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1. Overview
The Hollow Cult is a relatively new sect, emerging suddenly across Western Siar’Morrin within the past generation. Wherever they appear, they leave division and mistrust in their wake. Their creed preaches segregation: humans in human cities, Ratfolk in their swamps, dwarves in their mountains, and elves—well there is no place in Staterum for elves.
While often dismissed as little more than hate-mongers, their rhetoric has found fertile ground among the disillusioned and downtrodden. In some places, they are driven out; in others, their words take root, offering communities an enemy to blame for their struggles. Though outwardly quiet now, their message festers beneath the surface, awaiting its moment to erupt.
- Type: Cult
- Base of Operations: Unknown
- Core Purpose/Focus: The sowing of division, mistrust, and the undoing of interspecies cooperation.
- Reputation: Viewed as dangerous agitators; feared in some regions, tolerated in others.
- Symbol:
2. History
The Hollow Cult’s origins are obscure, but their sudden emergence is undeniable. One year, there were no word of their existence; the next, rallies and symbols spread across Western Siar’Morrin. In some regions their message was met with fierce resistance, forcing them into hiding. In others, it found eager listeners: communities battered by war, poverty, or neglect, searching for an enemy to blame. In those places, the cult entrenched itself, establishing hidden circles of initiates and secret gathering halls.
While they have since withdrawn from overt campaigning, the Hollow Cult has not vanished. Instead, they allow their message to linger and ferment, waiting for desperation and resentment to swell until the people themselves come to them.
3. Structure & Organization
The Hollow Cult functions as a collection of self-contained cells, each acting independently. Whether these groups answer to a greater hidden authority remains uncertain.
- Apostles: Leaders of individual cult cells, directing operations from the shadows. Their identities are carefully concealed.
- Vox: The vocal agents of the cult. They rally crowds, deliver sermons, and recruit new members through charisma and grievance.
- Puer: The rank-and-file; initiates, agitators, and believers who spread the cult’s message within their communities.
4. Culture & Practices
The Hollow Cult thrives on resentment, fear, and alienation. Members are indoctrinated to believe that harmony among species is unnatural, that each race has its ordained place, and that elves in particular are a danger to the future of Staterum.
Their practices are less overtly religious than other cults, drawing more on political fervour and social unrest. Meetings are conducted in secrecy, marked by speeches, oaths of loyalty, and symbolic destruction of “foreign” goods or emblems. Over time, recruits are encouraged to escalate from rhetoric to action—harassment, sabotage, even violence.
5. Key Figures
- The Hollow Voice: A name given to a mysterious traveller who has been reported across the breadth of Agroma since the cult’s first emergence. Always cloaked and seldom lingering in one place, they preach openly along roadsides, marketplaces, and village greens. The Hollow Voice’s calm yet chilling sermons have drawn many listeners, leaving lingering seeds of doubt and resentment even among those who claim not to believe.
- Vox Malrik Dornveil: A bold and reckless speaker who attempted to bring the Hollow Cult’s rhetoric into Flown itself. Though quickly arrested by city authorities, his words had already stirred unrest in the poorer quarters. Whether his message has been stamped out or continues to circulate in whispers remains uncertain.
6. Geographic Influence
- Areas of Operation: Predominantly Agroma and surrounding regions, though cells are believed to exist across all Western Siar’Morrin. Their rhetoric once held particularly strong ground in Hu Dao, but their presence there has since receded into secrecy.
- Allies & Enemies:
- Suspected Ties: Elements within the Ascended Church, where certain sects echo their divisive rhetoric.
- Enemy: The Lux Elves and their clergy, who are seen as the ultimate “other.”
7. Resources & Capabilities
- Military Strength: None formal; the cult relies on mobs, agitators, and disaffected recruits rather than organised forces.
- Economic Power: Unknown, likely limited; most funding comes from sympathetic merchants or quiet donations from unknown patrons.
- Special Assets: Their true strength lies in propaganda and persuasion. A single Vox can destabilise an entire district, turning neighbour against neighbour with words alone.