Becoming a God was a sorrowful path, and gods themselves were a sorrowful kind of creature. The faith of their believers would be instilled into their souls through their divine domains, then alter the deepest parts of a god's personality and mind...
That was precisely why the "Dancing Sprite Prayer Torch Spell" had been branded "vicious" by so many gods. Amid the agony of flames consuming their bodies and the spread of despair, a fanatic believer could erupt with faith far exceeding their usual prayers. Vast amounts of extreme emotion would rush into a god's mind along with the power of faith, and it was perfectly normal for a weak divine power—or even a lesser divine power—to become frenzied and unstable under such a sudden, undefendable emotional assault.
Back then, it was precisely because of vicious spells like the "Dancing Sprite Prayer Torch" that so many gods had been forced to abandon the ideal method of "establishing believer settlements and controlling the number of believers by regulating the population." After all, if they did not want their entire nest wiped out by Prayer Torches, spreading their faith throughout the Multiverse was the safest option. Although that made the number of believers exceedingly difficult to control, in an era profoundly hostile toward gods, any god arrogant enough to think they could control all faith by controlling their believers would ultimately pay an even heavier price.
For example, right now... the unfortunate Atedilon was clearly one of the gods about to "pay the price."
Although the Dancing Sprite Prayer Torch Spell had long become an obscure and neglected spell after the glorious Netheril era had become history and many gods had abandoned the idea of establishing believer settlements, now that this ruthless killing method had made its return... would those sorrowful gods