The Cult of Nirivel

The Cult of Nirivel was a religious cult founded by Nirivel the Great in the city of Vimar to challenge the authority of the Elf Lords and would grow to eventually dominate the political and social hierarchy of the Nirivelian Empire.

The cult was unofficially founded by Nirivel the Great following his epiphany in the Holy Enclave and his return to Vimar. At first it was a loosely organized group of Nirivel's supporters, most of whom were high elves of non-noble blood and were clamoring for political and economic power. The early members of the cult cared little about Nirivel's religious philosophies and primarily sought to take advantage of Nirivel's popularity with the common people. Since Nirivel the Great was a high-elf, most of his closest friends, advisors, and supporters before his spiritual epiphany were also high-elves. Naturally his high-elf brethren made up the bulk of the cult's membership once he returned to Vimar and sought to exploit the cult of personality that developed around him. The early beliefs of the cult surrounded the ideals of racial equality and the balance of the chaos and order, which were highly appealing concepts to the oppressed classes of peasants in Vimar.

The Cult of Nirivel quickly began to take shape following his return to Vimar. The cult developed early-on as the militant-wing of Nirivel's supporters. The cult more closely resembled a political club of Nirivel's supporters than a strictly religious movement. As time went on, however, the cult took on more of a spiritual role in the movement and began to indoctrinate the people of Vimar with political and religious propaganda against the Elf Lords. The cult promised economic and political rights for all creatures in Kaatania, not just high-elves that made up the bulk of the cult. This motivated thousands of Kaatanians to either join or support the cult and revolt against the Elf Lords. Once Nirivel overthrew the Vimarian Council of Lords in a coup d'état and proclaimed himself the High Lord of Vimar, the Cult of Nirivel began to spread its power and influence over other cities as well, setting up chapters of the cult all over Kaatania.

As High Lord of Vimar, Nirivel lacked essential bureaucratic and administrative officials to control the city. He quickly appointed his closest cult advisors and supporters to important posts and political positions. The cult at this point had become much more organized and had a distinct hierarchy, with Nirivel at the helm as its Philospher-vicar, the gods' representative on this plane of existence. It quickly became a prerequisite that a person had to join the cult before they could take a military or government position. The cult essentially operated as a shadow-government.

Upon Nirivel's proclamation of the Nirivelian Empire and the annexation of the dozens of city-states surrounding Vimar, the cult became more of a impediment to Nirivel's plans than a supporter of them. The high-elves that mostly made up the cult refused to extend rights to the other creatures that inhabited Kaatania, despite Nirivel's wishes. There became a rift between members loyal to Nirivel and those who saw the movement in terms of their own political and economic needs. Nirivel the Great's son, Nirivel II, was courted by enemies of Nirivel from a young age and when he came of proper-age, the enemies of Nirivel subsequently performed their own coup d'état and overthrew Nirivel the Great, replacing him with his son who was much more sympathetic to the high-elf minority in the cult.

After the ascension of Nirivel II to the position of philosopher-vicar and emperor, the cult quickly began to expel non high-elves from their ranks and consolidated state power in the cult. Nirivel the Second reformed the cult to recontextualize his father's teachings, omitting any information about equality between races and the desire for balance in the universe. Nirivel II also constructed the Imperial Citadel, where he moved the cult headquarters and closed off any outside contact with non high-elves. The cult from then-on would be the leaders and enforcers of the highly-stratified society the high-elves desired.

The Cult of Nirivel would continue as the shadow-government of the elite for hundreds of years after Nirivel the Great's death.