The Cruel / The Maestro

Once a revered and respected member of the Father's Pantheon, this God was the Patron of Crafting and God of Beauty, Arts, Talent, and the Pursuit of Perfection. However slowly the God's focus and dedication to his many vocations slowly slipped to obsession. As the most skilled among the Gods, was it not his right to lead? As the most gifted being, was acting against his designs not the same as evil and deserving of his wrath and cruelty? With arguments such as these he thought to turn his Family against the Father and ursurp his place as the head of the Pantheon. However his kin did not share his point of view and all sided with the Father , because while his skill could not be denied The Maestro could also be capricious and cruel. The Father in his anger that one of his own would dare try to turn his family against him and take his place was prepared to vent the entirety of his prodigious fury upon the Maestro. It is said that the Twins of Love and Loss and the Earth Mother interceded on The Maestro's behalf keeping the Father from destroying him entirely in his wrath. Still the Father's judgement was severe, the Maestro was cast out and disowned by The Father, who stripped him of his divine domains. He also forbid the rest of the Pantheon from entertaining the Maestro or his petty attempts at intrigue.
It is theorized during this time The Maestro made his home anew somewhere within the Longshadow, where he could embrace the solitude enforced upon him. Intrigued by this realm he spent much time exploring it, eventually coming to the realization that here he could make a new beginning. The Maestro was now free to pursue whatever art he desired , no matter how dark or forbidden, now that he was far from the Father's watchful and judgmental eye. When his power was next felt upon Terra, he began to be known by The Cruel along with his original title. He had become the Patron God of Thieves, Criminals, and Sadists and had devoted much energy in luring the faithful of the Father's pantheon with dark power and granting boons to those elements who would topple The Father's orderly and rigid plans. Little is known about his worship besides that his Devotees usually fall into one of two general groups: The Reapers, (those who would use subtlety, intrigue and blackmail to take what they desire) and The Joyous ( those who show their devotion through violence, torture, pain and self mutilation. Many of the Joyous could be considered criminally insane). Worship of The Cruel is forbidden by most governments and the Church of the Father has worked hard to thwart his faithful. As much as people abhor the deeds done in his name, it is impossible to deny the sinister beauty and attention to detail his followers imbue into their dark acts.