The Dark Crusade

When the first Oni emissary from the eastern kingdom of Tau 'Shi arrived in Nerath, most thought it would be a new era of prosperity. The Empire had recently ended the Greenbriar War and new trade with Tau'Shi would provide enormous wealth to any involved.

But the alliance had a darker price to it. During the discussions with the Oni, it was discovered that they controlled not only the economy and military, but religion as well. Their king was also the head of their church and was considered a divine envoy. Nothing came of this at first, but eventually, Emperor Calligard thought of a way to incorporate such an idea with Nerathi culture.

Since most of the Tieflings of Nerath were descended from devil rather than demons, and many of those devils were in service to a handful of specific deities, Calligard gathered together the most powerful clerics of Bane, Tiamat, and Asmoedeus. It was decided that only worship of those three deities would be allowed, although a blind eye might be turned towards worshiping some of the other evil gods. Worship of the other gods, however, would be outlawed, especially the Bahamut, Pelor, and Moradin.

The followers of the Dark Triumvirate, Executor Taash of the Banites, Herald Usseling of The Temple of Tiamat, and Chief Diabolist Khaine, were ordered to hunt down and kill all devotees of the other gods and destroy their places of worship.

In nearly every part of the Empire, those aligned to the evil gods struck out. Hundreds were dragged from their homes and beaten. Dozens of houses of worship were set ablaze and destroyed. Within the first week, no temple to a benign god stood within any major city. It took another month to hit some of the smaller villages, and by harvest time, the only temples not aligned with the Triumvirate still standing were hidden away in secret locations.

The goodly gods would remain shunned until the Order of the White Staff was created and fought back against the Dark Triumvirate.