Welcome to the Codex! Every Friday, we will focus on one topic from one of the upcoming books, or one of the books that have been published. The Codex will review what is commonly known about that topic in the world, even if just at a scholarly level. There will still be mysteries, but if you are interested in learning more about something you read in the book or in another blog post, the Codex is the way to go.
Lady Oinrin is the primary deity in the complex pantheon of the Kerrethain of Mathklyr. While the pantheon is ancient and stratified, with almost every deity taking on multiple aspects, and composite deities being considered both part of their "parent" gods as well as entities in their own right, Lady Oinrin is usually believed to be the oldest deity in the pantheon, possibly the only deity the proto-Mathklyrians worshipped in ancient times.
She is a goddess of death, fate, and rebirth, but she is also associated with sovereignty. Thus, the connection between these concepts has always been strong in Mathklyr, where the dead are elaborately buried and honored, and rebirth is symbolized (potentially in a literal fashion) by the Crowning of the Emperor.
In fact, the Crowning of the Emperor upon the Stone of Fate is believed to be the moment where the Lady Oinrin visits the new Emperor, judges whether he is worthy of the crown, and if he is, grants him true sovereignty upon the Empire. Legend has it that those who are not judged worthy are cast out, or slain by the Lady for their affrontery, and that those Emperors who were never Crowned on the Stone of Fate were never true rulers. The fact that thus far, those few Emperors in history who did not choose the Crowning on the Stone were those who came to power, directly or indirectly, through coups or civil war lends credence to this belief.
How the Lady grants sovereignty, and what that means, is unclear.
The Lady Oinrin is associated with ravens, as well, which is why the symbol of the Imperial office is a raven, and why one of the Oaths the Emperor proclaims during the Crowning is called the Ravenborn Oath.
In her capacity as a deity of rebirth, the Lady welcomes children into adulthood, and adulthood rite of passage ceremonies are held in her temples.
Northern scholars believe the Lady Oinrin may be one and the same with the Lady of Souls, given the obvious similarities between the two, and the ancient age of the Lady Oinrin's earliest legends. Priests of the Lady Oinrin vehemently deny this connection, while priests of the Lady of Souls contemplate the possibility. The truth may well be unknown to any, except the deity (or deities) itself.
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