Xelerak

God of Power, Egotism, and Self-improvement

As the Deity that puts the self before anything or anyone else, Xelerak is most commonly known as the God of Egotism (often by those that oppose him), or the God of Self-Improvement (often by those that support him). In His ideology, the individual is the centre of the world, and has one of two options. Either do everything you can to gain power and to rise above others so you’re free to do as you please, or admit to be a lesser being and be subservient those better than you.
Xelerak is often considered to be an evil Deity, and He is in fact the most popular of the evil Gods. Interestingly enough, despite His worship being forbidden in the majority of nations, He has a strong presence in almost all of them. As Xelerak appeals to anyone that desires personal strength and power above all else, he has a large but poorly organised following spread all over the world.
Xelerak and His followers are often considered to be forces of chaos, as they outright refuse any form organisation and order. They care only for themselves, and it takes exceptionally influential or powerful Xelerakians like the God of Egotism and Self-Improvement Himself to unite large groups of followers under one banner. Because of this connection to chaos Xelerak is often linked to demons. While perhaps similar in numerous aspects, they are not the same. However, because of these similarities, many Xelerakians do consider demons perfect creatures to temporarily work together with, or to summon using magic.

Beliefs and purpose
Xelerak follows the simple “Rule of the Strongest”. His entire ideology is centred around the individual that should aspire to become as powerful as it can so it is free from any constraints. While it is encouraged that everyone indulges in their desires and does as they please, The God claims that there will always be others that will try to hold you back. To be truly free means to be able to do anything you want, and to achieve that you need to be stronger than the others around you. Xelerak’s ideology means that individuals should spend their lives becoming stronger and better by any means necessary, no matter the sacrifices it would take. This if course means that many worshippers of Xelerak end up taking part in practices forbidden in most nations on Ehldaron.
Because there is so much focus on the individual, Xelerak’s beliefs are considered to be incredibly egotistical, as an individual is encouraged to think about their own strength and desires without caring about others. The God of Egotism goes in fact so far as to make this a point. One shouldn’t care about others according to Him. The only thing that matters is your own strength and your own will, while others are either an obstacle in your way or a means to an end. This of course is the big problem in Xelerak’s beliefs as well. Because it is so self-centred, it is rare to see Xelerakians working together. Usually “cooperation” can only happen when a powerful follower exerts enough influence over a group of lesser followers, meaning that there is some kind of hierarchy where the weaker follow the stronger. As per Xelerak’s own beliefs however, it is an unstable and unreliable “cooperation” at best, as there will be lots of internal conflict, and the weaker ones will eventually do anything they can to overmaster the stronger one(s). This is why alliances between Xelerakians only last when there is a goal in sight that truly benefits all of them, like the spreading of their beliefs, or the destabilization of a nation.
It is of course this self-centred vision that creates the very chaotic nature of Xelerak’s beliefs. If everyone is thinking only of themselves and disregards any societal rules that may exist, it is impossible to maintain any kind of structure.
During ancient times Xelerak managed to gain a massive following because of His immense power, and He was a significant threat. While the God had His own region, most followers were actually traitors, dissidents, and power hungry beings from regions controlled by the other Gods. Many of them saw The God of Power, Egotism, and Self-improvement as the God of ultimate freedom, and left their home to join Him searching for personal gain. During the God Wars Xelerak’s massive armies spread over Ehldaron, fighting other nations with the simple goal of spreading their beliefs.
In current days Xelerak is by far the most popular of the so called evil Gods, with his followers spread across the Realm. Now however, despite their significant numbers, the different cults are disorganised and plagued with internal conflict, diminishing their threat immensely. Occasionally there is an exceptionally powerful follower of Xelerak that manages to use their influence to gain power over large amount of other followers and “unite” them, although this is quite rare.

Followers
Most nations have a complete ban on worshipping evil Gods, Xelerak of course being one of them. There also hasn’t been a true nation in Xelerak’s name since the ancient times. There are a few exceptions however, like Ellorwis, the so called “The Realm of Chains”, where evil Gods are openly worshipped. Nevertheless the God of Power, Egotism, and Self-improvement is the most commonly worshipped of the evil Gods, and His worshippers are not easily halted by a mere ban. Worshippers of Xelerak are present in almost every nation that exists, although they are hard to find. They usually gather in small groups, and are most commonly present in big cities, as that is where they can blend in the easiest. Followers of evil Gods have to try their hardest to stay hidden from both the authorities and the clergy. If they are ever discovered, the best they can hope for is a swift death. This is why these Xelerakians are often seemingly normal people with normal occupations. However, in the dead of night these men and women gather with the rest of their cult to perform horrific acts of worshipping and indulge in their deepest and darkest desires.
With the ban on worship in most nations, temples of Xelerak are of course non-existent in these places. This is why His followers often build their own temples in abandoned buildings, ruins, or shacks in the slums. These “temples” may not look like much, but they are often home to dark and depraved practices.
Different groups of Xelerakian followers rarely have contact with each other. Most of these cults exist out of likeminded people with similar goals and work completely independently from others. True to the God that they practice, they care only for themselves and little else, and often they simply don’t know about cults like them. As long a group works alone they don’t pose much of a threat. However, occasionally different Xelerakian cults do find and reach out to each other, a rare event that usually can only happen under the guidance of an exceptionally powerful follower of Xelerak. When this occurs, these groups can quickly become an extremely dangerous force.
On rare occasions a devout worshipper of Xelerak can be granted powers by their God. They of course continue to use these abilities to help them achieve their own goals. Sometimes that means these rare worshippers go out on their own to do as they please. Others start seeing themselves as leaders, and often end up gathering multiple Xelerakian cults and lead them. Even others may use their powers to infiltrate existing bodies of religion, and hope to spread their corruption from within. Whichever path one of these empowered cultists chooses, they have the potential to quickly become dangerous and unpredictable threats to the nation they reside in.

Divine Domains

Egotism (Trickery, War)

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Fist slamming into the ground and cracking it

Divine Classification

High God

Alignment

Chaotic Evil