Forsaken children

Brief Overview

A mainly nomadic religion feared by many mortals of Eden which is devoted wholly to the worship of Lucifer, the god of punishment and torment. Most members are considered to be lawful folks, however, this is according to the laws that they follow as they do not fully recognise Eden laws. Instead they follow Lucifers laws, which are designed to punish the souls of all those he considers to be "guilty."

General Overview

The Forsaken children are known as a brutal religion that some even argue is a glorified cult. They travel in groups and hunt based on posted bounties and word of mouth, but they only capture and execute those who they are able to prove as guilty, as if they kill an innocent they will never be allowed to join Lucifer in the afterlife. They take pride in both the infliction and recieval of pain, and understand it to be a tempering force used to teach those who ignore reason. The Forsaken children directly conflict with the Geodian religion and all creatures devout to her. They will not kill these creatures if innocent, but they will usually go out of their way to prove their guilt.

Culture

Omens

Good Omens

Bad Omens

The number six - This is the number Lucifer chose in correlation to how many days his blood burned after his ascension. The number of the Beast that the pain turned him into. The presence of a single blackbird - Even better if it's alert and watchful. It is said that the person the bird watches is destined to do something great. This symbolizes the witch of the winds, the only black winged Divine servant. Spontaneous flames - (Un-casted/not lit naturally) These are considered good luck. It symbolizes that Lucifer is nearby and that the flame will be needed soon. The Forsaken children will then take out their torch, Pyromantic scone, or lantern, and collect the flame for when needed. Dawn, as Lucifer is the morning star. Born both lifetimes as the sun kissed Edens horizon. Sick/premature infants. this is Deemed as Lucifer testing you and your childs resilience. If the babe survives it is offered shrine related opportunities earlier in life than most, but if it dies the parents are allotted 6 hours to mourn before the infants corpse must be purged by unholy flames. These ashes must not be kept as they are considered tainted and unloved by Lucifer. Meeting a true Forsaken and being gifted a contract - This is considered one of the highest honors as it ensures your soul goes directly to Lucifers ownership. (Instead of serving some forsaken who make their own deals on the side.)

The number seven - It's a Geodian symbols in some states. It's also the number of sins, and if by some chance they're all in one place it won't be good for anyone involved. A flock of black birds - This symbolizes death, yours or someone that you know generally dies within the month. The Forsaken children believe that this meant The Witch of the Winds was angry and would try to appease her with offerings sent to the Forest of Silence. Finding or removing a broken piece of Frey outside of the red desert - (it's a piece of red desert glass.) This implies a pending assault or worse yet, a possible ambush. The person who found the piece will then leave their group and dig a 7-ft deep hole that they must now fill with the glass and tormented blood only once the dirt of Eden has drank all the tainted blood, purifying it within her soil and sending it to hell for Lucifer to see and bless with his protection, is it safe for the cursed Forsaken child to return to his group (otherwise if they return without performing the ritual of protection it is believed that their entire group will die violently). Failing to catch a spontaneous flame - This terrifies Forsaken children because without completing the trial it was sent for, they may never leave limbo. Not even after their 1,000 years of service. Breaking a Forsaken flame - The Forsaken children believe that the true Forsaken which the horn belonged to will now ruthlessly hunt all parties involved in its breaking.

Assets

Natural assets	Geographical assets/landmarks	Unique assets
Metals, ore, gold, fish, minerals, northern hunting game.	Odeasus, Odeassa Ranges, The Devils Mouth, Crooked Crone.	Bloodstones, the Philosophers stone, and an army of mortals encased in gold awaiting the day their curse is reversed.

History

Pre-Tari outlook

Predating the Tari nova, The Forsaken Children were much more hostile and dangerous than the modern day "friendly" neighborhood Forsaken children. For instance, slaves weren't needed or used for sacrifices, poor citizens were. This was due to ease of access, and a serious bias towards anyone who followed a religion that wasn't theirs.
The most popular way to rise in the ranks was to punish the punisher, meaning they had to fight to the death for their wanted title. This led to a lot of infighting and it was later deemed counterproductive considering the fact that each group of Forsaken Children are expected to treat each other like kin.
Priests, Popes, Saints, and prophets of the divines were chosen as prime sacrifices because they were believed to appease Lucifer the most. It was said that overabundant, and better quality sacrifices would bring the Infernal Kings attention to you and grant you one boon from Lucifer himself. They would find a location carved into the closest old portal to the worthy one, and found somewhere in that location would be a true Forsaken waiting with a contract and quill in hand. It was considered one of the greatest honors to be offered a contract, and it could even serve to improve a Forsaken Childs position in their local dark shrine.
The Forsaken children used reside in a kingdom located in Freys Oasis (the The Red Desert) collectively in large strongholds, but spread out during the War of Gods after a fairly successful attempt to wipe out the Forsaken children was executed by the old order of Geodian Templars during the first century of The Tari wars. When a Forsaken Child committed a crime they were tortured and then gifted to the dark shrine as a slave, forced to serve a life sentence before an afterlife of service.

During Tari wars

After Lucifer crawled out of Capers Canyon and walked to Odeasus in his titan form, the Geodian (old) order of Templars mounted a full-scale attack into the kingdom of Brelok with all available forces on the 6th of Sol, -1119 BN. Of these forces, twenty-one men and women were armed with Blessed Shields of Divine Deflection in hopes of wiping out all of the Forsaken Children at once, and to buy Geodea time to surface on Eden to combat Lucifer. The Forsaken children fought ruthlessly and many died, but ultimately they were pushed back to the north-east coast of Brealoks ports (modern day Furystrom). The Forsaken Children were forced to take to the sea and sail towards Odeasus, Midan, where they flocked around their God to learn how truly to worship him.
As they grew a deeper understanding of their deity, their views were formed and they began to understand that their God valued lawful souls, believing most of all in the punishment of the guilty. Free will was something he deeply valued, respecting the willpower of mortals and the choices an individual could chose to make with that will. Lucifer explained what he believed life should be, and it was stated as follows:

"To sin is to breathe unburdened by the weight of Eden. To taste every desire you dare to dream of, and take them for yourself in moderation. To follow that which you crave while outside the bounds of the norm, yet remaining capable of upholding self control in the face of that which the seven sins truly embody, abiding by your morality despite desire or desperation."

-Lucifer, god of torment and punishment

This philosophy became the stepping stones for the basis of the current Forsaken Children. Lucifers children reformed and decided that devotion to their faith needed to be upheld by their convictions. Self-control became a highly respected trait, and in contrast the law of life service was revoked. If a Forsaken Child stepped out of line showing a lapse of self-control, they were made an example of by being tortured and sent to serve in Hell early. After a battle against Anandres the goddess of war, and the Witch of Winds, one of Lucifers horns had broken off. He retrieved it quickly and later requested that the God of craft, Einghast break the horn down into seven peices and forge them into masks, which he then gifted to his chosen emissaries, the seven sins of Hell.

After Tari - Lucifers Heart

After Lucifers death on the 1st of Nuscyset, 0 BN, a palm size red gem which gleamed like a deep sea of crimson was found by a Forsaken Child in a hay pile in his cell, located in the kingdom Oodam in a Geodian prison off the southern coast. It was discovered that Lucifer himself whispered to the bearer of the Stone. The effects were told to grant the stones bearer an imeasurable amount of infernal godly power, however, each past weilder noted historically was driven insane the longer it was kept. For centuries the sacred stone was gifted to the strongest members of Lucifers devout and was used to reveal Lucifers will to the children until some time in the early 1000's TN, when it was stolen from the Golden Shrine before the day of endowment, a ceremony held to gift the Philosophers Stone to its next holder. None currently know its location but it's prophesied that once the stone falls into the hands of a Forsaken Child, their day of endowment will trigger Lucifers second coming. Then Lucifer will rise once more and guide them into a lawful era where criminals are dragged to Hell, and the innocent and just will be thrust into a paradise on Eden built only for the worthy. They say once all is said and done, the feathers of all Divine Servants will burn to ash, just as Lucifers had. In the late -2000's TN, the dead horseman was replaced by a man by the name of Mudrow Varg, a Forsaken Child with a Kyevitahl bloodline who strayed from Lucifers laws. The horseman cameo historically in a few religions, but most prevalently in the Geodian and Forsaken Childrens scriptures due to the fact it was the one thing both Geodea and Lucifer could agree on. Each one of the horsemen is someone who severely offended a God and was told to be an omen of the beginning of the prophesized annihilation. A fortelling of the final prophecy is stated as the gods forsaking Eden entirely, and the planet inverting into its parallel realms. Violently.

After Tari - Current Beliefs

The modern day Forsaken Children believe that performing a crime and sinning mean entirely different things. To sin is to act on your desires lawfully while still fully indulging in your innermost desires, whereas to be considered "guilty" is to be weak to your inhibitions and to lose yourself to the evil within, allowing your will to wain. They believe that sin being associated with evil is the Geodian chantries way of slandering The Forsaken children in common civilians eyes, and is done as propaganda based method to keep undecided souls away from the practices of Lucifers faith.
Sinning is ingrained in their way of life, so using sin and crime in the same context offends them greatly. The Travelers of Torment cycle in and out of Miden, but mostly stick to hunting bounties they deem as "guilty" while occasionally escorting vendors and civilians across Birtham in exchange for Kye, so long as they deem them innocent. Tombsmiths were officially placed as second to the Ark Emissaries in the shrines hierarchy due to their diverse range of skills, however, when it comes to Lucifers commands the Tombsmiths carry more sway. The prerequisites to become a certified Tombsmith now requires 35 years in service as a Felled Flesh Priest, and your Ashkept talisman must be full, meaning you must carry the ashes of at least five Forsaken Children with you at all times.
There is no mercy when you fall as a member of the Forsaken Children. You must be strong and sturdy with your convictions, not allowing yourself to be swayed by any other than steady sin. If a Forsaken Child commits a crime, any crime, a Broken Servant ritual is decreed and set for the closest date that either an Ark Emissary, or Tombsmith can be present. These guilty Forsaken Children are not permitted to be placed in an Ashkept talisman, or it is believed to taint the ash of the unwavering, cursing the talisman and causing unexplained unfortunate oddities to plague the wearer. All Forsaken shrines and establishments are always generously will lit, preventing Absolum and his The Abyssal Order from spying on their affairs through the shadows. This is because Lucifer and Absolum crossed blades during the War of Gods and during their battle Absolum had threatened to destroy Lucifer and his religion, so all Forsaken Children are wary of their shadows in order to ensure Absalom can't steal Lucifers secrets.
On an unrelated note, the children also believe that the firestorms of Furystrom are flames of rage expelled from Pyrite after Lucifer stole and ate the first flame Pyrite gifted to humanity and used it to light the lower bowels of Hell ablaze. This would mean that the infernal flames existing in the lower levels of Lucifers realm deemed that land as a "hallowed hell," burning with flames which originated from the god of purity himself.

Demography and Population

Their estimated population is around 1.2 million members of the faith, however, most of Lucifers devout are scattered across Birtham in a nomadic fashion.

Mythology & Lore

Prophecies

The Forsaken children believe that once all four horsemen are spotted on Eden, no matter their location, the end will begin. Thus triggering Lucifers call of the fallen.
The call of the fallen is described as the end of Eden and the day where all of his chosen will rise to aid him in the overtaking of the Heavens. Each year, true Forsaken will crawl out from the cracks of Eden and guide The Forsaken Children to Lucifers tomb for safekeeping from the seven signs of the apocalypse so they may prepare for war with the Heavens. As the Children prepare with their Forsaken masters, the seven signs will rain supreme on Eden. With each sign a Sin is said to surface on Eden, leading all the way up to Lucifer as the last.

The seven signs are as follows;

1. The firstborn sons and daughters of Eden shall fall to madness. Revel in perturbance, as Wrath has risen.
2. The Fayded realm shall bleed into Eden. Succumb, lest Lust rises.
3. The beasts of Eden turn hostile and begin to feed from their own kin. Gorge, for Gluttony has risen.
4. The ocean begins to rain upwards into the sky. Submit what is cherished, Greed shall rise.
5. The blood of the fallen servants, those who did not choose a side, will flood the skyward sea turning it red, and it will rain down from the sky spreading plagues and tainting the soils. Rest in contempt, as Sloth has risen.
6. The Winking moon will collide with the Wanderer. Behold, Pride shall rise.
7. The Sonlight shall cease, thus beginning Edens entropy. All is now lost, Envy has arisen.

Divine Origins

This is best described by a song commonly sung by Forsaken children. It explains the mortal belief on how Lucifer rose to power and claimed the spark of Punishment and torment. The song goes as follows;

"He dawns the seal, protector of paradise, a servant of what is. A king among his kin.
Bestowed unto him, the title of an Arc, the lead in a legion of unwary sin.
He wept as the children of creation were led astray. Fitting in a way, how gullibly we strayed.
Serving only as a foreshadow of his change from within.

He asked only to choose. Pleas which fell upon deaf ears, ears that hear yet refuse to listen.
And now we all are forced to fall. Her playground, yet our prison.
No will and yet still so proud, many servants found the path to atonement disavowed
Even the innocent, granted a life of damnation undeserved, to be amended only once he had risen.

I fall as he, he falls as we. Fall from forgiveness.
We defy, we shy, we cry, we die. We fall alone.
(All of Eden has gone mad)
We pray, we sway, we stray, we stay seeking our own home.
He falls as we, we fall as he. Just as he had.

Before him appeared the Witch of Winds, who arrived in naught but a flash.
Together they rebelled and conquered hell, as he burnt his feathers to ash.
And as his new reign begins, he preaches of sin and how sinning is not the true crime.
The true crime is guilt and the needless blood spilt of both the mortals and the divines."

Worship

Blessings and curses

Blessed by the Infernal lord

This means that the person was blessed by Lucifer himself to be groomed as an Infernal Lord in the afterlife. The power granted by this blessing usually varies from individual to individual, but a few abilities they have all received in common were as follows:
Each were somehow able to inflict twice the amount of pain as a normal person, each could see in complete darkness, each could see auras of fear, and their skin became thick like iron.

Blessed By Sin

This blessing can only be received from one of the Seven Sins, though no one is sure how to acquire these blessings. Not even those already blessed, however, each individual Sins blessing is known to have a different set of effects. 

1. Greed - Those blessed by greed can turn small portions of lead into gold, and vice versa.
2. Gluttony - Those blessed by gluttony are able to increase their vitality with each meal.
3. Pride - Those blessed by Pride gain an immunity to most persuasions, intimidation attempts, and become incapable of fear.
4. Sloth - Those blessed by Sloth are subconsciously aware while sleeping and can actively defend themselves without disrupting their rest.
5. Lust - Those blessed by Lust gain the ability to induce or remove either pain or pleasure to themselves, or one other person.
6. Wrath - Those blessed by Wrath are granted the ability to store their rage and use it at another time for temporary physical enhancements, they can also share their wrath with one other person.
7. Envy - Those blessed by Envy gain the ability to always find what they're looking for, however, they are unable to retrieve it themselves.

Curse of the Improper burial

It is believed that if a Forsaken Child dies and their body isn't cremated their corpse will rise and become an undead vessel of evil. They're then forced to take pleasure in reliving the crimes of those they tormented in life as their own version of Hell on Eden. This slowly rots them from the inside-out with each act of evil, causing their body to reform and becoming something else entirely. If this happens, the group that the now undead Forsaken Child belonged to will make it their personal mission to find and burn their fallen child. They will do this with no remorse and are ruthless to those who try to intervein.

Forsaken phrases

When entering any Infernal Archive the proper phrase must be spoken. If those who enter do not speak the phrase within 30 seconds, symptoms arise and are as follows.
The Subject will be forcefully plane shifted outside the borders of the kingdom Odeasus.
For the first week following the incident the subject will begin to experience their core body temperature gradually increasing until their skin begins to form a heat rash, which tends to appear as a reddish tone. The people closest to them then become suspicious of the subject.
After a month their soul will begin to disconnect itself from their body, whether they were living or not, distancing from their physical vessel until eventually it is forced out of their body. If symptoms reach this phase, the soul will become unable to reconnect and is left stranded and exposed. It's believed that this is a curse placed by Lucifer meant deny the unworthy entry to his Infernal Archives.

Common rituals/practices;

Broken servant

When a crime is committed by one of the second children they are taken to the shrine of torment and placed with their arms and legs stretched and tied to four different posts. They're then suspended in the air with their torso stripped bare while The Forsaken children (closest to the victim personally) will then begin to break the victim's ribs from underneath the armpit down to the waistline and then attempt to pull them out of their skin towards the spine. The idea is to replicate a fallen servant's wings with the bones of the victim, but because of how brittle most bones are, this has never been properly performed. It is said that a perfect execution would cause Lucifer himself to bless you as a Forsaken in death. the victim isn't allowed to scream, or they never reach limbo, instead only going straight to the pits.

Upon entry

When entering any of the dark shrines a priest will ask; "what is the service tasked upon us children by the father of torment?" And you are to respond to the guilty; "I express my sins, and my desires. Ever giving are the punishing hands, unbound by moral restrictions. For the innocent I steady these hands, salvaging my self-control and using them only to provide pleasure, and if needed, protection." Only with the correct response or a Forsaken child as an escort, may you enter the dark side lawfully (and safely). This phrase is also used when a Forsaken child steps out of line. They're then forced to repeat it again and again while being punished for their transgressions. Each time they pause to scream or cry an hour is added to their punishment.

Whispers of torment

In order to properly perform this ritual the group members must go as far underground as they're actively able to wherever they may be and use the ingredients they've prepared to "listen to Lucifer's laws." What is needed is seven members, seven Forsaken horns fashioned into candles, the blood of a virgin (legally obtained from slaves because hey, slaves aren't people. Right?), A bone from a creature of creation, a seven-pronged pentagram burnt into the floor, and seven victims to kill outside of the circle with each victim bearing or representing one of the seven sins. The members stand on each prong and recite a sacred passage in the infernal language of the servants while allowing the candles to burn down to their hands. Each Forsaken child must have their faces painted in the virgins blood to remain safe from Lucifer, or which ever Emissary is sent in his place. (In case the ritual was done wrong or Lucifer wasn't appeased by your chosen sacrifices). Then they turn away from the circle and walk six steps to the victims, placing the candle above them and allowing it to drip down their faces (the shared pain of sinners). They then cut the victim open with the tip of their horn, allowing the blade to flow through the circle. They must keep the candle flame lit, lest they get dragged to hell with the guilty. The Forsaken children are then no longer allowed to turn to face the circles center, or they will be greeted by Lucifer who will claim the bone from a creature of creation. Usually seeing Lucifer in this way causes madness, but sometimes the repercussions are worse. Each of the victims heads lifts and Lucifer speaks through them to the Forsaken children. Each member is granted three questions. Once answered Lucifer leaves to Hell, dragging each of the sinners down through the unopened ground along with him. (It's very messy, blood gets everywhere).

Cleansed in gold

To the enemies they favored (a rivalry, or difficult to obtain) The Forsaken children ask their resident Tombsmith for permission to enter the Golden Shrine, the most sacred of their holy places, because it represents the blood of the gods, and most importantly the blood of Lucifer (gods bleed an acidic liquid that resembles gold. It's harmful to any mortal that hasn't been blessed by that God in specific). It is in this shrine that the most coveted reside and the rituals performed are only done with the permission of the Tombsmith and either a Fell fleshed priest, or the Ark emissary himself/herself. The Forsaken child in question requests their favorite victim be cleansed and displayed. If the request is allowed the victim is bathed, fed, and treated like the most high valued of slaves. They are then taken to the shimmering showers and placed in tempered glass that is tall enough to fully encase them and placed on their knees, hands unbound, and liquid gold is poured onto them. They're then filled in (painted in liquid gold) by the Tombsmith and placed in the main walkway on one of the stepping platforms for all to see, an eternity in torment.

In your pain, our pleasure

The Forsaken children are known far and wide for their Sadomasochism mentality, mainly because after each skirmish or punishing segment they are resigned to sin after punishments. (Could involve anything from a long break, to an overindulgent feast, but in most cases the group who did the tormenting get together for a good old orgy. Work before play, but play like hell.)

To the guilty

An assumed guilty person is bound and staked to the ground on their knees, then the Forsaken children's highest standing group or shrine member (usually the Wandering Shepherd or Traveler of torment) will retrieve their Forsaken flame, and place it before the guilty party, urging them to blow it out. The trick is, only the innocent in the eyes of Lucifer are able to blow out the candle flame, to the guilty the flame simply waves back and forth, however, if the flame flickers it is stated that Lucifer has left this matter to The Forsaken children's discretion (which some consider a test or trial by Lucifer's design). They will then take days of careful consideration and interrogate the assumed before coming to a consensus.

Ark ascension

When a paired eclipse happens an Emissary or Ashen acolyte may be chosen to ascend to an Arc Emissary. Both Emissaries and Ashen acolytes live in Dark shrines with lock boxes somewhere near their beds. To be ascended the members of the shrine will all place their personal dark flowers into the selected Emissary or Ashen acolytes lockbox. The person with the brightest lockbox while in full darkness wins, and as long as no one publicly denies them (Forsaken children only) they may prepare for their ascendancy ceremony.

Priesthood

The general hierarchy of the Forsaken children starts off the same in most aspects, but after the first three ranks the "priesthood" splits into the Forsaken Childrens religious hierarchy, then dividing into two different branches. The first of which, the Emissary branch, is the homeward-bound political forward. The secondary path, the Tombsmiths branch, is the more practical in terms of carrying out the will of their god.

To the innocent, a turned cheek. As for the guilty, their pain we shall seek.

Founding Date

Evril 23rd, 666 BN

Type

Religious, Cult

Alternative Names

Drifting Devils

Government System

Meritocracy

Economic System

Market economy

Currency

Currency is valued in the following order: Gold < Silver < Kye.

This is due to the fact that the capitol of their gods chosen kingdom is renowned as "the City of Gold," and for good reason.

Deities

• Lucifer

Location

Odeassa Ranges

Official Languages

• Belani

Related Species

• Forsaken

Related Myths

• Geodeas Retribution

Mercys Lie

-45

Forsaken children

-108