...if a thought struck you maybe you should strike it back
Ermorian priests don't preach (talkin Ashen Empire and Soul Gate here). They can't.
Well, the holy ones they might get from independants do. In which case they must be preaching to themselves - convincing themselves that it's GOOD that everything is dead....
Just because there's no people doesn't mean a god can't have dominion. Scale effects clearly have an influence independant of the belief of the population.