I see IO as a much more a Malkioni heresy than a refocus of the Orlanth god-cult. Personally, I'd model their theological structure much more on Kabala than on the martial secret society pattern. So in my campaign, IO cultists in my campaign believe that IO _is_ the Invisible God. Thus...
"When IO created the world, first He shaped darkness, then water, then earth, then sky. And then He breathed his Breath into the world, to make it Alive. Before the Breath all was in stasis and there was no change. But the Breath brought life and movement and the Breath was called Orlanth, the Visible Component of God. Visible Orlanth was the Angel most like unto God. But then Evil Yelm (or the Carmanian Ormazd equivalent (forgot his name) or whatever light god of you choose) the Archangel of Light, rebeled against Heaven, saying unto God, 'You have placed your Breath between myself and the World. You have taken me from my rightful place as the leader of the Archangels. For that, I will cast you down.' And he struck at IO and wounded him and Chaos leaked into the World. And lo, IO fell silent, and none of His worshippers could hear His voice. So it was that the Breath of IO, he who is called Visible Orlanth, banded together with the loyal Archangels to overthrow Yelm/Ormazd/Lucifer/whatever, who had set himself up as Emperor of the World. Visible Orlanth, along with the Archangels of Trade, of Healing, of Knowledge, of Laughter, of Mankind, and of ________ (sometimes translated as "Space"), rose up against Yelm/Ormazd/Lucifer/whatever and tried to force him back into his rightful place. But the Evil One fled into the depths of Hell. Then the seven loyal angels pursued the Evil One into Hell. There they found him in league with the Devil (Wakboth/Satan/Ahriman). They fought the Devil and defeated him, then fought the Evil One and defeated him as well, and in the end, forced both to return to their ordained roles as the Lord of Light and the Lord of Darkness. But in the battle, the Archangels were sadly wounded. They forgot who they were, and wandered about the cosmos for centuries, lost to IO, still silent from the wound of the Evil One. Barbarians fell to worshipping the Archangels as gods. Finally, Talar the Laughing Warrior, on a quest to save the world from Gbaji, met Orlanth and awoke him to his true role. Orlanth in turn awoke the other Archangels, and all returned to their efforts to heal IO. Now IO is with us once again. Those of the Priest caste worship him, and caste mighty magics by drawing on his power. Other castes worship the Archangel which most befits them. Rulers worship either Visible Orlanth or the Archangel of Knowledge. Knights also worship Visible Orlanth, or Humkt, the Angel of Death. Peasants worship the Archangel of Trade, or of Healing, or, if they are lazy, of Laughter. So it is written. So let it be done."
Of course, this cult doctrine bears a striking resemblence to the Aeolian Church of Ralios and Maniria, and may have been imported and modified by a certain Carmanian Duke looking to unite the squabbling Orlanthi Barbarians, Carmanian dualists, and Malkioni diasporates that make up his Duchy (Satrapi/Sultanate/Vizierate/whatever).
At least, that's the way it works on my Glorantha.
Robert
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