Chainlink #8: Predator Gods

Goblins used to have many gods, now they have less. Here is why.

Some generations ago, the seven clans of the Hebi came from beyond the mountains, riding through the snow atop four legged beasts, black dogs weaving between their legs, baying and growling like devils. They were a conquering people, and everything about them seemed to be made for war. Standing an imposing 5 feet tall, the hobgoblins were indeed a force to be reckoned with. They practiced fire magic, and tamed horses and wolves. They made saunas and hot springs, charted the stars, and baked black bread in dense stone ovens. They conquered and pillaged, and built an empire on soot. It was a modest empire, compared to the kingdoms found beyond the reaches of goblin territory, but it was still large enough to rival some of the great kingdoms of man. They built roads and fortresses, turned villages into cities, then built walls about them, thick and sturdy. For all of this, they demanded tribute from their subjects. 

The gods of the Hebi people were mighty, and like all gods, they were hungry. They were dying too, a war in heaven leaving them wounded and scarred. To feed their gods and to mend their wounds for a time, they needed blood. Animal sacrifice was a daily occurrence in their empire (and was even before the hobgoblins arrived), slaughtered farm animals or captured game were bled atop the fire. The sacrifice of other goblins was more controlled, a punishment for prisoners and war captives, as much a display of power and state authority as it was a religious rite. Highest of all forms of sacrifice, though, was the sacrifice of other gods. The gods of the Hebi were cannibalistic, predatory things, and in the dark of night they bayed for the blood and meat of their kin. The Hebi thus fed many gods to the pyre, which is a difficult task, because the gods of this world are not tangible things of flesh and blood, but spirits. Killing a god means the burning of hundreds of priests who know their rites, the destruction of their temples and idols, the annihilation of their memory. The Hebi did not do this because they hated these other gods, or because they saw them as false. They were very much real, that was necessary in fact, but they were weak in comparison to their own predator gods, and their victory over the conquered clans required appropriate tribute.

Many of the old goblin gods were annihilated in this way, their priests and temples burned in post-battle frenzies. They were given the Hebi's gods to worship in turn, which they did, and slowly the old ways became more distant. The predator gods were seen to be very strong, for they had carried the Hebi to victory, and even if they did not eat other gods, they could protect their flock from any retribution associated with the desecration of sacred grounds. Thusly, these new gods were embraced and worshiped with devotion, and blood flows freely upon the stone of their altars, even now that the Hebi have fallen. The Hebi were, as common wisdom states, forsaken by their gods for their profane deeds, for lying with their wolves as though they were goblins. Another story for another time.