Iludrocism

Structure

A very decentralized religion. Local priests run their local temples. There is an annual gathering of iludron priests. The iludron priest associated with the Doge is the technical High Priest of iludrocism, but the position is more for final authority when decisions cannot be settled among the priests, which is rare.

Public Agenda

Care for the tevlo under the jurisdiction of the Doge. On paper, this concerns all tevlo no matter their location or allegiances. The only exception are those traitors and heinous or violent criminals who are exiled from society. Exile from either organization extends to both.

Assets

The Doge and the iludron priesthood co-own and maintain the temples and other holy sites. The iludron priesthood solely owns the artifacts and provides a small stipend from donations in order to live an ascetic life of servitude.

Mythology & Lore

When Otrubos was gripped by the darkness of chaos, from the seas arose a single wolf. This wolf took its first steps on land and felt only the empty cold. It was soon beset by the hidden evils of the world, and it was beaten and thrown among the chaos. For eons, this wolf struggled to even place one paw squarely onto the ground before it was swept up by the hidden things and tossed about like a doll. The wolf was spread across a vast distance and squashed down into a single point by the magics of the hidden things. Through sheer force of will, the wolf finally was able to get all four paws on solid ground, and with a mighty howl, it sunk its teeth into the nearest hidden thing, bringing pain and anguish to that which had delighted in the wolf's pain. The hidden evils fled in fear at their just retribution, save for the one in the wolf's snarling jaw. As the wolf caught its breath, it spoke in its way to the hidden thing. "You are mine now. You are my weapon. You are my tool. You are Idri, my spear." And in giving the hidden evil a name, it was no longer hidden. It was bound to the wolf's will. Such that a hidden thing can be hidden behind any unknown, so to can Idri be hidden and thus drawn from behind any unknown. But a spear cannot be wielded with the paws of a wolf, so the wolf stood on its hind legs for the first time and reshaped itself to properly wield Idri, taking on a form best suited for the hunt. With time to breath and think for itself, the wolf looked inward and sought truth. Thus, Amira named herself and solidified her form, forever separating herself from the hidden evils. With the hidden evils running in fear, Amira took time to reflect on herself. She realized she was lonely, so she pricked her hide with Idri and sprinkled her blood over the land. From each drop of blood, an infant wolf was born that howled to the black sky with its first breath. These babes could not see in the inky darkness, so Amira hunted down more hidden evils, slaughtering them and bringing light to their darkness. She gathered their illuminated bodies and flung them to the sky, creating the stars we see at night. Amira then sheared her fur and tossed it across the land, creating the grey grass of the Stronto Plains, giving sustenance for the animals that the wolves would hunt for food. Thus, each meal is a gift from Amira. The wolves fed too greedily, so she cursed their bodies with death, but kept their spirits for the Pack of Heaven after death. Still, the wolves fed too greedily, and Amira realized that their form, one based off of hers, was too perfect for hunting in the twilight. Amira struck the ground with Idri, sparking a great fire. Amiri grabbed this fire, burning her hands, and threw it into the starlit sky. Now her wolves had to prove themselves as capable hunters to survive. However, the great sun brought too much heat where it shone, and the far seas of Otrubos grew frigid with ice, so Amira sunk her spear Idri into the ground and pulled with all her might, setting Otrubos on a rotation to create day and night. The wolves learned to sleep during the cold nights and hot days so that they may hunt during the twilight, and their numbers became balanced and they could sustain themselves. While Amira oversaw her wolf children and spoke often with them in their own way, she still desired for something capable of wondrous accomplishments that she could be proud of. She slept one day and had visions and dreams of her true children in their form perfect for accomplishing great deeds. Upon awakening, she set out again for the Stronto Plains and gathered the best of her wolf children along the way. Once there, she waited for them to sleep, then used her divine will to reform the wolves into the forms from her dreams. When the wolves awoke in their new forms and gathered around Amira, she uttered one single word. "Tevlo." Thus, her people had a name. They built great cities and accomplished great deeds with the aid of Amira and her spear Idri. They hunted the hidden evils together and had wonderful celebrations of life and death. But Amira grew weary again when she realized that her new children were dependent upon her for constant care. She looked out from the great cities and saw her wolf children were thriving in their own way through struggling for their successes, and they had great pride in their accomplishments. Her Tevlo children were constantly begging her to give them more while her wolf children struggled for scraps. She saw that they relished in their little accomplishments, things her tevlo children laughed at to themselves behind her back. For their vanity of thinking they were her favorite children and the gluttony for more at the expense of their Mother, Amira turned on the ungrateful tevlo and brought ruin to their cities and chased the food out of the lands. After abandoning her children, the tevlo learned what it meant to hunt and work for their lives instead of for leisure or sport. They wept for their Great Mother, but they soon learned their lesson of why she left. Amira saw the change in her children, so she stepped forward in times of great need, when the work was there but the result was lacking. She helped the crops grow after a bad year of hard work. She saw that the final loosed arrow of a famished hunting party would finally land in the largest bull. She turned storms ravaging the seas before they destroyed harbors. Thus Amira became a goddess for the tevlo, helping them after they had done all they can to help themselves. Each star you see in the night sky is a leftover piece of a hidden evil, destroyed by our great Mother and placed their for us to see at night. All the blades of the grass are descendants of Amira's fur. All wolves and tevlo are descended from her divine blood. Everything we have comes from the Great Den Mother, and we are thankful for our successes, our failures, our accomplishments, our downfalls. When work is easy, then it is fitting to give back to the Great Mother so that you may not incur her wrath at your leisure. When you work hard and still fail, the Great Mother saw fit that you should learn from failure, or you just didn't work hard enough. When you work hard enough and it fits her plan, the Great Mother will ensure your success, and you should praise and thank her in all you do.

Cosmological Views

Through careful tracking of the stars, the sun, and the moon, the priests of Iludron actually understand that the origin myth of the faith is likely just hyperbole. Because of this, few tell the story as fact but will still tell the story as a parable to help the people have strength-giving faith. Many are quick to admit that the story is a parable, but that Amira is still a living, breathing goddess.

Tenets of Faith

Work hard so that you can stand tall, Live honestly so that the tevlo will not fall. Provide for yourself so that you may survive, Provide for others so the tevlo can thrive.

Priesthood

The serves as the clerical equivalent to the Doge of the Tevlo. Each city and den has its local priesthood who all gather for an annual congregation to decide on spiritual (and thus technological) matters of the tevlo. Debates are held until a super-majority (3/5) vote is passed. Decisions that cannot reach super-majority are tabled. All tabled decisions go through the High Priest to either be