Great Awakening

The Great Awakening is the event which led to the formation of the Vipers clan, led by Jonathan Faust, many years prior to 2161.
==Background==
The Great Awakening refers to the event in which Faust, having barely survived his own descent into the Pit and emerging a changed man, convinced and manipulated the surviving members of his original group into believing that the snakes in the Pit were gods. He explained that a god visited him during his ordeal and explained the “True Way” in which his group would make sacrifices to the “Gods of the Pit” in exchange for wealth and happiness. After a period of skepticism and even violent rebellion, he subsequently ordered two pit vipers to attack what was left of the group, leaving approximately 40 of them "half-crazy" from the venom and the rest dead. Having become immune to the venom himself, he nursed the survivors back to health while whispering things to them, explaining that the “Great Snake” had spared their lives so that they could fight for his cause. The survivors came to believe these explanations, and this event led to the creation of the Viper clan. They turned the Pit into a shrine for their gods, and went out into the wasteland to take what they needed from those who did not “follow the Winding Way of the Great Snake”.Vipers design document, background: "During these four days, almost ¼ of the group was either dying or already dead. Those who survived the radiation poisoning were too weak to travel, while those who survived either left or stayed and helped defend the little settlement against the desert creatures.Finally, after a week, the remaining members of the group decided to move on. They started to pack their belongings when an almost spectral figure emerged from the shadows. It was Faust, except this was not the strong leader they remembered. He was wan, pale, and emaciated, and there was a feverish gleam in his eyes. He told them that when he was down in the pit, a god visited him and told him the True Way. They would make sacrifices to the Gods of the Pit, and wealth and happiness would be theirs.Of course, everyone was skeptical. Some were even violently rebellious, saying that Faust was crazy. After Faust patiently listened to them, he then whistled, and from behind him, came two very large Pit Vipers. Without warning, they struck. They attacked everyone in the group, including Faust, but he just laughed as they bit his flesh.As the sun rose the next day, the two snakes lay dead by Faust's hands. Half of his people were dead, the other half were on the brink of death as the Pit Venom started to sink into their systems. By that afternoon most would be dead, but the forty or so survivors of the venom were half crazy with the aftereffects of the venom. Faust, himself immune to the venom, helped the remaining few through this time, which has come to be known as the Great Awakening. He whispered things to them, told them how the Great Snake has spared their lives, so that they would fight for His mighty cause.And thus the Viper clan was born. They decided to make the Pit their Shrine, and to go out into the wastes and take what they needed from those blasphemers that did not follow the Winding Way of the Great Snake."
==Appearances==
The Great Awakening is mentioned only in the Fallout Bible.
==Behind the scenes==
The "Great Awakening" is a term used to describe several periods of religious revival in American history.
==References==
Category:Vipers