It had been three months since the rumors first began.

First it was just a few disappearances out in the jungle. Tragic, but unfortunately nothing too uncommon. Hunters often ended up the prey of one of the jungle's deadly creatures, even in areas that were supposed to be safe.

But soon, the disappearances became more frequent. Then they started happening within the towns themselves. People began to wonder if something more sinister had been going on, whether this was the work of some mysterious killer, a group of murderers, or even the Gods themselves.

That's when the bodies began to appear.

Dozens of bodies began appearing overnight in Sarawak. Bodies of the men, women, and children who had vanished, all appearing seemingly out of thin air - and all with the unmistakable symbol of Ponderet etched into their chests.

Panic began to spread throughout the villages and towns of the people that called themselves the Vüolt. Why was Ponderet so angry? The Goddess of chaos and destruction had twice tried to wipe out all of humanity - was this her third attempt? And if this WAS the work of the Gods, then how could they possibly hope to stop it?

This was three months ago. But now something had happened that would mark a turning point in the future of the Vüolt people - they had caught one of the killers.

For the first time in the memory of all but the oldest of the Vüolt leaders, a Grand Council was being assembled. Representatives from every Vüolt village and town were to gather in Sarawak, at the Vüolt of Teç, to interrogate this killer and figure out together what the next steps would be.

Chief Raharjo, leader of Sarawak, brought forward the hooded man he had found sneaking into his city with a body. He smelled of horrid oils and general filth. Throwing him forward before the council, he began.

"You have been found bringing the body of a young woman into Sarawak, with the mark of Ponderet carved into her chest. For this, we place upon you the charge of murder. What say you in your defense?"

The Council expected crying, or denial, or pleading from the hooded man. But he did none of these things. Instead, he began to laugh.

"Murder? Murder?! Ha! Does one call a soldier killing another soldier murder? Does one call someone protecting their freedoms and way of life murder? If so, then call me a murderer, but if not, then see me for what I am - a soldier of the Gods."

"A soldier?!" Raharjo exclaimed, incredulously. "This was a woman no older than fifteen - how could she have been a soldier? how could she have threatened your way of life?"

"One need not wield a sword or spear to be a soldier, just as one need not fight a war to challenge your way of life. This woman here was brought before my people in an attempt to help her see the true path forward, but by refusing, she became an obstacle in the path to our freedom and salvation. So, instead of having her stick around as a future threat, we delivered her to Tanah Mati."

"And what path, what way of life might that be?"

The man smiled. "You people follow your customs, your traditions, your hierarchies. We are ruled not by the divine selection through our own strength, but from the people we arbitrarily choose as leader. Why should the weak and old get the same say as the young and strong? Why should we submit ourselves before a power that we do not recognize? No, you people see yourselves as protecting order and justice, but you are no more than common despots, pushing for your own tyrannies and valuing oppression over freedom. We see the truth."

The council looked on in confusion, but he continued. "You all see Ponderet as evil. Why? Because she dared to exercise her power? Because she expressed her rage at the infidelity of her husband? Because she had the audacity to stand up to the authority that had wronged her? Sure, her exercise of power brought great ruin to us all, but that is within her right as an extremely powerful Goddess. You see her as the Goddess of chaos and destruction? We see her as the Goddess of freedom and liberty. The one to stand against tyrants and despots like all of you."

The Council stood, aghast at what had just been said. Raharjo was the first to speak. "But this... this is madness. We need a strong society, set hierarchies and rules, so that there is not chaos! For our stories to live on and be told, for our knowledge to pass on and grow, and to be able to support the weakest of our people! This 'freedom' that you speak on is not truly free if you are not free from the fear that your neighbors are not planning to murder you for your land! And if what you say is true, and there are more of you, then this worship of Ponderet will only strengthen her! She will become more powerful, and bring about the end of all of us! We cannot be free if we are dead!"

The man simply smiled again. "We have made peace with the idea of our death long ago. If Ponderet wishes to destroy humanity, and she is powerful enough to do it, then who are we to tell her no? Instead, we should live to our fullest in the time we have - regardless of what we are told is right or just."

Suddenly and without warning, the man rushed over to a torch on a nearby wall and grabbed it. The men in the chamber then realized why he smelled so oily.

"WE ARE THE CULT OF PONDERET, AND WE WILL NOT BE GOING AWAY! SEE YOU ALL IN TANAH MATI!"

And with that the man threw down the torch and immediately went up in flames. As smoke filled the large chamber, the Council members rushed outside. But just as the adrenaline from the rush out of the cave died down, panic began to set in. These disappearances were abductions, and anyone who didn't convert was dead. And the group that organized them - this Cult of Ponderet - wanted to see the destruction of everything they ever knew. The man had talked about a war, and now he would have one.

Over the next week, discussions rang out on how to fight this grave threat to Vüolt people everywhere. Some suggested arming every man, woman, and child and teaching them how to fight. Others suggested extreme tactics like burning down the entire jungle to flush these cultists out of hiding. And a few even snuck off to join the cult, swayed by the words of the now-dead cultist. But by the weeks end, it was decided that if their enemy was so well organized and clear-set in their goal, then they would have to be as well. And so, for the following week, the structure and form of their new government were worked out and agreed to. Eventually, they decided on the following:

• The government was to be made up of two bodies - the Majlis Besar, or Grand Council, in essentially the same form as before (a body made up of representatives from every major town and village), and the elected Raja, or King, who was to be selected by a majority vote of the Council. The Raja would serve until death, at which point the Majilis Besar would elect the next Raja. By a near unanimous decision, Raharjo would serve as the first Raja.

• The Raja would be assumed to have all powers over the Kingdom, unless informed of otherwise by the Majlis Besar, who could vote to veto any action he took with a super-majority vote. Conversely, in any matters where the Raja did not act, such as most day-to-day governance, the Majlis Besar could see fit to handle situations and necessities of state however they deemed fit.

• As this was to be a war for the future of the world, the Raja would be seen to be King of the world, and thus the Kingdom would be known as the Kingdom of Doebi. (OOC - when we learn that other people exist, and that the world is not just the island of Borneo, we will be adopting the name of Doebi for our home island, so I am not actually laying claim to the whole world)

• The capital of the Kingdom of Doebi was to be Sarawak, already the largest city in the area, and the current home of the Grand Council.

• In return for the protection guaranteed by the Kingdom, towns and villages would need to submit an annual tribute of livestock, grains, or precious metals to Sarawak, in order to better feed and outfit the newly-forming military force that would begin the Great War.

These ideas would form the backbone of the Kingdom of Doebi, and the Vüolt people gazed hopefully into the future...

With a structure now in place, the Great War could now begin. This War was set to define the future of the Vüolt people, and the Kingdom of Doebi, for the next millennia. But contrary to what you might believe from the name, the Great War was not simply a war of soldiers against soldiers - it was a battle of ideologies and theologies that could not and would not coexist. There were three main pillars that the Great War was built upon:

1. A theological Inquisition. One of the first acts of the new Kingdom was the outlawing of the worship of Ponderet in any form. Any temples found to her were destroyed, any alters to her burned, and anyone found worshiping her or maintaining these places was summarily executed. Furthermore, teachings to children about the Gods and all things theological are to clearly and unambiguously impart the idea of the evils that Ponderet tempts them with, and the importance of rejecting her false promises of freedom and anarchy.

2. A constant state of alertness and martial readiness. The Cult is constantly attempting to abduct upstanding members of Vüolt society, and either trick them into converting or murder them. Guards are now a constant presence within every town and village, with messenger relays ready to inform Sarawak of any major Cult offenses into their territory. Any larger cult offense is to be met with an overwhelming retaliation from the newly-established army of Doebi, including the destruction of their homes and the wholesale slaughter of their communities.

3. A doctrine of constant expansion. Areas controlled by the Kingdom were areas in which the worship of Ponderet would not be found, and in order to prevent her from gaining more power through worship and attempting to wipe out humanity again her worship needed to be totally stopped. Therefore, expanding settlements and controlled territory was a necessity to combat the Cult of Ponderet. In a similar vein, having children was heavily encouraged, as more children meant more men to fight against this evil cult, and more people to oppose the worship of Ponderet.

To that end, within a few years of the formation of the Kingdom of Doebi, the new Vüolt military was accompanying people further along the coast and deeper into the jungle, working to push back any cult villages that would do them harm. This would continue as more and more major sites of cult activity were found, and by 2500BCE the following territory was controlled by the Kingdom of Doebi.

The war may rage on, but the passion of the Vüolt people would ring true throughout the ages.