The Imperial Cult (Avum)

The Imperial Cult spiritual and philosophical authority of the Avum Empire, and the largest and most influential organised authority that adheres to the tenets of the Mortal Cause.

The Imperial Cult grew to prominence riding the wave of pessimism and cynicism that spread throughout the Avumii population in the aftermath of the 20th founding of the city in 2004LA. Founded around a core of academics, mages, and philosophers. The core ethos of the movement subscribed to a militarised interpretation of the Mortal Cause, a philosophy that disputed the conventional hierarchy of authority. In defiance of traditionalist and divine mandate, the Mortal Cause placed the mortal races and the divine in a position of parity. It argues that the gods, while undeniably powerful and existent, do not have a natural authority over other beings. It asserts that it is the right of mortals to rule themselves, and to treat with the divine as equals. It asserts that the divine do not have the capacity to rule mortals, being do different in nature, pointing to the historical collapse of the divine eras under the stewardship of the second pantheon.

It is not uniform, with a multitude of interpretations. These range from vehement hostility to the divine to a more measured approach. Some deny that the gods have ever had a positive effect upon the mortal races, asserting that violent opposition to the divine and their followers is a necessity. Others do not deny the good that gods have done, using the evident flaws of the divine to stress how the Gods posses intensely mortal characteristics.

The Imperial cult straddles the whole range of these interpretations, with heavy infusions of self-dependence and militant philosophies. Core adherents of the Imperial Cult view the gods with a great deal of scepticism, viewing the divine as entities that have had positive effects upon the mortal races at times, but that that direct interaction causes dependency, and invites calamity. They deny the right of the gods to rule over mortals, and deny the efficacy of such a status. Instead, they preach self-dependence and rationalism, investing faith into the collective capacity of the Avum Empire, or the collective power of Mortality.

To its detractors, the Imperial Cult is a heresy, an institution that exists only to deprive the enthralled masses of the Empire of the guidance and protection of the divine, a propaganda department posing as a spiritual authority. To its members, it is a bastion of pragmatism, rationalism, and Imperial ethics – the spiritual foundation of the undeniable success of the Avum Empire. This success is buoyed by the increasing manifestations of clerical powers associated with the Imperial Cult and the wider Mortal Cause.