Illorians
The Illorians call themselves the Aentora-Torr, the Children or Descendants of Aentora. Their more familiar name comes from the Zani, who associated them with the old Illorian Empire that dominated Intermarenica before its fall and the beginning of the First Illorian Age of Cities.
They are divided into three broad peoples: the western Aollans of Ar-Marrenica, the central Ytollans of Yr-Marrenica, and the eastern Ullydians of Ur-Marrenica. These are related societies, not interchangeable labels; each carries a distinct political memory and relationship to religion and war.
Aollans¶
The Aollans most closely match the image outsiders usually mean by “Illorian”: independent urban settlements with strong local identities and traditions of science, philosophy, and war. They are the most culturally traditional of the three groups. Even faithful Helluvians may retain elements of the old religion.
Ytollans¶
The Ytollans are inseparable from Helluvianism, which arose in their lands. Their country is divided among urban centers and manors and has been repeatedly contested by western Aollans, Geallians, southern Dwarves and Halflings, eastern Ullydians, and Werhenlanders. In that setting, a peaceful pan-Illorian religion offered more than private consolation: it promised unity to a divided people while rejecting the Zanic pantheon imposed upon them.
Ullydians¶
Incoming Werhenlanders destroyed or displaced most Ullydian communities. Remembered as the most warlike Illorians, the survivors claim descent from Pthellanne the Invincible. Most are Helluvian, yet some carry small necklaces bearing Pthellanne's shield for protection in battle, and isolated communities continue to worship in the old ways.
Native Faith¶
The Illorians worshipped multiple deities corresponding to either ancient heroes or forces of nature, with the most important being Aentora, Murthos, and Kulnnona the Everything-King and his two sons Kyrranno and Pthellanne.
Aentora and Murthos are divine twins representing sky and earth, creation and destruction, and life and death. Together they express the ancient Illorian principle of duality.
In the sacred account, Aentora created all things and brought forth Humanity. Murthos answered by bearing the Muerthans, immense scaled beings who carried disease and death across Marrenica, the land promised to the Aentora-Torr.
King Kulnnona exploited the creatures' lack of intelligence, turning the three Great Hordes against one another and using superior tactics to drive the survivors to Marrenica's margins.
Kulnnona then declared himself the Everything-King, ruler of the known world, and divided the land between himself and his sons. Illorian tradition traces the Aollans, Ytollans, and Ullydians to that division, joining sacred genealogy to the cultural map of Marrenica.
History¶
The Illorian historical sequence moves through repeated cycles of unity, conquest, and urban independence:
- Illorians arrive in Intermarenica.
- King Kulnnona's Illorian Empire drives out the Old Dragkhans.
- The empire collapses, beginning the First Illorian Age of Cities.
- The Shuthonians form the Arcanian League.
- The Zani Empire invades during the First Intermarenican Wars.
- Helluvianism is founded.
- The Great Intermarenican Revolt begins the Second Illorian Age of Cities.
This history explains the apparent contradiction at the heart of Illorian identity: an inherited memory of the Everything-King exists alongside fierce loyalty to individual cities. Helluvianism could speak to both traditions by offering a faith shared across Marrenica without simply restoring Zanic imperial rule.
See also: Aentora, Helluvianism, Marenica Sea, Geallians, Werhenlanders, and Cultures.