The Others

The last of the kobolds streamed out of the building in a reluctant retreat as I bashed in the head of the one under me with my already-bloodied flail.
"Well done, Brother Maekan," Haedry said, her chest heaving as she kept an eye on the retreating reptilians. "Now we can finally re-consecrate this place to Lord Homundar. This town will thrive again."
"Yes," I agreed. "It is most unfortunate how only one of us managed to survive the effort, though."
"One?" she asked in confusion. My flail spun around and descended again, ending her confusion and her life together.
"Yes, Sister," I told her corpse, "one." The whispers rose in approval, and I began moving about the process of consecrating the ruins; not to Homundar, but to they who successfully guided me here. The town would indeed thrive again, its citizens and clergy unknowingly fueling the masters instead of Homundar.
There are powers other than the known deities who oversee the pillars of existence. Many minor deities of course watch over more specific aspects of mortal life and the universe: a god of Hospitality (or possibly several) sees worship in inns and brothels, while a deity of Rivers watches over and responds to those who make their trade on the waterways of the continents. Outside these, however, there is a force or group of forces that watches the gods in jealousy. Their names are unknown, but their effects can be spotted. People under their influence begin behaving differently over time; slowly, so subtly as to not be noticed except by those closest to them, until they suddenly carry out whatever singular task they were selected for.
The goal of these others seems to be to steal the powers granted to the deities by the worship of mortals. Loyal worshippers are slaughtered by those nearest to them, and grounds are consecrated to The Others. How or why this works to effectively steal the intent of worshippers on the consecrated grounds is unknown, but it appears to be effective. More than one town has cried out, over and over, to their favored god, only to be told after years of trying to get his or her attention that their prayers never reached the god's ears. Investigations into such towns find the distinctive three-lined symbol of The Others marked into innocuous locations on every availble building and structure. Only after a careful consecration of the entire area and the disfiguring of these marks do other deities once again become aware of what is happening within the given area.

Implications of Power

There are two most quietly frightening aspects to this theft of worship. First, some prayers during these periods do appear to be answered, if in unfamiliar ways. This suggests that who- or whatever The Others are, they are capable of delivering miracles in the same manner as the known and accepted deities.
The more scary realization is that areas consecrated to The Others are effectively nonexistent to the eyes of the gods unless an ordained member of their worshippers is present; even then, only the worshipper's immediate surroundings appear to be observable to the deities until The Others' influence and marks are removed.

Worshippers... or Not

Those who have done tasks for The Others, when confronted and captured, appear confused. They are aware of their actions, and intellectually recognize when something should be disturbing to them, but cannot think of their efforts as anything other than appropriate. When questioned about the methods by which they have fallen under such an insidious influence accounts vary but always mention a chorus of whispers audible only to the affected person.

Divine Domains

Unknown

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Three sinuous lines extending outward from a joined point at their center.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

The only apparent goals of The Others are to subvert and claim the energies of worship intended for the known deities.

Divine Classification

Unknown; Suspected Fiend or Fiends

Religions

• The Cult of The Unknown

Church/Cult

The Cult of The Unknown