Welcome to Iridia

Iridian Encyclopedia

Iridia is a country where moral and social order are one and the same. The hierarchy is divine and just; maintaining it is more important than truth. Nobility are inherently virtuous. Peasants labor because it is their divinely appointed lot. The Temple of Autria reinforces this, its ranks filled with nobles' and wealthy merchants' children. Everything that doesn't meet the ideal is labeled a punishment at best and heresy at worst.

Each class has an ideal paradigm it must strive for. Disabilities are retribution for one's bloodline. The illegitimate are spit on. Marriage and reproduction are tools and queerness and consent are rebellion. The wealthy gain magic with temple sanction, the poor make their own deals and risk execution.

Temple of Autria

The Temple of Autria is the dominant religion of Iridia. Although part of the larger polytheistic faith tradition of the continent, Iridia has gravitated towards worshipping the goddess of love and beauty, Autria. Worship of other gods in the pantheon is legal and small offerings are made for requests in their domain, but the Temple is the de facto state religion of Iridia and going against their word is political suicide

Despite this power, the Temple is happy to stay out of secular affairs with a few exceptions. Most manors designate a proportion of land and tax for serfs to give to their local temple. This has led to an accumulation of wealth that the Temple hoards behind closed doors. Second and most important, the Temple regulates under what conditions a deal may be made for greater magical power. The Temple also constitutes the largest single patron of the arts, sharing musical and visual beauty with the masses.

Their holy symbol is a peony.

Beauty of Autria

Beauty of Autria is a compilation of texts spanning several thousand years that serves as the canon text of the Temple. The text includes myths of the goddess herself, the chronicles of her prophets and champions, and hymns and poems dedicated to her. Though scholarship and internal discussions within the clergy agree unequivocally that the text has been edited and redacted over the centuries, that some sections claiming a single author likely were written hundreds of years apart, and that translation of the multiple languages comprising it introduce error, publicly the text is considered divinely inspired.

The inherent message is that love in all its forms is beauty. Love between spouses, love between parent and child, are love.

Love is beauty. Beauty is virtue.

This is the argument behind Iridian justice, that discipline is love, conflating it with disciplining a child.

Sex and Gender

The Temple maintains a rigid gender binary and straying from it is heretical. It condemns adultery and queer relationships, these being punished by the state as well. However, sex is considered act within the context of marriage and couples are free to engage in whatever acts they wish as long as it is between a husband and wife.

Intersex people, referred to as the beflowered, are seen as divinely appointed to serve the Temple and are placed in specialist magical roles such as mantises. This is certainly a way to reach a different social class as a peasant but is a catastrophe for a noble house. Still there is a degree of pity around the beflowered and they are seen as having made a sacrifice in this life to serve Autria. They are the only class to have any flexibility in gender expression.

Regulation of Magic

Humans in the world of Iridia are only capable of minor acts of magic. The nature of this, often called a divine spark or sliver, is heavily debate. Acts feasible for a human include illusions in the palm of the hand, weak wards, cleaning the face or small areas of cloth, or delivering a weak shock. Any human who wishes to transcend this limit must make a deal with a spiritual entity. The power given is proportional to what the person offers.

While the gods themselves are unreachable, Harbingers do appear. These spirits, which claim to be Autria's servants, are usually willing to grant power simply in an exchange for an oath of loyalty to the temple. Though more tightly regulated, the Harbingers of other accepted divinities may legally grant power as well. These are found in the Practioners Guild, an organization of secular mages who obey and resent the clergy's demands.

The secular magical organization of Iridia with smaller outfits in urban centers throughout the country, the Practioner's Guild is the gatekeeper to anyone wishing to practice magic who doesn't wish to enter the clergy. Membership and tuition fees are steep, although apprentices of exceptional intellect or talent may have these waived if the Guild sees fit.

Deals outside these constraints are considered heresy or sorcery and are legal grounds for execution. Such crimes are treated as matters of national security and all suspects are expedited to the capital. As Temple and Practitioners Guild membership requires a noble bloodline or sufficient wealth, prosecution is often aimed across class lines.