The New Star Crusade is a small cult dedicated to the following principles: 

• That Danen Ignis (Michael Brown) is the reincarnation of the one who constructed the mounds millennia ago
• That those who accept Ignis as their leader are imbibed with the spirit of the people who helped build the mounds
• They believe that through worship at the mounds they will call down “others” and these others will take them to a new world

Its membership worldwide is about 8,000, though most are not far enough down the road of delusion fully embrace their mythology. Those who have dedicated themselves to the cult (who number less than fifty, all told) have pledged all their earthly possessions as well as their body to Danen Ignis.
The cult is not a recognized religion, but is fastidious in all matters legal and financial. Ignis is a stickler for playing the system, and does not take unnecessary risks. His personal wealth is somewhere in the realm of the tens of millions of dollars – all gained from devoted followers, and he does not risk it recklessly.

Those in town, particularly the police, know very well that although Ignis may be insane, he is methodical, and is very adept at exploiting the legal system. Early attempts at legal wrangling cost the county nearly a million dollars, and the local city government has a very clear “hands off” policy against the cult. This, however, backfired as well.

Back before Douglas Yale, trespassing by townies was a common thing on the farm, and the local authorities refused to act with “necessary speed and clarity” to resolve such situations. Ignis taped the phone calls to the local Police, and recorded their arrival times (the shortest was over 2 hours). He then filed a personal suit against the county and cost them another 800,000 in damages.

When the state of Ohio tried to intervene and block the cult from using the mounds for worship, Ignis spent nearly 3 million dollars on legal fees, taking the fight to one step below the Supreme Court of Ohio. He won the battle handily on the concept of freedom of religion. He also made national news and drew in new followers.

Soon the town of Chester found itself answering to Ignis, and few could see any way out of the situation. The police monitored the farm, but could do little else. Ignis paid his taxes and bills on time, and spent copious amounts of money in town.

Even when the Douglas Yale situation burst upon the scene in 1999, no one in Chester even dared attempt some sort of accusation or suit against Ignis. By that time, everyone in city government knew it was a losing battle. And the cult’s lawyer in Cincinnati, Richard A. Goldfarb, sent a strongly worded letter to the police department warning them against making a public connection between Yale and the Cult.

No one did. Since the resolution of the Yale incident in 2001, the cult has remained quietly behind the scenes. Performing its rites in isolation away from the town. The town likes it that way. They’ve learned to leave well enough alone.

Danen Ignis (Real Name Michael Brown)
Michael Brown was an professor of Literature at the University of Ohio for 12 years before he packed up and left it all behind to return to his family farm. Most at the University believed he was on his way home to care for his ailing elderly father. The formerly talkative and social Brown had changed over a period of months into a somber, distracted individual – most chalked it up to worry and grief, but a few who knew him well knew something was seriously wrong.

Brown grew up in Chester, less than a half mile from the Chester Mounds on his family farm. He spent an unremarkable childhood playing in and around the mounds, and was well known in town as a bookworm. People had fond memories of him, until his return in 1985 and the strange turn of events that gave birth to his cult, the New Star Crusade, and his new name Danen Ignis. Few understood his motivations, and they were chalked up to greed or insanity equally.

Brown’s father, Charles “Chip” Brown was known as a local oddity; and for nearly twenty years before his confinement to what would become his death bed, was known to walk every night at the mounds, often talking to himself. Before his self-isolation and slow descent into madness (harmless as it had been) Chip was a well-liked individual who spent his evenings in the local pool hall “shooting the shit”.

Chips’ descent seemed to begin after his son’s departure in the late 1960’s. In truth, Chip’s obsession with the mounds had driven his son off, and kept the two from speaking for nearly fifteen years. Michael Brown returned home twice between 1984 and 1985 to see his bed-ridden father, and each time he returned to the University, he seemed more and more distracted and distant.

With his father’s death in 1987, the farm – which had been gathering random lost individuals from a round the globe for some time – officially became home to the New Star Crusade, and Michael Brown changed his name to Danen Ignis.

Since 1987, Ignis has held court at the Brown Farm, fighting various legal battles to allow his “religion” to perform rites at the Chester Mounds. Since the legal kafuffle involving Douglas Yale – the Ohio River Killer – Ignis has not left the farm. He lives a life of isolation, surrounded by devoted followers, sitting on a stockpile of legally purchased weapons that make the local authorities decidedly nervous.