It was still pretty unsettling. So much so, that the humans of all the other faiths tried to convert them out of it. Knat might be a bit too submissive, but Shank and Krit were genuinely invested in their worship. At the end of all their pressure, they only got Knat and his children to switch over to worship of Eswirl. That was not good enough for them. It was the best they were going to get. I asked them why it was a problem. "Surely you have evil gods where you come from." I said. From what I could gather, there were evil gods on either side of the valley's mountain ranges. It was important to give lip service and placate them so they did not fuck with you or your settlements out of anger, but it was seen as distinctly immoral to take one on as a personal patron and worship them openly. That was essentially inviting an evil influence into where everyone lived. Especially if that evil god had bad plans for the humans around it. That was why cults to demons and devils were especially despised by people. It was a clear danger to the community. I was not sure what the Blade Spirits do.
Finally, Krit and Ace began teaching about the 2 deities and why they were so "worthy of veneration". Eswirl the Light Blade came to a human realm and saw all of the cruel oppression of a people by a tyrannical empire. He gave himself and his power to a young boy who wanted to save his people. He became a war leader and fought back against the evil empire. As a general, the young man fought battle after battle on the front lines with his men for freedom. It was not a total victory, but the empire had to come to the table when another nation attacked them. They got their own autonomous region with citizen rights and the young man was made the governor. He died soon after, but Eswirl had reached the incredible kill count of 3,333 during the war. They took no prisoner alive. Eswirl himself was the executioner. After his chosen champion died, he toured the region for a decade, killing the stragglers that did not get the memo that they had to make peace with the people. After that, he went back to the spirit realm. His spiritual power was so strong, he was venerated.
Going along the same vein, Darwo the Evil entered a human realm and wreaked absolute havoc. He found himself in a decently large country in the grips of a civil war. It was a 4 sided affair. 3 different claimants were fighting for their right to unseat the current king and take the throne. Darwo got himself in the hands of a mercenary. They fought several battles together. When he evolved enough that he could be perceived by humans, he became a mercenary in his own right. As a solo blade for hire, he went wherever there were conflicts. By joining the side with the least people, he could slaughter as much as he wanted. Even if he did get downed, the axe would just get a second chance when he was taken by some sucker. After taking a few more lives in his dormant state, his mortal form would be resurrected. That was when he would kill that person and move on. He was the most sought after general in the war. When the war finally finished, Darwo was the executioner of the rebel forces. 5,067 souls were snuffed out by the end. He was then banished by a cleric's magic.
