Wither (Religious Figure)

Wither, also known as Wiðer, or The Fox, was a religious figurehead and the founder of the Cult of Æowa. He was considered by many to be a prophet, delivering messages directly from Aeowa.

Early Life
Wither was born in a small village overlooking the Strait of Witholm in Southwestern Dunn in 4201 SA. He was the firstborn of Odenþal, and was known to be a mean-spirited little snot. He was extremely intelligent, however, and coerced a large group of other boys to form a clique around him. He was the kind of man who always acted as if he was correct, even if he knew that he was wrong, and would oft go out of his way to demonstrate the most trivial flaws in others.

Due to his self-motivated behavior, his beady eyes, and his bright red hair, he came to be called The Fox. He cherished the nickname, which was meant as an insult, and started calling himself The Fox.

Death of Odenþal and Ostracization
In 4217 SA, Wither's father, Odenthal, fell ill. When Wither went to tell the townspeople, they reacted with great sorrow, wishing him the best. Wither realized, however, that if his father realized he had friends, he would give all his belongings to them and leave none for his son. When he went back to his father, he told him that the townsfolk were celebrating his death. Odenthal became distraught and died a lonely man. Just before he died, he discovered through his wife that Wither was lying to him. Wither cast his body and his wife out of the house, and with his dying breath, Odenthal disowned Wither and cursed his family and the House of the Fox forever. The village folk also cursed Wither, and built a wall separating his home from the rest of the village.

Formation of the Cult of Aeowa
Wither gathered any friends he could find and had them help protect him from the townsfolk. It was mostly the boys who he had recruited as a child, and he brainwashed them into believing that their families hated as well.

As he slept one night, Wither heard the voice of Aeowa speaking to him through the ground. Aeowa told him that he planned to dig through the world and return to Dunn, and that he needed Wither's help to do so. Aeowa would then kill everyone who hated Wither and transform them into Wights, cursed to wander the world forever with no home or friends. Wither told his followers of Aeowa's message and they agreed to help him and dedicate their lives to facilitating the return of Aeowa.

Aeowa required sacrifices regularly, and the Cult of Aeowa would scavenge the countryside, stealing livestock to sacrifice to Aeowa. On one such scavenging trip, Wither was attacked by a shepherd, who cut off his arm. Wither killed the shepherd and dragged his body back to their compound. That shepherd became the first human sacrifice to Aeowa. Aeowa told Wither that the human sacrifice fed him well and gave him more strength than normal, so the kidnapping of humans to sacrifice became especially commonplace, especially that of virgin girls.

Failure of Health and Withdrawal From Cult
Due to having lost his arm, Wither's health began failing. The stub of his arm did not heal, and he was forced to cauterize it. It got infected, and the infection gave him intense pain. He would black out periodically, and had trouble stomaching food. He began growing thin. He told his followers that Aeowa was using his energy to dig through to the surface, and did not tell them that it was because of his arm, which he considered a sacrifice.

Eventually, Wither was so close to death that he stopped making public appearances at all. By this point his cult had grown in size to more than five thousand members, so he appointed one of his old friends to be leader. The new leader was named Muthefox, the Mouth of the Fox. As Wither lost more and more function, Muthefox gained more and more control over the group, eventually running it entirely and simply tending for Wither, who was immobile and could rarely speak.

Death
Withers health ultimately failed entirely, and he died in 4220 SA. His body was stuffed with batting to make it seem full and healthy, and his skin painted bright pink. Then his body was brought before a gathering of all of his followers. Muthefox explained that his death had been his own intention as the ultimate sacrifice to Aeowa, and his body was cremated. The Cult of Aeowa continued for hundreds of years following the teachings of Wither.