Human Sacrifice - The Ash Zealots

The Ash Zealots are a religious extremist organization that worships the alien beings known as the Ash Gods as deities. They believe that the Ash Gods are the new rightful owners of the planet formerly known as Earth, now known as Ashrain, and that the Saashein Tablet dictates their plans for the world and for the survivors of humanity. They also believe that the ecological annihilation of the Great Cataclysm was a necessary judgement by the Ash Gods upon the world and humanity, cleansing imperfection and corruption from the world with their divine fire. As such, they conduct regular human sacrifices at their altars, beneath the shadows of the mighty Constructs, in order to appease the Ash Gods by the continued purging of unworthy souls from the crop of humanity. This they do so that the human race will be spared another act of mass cleansing when the end-times finally arrive, and the crop will be pure and prepared for reaping when the Ash Gods come unto the surface of the world to remake it as a paradise.
The common consensus among every other survivor group is that the Zealots are insane, and that their regular, manic, sadistic ceremonies conducted in proximity to the Constructs exposes them to the mind-altering effects of the colossal structures, furthering that insanity. They are reviled for their practices by even groups such as the Carvers, who view their rampant, wanton destruction of human life as a complete waste of valuable resources. To even the cannibalistic gang, this religious ritual represents a complete decay of human morality, lacking even the sense to make use of every part of the deceased individual. The Carvers kill for gain, while the Ash Zealots kill for their barbaric religious conviction.

Execution

Different factions of the Ash Zealots conduct different versions of human sacrifice. The majority of sects within the cult tie their victims to a large stone slab and perform elaborate dances and invocations around them in the nonsensical language of the Saashein Tablet. They then light a great fire beneath the victim and slowly burn them from the feet up until they are nothing but ashes, which they scatter across the landscape as an offering. Other groups conduct much more elaborate and visceral tortures upon victims, offering their skin and organs to the Ash Gods upon their altars. Still others cannibalize their victims, but only the brain and heart, so as to preserve their knowledge and wisdom despite the destruction of their body.
One specific outlier group is the heretical splinter sect of the cult known as the Houndsbane Zealots, who worship the mythical deity known as Houndsbane, God of Aberration. Beneath the Charnel Construct, his supposed home, they lure the monstrous abominations known as Hounds to their sacrificial plinths where the carnivorous beasts devour the sacrificial victim alive. This they do to appease Houndsbane, whose monsters are his heralds.

Primary Related Location

The Constructs

Important Locations

• The Charnel Construct

Related Organizations

• The Ash Zealots
• The Houndsbane Zealots