The size of the pantheon grows and shrinks as the gods die and are reborn. Even the most reviled of the gods are still granted an obeyance or supplication when all goes wrong. Few wish to pray to the god of lies, but all need to sometimes. When a new god is born, it's rare that there are not servants called to their priesthood. But when a god dies, their churches do not always scatter to the winds. These churches still have old priests, young people called to them, power, money, and even buildings dedicated to them. What they do not have is miracles, or a god to call people to the priesthood. This is what happened to Nashatay.
Gods dying is often complicated. Many gods die but still continue to be part of their pantheon (Baldr, Pan, or Osiris), but others, like Nashatay, live out their usefulness, becoming forgotten shells of the past. Nashatay did not just die, but was killed to make room for the rule of Naha. Naha's betrayal did not just kill her husband, but end the days of raiding and pillaging forever. Or, so says the priesthood of Naha. The Cult of Nashatay despises this lie.
While the cult is lead by the demigod Ul-Nash, it was not founded by him, nor is it properly run by him. Ul-Nash is not temperamentally suited to collect alms, arrange call signs to recognize one another, or preach the word of Nashatay to the lost and terrified peoples who do not fit into the new, softer, archipelago of the sea peoples. The primary functionary of the archipelago is Tithian, a man in his eighties, who was once the high priest of the Church, preaching in all of the great mead halls of the sea and blessing raiders before their voyages. Tithian is hoping that Ul-Nash can become a god before he has to pass into the afterlife, because he despises Naha for the betrayal she gave his master, and he refuses to work with the new pantheon. As such, Tithian does much of the daily management of the cult, but, due to his failing health, mostly behind the scenes.
Tithian is good at making sure the cult's resources are in place, but the cult would be nowhere without resources to manage. As such, Fal-Dratha, a young playboy who has inherited a trade house, is the primary source of those resources. Fal-Dratha's father was an important advocate for leaving raiding behind, and one of the earliest traders amongst the sea people. When he died, young Dratha was left with enough gold to be bored for the rest of his life, even if he never took to trading. Fal-Dratha has decided to deal with this boredom by becoming a cultist.
The final leader of the cult is Tithian's protege, Nishka. Nishka was cast from the priest of Naha for striking an outsider without being struck first. Naha's priests are to be completely non-violent, being forced to endure all manner of insult before engaging in combat or conflict. Nishka hated this life, and when a visiting diplomat heaped scorn upon the house, the servants, and the temple itself, she struck him in a rage. Nishka was living on the streets when Tithian found her, helped her, and brought her before Ul-Nash to be judged. Ul-Nash recognized her as a woman with a wolf's heart, and blessed her to succeed Tithian as his high priestess.
Ul-Nash is much too arrogant to fully understand the organization under his control. He believes that he has complete control of the cult and that all follow him without question. He knows that Fal-Dratha is only following him because of the thrill of being part of something secret, violent, and sexy, but he believes more of Nishka and Tithian. He believes that Tithian will be alive long enough to at least be replaced by Nishka when the time comes, and he hopes to intercede in the Underworld to bring Tithian to his halls upon death, but knows he does not have halls to bring Tithian to. Tithian knows that as his death grows closer he will have to either abandon Ul-Nash or eternity. Nishka believes that Ul-Nash is her only hope for the future. But she also knows that he will let her down. She wishes to kill Fal-Dratha and take his lands if it can be arranged, or, failing that, find a way to make the cult rise to prominence enough to force him to give his holdings to them. Fal-Dratha genuinely is only after cheap thrills, he enjoys having power over the cult, but if he knew of Nishka's plans he might, at any time, go running to the Church of Naha. This is not to say the cult is falling apart, since all are in deep abiding awe of Ul-Nash. But if that were to change, it's likely the cult would go to war.
A Burning Wheel Monster Every Week