly for its inclusion in the Empire even during the open conflict that existed in the early 2nd century.

The cult achieved an unprecedented amount of political power from 182 - 194 IC whilst it ruled Bal-Morath but once deposed it found itself unable to convert sufficient other races to its cause and rapidly sank back into obscurity.

Rise in Bal-Morath

Eventually, in 177 IC Bal-Morath's king (Halames) was executed after a revolution and a Republic was formed but this was corrupted by the noble houses and dominated by the non-Tiefling House Sarris as the Empire was only willing to deal with Human representatives. The Cult seized upon this opportunity to reinvent themselves as a Pro-Tiefling 'nationalist' party representing the 'hard-working, ordinary Tieflings who deserved better than rule by an ultra-rich 'elite' Noble houses'.

By 182 IC the Cult had gained such influence (mostly through assassination, blackmail and liberal amounts of enchantments) that the people handed them power and the Cult began to 'rule' all of Bal-Morath. Once in power they, initially, convinced the populace that they were true to their word and appeared to exert political pressure on the Empire for more favourable trading and military deals. In fact, the Empire was deeply unhappy that a Cult had seized its newly acquired lands and conceded only the most minor of points. The Cult, wanting to avoid serious reprisal from the Empire until they'd established themselves fully actually presented very few demands and thus the state of affairs remained more or less the same. The Cult naturally heralded as "great victories for the Morathian people" which further consolidated their position.

Current Status within the Empire

The Cult still exists to this day and is still popular among Tieflings that have little grasp of history or who have become 'disenfranchised'. Although rarely publicised most towns have a few followers and they occasionally go 'door-to-door' to try to drum up more recruits.