Ionia
Vierix Ionia was an orator, former soldier, paladin, inquisitor, theologian, revolutionary politician, aasimar, Lichlord and Colonial God of The New Rozsan Empire, in the First Age of Waking Materia. She was a later member, and somewhat of a black sheep, of the Empire's ruling Temporal Vanguard. Ionia's ultimate fate is unknown: no records of her exist past the Deluge.
Ionia's alignment is unknown but was likely Lawful Neutral, perhaps Lawful Good.Appearance & Heraldry
See also: Vierix Ionia Image Gallery (External)The Dread Star generally portrayed in a simple but dignified suit of bright-white mythrilweave and a gold, featureless mask that covered her entire head. She was often portrayed as more light-complexioned than most Meranthic-Drow Rozsans; this may have been due to her being an aasimar, however some lineages of lighter-complexioned Rozsans are known.
History
Prior to her ascension, Ionia was an influential nun in the heretical church of the Three-Pointed Dawn. Though they did not mention it by name, the religion bore a striking resemblance to modern churches of Overshepherd Rom and their Valkyries, whose main concern is with the sovereignty of passed souls. As such, this made the Three-Pointed Dawn radicals in a society for whom undead guards, armies and even construction crews were mundane. As a political force, they were sometimes called the Ionian League to differentiate from its root church.
One of the major arguments of the Ionian League was how much more autonomous undead are than other magical servants, like golems or animated objects, which suggests they still possess some level of mind or soul. While animated constructs (for example scarecrows or guard-armour) require micro-management and are only good for specific tasks, zombies and skeletons show some amount of autonomy, flexibility and trainability; the Ionians used this to argue that their enslavement was not fundamentally different than other forms of slavery.Accusations of Culthood
Though they vehemently denied it, the followers of Vierix Ionia were sometimes accused of being Hyperion Cultists, given their unorthodox views around the society's use of undead servitude. The rumours were more or less correct: Ionia was indeed a paladin of the Death God, though this was a strict secret. Furthermore her politics were strictly secular and worship of Rom was not a mandatory aspect of the community. It is thought Hyperion sects of the Three-Pointed Dawn were still the minority, perhaps one quarter of the group (which still made it one of the largest Hyperion Cults in Rozsan history).Canonization as a Lichlord
Under Ionia's direction, these heretics grew to be just influential enough that the ruling God-Empress, Nir, decided it best to keep them in direct eyesight. The Dawn was canonized and Ionia was chosen to be given immortality, a burden of such weight it confirmed her committment to the role. She was a fierce representative of the cause and a sharp thorn in the side of the ruling Temporal Vanguard, though the Swords of the Dread Star were also useful to Nireau in certain ways, skilled at the slaying and banishment of creatures across the Veil, with whom the Lichlords often had rivalries and feuds.Morality
Third Age scholars greatly enjoy debating the morality of the Three-Pointed Dawn. Through the lens of the cold, amoral Lichlords, Ionia and the Dawn often feel like a breath of fresh air; relatable agents of moral purpose. Through the lens of modern Seraphites, they were sometimes party to great evils. These scholars would have spared themselves untold amounts of ink & parchment had they remembered the Rozsans were a distant and alien culture, and that not all lenses improve one's eyesight.
Ionia in particular is a morally and theologically fascinating character: her very existence as an undead Lichlord is deeply antithetical to Overshepherd Rom's paradigm: many poets and philosophers have written about the conflict that must have existed in the warrior's heart and how she reconciled her existence, if at all. Initially a paladin or "Seraphite" of Rom, it is unknown if she had fallen prior to final death.
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