Aiur

Map of Aiur

## Common Knowledge

The symmetrical kingdom of Aiur is one of the oldest countries in Orelisle, nearly as old as Galkador if its imperial propaganda is to be believed. Nearly all of Aiur’s inhabitants have an insatiable fixation with symmetry, which must be achieved and maintained at any cost. This bizarre outlook ranges in results from a decades-long border war to keep their country perfectly square to being the butt of many a joke across the millenia. In spite of their comical obsession, Aiur is an unquestionably strong military power, and one of the leading countries in magical and scientific advancement.

## Topography and Climate

Aiur’s terrain has changed dramatically since its founding, in part due to intentional terraforming. Most of Aiur’s natural forests and land masses were leveled on account of such terraforming, but the few that remain have artificial counterparts on their mirror side. This also applies to its two natural water bodies, Gauss Lake and Pascal Lake, which have their respective artificial counterparts, Venn Lake and Wallis Lake. Aiur’s west coast, being wholly terraformed, is a steep, rocky cliff face

Aiur’s climate is slightly more humid than the surrounding countries, with fog becoming a major issue in the year’s colder months.

## Population

The majority of the Aiurian populace is human, though the borders have much more hobbits, gnomes, and elves. Aiur’s population usually hovers close to 2,600,000 inhabitants.

## Exports and Trades

Aiur exports a little bit of everything, but its focus on magic, science, and self-reflection has made it a publishing powerhouse of Western Orelisle. There are nearly as many scribes in Aiur as there are farmers, all working tirelessly to produce theological, scientific, magical, and mathematics texts on a large scale. In that vein, theologians, casters, mathematicians, and scientists of any field are highly respected members of Aiur, and are believed to hold some level of mastery over the symmetry of reality.

Aiur’s long history of terraforming its own landscape has led to intentionally-cultivated forests which are theoretically infinitely renewable. As a result, brute lumberwork has nearly died out as a profession.

Aiur’s primary exports include general produce (shaped into symmetrical forms, of course), mathematical and scientific textbooks, lumber, marble, pearls, and precious gems.

## Government

Aiur rules by total monarchy, assisted in political and religious matters by the Royal Symmetry Committee. Each Quartile answers to a lord or lady, who in turn answers directly to the monarch. The Fourth Quartile has such a ruling person, but this is generally only to keep the peace. Otherwise, the settlements of the Fourth Quartile are generally left to govern themselves.

The current monarch of Aiur is Prince Rightangle, a military-minded druid whose lion familiar’s mane is groomed into a perfect square. Aiurian monarchs choose their own title, depending on their preference, and may change them if they so wish. Aiur has seen its handful of Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses, but nearly every monarch avoids the terms “Emperor” and “Empress” on account of the unfortunate history associated with such titles.
The Committee is in charge of ensuring overall visible symmetry across Aiur, with the exception of the Fourth Quartile. Since the Committee only handles visible symmetry, it cannot legally examine the symmetry of the interior of Aiurian homes, along with similar provisions to protect the personal privacy of Aiurian citizens. Committee members are normal, typically religious citizens vetted by the monarch, other Committee members, and the community from which they hail.

### Military

The Aiurian military, especially its navy, is nearly unmatched by anyone on the west coast of Orelisle, except perhaps for Talios. Aiur possesses a small retinue of airships, but relies more on powerful and portable siege weaponry.

## Social Hierarchy and Culture

Aiur is defined by its obsession with symmetry. Most Aiurians are raised from birth to preserve order and symmetry, leading to many Aiurians becoming stubborn, loyal, and dutiful, with strong social pressure for Aiurians to fit this mold. Aiurians express a moderate to extreme xenophobia towards non-humans, which can be seen by the decreasing number of non-humans the closer one is to Hexahedron. Far more of their hatred is ironically directed towards their racially-similar neighbor country: Talios. For millennia, Aiur and Talios have been the most bitter enemies, even down to the commoners. This hatred can manifest as outright aggression, as in the three different wars of conquest Aiur has conducted against Talios.

Aiur does not have a strict caste system, but many noble families and those claiming to have mastered one or more tenets of Aiurism wield more power than most commoners. Those who devote themselves to philosophy, mathematics, alchemy, the sciences, or magic are highly respected, and such people are usually considered paragons of the Aiurian faith.

### Religion

The Aiurian obsession with symmetry is actually a part of the official religion of Aiur, called Aiurism, which demands an emphasis on the study of magic and the sciences. Aiur and Aiurism are practically inseparable, as Aiurism led to the founding of Aiur itself.

### Crime

Though not *technically* against the law, there are a number of hidden bars and pubs scattered throughout Aiur, each dedicated to allowing Aiurians to drop their social and religious inhibitions for a time and live as they please. These places, called “Circle Speakeasies” or “Sphereasies”, often become hubs for upstart gangs, drugs, alcohol, and debauchery, which *are* illegal.

Additionally, Aiur is the home of an assassin’s guild known as the Cutting Edge. Members can be identified by tattoos of tallies someplace on their body, which the assassins use to track how many they have killed. The Cutting Edge was founded in 9896 by Kay Kullan, Lord of the Edge. Kullan himself was an adventurer for many years before a temporary retirement, during which time his deeds and accomplishments were heavily exaggerated.

## Cities, Towns, and Villages

Aiur is divided into four square sections, known as Quartiles, based on their distance from the capital city. Each Quartile is unofficially subdivided into Northeast, Northwest, Southwest, Southeast quadrants.

### Fourth Quartile

The outermost Quartile and furthest from Hexahedron, the outer edge of the Fourth Quartile composes the entire border of Aiur. Much of Aiur’s military is focused here to safeguard against foreign threats, but most of this Quartile has the least influence from the Aiurian government. The many townships that spot this Quartile are left to govern themselves, barring times of war and revolt. Inhabitants of the Fourth Quartile are also entirely exempt from the influence of the Royal Symmetry Committee, unless they explicitly request their presence.

This Quartile holds the craggy cliff face of the terraformed western coastline, which now holds an Aiurian military airship repair station.

The Fourth Quartile also has the highest concentration of non-humans out of any other, as many non-humans are shunned by communities in the other Quartiles for supposed “asymmetry”.

#### Gavaar

A large town on the border between Aiur and Haelwyd, which has accepted the Royal Symmetry Committee voluntarily. Its primary attraction is the Lightning Cube, a popular underground fighting ring. Gavaar is, incidentally, a popular tourist destination for both foreigners and Aiurians.

#### Plataan

A wealthy merchant town near the border of Aiur and Dahaan Havazh. Its inhabitants sell weapons, potions, and adventuring supplies to mercenaries and travellers seeking to brave the Dahaan wildlands. It was recently besieged by an unusually large army of bandits, but has been rebuilding for the past several years.

#### Western Coastline

Aiur’s western coastline still has shipyards and port towns, despite the cliffs separating it from the Metri Sea. Various pulley systems, both magical and mundane, lower travellers, cargo, and even ships onto the ocean below. While inefficient, certain expensive rituals can also directly transport a seafaring vessel from the ocean to the tops of the cliffs for repairs.

### Third Quartile

The second-outermost Quartile. This is the first Quartile which falls under the jurisdiction of the Royal Symmetry Committee, and their influence can be seen in the cubic architecture. There is a large wall, exactly eight (8) feet tall surrounding this Quartile, breaking only at the Quartile’s corners. Most of Aiur’s natural resources, like stone, lumber, marble, crops, meats, and so on, come from this Quartile, and its architecture and infrastructure support this.

### Second Quartile

The second-innermost Quartile. The Second Quartile is inhabited primarily by merchants and craftspeople, and a few carefully kept parks, which have been altered to match Aiur’s symmetry.

### First Quartile

The innermost Quartile, which contains Hexahedron and the immediate area around it. Social pressure ensures that the First Quartile’s inhabitants live as symmetrical lives as possible.

#### Hexahedron

The centermost point of Aiur, and its capital city. Hexahedron is the heart of spiritual and political life in Aiur, as it contains: Reclilt Castle, home of the monarch and seat of political power; the Origin Cathedral, an architectural masterwork with flawless symmetry at the exact center of Aiur where the Book of Aiur is enshrined; and the Royal Hall of Symmetry, where religion and politics intersect and the Royal Committee of Symmetry meets.

## Alliances

Though Aiur trades with any country that isn’t Talios, its main allies include: Kuragma; Oscoria; the Taphran Confederacy; Marujai; and the United Sanctuaries of Orelisle.

## Enemy Countries

Aiur is not presently at war with any other country, and presently sits on the Orelisian Council to avoid bloodshed. That said, its millennia-old rivalry with Talios was re-invigorated in 10,019, when they attempted a pre-emptive strike on Aiur while they plotted to “expand” into Cathias’ territory. Due to this connection, Aiur is slightly at odds with Talios’ allies: Cathais; Brennon; and the Arlaven Glades. Aiur is also somewhat averse to the Amrali Republic, largely due to their conquest of Deciles, but still conducts trade with them. Aiur also considers itself actively at war with many of the tribes of Dahaan Havazh, after many, many orc and bandit raids upon their border towns.

## Founding and History

### Clan Wars, the *Book of Aiur*, and the Founding of Aiur

For time immemorial, the land that would become Aiur was populated by the Reclilt Clan of humans, who engaged in frequent territory wars against the Lumberel Clan from what would later be known as Talios. In what would be the final war of the Reclilts, they pressed the advantage against the Lumberels, gaining in by inch of their territory. However, in 1741, disaster stormed the battlefield when the Lumberels unleashed a legion of Chimeras against the Reclilts, decimating both sides. The Reclilt forces near the Chimeras surrendered and quickly retreated deeper into Reclilt territory. This event, later referred to as the Chimera Incident by Talian and Aiurian historians, ultimately resulted in the Reclilt Clan losing the territory war to the Lumberels in 1744.

Still nursing his wounds from defeat, the clan leader of the Reclilts, one Theodorus Reclilt, journeyed into the wilderness on a journey of self-discovery, hoping to fix whatever within him led to his defeat. On his journey, in 1759, Theodorus discovered the Book of Aiur at the bottom of a ravine, and he became enraptured with its contents. Convinced that its teachings would guide his people to victory and eternal life, he returned from his journey years earlier than expected and converted much of the Reclilt Clan to Aiurism, and exiled skeptics of the new religion. That done, he founded the city Hexahedron on the spot where he first found the Book, and declared himself the Emperor of Aiur.

### First Expansion War

In early 2048, Aiur began its first war of conquest since its defeat in 1744. Aiur marched against the Lumberel Clan, which had already been weakened through an ongoing war with the First Meztec Empire. Aiur’s goals in this war were unique; Emperor Leonhard Leure wanted to expand the country, but not so much that it would no longer have perfectly square borders. However, Leure knew that the underlying principles of Aiurism founding were lost on many powerful figures within Aiur, including the military. By 2050, Aiur had already conquered more than Leure had originally desired, as he lacked an exit strategy that would appease the people and nobility.

Leure learned through a network of informants in Lumberel territory that there was a conniving schemer within the ranks of the Lumberel Council, one Droran Lumberel. After securing a meeting between One of Leure’s agents and Droran, a deal was struck that would give Leure the victory he wanted. Droran would convince the Lumberel Council to join Aiur, effectively surrendering the Lumberel people to their most hated enemies in exchange for peace. Droran, for his part, would become unimaginably wealthy. Leure intended for the Lumberel to come forward and offer a general surrender, at which point Leure would offer them a merciful and generous peace in which the Lumberel kept all their land except the gains Aiur made in the places that would keep it symmetrical. Leure would then appear as a merciful conqueror to the general Aiurian populace, recieve a hefty tithe from the Lumberel, safely escape the war, and potentially put the Lumberel into Aiur’s debt.

Unfortunately for Leure, Droran’s deception was discovered, and galvanized the Lumberels into forming the kingdom of Talios under Talion, the Iron Emperor. Already irritated by the major political loss and the deliberate jab at his title, Emperor Leonhard Leure was enraged when he began to hear rumors that Talion could easily best him in a duel. In an ego-driven response, Leure publicly challenged Talion to a duel.

Prior to the duel in 2053, the Aiurians and Talians each inspected the other champion’s armor and weapons. When neither side found a trace of magic, the duel began. Talion easily maneuvered around Leure’s sluggish attacks, and his blow to Leure’s back destroyed and rusted his armor while cutting the man himself down in a single strike. Seizing upon the ensuing confusion, Talion called upon armies lying in hiding nearby and ended the war in a single decisive surprise attack.

After Leure’s death, Aiurian forces retreated back towards Hexahedron. Ironically, the Aiurian border still increased, as Aiur was only forced out of Lumberel territory, not land which had been taken from the smaller clans between the two powers. Leure obtained his exit strategy, at the cost of his own life. Aiurian nobility quickly found and installed the next monarch in line for the throne: Queen Hypatia.

### Galkadorian Slapstick Cold War

In late 2179, the Galkadorian Special Forces covertly and illegally extradited a political enemy of Galkador from Aiur, after Aiur had officially granted them asylum. Outraged, the new Queen demanded retribution from Galkador for violating their sovereignty. Having just killed their enemy, Galkador agreed to pay Aiur a significant fine. En route to deliver this payment to the Queen, however, the Galkadorian escorts went out of their way to leave miscellaneous pranks lying around Hexahedron. In order to preserve symmetry, the other civilians took to not only pranking the escorts back, but also conducting their own pranks when travelling within Galkador.

When the payment was made and the Galkadorians returned to their kingdom, the rules of engagement were silently made. Aiur felt disrespected by Galkador, but could not take any major action for slights of this size. Galkador, meanwhile, found endless amusement in pestering the supposed successors to their ancient founder’s rival, especially given their bizarre cultural practices. Neither side wanted to risk a war by doing anything drastic, and as such only partook in small, comical exchanges. Aiur would send a delegation of musicians to perform at a Galkadorian celebratory concert, and discreetly replace the Galkadorian instrument strings with dental floss, a royal Galkadorian art society observing an Aiurian art museum would tilt every painting 15 degrees off, et cetera.

This culminated in Galkador’s “Mother of Pranks”, or MOP, in 2190. A team of Galkador’s finest entered Aiurian territory under the guise of circus performers. In the span of five hours, they had used a super-adhesive to attach dozens of whoopi cushions inside every bell tower, each one enchanted to sound much louder than it could normally. They completed this task in the dead of night, and only in one quarter of the First and Second Quartiles. The Galkadorians then informed the Aiurian Royal Symmetry Committee of the cushions, and explained exactly why they would never be able to remove all of them in time for the noon bell chime, guaranteeing asymmetric noise.

The Galkadorians were imprisoned for their actions, but the Symmetry Committee had independently confirmed that fixing the bells before noon would be impossible. In order to preserve symmetry, the Committee added cushions to every bell in the rest of Aiur, exactly as the Galkadorians planned. Aiur’s regular noon bell soundings were replaced with a chorus of toots that rang out across the entire country. This event is the reason that to this day people joke about damaging Aiur or its property on one side, and watching them do the same to the other. There has never been, and perhaps will never be, a prank as impressive as this. Needless to say, Aiur did not retaliate, and allowed the event to sink into the annals of history.

### Second and Third Expansion Wars

Aiur conquered nearby groups and invaded nearby nations twice more, once from 4096 to 4112 and again from 8192 to 8235, each time bringing its full might to bear. These wars were long, bloody, and grueling, but led to many magical and technological advances on Aiur’s part, including symmetrical airships (colloquially known as “square-ships”). These wars also led to Aiur developing one of, if not the most, powerful navies on the western coast of Orelisle.

### Decilian Heresy

Beginning in the mid to late 6400s, a new sect of Aiurism rose to popularity, known as Decilism. This sect believed that the highest form of symmetry achievable was “natural symmetry”, meaning both symmetry found in nature and a strict code of how to live such that leading a symmetrical life becomes natural. Under the guidance of its founder, High Quartile Augusta Ada, Decilism’s popularity skyrocketed. By 6462, nearly one in every four Aiurians followed Decilism.

As time passed, the High Quartile elaborated further and further upon older teachings, in ways which would create symmetry in the future, at the cost of present symmetry. The most egregious example of this involved the demolition and reconstruction of buildings to appear less symmetric, but would ensure they cast shadows identical to their mirror counterpart on the opposite side of Hexahedron. The Royal Symmetry Committee stalled these new changes at every turn, positively livid that the order of symmetry and their authority was being challenged. At the behest of the Committee, and in order to preserve Aiur’s legacy as a purely Aiurian nation, King Fermat arrested the High Quartile and any public followers of Decilism on charges of heresy and blasphemy. The High Quartile and her followers were sentenced to exile.

In 6464, the High Quartile, in an extremely public event, walked from Hexahedron to the western coastline, denounced the King and the Royal Symmetry Committee as a plague of asymmetry upon the names of Aiur and Hyperion, and boarded a ship with hundreds of thousands of followers. She would go on to found the nation of Deciles and its capital city Orthocenter at the intersection of the Dahaan Havazh border, the coastline south of Amerale, and two rivers forming a near-perfect cross. Both Deciles and Orthocenter would later be conquered and assimilated by Amerale.

### Terraforming

Aiur dabbled with terraforming as early as 2066, but it is always done with the intent of creating and maintaining Aiur’s symmetry. Most of Aiur’s forests were completely eradicated, save for some left intentionally to preserve symmetry, by early 2100. Most of Aiur’s terraforming began under the rule of Princess Noether in 6498, largely to distract from the sudden emigration from Aiur to Deciles. During this time, artificial lakes were constructed, artificial plateaus erected, and the western coastline was practically obliterated by excavation and ritual magic. The western coast of Aiur, once a beautiful beach two-hundred (200) miles long, looked unrecognizable by its completion in 6600.

## Further Information

* Aiurism
* Amrali Republic
* Arlaven Glades
* Brennon
* Cathais
* Dahaan Havazh
* Deciles
* Galkador
* Haelwyd
* Humans
* Kuragma
* Marujai
* Meztec Empire
* Oscoria
* Talios
* Taphran
* United Orelisian Council
* United Sanctuaries of Orelisle (U.S.O.)