Ilviran

Ilvir is one of the least worshipped deities despite the fact he is the only one to reside on Kèthîra among mortals. Some deny his godhood and consider him a demigod or demon. The Brooder’s powers are, however, beyond mortal comprehension.
Ilvir is a shapechanger, taking whatever form suits him. His favorite shape is said to be that of a Serpent, and this reptile figures prominently in Ilviran religious art. Ilvir is a peaceable and introspective god. He rarely interferes with the activities of other deities, or their adherents, and seems satisfied with endless experiments on Ivashu lifeforms for which he is known.

Structure

Ilvirans do not recognize any central authority. This is in part due to the proximity of their deity; one who dwells on Kèthîra has less need to delegate authority to mortals. It is also due in part to the Ilviran view that individuals are more important than the organizations to which they belong.

Demography and Population

The worship of Ilvir is scattered widely throughout western Lythia, but is not common except in and around Orbaal on Hârn, where many Jarin have long been adherents of the Craven Lord. There are relatively few temples. The largest are in Golotha, Tashál, Shiran, and Leriel. There are numerous shrines maintained by mendicants, dotted about Hârn and Lythia and a few temples isolated in the Lythian wilderness.

Foreign Relations

The Other Gods

The teachings of the Order of Chuchlaen Wheelwright are represented here. Other orders may have different views.
Agrik is treachery incarnate. Although our Lord begot him eight sons, Agrik sought to betray their pact.
Halea The Prostitute of Heaven is interested only in money. She has no creative urge, only the urge to possess.
Larani is nearly as bad as Agrik. She would make all men bend knee to her. Haughty and arrogant is she, and her followers are no better.
Morgathh is destructive, treacherous, and spiteful. He steals souls that rightfully belong to the Brooder and feeds them to accursed Bukrai.
Naveh is dangerous, mysterious, never to be understood, and certainly not to be trusted.
Peoni is a good and pure Lady of Labors, but there is danger in succumbing to her ways. Wherever Peoni is present, Larani is not far away.
Sarajin is hated, accursed, evil, vile! He, chief among all others, strip the faithful of their beliefs, and take dominion over the realms of our Lord. Strike the followers of Sarajin down whenever the chance presents itself; to hesitate will be your doom.
Save-K’nor is one we can respect. For as much as our Lord creates things, so too does Save-K’nor seek knowledge with equal diligence. As the holder of the Concordat, he alone can be trusted.
Siem can truly comprehend the Brooder’s ends. He is aged and wise, and his creatures, the Sindarin and Khuzdûl, can at times be as fanciful as the Ivashu.

Divine Origins

The Early Church

The worship of Ilvir is essentially a Hârnic phenomenon. The date of Ilvir’s arrival on Hârn is unknown, although he has been in Araka-Kalai for at least several thousand years. Sindarin and Khuzan legends ignore the god, except for a possible reference in an old journal fragment found in Kiráz, “…venture never beyond the Rayeshas east, for there is noisome peril best let brood alone.” The date of the journal is c.6800 BT, but whether the author is warning of Ilvir or of some other peril is unknown. There are no recorded cases of Ilvir worship among the elder peoples.
When the Jarin came to Hârn, c.1300 BT, there was a group who believed Ilvir had summoned them to be his flock. Their leader was called Ormanoam. He and his followers established a temple which stood for almost two thousand years on an island north of Arónè. It spawned numerous independent sub-orders and sent mendicant clerics throughout Hârn until the Ivinians destroyed it in 658 TR.
Contact with the elder peoples modified all aspects of Jarin culture, including their religious beliefs, but many Jarin seem to have retained a modicum of their Ilviran heritage, even while worshipping Siem. After the Battle of Sorrows, Ilviranism gathered strength, particularly in northern Hârn.

Influence of the Church

Clerics of Ilvir tend to be disinterested in politics and their church has minimal secular influence. Only in and around Orbaal, where the adherents of Ilvir are relatively numerous, are the clerics respected by local nobility. Even there, the church’s influence has declined since the Ivinian conquest. The last strongholds of Ilviran “power” are several Jarin settlements.
Ilviran doctrine does not lend itself to religious bigotry and most priests take little note of the doings of other religions. There are exceptions, however. The Order of Chuchlaen Wheelwright, for example, has a violent antipathy towards the church of Sarajin, but this is more a matter of ethnic and political hatred than theology.
Other religions tend to ignore Ilvirans. Since the church is seldom involved in politics, is not aggressive, and does not inflict torments upon heretics, there are few areas of potential conflict. Agrikans and Morgathians regard Ilvirans as natural prey; impotent victims for their dark rituals. Sarajinians and Laranians tend to view Ilvirans as intellectuals hiding from the real world. The church of Save-K’nor believes the scholarly pursuits of the Ilviran orders are specious, confused nonsense, although individual Ilviran scholars have earned their respect. Haleans find their Ilviran counterparts overserious and dull. The churches of Peoni and Siem are sympathetic, although the common ground between the three religions is poor organization, rather than doctrinal agreement.

Tenets of Faith

Theological Mission

The church of Ilvir has no single mission. Worshippers of like mind have associated into clerical orders that ascribe to different versions of Ilviran theology. Many of these viewpoints are difficult to reconcile with each other.

Social Mission

Ilvir is worshipped mainly by the Jarin, a culture that has always favored a more mystical worship. There has been grievous erosion of Jarin culture over the past fifty years throughout Hârn, especially in Orbaal. The essential social mission for the church today is to act as the spiritual and cultural focus for the beleaguered Jarin to stem this decline. Some orders are more successful than others.

Theology

Ilviran doctrine is shrouded in obscure, conflicting mysticism. Some claim that even its clerics have no idea what is going on. Since there is no central authority to standardize doctrine, there is an element of truth in this. However, it would be more accurate to say that Ilviranism encourages the development of a personal view of Keléstia. The worship of Ilvir has always been individualistic. Most clerics are tolerant of each others’ views, but there are fanatics who perceive their own visualizations as exclusively correct.
Most adherents share a conviction that Ilvir is the most creative of the gods. Only by ignoring the vulgar and violent squabbles of mortal men and immortal gods, can he perfect his art.

llviran Dualism

The predominant school of Ilviran theology postulates that each being has two souls, one that stays in the body after death, and one that leaves the body and goes to an afterlife in Araka-Kalai. The first soul controls the mundane aspects of human life and the second is the creative intelligence, stimulated (or even created) by the deity. Extrapolation of this belief has resulted in the foundation of radical sects preaching that all creatures are the inventions of Ilvir, and that all beings return to Araka-Kalai after death.

Soctrine of the Barren Cycle

Many Ilvirans believe that the Ivashu, as creations of Ilvir, are a higher form of life than humankind. They represent forms pleasing to the deity and worthy of emulation. Mortal life is a prelude to a cycle of reincarnations as these blessed creatures. Rumors surface from time to time, that this cleric or that is an Ivashu.

Ilviran Scholasticism

There is a high degree of scholasticism among clerics of Ilvir, coupled with a tendency towards elaborate artistic design, particularly in manuscript illumination, tapestry weaving, and carving. Most temples have good libraries and many clerics take pride in their artistic skills. Clerics of Ilvir are seldom stern intellectuals; most are fond of poetry, song, and fanciful tale-spinning, but this seems more a reflection of Jarin culture and heritage than Ilviran doctrine.

Worship

Religious Practices

Forms of worship reflect the individualism of the practitioners. The orders celebrate masses in such vastly different ways that they hardly seem part of the same church. Services occur at various times of day or night, on different days of the month, and restrict attendance in distinct, often arbitrary ways. For example, the Order of the Yellow Hand allows anyone who wishes to attend their ceremonies, including adherents of other gods, providing they are of peaceful intent. On the other hand, the Order of Tuarbalt the Golden Limbed, allow only clergy at its ceremonies.
Lay adherents often carry Ilviran icons. These are often made and blessed by clerics, although this is not deemed essential. Common icons include the “Sundered Claw,” the serpent, and the Ivashu. In Ilviran homes, icons are normally placed in small alcoves. In regions where worship of Ilvir is unpopular or discouraged, the icons are hidden or disguised.
A few features are common to most services. A sermon, often in the form of an allegoric tale or song, is traditional. There is a prayer, the content and imagery varying with the order’s beliefs. This is followed by a lengthy period of silence, during which participants meditate upon the tale. The creative bent of the Ilvirans leads them to improvise a great deal. Ceremonies have been known to include animal, human, Ivashu, or other forms of sacrifice, but this does not seem to be an official (or frequent) element. In a few orders, Ivashu play a central role in the rituals involving the higher clergy.
Many of the allegorical sermons and lessons by Ilviran clerics use Ivashu as object lessons. One commonly told tale is that of the Nohah, Sehra-Tu-Yalah. The tale is not regarded as true and is used purely for its emotional and educational content.

Symbols and Regalia

Ilvir is most commonly symbolized by a sundered claw. The origin of this device is ambiguous. Some say that, following the ancient duel between Agrik and Larani, Ilvir recovered Agrik’s severed claws and that it is from these that he made his creatures, but the belief that the Ivashu are made from portions of Ilvir’s own body is at least as common.
Variations on Ilvir’s preferred form, that of the serpent, are as common as the claw. The abilities to coil and change shape are stressed. Abstract whorls and loops figure a great deal in religious ornamentation. The most esoteric symbol is that of the “serpent devouring its children,” a portrayal of a serpent eating its own tail.

An Ilviran High Priest of the Pia-Gardith order. Formal robes vary from order to order, but the colors yellow and brown are most common. Based in Golotha, this is one of the poorest Ilviran orders, reflected in the modest attire. The priest wears a pendant of the Sundered Claw, signifying his office.

The Araksin

The greatest religious festival of the Ilviran church takes place between Yaelah and Yaelmor, in the month of Ilvin. The Araksin is one of few universal practices. Priests fast for the week preceding Araksin. During the two week festival, various original dramatic works and extracts from the Ilviran mythos are performed.

The Pilgrimage

An important practice among Ilvirans is the pilgrimage to Hârn's Araka-Kalai. Although few lay adherents can find the time or funds to make the pilgrimage, most clerics make at least one trip in their lives and some some go often.
The Araksin festival is the ideal time to arrive at [Araka-Kalai](location:8007a09e-431c-4851-a452-569d9b5c3a3f). Ilvirans intending to make the journey gather in Shiran, Tashál, or Leriel as much as two or three months prior to the festival. Some consider it to be impious to make the pilgrimage by any means other than walking, although wealthy adherents have been known to make part of the journey by boat across Lake Benáth. These pilgrims prefer to demonstrate their piety by walking along its northern shore. Since this involves skirting the Rayésha Mountains in uncertain weather, more than a few have died to prove their points.
Pilgrims usually travel in groups of twenty to thirty for companionship and safety. In 716, a band of twenty pilgrims was ambushed near the Dêret River by Agrikan “knights” of the order of the Cohorts of Gashang. The survivors were delivered to an easily surmised fate at the temple of Agrik in Shiran. This kind of atrocity has caused some pilgrims to hire mercenaries or to bribe the evil temples to leave them alone.

Burial Customs

Because there are so many different sects in the church of Ilvir, and because rituals vary from one sect to another, there are a wide variety of burial rites. Most Ilvirans prefer burial in earth where their mortal remains can mingle with the cycles of life, death, and rebirth. The ideal is to be buried in the pits below Araka-Kalai, or as close to there as possible.
There are few Ilviran graveyards or crypts. Ilvirans are quietly buried in the wilderness and, because of their belief in reincarnation, the interment traditionally occurs at dusk and the grave is unmarked. Some Ilvirans abandon their dead in the wilderness for wild animals to consume. A few sects eat their dead, believing this is the ultimate cycle of renewal.

Priesthood

Temples and Orders

For the most part, the concepts of the clerical order and the temple are synonymous in the Ilviran church. Typically, the Ilviran temple has very few priests and acolytes in residence, often as little as six or eight clerics. Not all clerics belong to an order/temple; about half are independent mendicants pursuing their own destinies. The degree of their devotion also varies greatly. Some clerics hardly let their religion interfere with the conduct of their lives; for them it is something deep within, to be used when convenient, then put away.
Within the temples, the internal structure differs greatly. The senior cleric in each temple may be referred to as the grandmaster or high priest, but these are not appointed by any central authority. Often the temple seems to function more as a secular economic commune than as a religious institution. The principal objective of many orders is to protect their members from outsiders. Some orders, consist entirely of mendicant priests.
In the settled temples, there are often a variety of officers as dictated by the dogma and needs of the order. If there are archives, there will be a librarian. If the order stresses esoteric ceremony, there will be a priest in charge of ritual. Acolytes may be governed by a particular master, and so on. Some temples keep stocks of “domestic” Ivashu, and these require a keeper.
Where there is a temple, it functions as a repository of cultural knowledge of crafts and lore, and the temple itself may seem surprisingly large for the number and wealth of the faithful it serves. Many Ilvirans spend a few years as acolytes or lay workers in the local temple learning or perfecting a craft. Some simply labor to help support the monks by raising crops, caring for livestock, or compounding inks according to ancient and secret recipes. Any who come to an Ilviran temple are welcome for as long as they stay, eating what the monks eat and drinking what they drink. Even those who do not primarily worship Ilvir are generally welcome as long as they are not hostile, but the strangeness of the church tends to keep the visits of outsiders to a minimum.
Most temples are too large to exist solely upon the contributions of their faithful, who are seldom among the wealthy of the community. Some supplement their income by selling artworks, written works, and potions, while others hire out the services of the monks of the order as scribes. Some temples capture and sell Ivashu to the Pamesani Arena, but this is considered heretical by other orders.

Sects

Clerical Orders

The clerical orders vary in size and in their degree of organization. If it is assumed that at least five members are needed to form an order, it is clear that only about half the Ilviran clerics belong to any order at all. Only a handful of orders have more than one temple.

Chuchlaen Wheelwright

One of the most fanatical and rigid orders, the Order of Chuchlaen Wheelwright was refounded at the end of the seventh century TR after several centuries of inactivity. The temple of the order is underground and centered around the Earthmaster site of Gedan in northern Hârn. The temple is associated with elements of the Jarin resistance movement, and as such is one of the most political orders. The order takes its name from a semi-divine servant of Ilvir who is believed to labor forever, attempting to build the perfect wheel.

Meamyt the Hermit

This “order” was founded in 708 when Meamyt of Pyryn, an eccentric mendicant cleric, took up residence on Askellin Isle, a small island about a kilometer off the south coast of the Isle of Arathel in Orbaal. Meamyt had gained a reputation for prophesy and the performing of various minor “miracles.” Before secluding himself on Askellin, Meamyt proclaimed that he had been appointed by Ilvir to ready the way for “one arisen from the Plains and come unto the hearths of the humble.” The fact that this statement is obscure (some say meaningless) has not prevented Meamyt from attracting a small number of disciples to his island. There are six clerics in the conclave, living in small stone huts. Meamyt, who gives the appearance of being at least half mad, is still alive, and the few visitors to Askellin are treated to his confused and erratic ravings.

The Ochre Womb

The oldest surviving order on Hârn, the Ochre Womb claims to have been founded over 1000 years ago. Located about a quarter of a league southwest of Araka-Kalai, the priests of this order have always had the closest association with Ilvir’s home, and regard themselves as a “chosen elite.” The order has functioned for centuries as the penultimate destination of Ilviran pilgrims. The majority of pilgrims never proceed beyond the order’s temple to the deity’s residence, finding that their desire to visit Ilvir’s Pit has waned.
The order built Ilvir’s Tower at Araka-Kalai. Originally intended as a shrine to the god, and still visited by clerics of the order, the tower has been slowly crumbling for several centuries. Most pilgrims believe that the tower was built by Ilvir. Priests of the order do nothing to discourage this belief.
From the temple of the Ochre Womb to the Pit itself there runs a path called the “Serpent’s Tongue.” This thoroughfare periodically passes stone monoliths called the “Gates of Conception.” Carved upon each of the Gates there is an inscription; one who recites an inscription to the Grandmaster will receive a certificate of his devotion. A person who reaches the third Gate is called a “pilgrim of the third stone” etc. Those who reach the sixth stone (and return to tell of it) are held in awe by most Ilvirans, for the sixth inscription is commonly believed to stand within the court of Ilvir.

Order of the Pia-Gardith

The only temple of this poorly organized order is in Golotha. It is involved with the importation of Ivashu for the Pamesani Games. Worship of Ilvir is discouraged in Golotha and his clerics periodically vanish.

Order of the Seafarer Ibenis

The temple of this sect is in Shiran. It is the main mustering place for pilgrimages to Araka-Kalai from western Hârn. The temple suffers from erosion caused by the Great Flood of 707; the temple yard is crumbling into the Thard River. The order provides Ivashu to the Agrikan Order of the Octagonal Pit for use in the Pamesani Games, although they are not the only source of the creatures. The arrangement has ensured reasonably good relations between the two churches. The order derives its name from the servant of Ilvir who is the “ferryman of souls,” returning the auras of dead Ivashu to Ilvir for rebirth. Some believe that Ibenis manifests as a humanoid figure poling a boat across the fetid pool at the bottom of Ilvir’s Pit.

Sudelrhynn the Bearer of Loam

The high priest of the Leriel temple in Orbaal is the closest thing to a Primate of Hârn, but only because he is highly respected by the majority of Ilvirans. The Order of Sudelrhynn is one of the few Ilviran clerical orders to maintain more than one temple. It has a small establishment at Gwaeryn. The order’s name is derived from the Ivashu first created by Ilvir, who, it is believed, honored his creator by remaining forever in Araka-Kalai and performing the most menial of tasks. This is the largest, wealthiest, and best organized of Ilviran orders.

Tuarbalt the Golden Limbed

This small and obscure order is a nomadic band. Its existence is known to few. The fanatical priests of Tuarbalt are cruel and prone to violence. The order was founded in 692 TR, by priests from Leriel, and is now comprised mostly of local tribesmen and a few converted mendicants. The order worships through human sacrifice, and they have not hesitated to find victims among the pilgrims. It is believed that the clerics have trapped a unique and terribly dangerous Ivashu, and that sacrifice victims are thrown to it.

The Verdant Pool

This order is based at a small temple on the outskirts of Tawheim in Orbaal. The temple is used as a meeting place by a Jarin resistance group, who use the clerics as cover for their activities. The Enclave of the Verdant Pool draws most of its worshippers from the local Jarin peasantry. It is one of the poorest orders on Hârn.

The Yellow Hand

This also functions as a hostel for pilgrims to Araka-Kalai. The city of Tashal, or more properly the ruins of Kelapyn-Anuz seem to have some significance to the clerics of Ilvir. Lothrim apparently secured a tome sacred to the deity that he secreted in the old city. Local priests believe that the holy book is still hidden somewhere beneath the city. According to their beliefs, the book, called “The Scant Illumination of Vision” deals in some unknown way with Ilvir’s citadel of Araka-Kalai. Clerics of the order periodically descend into the catacombs beneath the city in search of the tome. This has occasionally brought them into conflict with the clerics of Naveh and members of the Lia-Kavair, both of whom frequent the tunnels beneath Tashal.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Deities

• Ilvir