For many years, a cult of Chaotic
Evil
flourished somewhere on the shores of
the Nyr Dyv. Although the location
of
their Temple is lost, these facts regarding
it and its followers are known.
The cult was based on the premise that
the elemental forces of the universe are
Chaotic and opposed to mankind, and
are thus (from a humanocentric viewpoint)
Evil. The Temple of the cult
sought to destroy all works of Good and
to disrupt order. Its members were
thieves, assassins,
brigands,
and the like.
Fire was regarded as the first elemental
evil, and its penchant for Chaos fitted
the premise of the cult. Water
was likewise
worshipped as an even more powerful
force of Chaotic Evil, in the form of
floods, storms, and raging seas beating
upon the land and ocean vessels. The
epitome of Chaotic Evil, however, was
regarded as a combination of airand
earth, represented
by blackness and corresponding
with the demonic Abyss.
This combination was regarded as a
complete negation of matter.
The cult grew powerful and rich,
attracting followers of the worst sort and
offering them safety within the walls of
the Temple stronghold. From this fortress
would the followers ride to rob, pillage,
and lay waste the lands about,
tithing the cult from the spoils of the carnage.
Captives from those raids were
brought back to the Temple to serve as
human sacrifices (children
to the fire,
men to the water, and
women to the
blackest Evil) or to slave their lives
away
in bondage. Besides the extensive upper
works of the Temple, a deep labyrinth
beneath the place was constructed, but
virtually nothing is known about these
dungeons except that they were inhabited
by a plethora of creatures serving
Chaos and Evil. It is rumored that a
demon took up abode in the deepest
level, to better receive the sacrifices to it.
Eventually the neighbors of the Temple
grew tired of these depradations. All
Good, both Lawful and Chaotic, banded
together to form a mighty host. Their
army marched to the Temple, fighting
two battles along the way. The first was
conclusive, thought the forces of Good
who held the field afterward, so they gained
the reputation of victory, and their ranks
swelled with local men. The second battle
saw a great slaughter of kobolds, goblins,
orcs, hobgoblins,
evil men, and the like.
The Temple was thereafter besieged, fell,
and its inhabitants put to the sword. It is
reported by some sources that the Temple
and its precincts resisted complete destruction,
but the majority state that the whole
was razed so that the cult could never
emerge again nor could any find where it
once flourished.
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