Demonologists

Demonology is a religion practiced mostly in the North of Aelkot but does have some followers in the wilder regions of Arno and Pridan. Most followers of the other faiths would call it deeply offensive and certainly evil. The reality of it is that the faith does not strongly encourage goodness or evil in the hearts of mortals, but it does hold evil outsiders in high regard as a necessary reflection of mortal souls.

Demonology is an old religion. While the Old Dominion still stood there were reports of mysterious and ancient demon cults with beliefs very similar to what a modern Demonologist would hold.

Tenants
Demonologists believe in the revelations contained within an ancient text known as The Book of Abath. The book itself is lost to time and modern followers trust fragments and in a lineage of commentaries and commentaries on commentaries.

The core principle of Demonology is that Demons exist and that each of us can, and in fact are likely, to become one or part of one, upon our deaths.

The Demons within us, and within the hellish host, are the cause of all evil. They are also the root of all good- the feelings of greed, envy, laziness, pride and lust they create in everyone's heart causes mortals to build and achieve so that they may satiate their evil urges. All goodness is built from a logical desire in the heart of a mortal to channel destructive and selfish urges into the best possible outlet.

The commentaries on The Book of Abath take a rather fatalistic outlook on evil- it is the nature of all people to be evil, and some simply have too great of a demon within them to resist their urges. The evil that people make can be in many ways thought of as a good as it inspires greatness in others. These same commentaries sing high praises of the people who do manage to overcome the demons within them especially in the shadow of those who fail to do so.

Relationship with other religions
Strict followers of The Faith of the Many often do not think highly of Demonologists, but most Demonologists believe that The Many do exist. Followers of Jaheon argue that the nature of mortals is one fundamentally of goodness and so followers of these faiths often disagree.

The Wydal Union, in Northern Aelkot, is ruled by a strong autocrat and his family. They enforce Demonology as the state religion and and it followed by many in the upper classes. A strong tradition of Jaheonism runs among the commoners and most of the conflict in that land can be traced to this religious divide.

Druids and Triadists have widely varying views about this religion. Usually they have little to complain about but question the role of the spirits of the land itself. Some would argue that the Demons in the hearts of mortals are not the same Demons of the outer planes, but could in fact be the same spirits of the land that the Druids and Triadists worship.