Ilodaiya

Notes from Jolinn/Ztheir:

Ilodaiya

-True 3d layout -Ilodaiya is actually an ancient alatharya artifact (built by Thethtil?) from the height of their civilization. It floats above grassy farmlands. -The aelin hubris began with their settling of Ilodaiya, which only they could reach in the time before the magics of air or fire. Discovering this great city in the sky, largely untouched by the Sundering, was their evidence that they were the new favored of the gods. -The aelin government is a republic. In ancient times, there were many aelin city states. While not directly controlled by Ilodaiya, each city-state viewed Ilodaiya as the root and dominant city, both culturally and historically, and deferred to it. This situation endured until the War of Void, when a group of cities broke with Ilodaiya, and in the end attacked it. (As a result of Serachel’s manipulations). -The aelin are intentionally isolationist in character. The factors relating to this are: a) Their own unique racial hubris (being the first civilized race after the Sundering, and dwelling in Ilodaiya). b) Interacting with the world at large seems to have brought the attentions of the srryn during the War of Fire. c) The ever so faint resentment that aelin bear to “mere” humans, who brought the worship of the god Jolinn and the magics of water. (It was largely humans who traveled to the north to find Jolinn in the War of Fire.)

-The central conflict within modern Ilodaiyan society is that of the established, ‘golden path’ vs. the messy details of the outside world.

-Most aelin wings have distinctive colorations, which serve as a cue for their place in the world. Examples include:

• Faded/muddy brown, off-white commoners, servants
• Deep, solid brown, yellows, whites: merchants, majordomos of houses, civil servants.
• Greens, dull reds, bright yellows: minor nobility, hereditary members of the city’s guard, civil servants of rank, artisans, the richest merchants
• Bright reds, dull blues, deep greens, golden: nobility
• Silvers, deep red, royal blue, shimmering gold, (very rarely) black.


While these colorations are not “hard and fast”, they are nevertheless markers of a role in society. It would certainly be scandalous for a regal family to have some bastard with muddy brown wings. Likewise, common aelin who gave birth to a child with bright blue wings might somehow parlay this into their favor. There is no strict parallel to this in modern society -- the stigma would be not quite as harsh as that of white vs. black in pre-1960’s America in the South, but is more than just the sort of ‘refined looks’ that families of ‘good breeding’ have.

-The aelin society in Ilodaiya 
The worst punishment which can be visited on an aelin is exile from Ilodaiya. Expect a special word for such aelin, and the same sense of shame that would accompany a Greek or Italian being exiled from their city during the age of Athens or the renaissance.

Especially powerful exiles, or those whose crimes were of great magnitude (betrayal of a family or a great house), are condemned to work in the fields below Ilodaiya. To an aelin, this is the farthest one call fall -- to be within sight of Ilodaiya, but condemned to work the fields with it always overhead, perpetually reminded of their own failure.

The fields below Ilodaiya are mainly tended by alatharya, who serve as brute labor for the aelin. While not formally slaves, the alatharya are almost certainly good for nothing else, and are completely dependent on the aelin for housing, food, and so forth. This relationship is an old one, as the aelin realized after discovering Ilodaiya that its creators were the alatharya (and indeed, perhaps this is the source of much of present day knowledge of the pre-Sundering Avendar). To the aelin, the alatharya were cast down from that city in the sky, and therefore their proper place is to work beneath the city, for the benefit of the city’s “true” and foreordained inhabitants.

This is not to suggest the field alatharya are treated especially poorly -- just that they have little in the way of a life outside of their task. The aelin probably don’t even think of them as slaves -- merely as beings occupying their “proper” positions. (And the alatharya are even more educated than ones in the wild, so have little conception of a life outside of the fields). These field alatharya are never allowed into Ilodaiya.

The lowest of exiles will work in the fields beside the alatharya, or directing small groups of them. The overseers of the fields are typically commoners, or the more rarely disgraced exile (“No, we won’t make you work the fields. You were a senator, a leader of aelin. Now, you will lead in the fields...”). Overseers are typically employed by wealthy and noble aelin to maintain their estates. Naturally, any aelin who is an overseer would be almost always considered a yokel by a city-dweller. (Think of superintendents in large cities apartment buildings, and how they’re the scum of the earth).

Within Ilodaiya itself, this the social “great chain of being”:

Non-aelin residents: These are largely humans (or much more rarely, ethron) who work as servants and attendants for aelin, carrying out the messy details of day to day life in the city.

Aelin from other cities: Still not accorded the power and position of actual citizens of Ilodaiya, other aelin are still often able to earn positions of respect in Ilodaiya as artisans, merchants, teachers, and the like. These aelin are allowed to own property and land within the city, but can never hold positions in civil authority, vote, or hold a noble title. Extremely rarely, a human or caladaran will reach this status. (Imagine a famous caladaran scholar, or a human grand swordmaster who trains pupils with his unique style). Households servants, ladies in waiting, and the like are often foreign aelin. (This adds a bit of mystique to have a maid with somewhat exotic customs, and the like.)

Citizens of Ilodaiya: All aelin born in Ilodaiya are considered citizens. This entitles them to the full protection of its laws, including hearings in courts, appeals to the Senate, and the possibility of owning property or possessing a noble title. Very rarely, an aelin of another city who does a great deed for Ilodaiya might be given this status. No non-aelin has ever been granted citizenship in Ilodaiya. Only the poorest and most ignoble of citizens are base servants. In fact, this has come to be socially disgraceful, and a waste of citizenship. More tasteful labors for a poor citizen include being the majordomo of a household, a position in the civil bureaucracy, serving in the guard, or even becoming a teacher.

Citizens of less than modest means (or with particular telents) are often merchants (or serve in a merchant company), artists, entertainers, scholars or other ‘professionals’ hired by more noble citizens.

Citizens of rank (noble citizens):

Normally, owning a certain amount of property in Ilodaiya automatically admits one to the lowest position of rank. In practice, however, the matter is seldom so simple as just purchasing land. All major purchases of property in Ilodaiya require the approval of the appropriate civil authority, which is in practice political. So, a scholar who acquires a sum of money who wishes to buy a house would either have to pay much more than the house is worth in bribes, influence, etc., or secure the political favor of a scholarly faction, or someone who could act as his patron.

Some ranks (titles) are inherited, and it is generally the case that the child of an aelin who inherits his property will gain his rank, however, there is again a legal issue with inheritance taxes (which can be ruinous), political opposition, and the like, so that it is not simply enough to be an heir if one does not have some additional title, wealth, or rank.

Other titles are granted by the Senate, as rewards for service both dramatic or long to the city. Some of these carry with them a stipend from the civil treasury, while others might carry certain duties, or obligations. (“Maintain this tower in a state of military readiness”, etc.) Others are largely honorary, and these tend to fall in the ‘not inherited’ classification.

Each person of title is entitled with certain rights not afforded the average citizen. First and foremost is that any noble citizen may cast their vote in noble assembles for members of the senate. Secondly, any noble citizen may petition to address the Senate (and fairly much be heard if persistent enough -- a non-noble citizen could only appear with the permission of the Senate, a non-noble citizen would have to actually be summoned to appear, etc.). Thirdly, noble citizens have certain protections as a matter of law -- their property and person are not subject to search and seizure for no reason, and they may not be subject to summary justice. (Noble citizens are also always exiled, rather than executed -- but to the aelin, this is a greater punishment.) Fourthly, and finally, noble aelin may be elected to the senate.

Senators:

These are the aelin to serve in the aelin’s collective governing body (called here the senate, but there’s probably a word in aelin for it.) Nominally, these are the most powerful members of aelin society. They meet periodically, and decide the laws and future direction of aelin society. (More about the specifics of aelin governance in a bit.) Senators are generally immune to direct prosecution of Ilodaiya’s various laws (though should a senator be caught in some public wrongdoing, the senate would convene to expel the member and then he would be tried). Senators have direct control of a company of guards loyal to the institution, as well as a collection of clerks, messengers, scholars, etc. who are assigned to them to aid them in the execution of their duties. Senators are drawn from the citizens of rank, and are almost always quite wealthy.

Why is aelin society not completely stagnant? Given the predominant social pressures for stability, and the general slow meander of aelin society for the past thousand years or so, what makes this place a cauldron for the creation of adventurers and adventure at all?

The answer, ironically, lies in the aelin “golden path”. To the aelin, it is truly beneath the citizens of Ilodaiya to live a life of abject servitude. It is simply unseemly to have those aelin born in Ilodiaya cleaning the streets, sweeping the steps, mopping the floors, or any number of other thankless task. It is true that one’s lessers must know their place, but being born in Ilodaiya is to have more demanded of one -- at the very least, there is an aesthetic sense that speaks against it.

Given that such unpleasant tasks are still required, what are the aelin to do? The answer, of course, is to hire the lesser, and the weak, to fulfill these tasks. The answer began with the alatharya, who live below the city, toiling in the fields, forever denied its light and cast in its shadow. Then, aelin from other cities were brought to Ilodaiya to serve.

The idea of Ilodaiyans bound to the mean and the trivial grows less appealing over time. Also, aelin from other cities become assimilated into the society of Ilodaiya in the span of single generations. They too, in time, think of themselves as Ilodaiyans. Humans are therefore added to the repertoire of servants and the like, to provide servants uncorruptible by the lure of a life in Ilodaiya as Ilodaiyans.

But as with Plato’s Republic

-The aelin pantheon: Serachel: Now officially defunct (though still worshipped in secret) Serachel was originally the aelin god of beauty, creation, and passion. During the War of Night, he turned from the teachings of Jolinn to advocate that the aelin use the magics of void against their enemy.

With his blessing and aid, a sizable fraction of the aelin cities turned against Ilodaiya and its allied cities, bringing terrible armies of demonkind to fight their battles. Such was the power of their magic that the shuddeni on the west of the Lidraeu actually allied with Serachel’s aelin!

To living knowledge, none of these cities survived the War of Night. The aelin of Ilodaiya would most likely not even be willing to speak their name -- for in truth, could their be a greater crime than turning against the mother city? And yet, there is a sort of perverse sympathy for the cause of the followers of Serachel, who at least in part were truly motivated by a genuine aesthetic, and a desire to preserve what they considered beautiful about aelin culture.

Serachel’s followers now are seldom openly known among the aelin. Many young artists and noblemen might speak of his worship as an abstract devotion to a certain aesthetic, but open and earnest profession of his worship at this point in the aelin history is seldom if ever seen. His true followers are unknown, but is suspected they have among their numbers the greatest artists and artisans of Ilodaiya, as well as its most powerful and influential nobles.

Jolinn: 
Jolinn is worshipped by the aelin, though not nearly with the passion found in humans. Owing to the Gift of Jolinn saving the aelin in the War of Fire, Jolinn is often depicted as a protector or healer in aelin philosophy. Jolinn is not worshipped as highly as one might think, as there is still some lingering resentment that Jolinn “chose” the imperfect humans (largely) to aid in his return at the end of the War of Fire. Nevertheless, Jolinn’s promotion of the teachings of unity see him often cast in the role of the deity of home and family in aelin society.

Iandir:

Of the Three, Iandir is the most widely venerated in aelin society. A perfect fit with their hierarchical and lawful, sometimes placid society, Iandir is celebrated both in his grand temple, in art, and in a series of religious festivals. (Picture stately processions, pageantry, and feast days). As is common for Iandir, he is pictured as the lawgiver and judge in aelin society, but he is also considered the guardian of the aelin Republic, and is sometimes depicted as the creator of their (clockwork) universe.

Meetings of the senate open with formal prayers to Iandir, and he is also the formal deity of jurists and the legal system. Oaths are sworn on Iandir’s Word, and the iron crown is a common holy symbol among nobility.

Aeolis:

Aeolis has a small but visible portion of worshippers among the aelin. His worship is most popular among the young, and is perhaps in some small way an anodyne to that of Serachel. Poetry and romance (as well as Aeolis’ tenant of purity are often associated with Aeolis.

God of Music and Song: