The Ordaureum
The Ordaureum was a religious sect devoted to an ancient god of fire that purportedly predated the Manifold Sky itself and was somehow connected to the end of The Curved Time for the ancient proto-Verdial and Classical Verdial peoples.
History
While the Ordaureum claimed to have been founded before the end of The Curved Time - in what they called the world of "Candledusk" - their actual presence in the Manifold Sky setting can only be fully traced back to the beginning of written history at some time during the late 3900s AE. In any event, even if their assertions were not correct, this would make them one of the longest lasting unified, organized religious sects to ever exist in the world, with even the Church of the Unexpected only really existing as a loose collection sub-sects until Sokalyx the Learned penned the Incunabula of the House of the Unexpected.
Despite this prestigious and mysterious origin story, the Ordaureum's intense focus on the pre-Forgist, Classical Verdial god of fire rendered it inflexible in the face of the more expansive religious movements started by the Hymns of the World-Forger and Universal Artifice. Over time, the Ordaureum's influence over Verdials faded, its tenets altered to better fit the new Forgist faith and its god's deific portfolios subsumed into the portfolios of the Forgist Creator.
Mythology & Lore
Members of the Ordaureum worshipped the pre-Forgist god of fire, known nebulously as the 'Master of Fire' and 'Sire of Destruction,' for his power over both the creative and destructive aspects of flame.
Worship
The Ordaureum was notable for its macabre rites in service to it's Sire of Destruction. During times of great strife in the Vale, such as famine, the religious order would put out the call for infirm, destitute, or otherwise life-weary individuals to offer themselves up to be consumed in fire to appease the wrath of their spiteful god. At the height of their power, the head priest of the Ordaureum could even declare any member of the faith, no matter how enmeshed with the faith, a 'volunteer in spirit' for this grisly offering. The volunteer (or victim) would be subjected to what many modern Forgists would call torture by various hot implements, then consumed in a large clay vessel filled with burning coals. Thankfully, such rites were rare, but they also did little to endear the stern order with the wider public when such ministrations did little to, for example, alleviate droughts or end an extended Caudal Tesseract winter.
Early in their investigations into the Charred Chard Murders, Vale law enforcement officials considered the possibility that the Midnight Griller might have been an ultra-conservative Verdial immitating Classical Verdial forms, including Ordaureumism. This theorey was later discarded in part because, for all off their evils, the Ordaureum was known to have considered cannibalising a burnt offering a grave sin that could only have been answered with the burning of the perpetrator.
Dissolution Date
6720 AX
Type
Religious, Cult
Demonym
Ordaureumist(s)
Related Ethnicities
Philosophical Stance
Succession Struggle
By consolidating many popular religious beliefs under one banner and embracing a milder, more constructive interpretation of the god of fire, Forgism eventually extinguished the Ordaureum.
Comments