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.
The last two Codex entries, we focused on topics closer to the plot of North Star. Now, at last, we complete the "trilogy" of posts about the gods who shaped so much of the Twin Worlds, by talking about those who rose up to replace the fallen Ledhrorn.
In the wake of the War of Saints, the Ledhrorn and their previously slumbering forebears, the Trienorn, were no more. While some of the Ledhrorn survived or escaped before their divinity could be stripped from them, the vast majority are said to have died when this happened, and the slumbering Trienorn did not even have the luxury of escaping: their bodies were turned to stone, falling on the battlefield and causing horrific casualties.
In truth, most of the world had moved on from the over rulership of the Ledhrorn: over the last several millennia, the Ledhrorn had grown more preoccupied with their games of power, and with containing the Reflection, and so had allowed the kingdoms of their Dominions to develop with minimal interference. As a result, many religions had sprung up or returned from the ashes, and others had never been extirpated. The objects of their worship were varied, and we will talk more about the religious landscape of the Twin Worlds in future posts. The end result, however, is that while the Ledhrorn still ruled over the world, they did so as distant figures, and most common people didn't even know of them - except in the continent of Teidar (and its counterpart Garvanth), where the largest concentration of Ledhrorn lived. There, the Ledhrorn were still widely worshipped.
So it is no surprise that the void caused by their disappearance was felt in Teidar and Garvanth the most. Thankfully, from the ashes of the War, a new pantheon rose, small at first and growing larger over the centuries. This new pantheon was called the Ilelorn.
Three deities first made up the Ilelorn, and later would be considered the so-called "Greater Ilelorn". These included the Lady of Souls, newly awakened from the slumber imposed upon her by the late Trienorn; Faelar, one of the Wyldervay responsible for ending the War of Saints, defeating the Worm and ensuring divinity was sent back to the cosmos; and Mirilè, an erstwhile Nithisian Immortal (more on those later) accidentally ascended to godhood during the Wyldervay's quest and due to their actions. The stewards of death, fate, life, magic, love and beauty, these three were the nucleus of the new pantheon.
Other deities were associated to this pantheon as well. Ihycyxak, the Ledhrorn god of ice; Aduurnai, the Ledhrorn ruler of the Far Hells; and Ennithuus, the Ledhrorn god of madness and nightmares, became associated to the Ilelorn as the latter were seen as "inheritors" of the Ledhrorn and Trienorn. However, due to their hatred for the new gods and their deeds, these unwilling Ilelorn became categorized by priests as "Forsaken Ilelorn".
Later, the Greater Ilelorn bestowed ascendancy to a handful of mortals they uplifted to help rebuild the world. Some mortals were made Saints - demigods - while others were raised to full godhood. Elindur, another of the Wyldervay, was one such and became the god of goodness and the sun, patron of Brightland, the land which he himself had founded. Eriman, his protegé, became a Saint upon his death, and later on ascended to full godhood. These Ilelorn were called Lesser Ilelorn, not out of disparagement, but simply to recognize the fact that their ascendancy had been because of the patronage of the Greater Ilelorn.
That being said, there is no known vassalage among the Ilelorn, and in fact, Elindur and Faelar are known to be fast friends, likely owing also to their shared origins. The Ilelorn are worshipped primarily in northern Teidar, although some of them are worshipped as part of other pantheons, as well, under different names and guises. Worshippers of those pantheons may not even be aware they are worshipping an Ilelorn.
The Greater and Lesser Ilelorn were also famous because, for two hundred years after the War, they occasionally manifested in the world to guide rebuilding and bring joy to their people. But all this changed in 280 F.A. (Fifth Age), when a danger arose that the Ilelorn had to confront indirectly (since they needed to find out its source). The gods asked mortals to help them, but mortals, inured to the presence and authority of the gods due to their walking the earth, refused. Worse, they judged the Ilelorn harshly for not waving a hand and fixing things, even though this could not be done so simply.
As a result, the Ilelorn realized that walking among mortals was simply making mortals more dependent on them. They withdrew from the mortal world, appearing only in hidden guise and never revealing their identity, guiding mortals subtly and through their priests, rather than appearing directly. This was known as the Silence, and it is still ongoing today, with mortals vaguely aware of why it happened.
But the Ilelorn still exist, and still fight to help the world rebuild after the horrors of the last two Ages. Only time, however, will tell if they are successful.
Thank you for joining us on the third post of our trilogy on the gods most involved in the history of the Twin Worlds! I look forward to next week, and wish you a great weekend!
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