Every year, you must cull %10 of your population. These dwarves are "chosen" by lottery and you have no influence in the matter.
However, there is one control: if the dwarf is a worshiper of the main death cult of your temple they will always be spared from entering into this death lottery. Unless, of course, there is no one left to sacrifice... at that point even true believers are eligible.
The culled dwarves' remains are not allowed to be buried or honored with an engraved slab. They are to be horded in a great temple of bones.
The main goal is to build this temple of bones in the most epic and evil manner possible, providing worship space for the various cults of death, while also surviving the yearly cull's psychological effects, subsequent hauntings, and all the associated troubles of operating a literal death cult.
I recall a great story from the early days of 2-d, a forum story wherein a lone dwarf survives catastrophe and goes insane, living in a hidden chamber near the cave river, carving strange symbols into the stone and murdering any newcomers. This story is, perhaps, my inspiration for this particular challenge. I wish I could find it again...
Necromancers, if encountered, should be captured and put to good use. Reanimated skeletons are, obviously, very cool.
Only the most depraved dwarves will remain in control of their emotions. Only those that worship the cults of death may find sanity in this place. Only fools would entertain such a challenge.
anyways here I am
===
It is the year of Roc. Dreams of great birds peering down from above. The temple is growing, slowly. Filling with bones.. 
Zimesh The Ashen, god of death, has set in motion a great plan, and the principal character would be
Dumed Glovedance.
Lor Glovedbucks the necromancer was master over Dumed, in a pinky and the brain sort of way. Dumed performed whatever she commanded with little question. In this way, Dumed was the stupid pawn of greater powers, and seemed to relish his lack of freedom.
Lor wanted to rule the world, and this fortress was only one of many nodes in her growing network of hidden outposts. Each generated wealth, weapons, and biological material for the
experimentations Before Dumed left the subterranean laboratory of Lor, she was given a powerful image, titled "The Mark of Bones." This image was to be hidden, shown only to members of the cult. It may cause.. deleterious reactions.. in those unacquainted with Zimesh the Ashen.
A warped white moon shivers coldly behind the dark silhouette of a giant raven, which lays prostrate before a small image of Lor standing in upright prayer. 
The image was printed on thick parchment with a black ink. Dumed rolled this into a leather scrollcase and left for the waiting caravan.
===
Wheels rolling endlessly. Sodden, broken wheels.. repaired with wood and broken nail countless times on the road to here. Where is here? 
Here is
Reigngate, so founded by
Dumed Glovedance in year 250 under the direct orders of
Lor Glovedbucks the necromancer, and dedicated to the sacrificial worship of
Zimesh the Ashen, the Dark God of the Bloody Beard, who revels in death and dismay and really likes ornate displays of bone and skull.
Of the seven dwarves, Dumed is the sole worshipper of Zimesh, with the remaining dwarves praying towards a different, lesser god. They would be converted, or sacrificed, there was no doubt!
The low desert mountain was flanked with dense temperate forests of cedar, wild cherries and persimmons. The ground smelled like magma, or so the miners claimed. Digging through the sand revealed great mounds of obsidian glass. One should always trust miners and their noses.
It was planned to sink a great divot into this fossilized volcano, an artificial chasm.. this would take years but it would keep the others busy while Dumed planned for the first culling. A temporary hovel was dug into the slate layers of the northeastern quadrant, near the fruit trees. For some reason the dwarves had brought a tame elephant and this was pastured nearby.
The six laborers were as follows:
Etur - worships Mete Milu. Overly talkative. Likely to raise alarm should she notice something.
Kikrost - worships Kadol Luriterib. Built strong and tough.
Domas - worships Mete Milu. Peaceful and sheep-like.
Deler - worships Mete Milu. Easily distracted - an easy target.
Sodel - worships Doren Limarosram. A hard worker but unable to form social bonds.
Sigun - worships Mete Milu. A crazy musician. All were competent miners, having been hired into this role, and all were unaware of Dumed's intentions.
Meanwhile, under the guise of constructing a temple for Mete Milu, Dumed went to work designing a secret shrine to Zimesh. A shrine of death, carved from frozen obsidian, with walls polished into black mirrors.
After this work, Dumed took one of the larger obsidian shards, and secretly fashioned a blade. More dagger than sword, the flat edge was sharper than any steel, and was concealable under a shirt or cloak. And so Dumed felt assured.
Summer arrived, and the dwarves labored on.
===
"Hey, I thought this was a temple to honor Mete Milu? Why are we installing these creepy obsidian statues of Zimesh all over the place?"
late summer, two migrants arrived.
Mebzuth - worships Doren Limarosram. High master metalcrafter with great strength.
Ubbul - polytheist, worships all the popular gods, but also Zimesh. A legendary gem setter at the young age of 84. A worshipper of Doren, and a polytheist who shares sympathies with Zimesh. Curious - could this Ubbul Paddlebreaths be trusted with the activities of the cult, despite her split allegiance?
The digging of the great chasm began.
Early in autumn arrived the mountainhome traders. The dwarves traded obsidian swords for meat and cloths. Exporters of death, they were! Zimesh was proud.
Late in autumn, 11 migrants arrived, as follows:
Eral - worships Mete Milu. Woodcutter.
Rigoth - worships Mete Milu. Peasant.
Ezum - worships Avuz Idavuz. Clothier.
Vucar - worships Rimtar Onmemad Nirmekrit. Stonecrafter.
Zuglar - worships Egu. Strand extractor.
Atir Enjoypulleys - polytheist, worships Zimesh. Ranger.
Tun Churchnets - polytheist, worships Zimesh. Fisherdwarf.
Oddom Nuthall - polytheist, worships Zimesh. Fisherdwarf.
Rakust Roughnessshythm - polytheist, worships Zimesh. Farmer.
Deler Tinscaled - worships Zimesh alone. No skills but very strong.
Erith Oarswords - worships Zimesh alone. Accomplished weaponsmith - very useful.Due to their overwhelming exclusivity of their faith, Deler and Erith were chosen to join the inner council of the cult, along with Dumed, and so were given the title "Priest of Zimesh".
This brings the total cult size to eight dwarves, of 20.
Etur, one of the unchosen, the laborers, got into some kind of strange mood, and stole a bench at the stonecutters. Curious, we allowed her to work... she took a large boulder of obsidian and created a huge, menacing cabinet. Covered in spikes of razor glass, it was exactly the last thing you want to place in your bedroom. Perfection! We considered indoctrinating Etur as a reward for this artifact, but her faith in Mete Milu was too strong. She would remain in the lottery.
===
On the full moon of the 28th of Obsidian, the black month, the final month, the deepest winter nights, Dumed called for the priests. Deler and Erith both appeared, dressed in dark, with a list. Each non-believer was given a number, and the priests cackled as they rolled the obsidian dice... 1 and 9. Vucar and Kikrost.
They were told a reward was waiting for them, in the room at the back of the obsidian room of the purest black, filled with a statue gallery of skeletal gods and necromancers. Way back behind the locking door..
Vucar and Kikrost were informed, and happily moved into "the room". The door was locked. and .... the lever was pulled and .... the sacrifice was made. Zimesh surely looked on in pleasure.
Spring brought 17 migrants, too many to list here.. New cultists galore, and plenty of non-believers - Reigngates was growing fast. New terraced farms were placed near the obsidian outpost.
New priests include Domas Dimplecrafted, Limul Citybelt the master of mechanisms, and two others.
One particular non-believer smells funny. Urvad Ropenourished .. keep an eye on this one.
Curiously, one of the migrants claimed to not believe in any gods at all... what a fool! Doesn't he feel the raw energy emanating from the bloodied chamber of death and dismay? The obsidian heart beats loudly now....
The Umbral Faith requires a temple and a priest.
Of course, my lord, anything for you - but didn't you notice that we already have three temples and nine priests? 
to be continued
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Topic: The Cult at Reigngate - Succumbed to the Cave Swallow (Read 1761 times)