Worship of Elder Ones: Mysteries and Devotion of the Faithful

The Elder Ones, the Lotrun and the Infinite Collective. These are some of the names given to these primordial and eldritch entities who often enough inspire "lesser beings" into giving themselves over to worship and venerate them as gods. Nonetheless, religious and public opinion is so strongly against worship concerning of those aberrations that those who practice such rituals do so in secret, upon discovery many facing death by mob.

Countless in numbers, which themselves are as diverse in practice and membership from all manner of imagination. From the bloody sacrificial cults, to the philosophical secret societies or organized religious systems.

There are various variants of cults dedicated to the Elder Ones, each one formed around a specific progenitor of their kind, favorite child and or one of their descendant of significant holding. Through several means of investigation, I have accounted a number of these clandestine groups and put them into classifications.

**Types of Cults**

**Secret Societies**

Secret Societies are centered around, as their name implies, on secrets or mysteries. Such secrets may concern forbidden lore, ancient prophecies, or other esoteric and eldritch knowledge and any other important information. Controlled by a select group, forming an inner circle which act the foundation of their power and authority among their followers. The cult's members submit themselves to the leadership and often must be proved worthy enough if they are to be granted access to the hidden secrets, and even wield the cult's power. In most conclusions and findings, the most dangerous of these societies are those affiliated with a entities named the Threshold's Keeper and the Fourteenth Tailed Scholar, who many believe to be patriarchs of the Elder Ones. Numerous reports document how members of such mystical cults, religious sects, and those focused on their power are granted the dark gifts of prophecy or that of having their intelligent drastically enhanced. But with power often comes a terrible price, with many loosing their sanity and being corrupted by such forbidden knowledge over time.

**Pleasure Cults**

It is a universal truth that those tired of the suffering they experience daily in the merciless, unrelenting reality and want some sort of reward for enduring the ceaseless pain of existence. Some have a life of privilege already, but refuse to be satisfied with what they posse. There are even those who simply cannot seem to resist certain actions or pleasures. Inquiry, years of research have determinate that the vast majority of organizations are those that adhere to two main ideologies.

*Psanguian Creed*

The more begin or light hearted side of pleasure cults is commonly referred as the Psanguian Creed that employ trance-inducing methods such as dance or even music to remove inhibitions and social constraints, liberating the individual to return to a natural state of being. It also provided some liberation for those marginalized by society. The role of alcohol played a important part in their rituals, the cultivation and later fermentation of grapes and other ingredients were also essential to the cult's lore, regarding such drinks' intoxicating and disinhibiting effects were held sacred as due to a myth about how their master was said to install a sliver of his very essence into each brew. Cults also conducted spirit possession who's role was to embracing the more beastly or primitive nature of one's self to seek freedom from civilization's rules and constraints. Adherents celebrated that which was outside of civilized society and a return to primordial nature, not only that but spiritual possession was channeled into dramatic masked rituals, with most performers bearing the faces of animals mainly horned ones such as goats or rams. Even though most of their rituals and beliefs are mostly non-aggressive and bear little hostility, there is a dark side as there are well documented reports and accounts of those who go against or even harm cult members come under attack by monstrous satyr like fiends, their families carried off into dark woods, their land twisted into perverted realms of hedonism and finally them with their throats opened upped.

*Lythpaistism Doctrine*

To those pleasure seekers who indulge in hedonistic revelry, debauchery, and passionate indulgences of darker natures the Lythpaistism Doctrine is the path to go. Though it is a descent into damnation, from listening to screams of captives in torture chambers, filling their bodies with foods until becoming bloated, or obsessively staring at paintings for hours on end. Dedicated to the pursuit of earthly pleasure and the abandonment of all decent behavior, their desires are full of seductive lust and sadistic depravity. Excess, sensation, and personal perfection are the three common trends. One cult may be trying to find the perfect mixture of paint, another seeking the most efficient way to get alcohol into the bloodstream, and another pushing the limits of how much the brain can take in in sensation before failing. Such cults and groups are often enough are headed by the children of the Mistress of Pleasure, who enthrall and tempt victims into joining the ranks of their followers, with the sole mission to corrupt the innocent.

**Immortality and Resurrection Cults**

Sinister in nature, immortality cults ultimately seek to understand the secrets of life and overcome death itself. Some resurrection cults pursue the lofty goals of transcending death and instead to reverse the effects of death. Often they espouse the goal of gaining physical immortality for their own and will go to unspeakable extent to obtain their dark ends. Some resurrection cultists even practice all manner of sinister revivification rituals to indoctrinate their members. The extreme examples of their activates include trailing leads on potential means of eternal life, some even contact and make pacts with otherworldly powers while others dabble in forbidden arts and dangerous sciences to transfigure their bodies into immortal ones. To those who come by the Elder Ones, are the most insidious of all. For these groups of men and women have been corrupted, those who devote themselves to the Twin Apostle soon find themselves existing only to serve his progeny, some will be sacrificed; those are the lucky ones. The unlucky ones are taken away and face horrific indoctrination rites where their minds are broken down and then the bodies are morphed into horrid minions who preach the true faith. The immortal and resurrection cults of the now-devastated Draendio headed by their enigmatic god-king and his host of angels preach of a twisted resurrection granting the devotees, eternal life. Ether way, immortality and eternal life always has a price, often enough at the expense of everyone around.

**Fertility Cults**

All beings hold the desire to pass on their genes to the next generation, to provide a lasting legacy to future descendants. Though there are some examples on less advanced and primitive societies or cultures that develop a religious system of worship involving rites and ceremonies believed to ensure productiveness and the contained fertility of crops, livestock and in some cases...even people. Now from various sources, it has been determined that only certain breeds of Elder Ones take a keen interest in groups of this manner, with most of them belong to the brood of the Grey Matron of Twilight Woods. A ancient fecund creature that is regarded as a fertility goddess who bestows bountiful harvests and many children to its worshipers in exchange for blood sacrifices. Another particular variant of this cult is one more akin to nature worship, those dedicated to the natural phenomena contributing to the continuation of the life process. Groups and organizations focusing on worshiping this often become targets for those Elder Ones who's appearance is much like that of a sentient and or mobile flora based form.

**Charismatic Cults**

Simplest in structure, as such organizations is based around the authority of a single figure, the cult's leader. Absolute authority is usually the requiring norm in these cults and is maintained by the leader’s force of character, natural charisma, oratory skills, or simple personal power. Cults led by a single powerful figure such as a powerful servant of the Elder Ones are often of this type. This individual will exploit the weakness of others for his own personal power or gratification, or the fulfillment of his own agenda. Recent findings have concluded that a great number of Elder Ones often form and subvert groups to suit their bidding. The most recurring of these leaders are those referred as the Veiled, obscure entities that exist as living masks composed of bone that posse the bodies of the wearers, others include the Unseen Lords, cunning psychic vampire like beings who feed upon the weak minded and mentally dominate their victims are just the prime examples.

**Destructive Cults**

Destructive cults refers to groups whose members have, through deliberate action, physically injured or killed other members of their own group or other people. Most destructive cults, despite their differences, can be divided into four categories:

**Apocalyptic Cults**

Among the rim of society are people who believe that all existence is doomed, and that they live in the last days of living before all is swallowed by oblivion. These people and their particular brand of insanity inspires them to fight against all government order to bring about the collapse of civilization which they believe is inevitable.

**Plague and Disease Cults**

Disease and death are common throughout the galaxy. With the Elder One patriarch, Igee have the means of earning the name of Plague Lord. Most mortals do not have to go far as his tainted touch spreads his infectious blessings with those who are infected becoming bond together. The power of such a group is far greater than that of any one of its members. Alone, these individuals can do very little, but if all are members of the same plague cult, it can be another matter entirely. But each one no matter what difference hold one singular goal, the propagation of a endless plague and pestilence across all of reality.

**Death Cults**

Death and blood underpin of mortal existence. It is a common trend that only through continued blood-sacrifice in the face of a hostile universe prevail, a sacrifice must be made. So it is in these beliefs that death cults flourish everywhere, from suppositious worlds of primitive warriors to the underbelly of cultured societies. More readily recognized aspects of faith, making them some of the most dangerous heretical cults that any can encounter. Some are no doubt deluded, corrupted by the depraved beliefs or swayed by far older and more terrible influences. To these individuals, every death, every cut, every welling of blood is an act of worship and gratification to such supreme beings.

**Necrophage Cults**

Necrophage cults are the most heretical and corrupt, with sects often springing up in places ravaged by incessant warfare or widespread famine, plague and or any other terrible disasters. In desperation they commit human sacrifice, acts of cannibalism, and necrotic rituals that soon become widespread. With so much bloodshed, confusion and despair such places often attract and are quickly infested by the lowest of the Elder Ones, horrific scavengers, carrion-eaters and vile predators of mortals.