Ir In Zer

Being part of the Ir In Zer can serve as a decent backstory for anyone playing any of the following subclasses...

• Path of the Storm Herald
• Path of the Zealot
• Echo Knight
• Eldritch Knight
• Psi Warrior
• Purple Dragon Knight
• Way of the Four Elements
• Way of the Long Death
• Way of the Open Hand
• Any Paladin Subclass
• Phantom
• Soulknife

If a player wanted, nearly any class or character could be reasoned as being an Ir In Zer. Something to note about roleplay however is that every Ir In Zer is a fanatic of some sort, with NO exception. 
An important note: Any character who is part of an Ir In Zer Dynasty replaces their racial abilities (Unique features such as the Hlaf-Orc's Relentless Endurance) with the Dual Mind, Mind Link, and Severed From Dreams features. If there are not enough to replace, add them on. Things that these three don't replace such as age, language proficiencies, and statistic bonuses are left alone. 

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The Ir In Zer is a collective name for a group of fanatics. These Zealots are trained from a young age to use atypical, unconventional, esoteric magics and combat practices, conditioned to be fanatical in pursuit of a goal or movement, crowned with a new name representing their focus, and sent off into the world. They are unhealthy individuals, trained and conditioned into potential monsters, and unleashed into Diyu. 

These names and focuses vary wildly, and many fanatics representing wildly different ideals are trained under the same roof. A monarchist and an anarchist will have been trained by the same masters, for they care not what ideal their students espouse, only that they become fanatical zealots. Their temples and monasteries are wide and varied and are never full. Luckily for the world, the masters' only access to inductees is limited by the few times they venture out from their hidden temples or the people their zealots bring back when they return to rest and resupply.

Career

Qualifications

Every Ir In Zer goes through years of training in multiple fields. Of course, they are taught their unique styles of fighting and the odd magic that accompanies it, but they are also taught, or more accurately conditioned, to be fanatics. An Ir In Zer inductee spends more time learning about the world and being driven to fanaticism than they do learning to fight.

Career Progression

An Ir In Zer begins their career of sorts once they have completed their training and taken their "holy name". The only true form of progress is gaining renown for them and their temple or dynasty. The only amount of official progression they have is returning to their home monastery and becoming a master, turning more orphan inductees into zealots.

Perception

Purpose

The Ir In Zer and their monasteries take the orphans and abandoned of society and train them to become fanatical killers. The monasteries' masters do not care what ideal they espouse, only that they pursue it with a fervor unmatched by any other. They push the world forward, no matter the cost.

Social Status

While the Ir In Zer are widely known, they are not common enough to gather in number anywhere outside their monasteries. As such they tend to be thrust into the same positions as heretical crusaders. A holy warrior for a different religion. In the Akroni Confederacy they epeciallhy blend in with the myriad of other religons and movements, while in the Empire of Laran an Ir In Zer sticks out like blood on a white dress. A Crusader, not for any Larani Religion, but for a completely separate movement, with different heraldry, is always obvious.

Demographics

The Ir In Zer are likely one of the most diverse groups in all of Diyu. They have taken everyone from orphans of Lati to beggar children in Arlesciatre and everything in between. The only requirement they have for an inductee is that they are young, as to keep their minds malleable. This is generally 15 at the oldest.

History

No one knows when the first Ir In Zer monastery was built, as few besides the Ir In Zer themselves know where to find them. The first recorded Ir In Zer was seen in 3421 DS, claiming responsibility for the assassination of the Zing Gor Emperor of Xixuegui. She had killed him, his entire family and line of succession, as well as the entire palace workforce, through a slow-acting poison in the palace's water supply. The Zealot styled herself as Change, soon gaining the title Toppler of Empires. For all her efforts, however, the empire didn't topple, and after a long civil war, pulled itself back from the brink through the ascension of the Ne Kofangur Emperor. Change herself was long dead by this time, captured and executed by a distant relative of the Zing Gor Emperor. 

The Ir In Zer were next seen in 3440 DS, in the City of Stone, with a warrior calling himself Caste, the Oppressor, helping put down a slave rebellion. Many linked Caste with Change due to their names and similar abilities, but he never claimed any connection. The third sighting was in the Takniki Peninsula, where an Ir In Zer named Stalwart helped the allied forces of Jericho Bay repulse an invasion attempt by the Empire of Laran in 3442 DS.

After that, they made several more increasingly frequent appearances until by 3460, one could reliably track at least five Zealots operating at the same time. The Ir In Zer, when questioned, never gave details as to their training, or even where they came from, only what they called their duty, a holy prerogative to accomplish something. That something varied for each subject. They could not be bought, and were very rarely convinced to deviate from their course. Overall, the Ir In Zer have been a chaotic force over the past four-ish millennia. Each has a different objective, however the one constant is they leave change in their wake.

Operations

Tools

Each Ir In Zer monastery teaches different magics. They are not unique to a monastery, as many teach the same form of combat and magic, and some outside the Ir In Zer know it as well, however those some are few and far between. The most common Ir In Zer are, as known by most outside their orders, the Psi Warrior, the Echo Knight, and the Soulknife.

Materials

An Ir IN Zer often needs little more than their weapons, armour, and provisions when they set out. As their current task or quest becomes more complex, they gather the supplies from allies and associates they gather throughout their journey. Often a Zealot will return to their home monastery or an allied one if they are in need of guidance or a specific item, ritual, or other spell they know the monastery in question has.

Notable Ir In Zer

Change, Toppler of Empires: Change became famous for sending Xixuegui into another long and grueling civil war. Despite being executed shortly after her decimation of the royal family, it is said she died with a smile on her face, her work completed. She brought to bring about a major shift in the power dynamic of the Western Continent, something she achieved though likely not as much as she'd hoped. Her actions paved the way for many of the Dead Empire's border territories to declare independence. 

Monarch, Kingmaker: Monarch was responsible for installing an Imperator onto the throne of the Empire of Laran, one who reigned for a decade, an impressively long time, and brought about major reform such as the centralization of power, and the establishment of the noble levy in Laran.

Harbinger, End of Days: Harbinger is rumored as having caused the blight of the Deadlands unto the kingdom of Yun-Pa-Jong, leaving all but the cities a wasteland of death and decay. Any Ir In Zer who calls themselves Harbinger is now marked for death in Yun-Pa-Jong and any of its ally states.

Sorrow of the Zirkov Reach: Sorrow defeated a despot who brutally repressed the Zirkov Reach, gaining its independence and toppling the kingdom in question, bringing sorrow to the oppressors of the Reach. They continued to defend the Reach after the victory, and were killed repulsing Akroni forces at the third battle of Vulture Pass. Their body was recovered and is now housed in the Sepulcher of Sorrow in the capital of Zirkov, a large cathedral that has drawn thousands from around the world.

Customs and Practices

While every Zealot chooses their own name, they are forbidden from awarding themself their epithet. It is rare for an Ir In Zer to not earn an epithet, usually being due to their death near immediately after they were sent out. An epithet can be earned in many ways. Usually, it is awarded by the masters of the Ir In Zer's home monastery, based on their deeds and accomplishments during the time away. A rarer, though not uncommon naming method, is being awarded an epithet by people the Ir In Zer has met during their journey. Sorrow of the Zirkov Reach is the most famous of these.

Despite gaining a new, "holy", name, the Ir In Zer does not discard theirs unless they are truly truly truly zealous. A step taken by very few, as most Ir In Zer keep their given names for use among close friends and associates. 

The Epithets, aside from being recognition for the Ir In Zer's accomplishments, are also a way to distinguish one from another with the same name. After nearly four millennia, every possible name has been used, and especially common names such as Change, Rage, or Terror have several dozen claimants at a time. As such, Epithets are used. While the epithets are bound to be repeated eventually, there are enough that it is unlikely anyone will encounter someone with the same name and epithet as them.

Alternative Names

Zealots ; Fanatics ;

Type

Religious

Demand

No Explicit Demand

Legality

Many organizations have imposed kill on sight rules regarding the Ir In Zer, as they feel they  

Cause more trouble than they're worth

— Drafrith: Warlord of the Zirkov Reach

Otherwise, the Ir In Zer are seen as people to be watched and monitored, but their interest could be the interest of the worried party, so best to wait and see. After that, things go on a case-by-case basis.

Dynasties and Orders

Some names, namely Rage and Fear, have come under the exclusive previews of their respective orders and dynasties. a group of Ir In Zer with the same title decide they want to restrict access to their holy name for whatever reason. it could be quality control, it could be a superiority complex, whatever the reason, they unite into an order, a dynasty. These Ir In Zer will bind themselves together, all centered on an artifact or artifacts of some kind, to create a sem-collective consciousness. Every bound Zealot will have a permanent second presence in the back of their mind, a second subconscious with aspects of every member of their dynasty to exist. 

These voices influence the Ir In Zer, in some humorous ways such as giving them an aversion to certain foods, in some not-so-fun ways by resisting certain behaviors or actions the sub mind disapproves of.  The largest dynasties such as Fear and Rage have grown so large that one sub-mind would overwhelm both the enchanted artifact and the mind of the inductees, so the collective consciousness has been split into multiple artifacts, creating several sub-minds and sects within one order. The usual punishment for someone using the name the order has claimed is death.