Cult of Zariel
"By Zariel's light we burn. By Zariel's flame we purge."The cult of Zariel were a collection of individuals that worshipped Zariel during the centuries she spent as an archdevil of the Nine Hells. Following Zariel's redemption in 1498, the various cults of Zariel disbanded, their prayers no longer answered, and many turned towards similar devils for aid.- Common refrain of the Cult of Zariel
Tenets of Faith
Worshippers of Zariel were generally those that sought more power or tactical knowledge for direct conflicts. Individuals wanting to prove themselves on the battlefield, those who sought glory through combat, and people who desired to fight but were unable to, were common members of Zarielite cults.
Zariel was also known for rewarding powerful and loyal servants in life with high commands in her Blood Legion in death, a strong draw for those that desired fame and power beyond death.
Sects
Two of the most famous modern day branches of the cult of Zariel were located in Baldur's Gate and Elturel in Northwest Faerun.
Elturel
The cult in Elturel, though it existed for a least a few decades before the mid-15th century, gained great prominence following the 1447 Reign of Vampires, which resulted in a pact with Zariel that pledged the entire city and all of its inhabitants into Zariel's service in fifty years. The cult further gained power and prominence as the public-facing Order of the Companion, and Zarielites were able to infiltrate the highest ranks of Elturel's government and its military, the Hellriders, getting one of their own, Thavius Kreeg, into the position of High Observer in the 1480s. When Elturel was pulled into Avernus in 1497, Zarielite cultists from across Faerun journied to Elturel to ride the city into Hell, treating its damnation as an unending party that would see them baptized in the Styx into Zariel's service. However, what should have been the cult's ultimate triumph was instead its greatest failure, as Elturel's damnation was narrowly averted thanks to the Lost Star Detectives, whose actions also redeemed Zariel, dissolving the cult of Zariel as an entity.Baldur's Gate
In Baldur's Gate, the cult of Zariel was led by Thalamara Vanthampur, who became a duke of the city in the 1490s. Duke Vanthampur made various alliances with the city's cult of the Dead Three and worked with the Elturian sect to shelter Thavius Kreeg and kill Hellrider refugees, the cult was undone by the Lost Star Detectives in the early days of Elturel's damnation, when they killed Vanthampur, her oldest son, and Thavius Kreeg.920 - 1498
Type
Religious, Cult
Demonym
Zarielites
Deities
Divines
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