darkSpyro

So Ashi and the other Daughters of Aku appear to be East Asian in terms of race, which gives us an explanation for how the Cult formed and why they hate Jack so much.

In the season premiere, we see Jack hallucinating his parents and the people from his kingdom (feudal Japan) begging and pleading to know why he abandoned them.

What if Jack isn't just hallucinating? What if that's what actually happened?

When he never returned from his fight with Aku, the people of Japan could've assumed that Jack must have abandoned them, and considered him a coward and a traitor. Over time, the story is passed down through the generations; their disappointment turns to anger, which turns to hate, until the story has been so distorted that it makes Jack out to be the bad guy all along, and therefore Aku is good for wanting him dead.

And that's how you end up with the Cult.