Children of the Inevitable

The 'Children of the Inevitable' were short-lived death cult active in the Central Safe Zone some centuries ago.

Tenets of Faith

The central belief of the Children of the Inevitable was that the world belongs to monsters, in its entirety, and that humanoid existence was a temporary aberration. Seeking to prevent monsters from wiping out humanoid civilisation was a sin, and the only worthwhile way to spend one's life was to convert as many people as possible to that point of view. There was no reward for such, it was merely a moral imperative. It was an extremely nihilistic ideology.

History

The discovery that the Western Safe Zone had been destroyed, brought back by the Great Expedition when it returned to the Central Safe Zone, caused immense turmoil. Previously, orthodox thought had run that the triumph of humanoids over monsters was inevitable, and it was only a matter of time before the entire world was brought under control. The dissolution of the Western Safe Zone not only shook this orthodoxy but led to some unusual beliefs.

Founding

The circumstances that led to the founding of the group are unknown, but it is certain that it arose in Skyhammer in one particular year. Preachers appeared on street corners, causing great consternation. Civil authorities were at something of loss to know what to do about it, both leaving them be and dispersing them violently seemed to only increase their popularity. They had caught a zeitgeist of nihilism. All this, and the leader of the group remained unknown.

Spread and Movement

Eventually, continuing operations within Skyhammer became untenable. The group scattered to spread its word throughout the (then much smaller) Central Safe Zone. It's difficult to say exactly how many followers it had, but there were known to be active cells in Vellanixhal and Raven Falls. There were sporadic attempts to wipe it out, but it proved very difficult to eradicate.

The Desert

In its third and final year, the leader of the group revealed herself. She gathered her faithful at the edge of the safe zone and led them into the desert, into Terra Hostili. They waited at the edge of the desert for two weeks while she wandered the desert seeking a revelation.

Revelation and Schism

The revelation she brought them was that they needed to seek out monsters and aid them in eradicating their unenlightened humanoid brethren. This caused great agitation in her followers, not least because the group had already suffered many casualties due to monsters on their trip to the desert. Ultimately, the group schismed. Around half of the Children stayed loyal to their leader, and followed her north towards concentrations of monster camps. The remainder elected to follow a more direct path to their goal- attacking towns directly themselves to do the monsters' work for them.

Demise

The loyal group was never heard from again. It is not known how far they got before monsters killed them. The splinter group attacked the first town they came across, causing many casualties. As they didn't count many experienced adventurers among their ranks, they were quickly routed. Only a few were killed directly, the rest were either imprisoned or took their own lives to prevent capture. Due to their numbers, a purpose-built gaol was constructed for them to spend the rest of their lives.

14AF (297BJ) - 17AF (294BJ)

Type

Religious, Cult