Cult of The Deep Ones
Public Agenda
The Deep ultimately seek to save the world from an event they call The Fall. During The Fall, humanoids of all walks of life will attempt to destroy all The Deep, as well as many other cults. When they finally achieve their goal, The Deep Ones will no longer be able to hold the world above a great pit of chaos. And the world will fall into the chaos and be obliterated. The Deep seek to prevent this by giving The Deep Ones ultimate power over the world.
Assets
The Cult of the Deep Ones has access to many, small, magical trinkets. As well as close contacts with other cults. They have plenty of weapons, armor, and supplies. They own a large-very well hidden- tunnel network, and a small equally hidden town.
History
The history of The Deep is completely unknown.
Mythology & Lore
Soon after the creation of the world, The Deep Ones arrived. They saw that this new world was drifting towards another world, one made from chaos. If they collided the chaos would consume the new world, destroying it. So they dived into the realm of chaos, from which they extended their arms to hold the new world in place. To this day they still hold the world above that realm of chaos, saving it from destruction.
Divine Origins
All that is known is that soon after the world began The Deep Ones arrived, gathered a group of chosen people, and founded The Deep.
Cosmological Views
They are not taught this, in fact most members of The Deep don't even care. All they know is that The Deep Ones kept the world from being immediately destroyed after the creation.
Tenets of Faith
The Deep Ones demand 3 things from their servants:
-All who wish to serve the deep must first be broken, then rebuilt from their old corpse. And one day, when they are called, they must join The Fallen in the realm of their masters.
-Every moment of your life must be devoted to The Deep, from the moment you join and even in death.
-Do everything in your power to stop The Fall.
Ethics
Everything must be done in the name of The Deep Ones, and for The Deep Ones. Otherwise, they don't really have any ethics.
Worship
Every year, every month, every week, every day, every hour, you must serve your deep lords with conviction. They demand you remind yourself of this vow by writing The Vows of the Deep every week. These vows must never be broken, and the parchment it is written on is the same, it must never be harmed or lost. The lords of the deep maintain balance so we do not, we may side with good or evil as we see fit. Deals with devil, pacts with angels, both are acceptable if it means furthering the cause of The Deep Ones.
Priesthood
The Broken:
Lowest of caste system, they must always be referred to as the broken or broken, never shall they be distinguished as individuals, so whether you preach to a horde of the broken or to a single of the broken you shall refer to them as a collective. They are slaves, the hands of The Deep Ones , farmers, miners, and general workers are broken. Though unlike true slaves they are not worked to their limits, rather broken must work until they wish to stop. Those who truly wish to join the deep ones then consult the callused who watch the broken work for 3 days and nights without rest. If they succeed in this task they have been broken and join the callused in their rehabilitation. Seeing as the broken choose themselves how long they work, incompetence is very rare, those who shirk all responsibility and are content to watch others work are punished. Not with whip or iron, but with tongue. They are locked in the town cell, the closet room to the chamber of The Deep Ones , for a workweek without food. Here enchantments are used so the Descending may preach entire sermons from small magical mouths placed on every inch of the walls. Those few who do endure are then either released and branded as an unbeliever, if they wish to leave, or exalted and promoted to a callused if they still wish to remain. In order for the broken to achieve full devotion they must leave their past, many begin their journey with being killed immediately upon firmly deciding to worship the deep ones and then reincarnated as a literal new person, a whole new race, a whole new family, a whole new beginning.
The Callused:
Only when one is truly broken can their souls, minds and bodies be mended and the truth become a callus upon their very being. The Callused have their individuality restored, and are given special names from the deep ones themselves through visions or whispers in the wind. When a name is chosen they must carve it into their tongue, so those who believe in the power of the deep ones may recognize each other swiftly and discreetly. So love for this gift from The Deep Ones may be the first message conveyed when one opens their mouth to utter a word. Outside of the cult they are referred to as townsfolk or the townsfolk as to avoid the ears of strangers. Townsfolk feign their very name, they work shops, smithies, bakeries, and all manner of mundane and ordinary jobs. They cast a shadow over the truth of their life, protecting The Deep Ones and their church.
The Descending:
When ones entire being is healed and the will of The Deep Ones has been woven into their now callused souls they begin their decent into the holy domain of The Deep Ones , the caves. The Descending are a devout clergy, mostly simple priests, who have become linked almost telepathically with the deep ones. It is through The Descending that The Callused and The Broken hear the will of the deep ones. They are allowed to enter the tunnels in which The Deep Ones reside, though most of their duties are still top side they also attend to the cave system housing their other-worldly patrons. Though some are chosen to be champions of The Deep Ones , only few are chosen to fill this role every century . The first champion was born in the youth of the church, he was a strong paladin who fought to save The Deep Ones and protect the church. No one truly knows how long the church has been around, but according to some of the older members it has been around long enough for some of the older tunnels to reach cities that had been bound to the history books. The main duty of a Descender is to prepare sermons from the whispering of The Deep Ones to share.
The Fallen:
As any explorer, the Descending must reach the end of the tunnel. Both literally and figuratively, once a Descending stops hearing The Deep Ones and loses that mental connection they must travel to the heart of the caves, a large hole deep deep underground, big enough to swallow an army. Here they jump. When they return they are thought to have actually touched The Deep Ones , who the church believe resides at the bottom of the hole. When the jumper crawls forth some days later they are no longer human. Only occasionally will a Descending see a Fallen in the caves, even for all the time they're spend in those tunnels. But what they describe sends shivers of fear and exhilaration through all their spines. Some describe ones resembling large ants that move faster than lighting and crawl on the ceiling. Other say they have seen huge spiders with several human arms all serving as the creatures legs and and human faces littered with thousands of time black eyes. Most resemble insects found in the depths of the caves, but some have been described as much stranger things. The oddest being a man who wore robe made from flexible and light stone, he had large wings made from millions of flying moths, and his mouth had expanded to cover half his face so he truly could smile ear to ear. No one speaks to the Fallen, they are thought to have ascended mortal thoughts and language, they have become angels of The Deep Ones . No one knows what purpose they serve, though some say they now protect The Deep Ones and their tunnels. What ever their purpose is they require a annual sacrifice or they begin to kill off the Descending.
The Deep Ones :
Truly mysterious creatures, the church knows they are not true God's, but rather something in between our realm and the heavens and the hells. Something that doesn't belong anywhere. They have shown to have power that can surpass God's in the distant and forgotten past but no other church would ever recognize such a thing. From the records of those who first encountered The Deep Ones they are described as gargantuan creatures with no true form. They seem to shift to fit something related to those that see them. Maybe they will reflect one mans fears, while to another man they are his hopes and dreams. It is thought that this is why there is a great variation between the Fallen, that they are transformed into something relating to themselves. They are often depicted as large beetles by the church.
Granted Divine Powers
The Deep Ones grant power to Warlocks, Clerics, and Paladins of their order. Spells, Strength, and sometimes even a wish or two.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The Deep has contact with other cults, but not other religions and settlements. They always let those cults keep their belief, but insist they work together in order to further the power of both cults.
"Praise the deep"
Founding Date
Unknown
Type
Religious, Cult
Alternative Names
The Deep
Demonym
Withing the cult there are only brothers and sisters in arms. Outside of the cult they are referred to as Cultists, no official demonym.
Leader
Deities
Divines
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