The Avenger
Identity
- Titles – The Avenger
- Influence – Destiny, Vengeance, War
- Appearance – Orynder is depicted as an aged warrior in battered armor. He wears a ruined tabard emblazoned with a Dekàlan Dragul and carries no less than three reforged swords and sometimes a shield. His bearded face is often masked with an imperial helmet. He is commonly portrayed standing in Reverence to fallen soldiers or the fallen Empire.
Attributions
- Symbol – Three crossed Swords
- Focus – Swords
- Color – Red and Gold
- Element – Earth
- Animal – Boar
Cult
- Center of Worship – Saranð
- Scriptures –
- Leader – Prydyrim Gor, …
- Priesthood – Gor Ordus Orynder
- Orders – Pryór Ðardràm Orynder
- Aspects – …
- Touched – …
- Holy Days – …
- Friends – …
- Enemies – Acèntyra (i.e., Occupied), Eylfāe, Ortor
- Sayings – …
Introduction
The origins of Orynder have been obscured over the centuries. His legends and purpose have been irrevocably rewritten within the last 1,500 years. Originally a pagan god (i.e., pre-Dekàlan), worshiped by the natives of the Saránði region, the early cult was suppressed during the 1st century AR. The introduction of Kændlan was accepted by force, and Orynder-worship was pushed underground until the Empire’s fall, almost 1,300 years later. During the emergence of Saránð, the theologian Seryl of Koróndon helped promote a new image for Orynder. Incorporating elements of pagan worship with those of the Dekàlan gods (e.g., Irul, Kændlan), the priesthood was able to convert the Saránðans in a way their Dekàlan forefathers could never manage. Within a few generations, the priesthood slowly reworked and reinvented the local god into the present-day deity. Orynder is the embodiment of land and the unrealized manifest destiny of the Old Empire.
The nature of the manufactured Orynder is a mystery to theologians that know the history. There is little doubt that the priests of Orynder are favored by their god similarly to priests found in other more established faiths. This relationship has been dubbed the Orynder Paradox by a handful of sages. The nature of this “connection” brings into the question the spiritual relationship between priests and their deities worldwide. Some purport that the Orynder Paradox is proof that priestly powers are more akin to those of Weavers than has been previously believed, a heretical stance that undermines the divinity of “gods”. Others hypothesize that the Paradox is proof that gods are created by Awakened races, and empowered by belief and devotion. Still others suggest that it has no bearing on the power of gods at all, and that the worshipers of Orynder have been duped into worshiping and receiving powers from beyond the Kyuràda Vor. This final theory, labels Orynder’s worships as Nephetans.
Regardless of Orynder’s origin, the Saránthans believe that he was a great general during the Second Acèntyri-Dekàli War. The legends of conquest and battlefield heroics are recounted breathlessly in temples and military camps throughout the region. Some stories describe him as a great warrior who rides an armored dire boar into the thick of battle. The boar image is tied to Orynder’s pagan origins, one of the few elements to survive.
The Cult
The Saránði worship of Orynder has its origins in the 3rd century DR. Much of the religion is modeled after the Cult of Irul, and the idea that the Empire is not dead, only sleeping. The Cult of Orynder holds great influence over the throne in Durul. Queen Idànna II has taken the lessons of her youth to heart, and after long consultations with the priesthood, initiated war with Carámis and then the northern neighbor Taldàna. Under the pretense that Taldàna remains a puppet-state of the Acèntyran-Eylfāe coalition, the Cult has convinced the state that it is the last remnant of the Old Empire. As inheritors of that legacy, it is told, it is their right to reclaim all that was lost and set the stage for a Third War that will unite all True Yrūn under one banner. It is apparent by the cult’s rhetoric and propaganda, that the Saránðans are prepare to bring ruin to all lands that will not join their march.