Within the Material Plane, there was a special kind of world.
All the intelligent creatures within it believed wholly in a single deity and were loyal to that deity alone.
Such material worlds were rare, but they did exist, and deities regarded them as their foundations.
In the doctrines of most deities, the deity was described as a shepherd, and the faithful as their subjects, the lambs they tended. The deity was the shepherd, the faithful the flock; the shepherd protected the flock, and the flock sustained the shepherd.
These worlds were also known as shepherd worlds.
Vokasia Planet was one such shepherd planet.
Every intelligent creature living on this planet, along with certain beasts and monsters possessing a little intelligence, was a follower of the Lord of Black Blood.
From birth, they lived immersed in faith in the Lord of Black Blood. Every breath was a prayer to him, providing him with an unending stream of faith power.
Under the influence of the Lord of Black Blood's faith, the entire planet existed in a primitive, brutal state of nature.
Across the vast land, only clans and tribes made their homes. There were no organizations on the scale of a kingdom or greater.
Nor did concepts such as law and order exist here.
The only law was the doctrine of the Lord of Black Blood, and the only order was the law of the jungle, where the strong devoured the weak.
Between clans and between tribes, there was only the relationship of hunter and prey.
Shouting the slogan, "The strong devour the weak, and blood is truth," the faithful hunted one another, sacrificing each other's blood to the Lord of Black Blood to please the deity they served.
Nor did they fear dying during a hunt.
They firmly believed that