divine killer
The higher you stand, the further you'll fall.
A serial killer is normally only the talk of a town, but when one god after another dies the world starts talking.
Summary
After the War of Misunderstanding the power void was to a large degree being filled up by gods and their churches.
The first god to be taken by the divine killer was one set to take full control of Gintha. The death was hushed up as an accident, but when the gods successor stepped in, they died almost immediately.
The kill happened when they were walking along a road. The god suddenly stopped and collapsed as a long and sturdy needle had entered their heart through the chest.
No one knew or saw how the needle had gotten there, but everyone saw the note stapled to the chest by the needle.
The note was made of fine paper and written beautifully with ink. The note is quoted above.
Many gods became very nervous and large rewards were promised to anyone who could bring credible information about the assassin, but none was able to do so.
At this point the killer struck outside of Gintha for the first time, but again it was a god who fell. As with the last two deaths a note was stapled to the chest by the same large needled that went into the heart.
Shortly thereafter a fourth god fell and then a fifth. Rumours started springing up that the killer must be a god themselves in order to be able to kill so easily in broad daylight.
Because of these rumours the name "divine killer" started being used, due to the double entendre of a godlike killer and a killer of gods.
While there were multiple investigations started by a variety of organisations, the killer and how the assassinations were performed could not be found or solved.
Over time about 50 gods died to the divine killer, with the number of deaths slowly declining as the gods started changing their ways.
Historical Basis
Due to the muddled writings and hidden information the amount of people killed is not certain and the exact details of each death are not able to be put together.
It is still certain that the deaths happened and that the results changed the status of gods in the society.
Spread
It has become a widespread story that is told in order to serve as a warning about vanity and the resentment it causes.
Cultural Reception
The biggest change that happened as a result of the divine killer was a change in how gods portrayed themselves and the extent to which they tried to influence society.
Most goods took a few steps from the public light and started working in the background. Out of fear many gods also started following an unspoken rule that if a god becomes unruly or goes against the peoples good will they will be denounced and actively opposed by the other gods.
The influence on the general public has mostly been to engrain a sense that gods are only as powerful as they are allowed to be.
This story was partially inspired by the song "Godhunter" by Aviators:
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