Irāyn

The Lightbearer

Identity

  • Titles – God of Law, Lightbearer, The Radiant One
  • Influence – Divine Right, Justice, Law, Retribution, Wisdom
  • Appearance – An old man with a fiery nimbus, holding a scepter and a sword

Attributions

  • Symbol – Burning mountain, Sun setting behind a mountain
  • Focus – Square-cut precious stone, usually with a fire pattern
  • Color – Red, Gold, and Silver
  • Element – Fire
  • Animal – Fire salamander

Cult

  • Center of Worship – Kyrm Oryrāyn, Tor Trèmendūm, Lanàdus
  • Scriptures –
  • Leader – Prydyrim Gor, …
  • Priesthood – Gor Ordus Irāyn, Pryr Irāyn
  • Orders – Ordan Phlōgòstrū Pra (knights), Ordan Merdred (executioners), The Burning Scepter (litigants)
  • Aspects – Merdred the Punisher, Vodtin the Judge
  • Touched – Vdr. Adàmas, Vdr. Eyr
  • Holy Days – Aldrūan the First
  • Friends – All Dekàli Cults and Orders
  • Enemies – Acèntyra, Eylfāe
  • Sayings – “All power is inherited from the Hand of Irāyn”, “Wisdom and justice command the hearts of men”

Introduction

Irāyn is the god of morality, law, ethics, and hard work. His followers are steadfast in their puritan convictions and uncompromising in the face of other faiths and cultures. The Irāyni Codes (rf. Eshætan) are the foundation for many of the Dekàli ecclesiastical laws, providing common ground between the Cults. Irāyn is considered to have full authority within the Dekàli pantheon, as the High King does within the Empire.

Ðasyd gripped the plow harder. Giving his son a sign, the young man snapped a whip near the ox. Both man and beast strained against the plow. Nothing moved for a time and then suddenly the ground relented, producing a long buried treasure. The plow pitched forward with the sound of sundered metal and Ðasyd was thrown to the ground. The ox stopped and looked over its shoulder. Ðasyd’s son brushed the thick rich dirt from the object. It was a stone tablet depicting a man with three tongues, holding a scepter in one hand and the burning sun in the other. Both man and son knelt in the field and prayed.

The Lightbearer has been depicted in many forms over the centuries. Some of the earliest images of Irāyn show an older man with hands supplicant and a nimbus of fire around his head. This is the image of the teacher of the Eshætan, the Bringer of Laws. It is no coincidence that fire (rf. Lurdùrun) is used to symbolize knowledge in both the Cults of Irāyn and Pæð. Both faiths associate flame with learning, be it the Seven Flames or a candle used while studying. It is the belief of the Irāyn cultists that it was the Lightbearer’s Laws that delivered them and all people of the Old Empire from barbarity. Following the End War, the Radiant One is commonly depicted holding a scepter and sword.

Ðasyd’s wagon creaked wearily across the town square. Patting the ox on the nose, the beast slowed and the wagon made an awful sound as if every peg was threatening to pop. His son stood patiently in the back. He held the corner of a blanket that covered a the strange square payload. “Villagers!” Ðasyd exclaimed. “I found this stone while plowing my field! It wrecked my plow and will crush my wagon soon. But I tell you, that this stone called to me. As I brushed the dirt from its face, I could hear the voice of the Lightbearer. He told me that I should spread his word and let his people know they are not forgotten.” With that, Ðasyd’s son threw the blanket aside and a gasp ran through the crowd. It was truly an image of the Radiant One though no one could remember seeing the god with three tongues. What could it mean?

In most Dekàli imagery, the scepter is a symbol of divine might. References to Crown and Scepter invoke the idea of balance between a Throne and Cult.

Ðasyd sat near the tavern fire counting his coins. Nearby, his son slept on the floor, weary from the week’s travel. The road had been hard on both of them. He felt fortunate that his ox and old wagon had been up to the task. Everywhere they traveled, the villagers would give him money to support his pilgrimage through the north lands. He had resolved to display the image of Irāyn in every village that he could find and had in two weeks seen more of the country than he had ever thought possible. The last town had been different however. A priestess had been present in the crowd and when the block was unveiled, Ðasyd had noticed a look of alarm in the woman. She made no protest of his story or dismissal of his find. In fact, she had come forward to touch the stone and bless his journey. But there was something about the way she took one last look at the image and then Ðasyd that had sent a shudder through him.

Irāyn is a god without a past. The ancient Quest of Gaðar is the stuff of legend, though may offer an explanation why so little is known about the Burning God. The legend, once well-known among the people of Lanàdus, no longer circulates among the common folk. The priests who learn of the early King and his quest to retrieve the essence of Irāyn from the heart of the Shar mostly consider the story a fiction designed to give majesty to the lineage of Anðus the Usurper. Though the Empire traded extensively with the nations of the Shar Cradle for many centuries, the fabled City of Ebora appears on no known map. A current theory that is popular among the Cult of Irāyn is that he was a Mortal adviser to an early king.

Talyd, son of Ðasyd, sat in the rain and cried. Beside him lay his dying father, the blood from his head draining more slowly than it had a moment ago. They had been camping beside the road between two towns when the soldiers came. They knew his father by name and demanded that he surrender the tablet. Normally, a farmer would not argue with professional men, but Ðasyd had become convinced in the preceding weeks that his quest was divinely inspired, and that he was bringing god’s promise to the people of Lanàdus. When the men grabbed the ox’s yoke, Ðasyd became desperate and reached for an iron pole. Seconds later he lay in the mud with blood gushing from his head, a soldier standing nearby pulling hair from his mace. One of the soldiers snatched the purse from Ðasyd’s belt and handed it to the stunned boy. “There’s enough here for you to get home and to support you for the coming months,” he said. Before leading the wagon away, the soldier turned toward Talyd and added “speak no more of this, son of Ðasyd.”

In 643 DR, an old tablet was found and circulated in the towns of northern Lanàdus depicting an ancient Irāyni figure with three tongues hanging from his mouth. Though to the peasantry of Lanàdus, this old picture was little more than a curiosity, once the priesthood learned of its appearance, it was seized by royal troops. The seizure (and the death of the man who made his goal to show the icon) has added more importance to the find. A three-tongued image of Irāyn could mean any number of things, but may indicate a connection between Irāyn and Dragulspeakers. Based on descriptions of the finding (the stone has not been seen since) some have postulated that Irāyn may have been a historical figure, possibly the first Dragulspeaker. The priests may be completely mistaken of course.

The Cult

A stone set into the floor of the sanctuary of Kyrm Oryrāyn reads: “Here Burned the Fire of Irāyn”. The text was carved into the stone in the 8th century HK in an attempt to salvage earlier runes which are now unreadable. In the stone’s center is a long shallow shape that ancient scrolls described as that of a sword (rf. Sword Stone). After centuries of footsteps and curious hands, all definition has been erased from its surface. Despite this, the Stone of Irāyn is considered the oldest relic of the Cult. Every priest that is ordained, kneels before the stone and kisses the impression upon its face.

The Cult of Irāyn was formed in 107 AR by a number of Lanàtar spirit shamans who, through the direction of the Spirit of Lanas (i.e., Lanádrynágdralyth), had adopted the Burning God. The Cult was not well received at first, but the nascent priesthood was eventually able to win over the populace with their teachings and a sampling of beneficial magics, hitherto unseen upon the island of Lanas. By 95 AR, the First Temple to Irāyn was begun at the Altar of the Stone. Smaller temples and shrines soon appeared throughout the archipelago.

In the year 81 AR, only a generation removed from the Cult’s founding, an expedition returned to the Shar Cradle to learn more about the Radiant One. For many months the Cult’s ships searched the shores of the Shundur Ūdn but could not find the fabled City of Ebora, nor anyone that heard of the place. Returning to Lanas empty-handed, the Cult was left to question its own founding. Complicating matters was a codex (i.e., the Speaker’s Codex) that surfaced in the 3rd century HK detailing the “creation” of the first Dragulspeaker. The anonymous author’s attention to detail astounded the readers of the text, and gave credence to the idea that it had been written by an original member of the Council. What most interested the readers of the codex was that despite the detailed accounting, no where did it mention the name of the first Speaker, a critical detail that is unknown to this day. Cult conspiracists seized upon this omission and postulated that Irāyn himself was the first speaker, and learning all that could be known from the ancient Dragùlic, ascended into godhood. Believers of the Mortal God theory were soon branded heretics and expelled from the priesthood. The expulsions did not put an end to the theory, and Divisionist temples have appeared throughout the centuries based on this explanation.

In 74 AR, the Cult of Irāyn published the Eshætan. These seven Laws of Irāyn became the foundation for all later Cult studies and teachings. They also formed the basis for secular law in all lands of the Old Empire. The Eshætan was presented to the people of Lanas by two priests named Merdred and Vodtin. The priests became famous for traveling to all the King’s lands and telling everyone about the Word and Law of Irāyn. Those found to be in “irreconcilable opposition” to the Law were punished on the spot, for the benefit of the gathered public. Almost a century later, the fame of the Judge and Punisher remained so great that they were elevated to Aspects of Irāyn.

The Priesthood

Daily Activities

Holy Days and Rituals

Places of Worship

Nomenclature: Irāyn Dekàlic: Irāyn (god), Irāyni (pertaining to), Irāynyn (follower), Irāynyr (followers), Pryn Irāyn (priest), Pryr Irāyn (priests)