Tominarvis

Let wise Ibraos guide our hand, that our judgement will not cloud and our actions never falter.
Let those who do not follow know their light.

Tominarvis is a religion which worships Ibraos, a non-Divinity deity of magic and spell craft. It is a highly controversial religion, being wholly outlawed in The Vosti Empire and highly regulated elsewhere.

History

The origin of worship of Ibraos is difficult to discern, but many point to the research paper by a human mage of the same name in 209 BC as the source for its explosion in popularity. This mortal Ibraos, in his efforts to determine where magic comes from, proposed that instead of coming from The Mother, spells instead came from a dedicated entity. This entity, unnamed in his paper, was suggested to either be a by-product of The Mother's creation of the universe, or a primordial being who came before The Mother. It was this latter suggestion that led to Ibraos being punished and later executed, as it was heresy in the Vosti Empire to imply The Mother was not the first to exist.
His execution ironically raised awareness of the entity, named Ibraos in his honour, and many became open Ibraovis. The illegality of the religion perturbed few people, as they did not believe they were inherently contradicting Divine doctrine, instead existing in harmony with it.
The Tominarvis branch of Ibraos worship come about following The Collision, through the writings of the mage Eri Ladan. Ladan wrote of visions she had experienced during the Collision, in which Ibraos themself appeared before her and issued seven statements, which Ladan expanded upon in seven tomes. While some decried Ladan as a false prophet, many took her words to heart, splitting from the original Ibraovis religion to form Tominarvis.
Tominarvis became popular with elves who found themselves on Abravost, and amongst the northern Telziado. Upon the independence of Waal Zaimyatl from the Empire in 107 AC, Tominarvis gained legitimacy, being made legal in the republic. A similar situation occurred within the Kingdom of Telziad when it became independent in 336 AC after the Vosti Civil War. In fact, the largest centre of Tominarvis worship, the Church of Seven Tomed Ibraos, can be found in Telziad's capital of Sinofis, giving it increasing legitimacy within the kingdom.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Alternative Names

Tominar Ibraovis

Demonym

Tominar Ibraosi (formal), Tominari (colloquial)

Deities

• Ibraos

Controlled Territories

• Church of Seven Tomed Ibraos

Fact or Fiction

Unlike the Divinities, who are all provably real as seen through the divine contracts they sometimes form with mortals, Ibraos's existence has never been proven. Some claim to have received visions from the deity, such as the (in)famous Eri Ladan, while others say they have felt their presence during the casting of spells. As of 414 AC, no non-Ibraovis individual has witnessed Ibraos. This is of little concern to most adherents, who simply suggest that Ibraos only appears before those who believe in them and are worthy of their grace.

Gothic Angel by darksouls1

Tenets of Faith

Tominarvis holds the seven tomes written by Eri Ladan as the source for their guiding principles. Each tome can be summarised to the seven core beliefs of Tominar Ibraosi -

You shall not seek out the origin of Ibraos
You shall not claim a life unbidden
You shall not take what is not given
You shall give to others what is given to you
You shall honour those who came before you
You shall dedicate yourself to the proliferation of magic
You shall make offerings to Ibraos of part of that which you possess

Outsiders believe that the first three commandments were meant to directly refute common criticisms of Ibraovis worship, specifically of its 'heretical' nature and the rumours of human sacrifice and theft among adherents. Eri Ladan at the time denied this was the case, saying that Ibraos themself was merely stepping in to guide their followers, with no ulterior motive.