Llyria

"May the Goddesses continue to bless our waters."

Llyria is a theocratic island sanctuary located off the Southern coast of Evara. With only a single aquifer serving as their source of water, a religion naturally formed around it. Although land-based communities surround the aquifer, living in houseboats is popular with adherents of the Way of Water. The islanders’ food is provided through local agriculture and aquaculture. For resources that are scarcer on the island, such as lumber, stone, and livestock, Llyria relies on trade. Despite their reliance on outsiders for goods, the Llyrians are culturally insular. They have strict immigration policies and aren’t receptive to visitors from other parts of Evara, even if they are paying their respects to the Goddesses at the Lunar Festival.

Visual Interest Board

History

A small community of moon rabbits discovered the territory early in the Age of Conflict. Miraculously, the small island had developed a freshwater aquifer, fruit trees, and thriving vegetation. Once the Age of Conflict ended, the island’s leader and her daughter disappeared. Due to this, it is widely believed that the woman and child were actually Leverett and Leanne, living as mortals to escape the conflicts of the gods’ war.
As the population grew, the settlers built a temple over the aquifer. Towns and villages sprouted around the temple like wildflowers in a field. Because the aquifer is the only source of fresh water on the island, it is considered sacred. The Priestesses of Water are charged with the sacred responsibility to manage the islands’ water supply and purity.

Geography

Llyria is a sandstone island. The center of the island is at a slight incline, with the very center point coming to a slighty flatter plane. This allowed for water to pool at the top and, in combination to the sandstone that made up the island, eventually become an aquifer that steadily pumps and distributes freshwater to the rest of the island. Small streams run downhill origination from the aquifer and leading to the ocean.

Religion

The Llyrians practice a unique religion not seen elsewhere in Evara: The Way of Water, a faith dedicated to the three goddesses who influenced the Llyria’s culture. Leverett is the main Goddess of the island’s trio. She is responsible for the continued fertile soil and bountiful harvests. Rydia is considered the island’s protector. Her blessings keep the aquifer pure, the Dragon Sea full of fish, and the hurricanes away. Nalani unites the trio. Her stars guide sailors back home at night and her moon allows the tides and waves of the ocean. She is the creator of Moon Rabbits and her moon cycles affect the fertility and life of the island.
Only women may serve as clergy in the Way of Water. Men may protect the clergy as warders and protect the island as militia in times of need. When a novice is deemed ready to become a priestess, she receives a silver band to wear around her left forearm. Every band is engraved with the same pattern, and it is unlawful for the laity to wear or possess one. Although permanent tattoos are taboo in Evara (because of Lagahashra), priestesses use metallic body paint - silver for regular members of the clergy and gold for the High Priestess and her council - to draw signs of their goddesses.

Politics

A High Priestess serves as both the spiritual and political leader of the island, with a council of six bishops below her. When the High Priestess abdicates her post, she appoints one of the bishops to take her place, and the council chooses a member of the clergy to fill the vacated bishop’s seat. If the High Priestess dies before recognizing a successor, the council women fight for support among the clergy. The bishop who can gain the most supporters wins the title of High Priestess. The current High Priestess, Jenae Moonwhisper, has yet to declare a successor despite her advanced age. The people of Llyria are concerned that civil unrest will return to the island within the next decade if the decision continues to be held in abeyance.

Culture

• Swimming is a mandatory life skill. All Llyrians start learning to swim at age 1 (or equivalent for their race)
• Jewelry is common and tends to consist of shells, coral, saltwater pearls, fish bone, kelp, and glass beads. Metal is fairly rare and has to be traded. Due to this, sharp shells, hemp, kelp, and bone are used to create most tools and materials.
  • Additionally, residents adorn themselves with swirls and patterns drawn on their bodies with paint. The laity avoids all banding around the left arm, gold paint, and silver paint out of respect for the Llyrian clergy.
• Clothing is minimal and is mostly made from hemp grown on the island and kelp harvested from the ocean, which is typically wrapped and tied around the body. For more durable clothing or protection, they craft leather from the skin of fish, sharks, seals, and sometimes even whales.
  • Other fabrics and clothing items must be imported and are often more expensive. Due to this, they are seen as a status symbol and are typically found amongst the highest levels of the clergy or rich families residing on the island.
• The aquifer in the center of the island is crucial to cultural and religious practice for Llyrians. Should someone decide to leave Llyria for any reason, they take a vial containing the sacred waters and will wear it on a necklace. Anyone practicing The Way of Water outside of Llyria has their own ‘spring’ - a permanent body of water, such as a man-made pond, etc. - where they have poured out their vial. This practice passes an echo of the original aquifer’s magic.
  • When an island resident is extremely ill, they or their family may petition the clergy for a healing blessing. This ritual involves bathing the sufferer in the sacred spring and saying a prayer over them.
  • When a woman goes into labor, she is brought to the temple for care and birth. The family gathers around the newborn in prayer as a bishop or the high priestess submerges the infant in the sacred spring so the child may be given its first breath by the spring waters.
• Because The Way of Water pays homage to a fertility Goddess, sex and sexual health are considered sacred. Sexual education is patchy and individualistic in other parts of the world, but the Way of Water has mandatory courses for all children approaching adolescence to prepare them for their teens and adulthood.
  • Most Llyrians are extremely open about sex and sexuality, which can make others uncomfortable.
  • Their most important rituals and ceremonies consist of a novice (or novices) and male (or males) conducting intercourse at the bank of the aquifer under the light of a full moon. Consent is key, and participants in this ritual are willing, able, and of age. The privacy of participants is protected behind a screen. During the act, the high priestess and her clergy pray as a group.

Blessing of Water by Erion Makuo

Type

Geopolitical, Theocracy

Demonym

Llyrian (Llyrians)

Government Type
Theocratic Monarchy
Common Races
Moon Rabbit, Triton, Dragonborn, Elf, Kalashtar, Siren
Common Gods/Religions
Way of Water
Primary Industries
Fishing, Hemp, Jewelry