Three versions of the Kirukuna - simple, ornate, and as a gravestone
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Three versions of the Kirukuna - simple, ornate, and as a gravestone |
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Of the four great human religions, Aiyanism is arguably the most influential in Heptovania. It is the most tightly-structured and authoritarian, perhaps the most powerful militarily (Huzlanib being a rival candidate), and can claim more disciples than the others (though beyond the bounds of Heptovania, Huzlanib is again a rival to this claim). It is also a blatantly patriarchal and humanocentric faith, often aggressively so, and has made many enemies over the centuries. Yet it can also boast a depth and richness of culture that only Huzlanib might claim to match.
Aiyas is the one and only god, sole creator of the cosmos and ultimately all that resides within it. It was He who designed (but did not Himself build) the world, as a home for the men He created to hold dominion over it in His name.
Aiyas is seen to be most obviously manifest in the form of the sun, since the power and glory of the solar body can only be His. But Aiyas can be anywhere, at any time, all-seeing and all-knowing. However, He deliberately withholds His omnipresence during the hours of darkness, as a reminder to men that without Him they are vulnerable to the predations of evil, and that He can if He chooses forsake them.
Images of Aiyas are forbidden, except in the permitted representations of the sun, a flame, an open hand or - among the Hittars - the divine bird which spoke to Goronis of Hitt.
Aiyas dwells on Zenit Ultima, the highest peak of the eternal mountain of Mirrad Eternis. The mortal world fills a plateau on the mountain top, encircled by Zenit Ultima and lesser peaks (the homes of the karabdimi and their kin). From Zenit Ultima, Aiyas can gaze down upon the mortal world and see all that transpires within it. This arrangement made perfect sense so long as the world was believed to be flat - the proof of a round world has called for some serious reconfiguration. Current doctrine holds that the world is a sphere revolving in a great bowl, lined with stars. This bowl, Lakuna Mundi, occupies the central plateau of Mirrad Eternis, with the sun hanging static high overhead. As the world turns, so the sun appears to rise and then set.
Aiyanism is a monotheistic faith that accepts Aiyas as the only true god. Aiyas is represented in the mortal world by an elaborate hierarchy headed by the Kaiat. Aiyas is omnipotent and omnipresent, with a host of karabdimi (angels) to serve Him. He is opposed by the guile and cunning of Verina Konsortia, who in turn has her tathadimi (devils).
Aiyans believe that they have an immortal soul, destined for salvation or damnation. Faithful worship of Aiyas and dutiful obedience to Him are the only means of gaining salvation in the eternal afterlife.
Almost as revered as Aiyas is Zaron, the First and Last Prophet who emerged from the earth to reveal to men the Law of Aiyas and their duty to obey Him.
Aiyanism arose in Umerund, in the north of the continent of Ibria. But it later came to Heptovania as the Umerundi explored the coasts, and now holds sway over most of the southern half of Heptovania. Aiyan realms include Armoria, Sudenin and the various kingdoms and republics of Rhannagon.
The passage of history has seen Aiyanism factionalise into a number of conflicting doctrines, from the liberal Hittars to the ultra-authoritarian Kronetics. The power of the Kaiat has weakened as various local forms of Aiyanism have emerged.
By its own account at least, the Aiyan faith reaches back to the Creation of the world, for the world was made by Aiyas as a home for the men He created, the world over which they would hold dominion in His name.
The world, and men, were made by Aiyas alone, and he made them In Perfektis, complete and unblemished. But He did not dwell alone in the boundless firmament. He had many faithful servants, the Karabdimi (sometimes known as angels). One of these, Verina by name, beguiled Him with her beauty and artistry, enticing Him into granting her True Will. Armed with this, she made her own mark on the world, making it fickle and unpredictable. The perfect rhythms of time were disrupted, and men became subject to aging.
Aiyas was enraged by this wanton interference in His work, and threatened to banish Verina from his side. But she appeased him, and remained as his consort. She persuaded Him to fashion Woman as a companion to man, and He did so, in order that men might not die out and leave the world empty.
But the arrival of Woman awoke evil lusts in the hearts of men, and they fell to fighting amongst themselves and forsaking Aiyas. Again Aiyas was angered, and again Verina tried to appease Him, but this time she failed and was barred from the world, imprisoned within the Moon and doomed to circle the world for all eternity. To the unhappy men and women of the world Aiyas sent Zaron, First and Last Prophet, who walked the world as a man and offered the Blessing of Aiyas to all those who would acknowledge Him.
Few heeded him, save a handful who called themselves the Veritati, the True. To them was entrusted God's great Mission, to convert the faithless and subordinate them to the Divine Plan. The faithless, for their own part, denounced Zaron and his followers. They formed a mighty host which marched on the camp of the Veritati. Zaron met them alone, and broke their ranks with a single trumpet blast - this was the Divine Proof that he was an emissary of God. Thus were the faithless scattered across the face of the world. Zaron founded a city on the site of his victory, and he named it Druthuin (which still stands today). He passed on the Seven Laws to the Veritati, and ruled over them long and wisely. At last the time came when he was summoned back to Aiyas' side, and so he appointed a successor, who was named Kaiat, to rule in the name of God.
Kaiat, of course, was mortal, and in due course died. His successor assumed the name Kaiat as his own, and so began the tradition, still adhered to, of the head of the Aiyan Church renouncing his name on appointment and becoming simply the Kaiat.
Historically, there is insufficient information to date the founding of Aiyanism. The Libron Annalis, the chronology of the Kaiats, does not always specify the number of years in office for particular kaiats. It is unclear exactly how many kaiats there have been, since the term has been applied not just to individuals but to phases of Aiyan expansion, so several kaiats have at times been treated as one, and one kaiat, at other times, as several. The first definite date to be catalogued with certainty is the founding of Tol Morrin in AC -135, by which time the current Kaiat was the 134th to hold the position. Subsequent kaiats have held office for an average of about twelve years; this suggests that Zaron's appointment might have been made around 1900 years before the Andronic Empire, with the Aiyan faith being some four and a half millennia old. Some theological histories suggest as many as seven millennia, arguing that the lifespan of men in ancient times was far greater than it is today.
The site of Zaron's Proof is still occupied by the city of Druthuin, and other names mentioned in the ancient texts can be related to settlements in which men still live. Aiyanism is not entirely founded on myth, as some (mainly Haldic) scholars would have it, but founded on firm historical fact.
Some key events in the development of the faith.
Further Information (more forthcoming)
General Doctrine - including the Seven Laws of Zaron, the Afterlife, attitudes of Aiyanism towards women and other breeds of kin, as well as the Schism between sinjenic and parajenic factions of the Church.
The Hierarchy of the Aiyan clergy
Church Services - How they differ between the various factions of the faith.
Heresies - the Kronetics and the Hittars
The Martial Orders - Paladins of the Marties Die, with further notes on: