The Immaculate Dragons
The Immaculate Dragons are the five warrior-saints that founded Immaculacy and wrote the first of the Immaculate Texts. The Immaculate Dragons fulfill a messianic role, having brought the wisdom of the Immaculate Order to the masses after their conquest of the Anathema. They also fulfill an aspirational role, as all Immaculates are encouraged to emulate them and their virtues.
Aniconism
The Immaculate Order has a complicated relationship to images and icons. All images of gods and spirits are forbidden, as such icons lead mortals astray and encourage direct worship. Likewise, images of Immaculate figures are largely forbidden as well, because these figures are to be admired and emulated, not worshipped.
However, the status of temple iconography is more complicated. For many, many periods throughout the Realm’s history, the Order has voiced no objection to the construction of statues as part of the architecture of temples. In fact, in many cases, entire shrines are bedecked in draconic imagery. At other periods, the Order has grown more conservative, and restricted the production of icons, focusing instead on abstract representations.
No incarnations of the Order have encouraged iconoclasm, which has thankfully left many ancient shrines in good repair. Even during very aniconic periods, the monks have largely protected the statues, especially if the monk was old enough to remember a more iconic period.
The current Order, under the XXI Mouth of Peace, is among the more liberal. The Order formally disapproves of the production of trinkets, such as necklaces carved in the image of Daana’d, but they are nonetheless very popular among the peasantry.
The Immaculate Dragons
