Zain has been called many things... wrathful, unpredictable, spiteful, unbalanced, judgmental. Only other gods have dared call him this to his face, though, for all these things do describe the god of fighters. Why would anyone worship such a god? Some do out of fear, others do because they want the massive amounts of power that he grants those loyal to him, few others are not even aware of this god's ever vigilant hand in what they do.
No matter the reason anyone chooses to follow this wrathful god, his followers agree on one thing: he is good to his followers that do not cross him. He blesses his followers with the strength needed to smite his enemies, and become more powerful on their own. Even if those that follow Zain do not have all the strength they would like, they know better than to complain about it. This wrathful god has been known to send in his underlings, usually in the form of other followers, to smite those that annoy him.
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Brief History
No one knows if Zain was ever mortal, or if he just always was. Most prefer to believe that he always was, including the scribes of Ocenyia. The fact that she has not told anyone one way or another also leads to more speculation. The only time, in fact, Ocenyia says anything about it is when her followers try to say that one way or another is fact, and this is only to berate her followers for spreading that which they do not know to be true as fact.
Solonna has provided us with that which she remembers about Zain. She tells us:
Zain was not always such a wrathful god, in fact he was once very just and willing to teach those that were strong enough. I recall when I was young, in fact, Zain, himself, coming to our town and teaching us to efficiently fight against the beasts that threatened our homeland. He was understanding then, and very patient with us when we made mistakes and had questions about what he taught.
It was through many generations of taking advantage of this nature of his that he began to change. Some of those that followed him began to question if he was really the best for the position. Many challenged him for his right to rule, and just as many died. Some others began to question his policies, asking if he really should kill those that challenge him, wondering why some were blessed more than others, and various other things.
His change was sudden and overnight. I can't say that I didn't see it coming. After one of his high warriors challenged him for his positions, it was like something inside him snapped. He began to revoke his blessings from those that questioned him, he commanded those loyal to him to slay those that had betrayed him, and gave them the strength to do so. It was a turning point for us as a people. I think we finally realized that even gods can be pushed too far.
Since I am the only one left from that time, I must apologize to all of you who will never know how Zain used to be.
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