WARNING - what follows borders on the insane :)
Any constructive comments welcomed (nay solicited!)
"Iffinbix was the name of a settlement which lasted until about 1400. It
centred about a god of that name, connected to the earth but with some sort
of sorcery as well. Yojarl Thirdeye was the name of their leading hero, who
showed how to eat the Agipith root which lets worshippers across the
threshold of their temples without harm. When the temples are found even
now, the root must be eaten to ensure safety. These temples are easily
recognised by their four-sided, sloped slate roofs." (P&BR p59)
My brain tells me a read a scenario idea somewhere about an Iffinbix
temple, but it could just have been a subconscious extrapolation of the above.
The Digest Archives have very little info on Iffinbix, does anyone else
have any ideas as to who or what Iffinbix was and what the nature of this
cult was.
There was mention of a connection to the Pavis City Magician, however it
feels to me like the Iffinbix Cult was a spirit cult, worshipping some
obscure deity that granted sorcery. I don't see an earth connection with
the City Magician, and reckon Iffinbix to be something more primal than that.
But I suppose Iffinbix could have been one of the Potonis's and possibly
been worshipped after his death by a surviving faction of the Magician's
staff. Even this doesn't ring any bells of recognition tho.
Just at first (imaginative) glance I feel Iffinbix was a hero that connects
more with the P&BR intro to this section:
"During the troubled times (of the troll occupation) the human residents
sought different forms of assistance."
and later
"After many years of shifting fortunes, several human strongholds, and a
dozen powerful troll gangs remained. Alliances were short lived and
constantly betrayed."
The P&BR info does not actually specify if the Iffinbix was human or troll,
and could of course have been some kind of obscure hybrid with both humans
and trolls (now there's an idea!)
- humans contacted a Pavic (or other) hero, or earth spirit, and its
worship gave them sorcery and strength. This ties in with the calling back
of an old Potonis (except for the earth reference)
- independent trolls contacted a darkness/earth spirit that gave them
sorcery and an edge over the other trolls, although their cult remained
small in numbers
- a human or troll shaman contacted Iffinbix who then told him/her that it
wanted worshippers of any kind and would set up a settlement and protect
them and teach them useful sorcery if they built it a temple
- (A bit out of left field this) Since the settlement is said to have
lasted UNTIL 1400, it may have been around since the old days of Pavis.
With the reference to Yojarl Thirdeye, perhaps it was a Temple of Pavic
Illuminants? Especially with the Agipith root reference possibly indicating
that the Temples were not completely on the mundane plane and needed a
state of mystic consciousness to be achieved before they could be entered.
The earth reference might link to the fact that dwarfs were involved - a
settlement of Illuminated humans and dwarfs who knew sorcery (dwarfish?).
The Illumination of course being under the guidance of Iffinbix, possibly
in the same way as Arkati Mysticism is not Illumination because of Arkat's
guidance making it something different? Perhaps Iffinbix was the first
chief librarian of Pavis who happened to become Illuminated and set up his
own cult or at least society. My current investigation of Mani and his Cult
leads me to suspect that Iffinbix might have been an Illuminated and
eccentric (dwarf?) Magician who survived the destruction of Pavic Society
in a similar way to Mani. He set up his own brotherhood/mystical society as
a means to continue teaching his own philosophy. This lasted about 350
years (I'm placing the final fall of Pavic society at the time of the
destruction of the EWF) when at last it was overrun by the trolls due to
having gone completely decadent and all its members too insane to keep
recharging the sorcery defences. Yojarl would have been a crazy priest of
the Cult who went round the Rubble trying to convert people.
Ah well, if nothing else I hope this gives some of you a good laugh :)