Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid

The Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid, or the Ïlýrhonidian purification, was a central part of the holiday cycle in the Ïlýrhonid Tribe. In the Arfarotï Period, it was the main ritual of the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid and made up the primary way of fending off the Mythical Zar-Isyer-Akwor. After the Abolishment of the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid in 25025 AYM, the Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid was transformed into a source of tribal pride through the release of smoke, thus becoming one of the very few aspects of the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid to survive the Abolishment.

Procedure and Significance

In the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid

In olden times, the Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid used a pungent columnar-shaped plant called the Vëtam-Wëðašïŋ as the fuel for the ritual. This plant would be burned in large quantities during holidays like Ðëwaž-Hün, and this served a dual purpose as according to the mythos (Hyvam-Üðrënak, Vëtam-Rëhotïŋ) of the Tribe. First, and most importantly, it preserved the memory of Vëtam who, according to the mythos, sustained the primitive groups of the newly-formed Ïlýrhonid Tribe by tearing off and burning his legs. It is said that the Vëtam-Wëðašïŋ name was condensed in successive years to become the Vëtiš, the legs themselves. Second, it was meant to repulse the Zar-Isyer-Akwor, which were deemed the main predators of the Ibrófeneð species and capable of depective and shapeshifting tactics. Specifically, the pungence and powdery fumes of the plant was said be so unpleasant that it repulsed both Ibrófeneðs and Zar-Isyer-Akwors in equal measure.

The means of burning was on special bowl-like apparati mounted at or near the Ëzó-Rhažóval, which were the living quarters of the Heads of the 12 Families, or Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb. These Heads were in charge not only of administering the burning and protecting the populace, but also in the education thereof regarding the religious and legendary background. It was most often around the embers that the myths were recounted, and their importance emphasized, as this education was one of if not the most important duties of the Head. It was said that the tribe depended on the continuation of these rituals across all families, as it was only through the combined tribe-wide effort that the Zar-Isyer-Akwor could be most concretely repulsed. Thus, if one family fell away from this tradition, it was perceived to be a danger to the entire tribe.

In the Kavamïŋ-Hnúyo-Krašl

The Kavamïŋ-Hnúyo-Krašl was a short-lived religion that emerged during the pandemonium following the Hayïdic Expedition of 25032 AYM and its successor the Wýðúric Expedition of 25026-25 AYM. Their results seemed to contradict each other; while the Hayïdic Expedition experienced massive casualties in the southern Amoŋot Desert (due to what is now known as starvation) and sent back a highly negative rapport of the outside world, the Wýðúric Expedition saw immense success in the northern Desert and wrote of it in glowing terms. All the while, the populace had to make sense of this discrepancy, specifically on who to trust and who to condemn.

While the mere reports themselves caused waves of emigrants to head for the northern reaches of the Desert, the Heads and other religious leaders were far more skeptical. Most chose to mark the Wýðúric Expedition's report as false and likely influenced by (perhaps even written by) Zar-Isyer-Akwor, but the legitimacy and unanimous agreement of the reporters provided a sharp rebuttal to it. Instead, a small group interpreted it instead as proof of the Zar-Isyer-Akwor being concentrated in the southern Amoŋot Desert, and thus the cause of the Hayïdic Expedition's massive casualty count. This terrified them, as it meant that the Expedition may have led the Zar-Isyer-Akwor back to the tribe itself, perhaps even allowing them to subdue the Expeditionary members, take on their forms, and act as attackers in waiting within the walls.

What occurred then was a wave of fear and suspicion, as each feared their neighbor. Those who had returned from the Hayïdic Expedition were ostracized, targeted with attacks and sometimes even murdered. Most importantly, however, it featured a massive increase in ritual frequency, with the same holidays and rituals being repeated at least three times across the year (hence the name Hnúyo-Krašl, which means Thrice Defensive). Since almost every holiday involved some incorporation of Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid, a massive amount of plants were burned, coating the sky black for the few months of the religion's existence.

As such, in the Kavamïŋ-Hnúyo-Krašl, the symbolic nature of the ritual was quickly ignored, with the religious leaders carrying it out at a near-constant rate and both within and without the ceremonies that usually accompanied it. Rather than the usual celebratory or pensive mannerisms, the Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid was instead almost entirely done in an act of widespread desperation. In the eyes of the religious leaders, these rituals mattered more than ever in regards to not only the preservation of the Ïlýrhonid Tribe, but that of the Ibrófeneð species as a whole.

Past the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid

After the Abolishment of the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid in 25025 AYM, which simultaneously did away with the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid and the Kavamïŋ-Hnúyo-Krašl, the Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid, like all other facets of the religions, was sidelined and ignored due to its associations with the 'old regime'. However, in 25019 AYM, when the beginnings of the First Ýlëntukian War took shape, which saw the allied Ïlýrhonid and Kairn Tribes pitted against the Varhoŋïð-Khalúš, the Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid was revived as a tool used to fend off the Khalúšians. In this fashion, the ritual was not restricted to set dates in the calendar, but whenever an attack or other military engagement was expected near the Tribal walls, a mass burning would occur as a means of weakening the Ïlýrhonidians' enemies.

One caveat was the wind. Although the Nuzowli Mountain Range directly north of the tribe prevented the smoke from flooding into Kairnian territory (thus funneling it westward into the Khalúšians), specific valleys and mountain passes still acted as potent areas whereupon the smoke could still infiltrate into Kairn. From around 25010 AYM onwards, the Ïlýrhonid Tribe would burn the much more fragrant poison Žawrülhë as a preliminary warning for each Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid. Although lethal at high doses, the particles themselves would be much more dense as well, reaching around the middle of the Nuzowli Mountain Range before harmlessly dropping out of the air. The bluish tint of its smoke would be seen through the mountaintops and the Kairnians would then gear up for battle, evacuating the southern reaches of their territory.