The Order of Stygia

During the Second Intermediate Period a group of Asiatic foreign chiefs known as the Hyksos (literally, "rulers of foreigns lands") gained the rulership of Egypt, and ruled the Nile Delta from Avaris. They chose Set originally Lower Egypt's chief god, the god of foreigners and the god they found most similar to their own chief god as their patron and so Set became worshiped as the chief god once again. In 1602 BC Ahmose I overthrew the Hyksos and expelled them from Egypt, along with the Serpent Men Cult of Kali. Nonetheless some of their human worshippers fled to Avaris to found the cult of Set, and the Egyptian garrison of Ahmose stationed there became part of the priesthood of Set at Avaris. Why they changed to Set remains lost but it has been speculated that they felt abandoned by Kali and were made a better offer by Set. The founder of the nineteenth dynasty Ramesses I came from a military family from Avaris with strong ties to the priesthood of Set. Several of the Ramesside kings were named for Set, most notably Seti I (literally, "man of Set") and Setnakht (literally, "Set is strong"). In addition one of the garrisons of Ramesses II held Set as its patron deity and Ramesses II erected the so-called Four Hundred Years' Stele at Pi-Ramesses, commemorating the 400 year anniversary of the Set cult in the Delta. Set also became associated with foreign gods during the New Kingdom particularly in the Delta. Set was also identified by the Egyptians with the Hittite deity Teshub who was a storm god like Set.

Set was one of the earliest deities with a strong following in Upper Egypt. Originally highly regarded throughout Egypt as the god of the desert a political faction inspired an initial disparaging of Set's name and reputation. Egypt was originally split into two kingdoms: Upper ruled by Horus (and later Ra), Lower by Set. Set's followers resisted a unification of the Upper and Lower kingdoms of Egypt by the followers of Horus/Ra (with the followers of Osiris and Isis). This political split was echoed in the Osiris and Isis myth, and subsequent battle with Horus. The followers of Horus thus denigrated Set as chaotic and evil. By the 22nd Dynasty Set was equated with his old enemy Apep and his images on temples were replaced with those of Sobek or Thoth. Set was further demonized immediately after the Hyksos Period. Most scholars date the demonization of Set to after Egypt's conquest by the Persian ruler Cambyses II. Set who had traditionally been the god of foreigners thus also became associated with foreign oppressors including the Achaemenid Persians, Ptolemaic dynasty, and Romans. Indeed it was during the time that Set was particularly vilified and his defeat by Horus widely celebrated.

Set's negative aspects were emphasized during this period. Set was the killer of Osiris in the Myth of Osiris and Isis having hacked Osiris' body into pieces and dispersed it so that he could not be resurrected. In addition Set was often depicted as one of the creatures that the Egyptians most feared crocodiles and hippopotamodes. Nevertheless throughout this period in some outlying regions of Egypt Set was still regarded as the heroic chief deity.

Set was worshipped at the temples of Ombos (Nubt near Naqada) and Ombos (Nubt near Kom Ombo), at Oxyrhynchus in upper Egypt, and also in part of the Fayyum area. More specifically Set was worshipped in the relatively large metropolitan (yet provincial) locale of Sepermeru, especially during the Rammeside Period. There Seth was honoured with an important temple called the "House of Seth, Lord of Sepermeru." One of the epithets of this town was "gateway to the desert" which fits well with Set's role as a deity of the frontier regions of ancient Egypt. At Sepermeru Set's temple enclosure included a small secondary shrine called "The House of Seth, Powerful-Is-His-Mighty-Arm," and Ramesses II himself built a second land owning temple for Nephthys, called "The House of Nephthys of Ramesses-Meriamun".  The power of Seth's cult in the mighty (yet outlying) city of Avaris from the Second Intermediate Period through the Ramesside Period cannot be denied. There he reigned supreme as a deity both at odds and in league with threatening foreign powers and in this case his chief consort-goddesses were the Phoenicians Anat and Astarte with Nephthys merely one of the harem.

In 1555 AD Cain the last Inquisitor (also known as the Damascus man) having learned of the Cult of Set and its worship of Demons travelled to Egypt where he enlisted local help (including the current Geomancer) in an attempt to destroy its worshippers. A few escaped and resettled in lower Africa where they renamed themselves the Order of Stygia (taken from ancient Egyptian and referring to infernal magic). Hereafter the cult would be exclusively for those who practised the power of Diabolical magic and wished to increase their knowledge while propagating the will of Set.

The order see Set's return as near at hand. Plagues turn villages into ghost towns, wars scatter corpses for the crows, corruption mars every human work, and decay rots flesh until only bones remain. The world is a feast for vultures, a bloating carcass even the gods have abandoned. Why flee from darkness? It's already here. They commonly practice human sacrifice and have mummified a large number of their membership,  storing the mummies in the Temple of Set in Khemi.

Set can be said to have his own highly personalized religion based on his unique driving motivations. His goal is to eliminate free will from the universe and subject all living beings to his will. These beliefs and goals are not based on purely biological needs, rational thought, or any other belief system. These unique beliefs and obsessions constitute his "religion" in the general sense of the word. But Set himself has no need for a name or an ideological explanation for what he wants to do. He is not the purveyor of a faith or an ideology, but a seeker of absolute power, all for his own sake. Set is brutally direct and honest about his own  nature and seems to revel in it, in fact.
 

Enemies