Let’s learn all about the sacred Jhion (Gee-on) Order. Join Adam as he explores his DireLands fantasy campaign setting. You can learn more about DireLands here: https://reverendcampbell.com/direlands/
About DireLands Fantasy Campaign Setting
DireLands is a system agnostic, dark fantasy tabletop roleplaying campaign setting. It was created by Adam P. Campbell in 2024. DireLands is set in a land that is in the final century of an ice age that saw the rise of the Witch-Queen who subjugated the three realms’ populations and cast out the demi-human races. The Triumvirate rose in the last century and liberated two of the three nations, but after their victory, they have become corrupt themselves.
Transcript
Cold Open
History was literally defined by this sacred order, but their organization has levels of ancient wisdom, including access to knowledge from before they arrived on Faulest (faw-lest).
Intro
Welcome to this continuation of my DireLands system agnostic, dark fantasy campaign setting! My name is Adam and in this episode I will be discussing the sacred Jhion (Gee-on) Order in DireLands. If you appreciate the development of this campaign setting, or the features of other games on this channel, I would like to invite you to consider becoming a patron on Patreon. You can even purchase tabletop roleplaying games using my affiliate link, or get $10 free for signing up to StartPlaying.Games in the description below.
Details
The sacred Jhion Order has existed for as long as the written history of the Stèidheadairichean (SHTAY-thuh-ra-ikhan), the founders of civilization that the first nations people of Faulest refer to as the Beàrrta (bee-och-te). The Jhion Order could be described as historians, holders of ancient wisdom, mathematicians, philosophers, or even scientists. For they take an academic view of the world based on their ancient texts called the Usalaird which were provided to them from the tidsear (TIDJ-ar) Yhezis Xeiwr. This teacher of the ways of the world was said to be from cosmic origins, but not much more is known about them than that. At least, not much more than the Jhion Order is willing to divulge to anyone outside their orders.
The Usalaird speaks of the workings of the world. There is one original copy, said to have been dictated by the tidsear to the Jhion Order’s founder Garick Lochlan before the Stèidheadairichean formed their first society on their home continent. Knowledge of their home is even kept secret by the Order for reasons unknown to those outside of it. The text presents the workings of the world from divinity to physics, science, and mathematics. This leaves the acolytes of the Order to see the world through a lens that is completely foreign to the rest of the people of Fawlest. Magic, spiritualism, the heavens, even the wildlands are seen as quantifiable and understood through the Usalaird. While only the head of the Order is ever allowed to view the original texts, the rest of the order is relegated to copies of copies provided by the monastic brotherhood within the Jhion Order.
The Jhion Order is separated into five different segments. First is the Ion, the mind of the Order. It guides the Order through its head acolyte. Below the Ion are the Hands. This is the monastic circle whose sole job is to transcribe copies of the Usalaird from the Ion and disseminate them to the rest of the Order. The Hands are odd devotees who swear an oath of silence and castrate themselves so as not to be tempted by the pleasures of the flesh. Their devotion to the Order is absolute. Below the Hands are the Body. This is the instructional Order which disseminates the knowledge through universities spread all across Bressus (bress-sus). The universities are led by the Voice, or instructors. And the last are the Feet of the Order. These missionaries travel throughout Locaston (low-cast-on) and Caelia (kay-lee-uh), attempting to bring enlightenment to the primitive first nations people.
When the Jhion Order first arrived on Fawlest, they immediately began recording history and the now innumerable volumes are housed in the Bressus capital of Trinisius, in the great library. This library is run by the Order and while it is purportedly available to all, only scholars or philosophers spend time researching its millenia rich histories. The knowledge contained therein is vast and it is rumored that when the Witch-Queen came to power, seizing the library was a focus of hers. The Jhion Order transported the entire collection of tomes from the library to an unknown location throughout her reign, and she was never able to access its secrets. The Order is seen as the occult from outsiders due to their secretive ways, but the emperor, various organizations and regional leaders rely on them for support and knowledge. Every great house in Bressus has at least one of their members as acolytes. It is seen as an honor to be part of the ancient tradition of the Sacred Order.
The First Nations people would disagree with the history and timeline the Jhion Order has outlined and instructed the citizens of Bressus with, but since most have never seen or heard it, they mostly remain ignorant to it. Those acolytes who study within the Order have access to knowledge far beyond the common citizens of the world, and they tend to use that knowledge to benefit themselves or their families. There are entire missions that exist in the northern glaciers of Locaston said to be studying the magical bridge from Dòiche (do-chye), Ciar-mhonadh (kierd-vonnig) largest moon. The Order is even rumored to have missions on the continents of Haughlus (haw-lus), Quill, and the southernmost continent believed to be the home of ancient dragons. It is now rumored to be filled with fire lizards and primitive tribes who worship them.
Today the Jhion Order is run by the Ion Acolyte Sedis Kroll. He keeps a tight reign on the Order and even at his advanced age of 87 years, he oversees every aspect of the Order’s operations. The Emperor of Bressus grants the Order more leeway as they were instrumental in the downfall of the Witch-Queen through their manufacturing of the bomb that is believed to have wiped her and her Gaullix (gaw-lex) out. Their talent in mechanics and invention has allowed the very wealthy to own large clockworks and some are even known to have flint lock firearms. While these contraptions are admittedly extremely rare, they do in fact exist. There is even belief that detailed printouts of flying machines have been drafted, but even the Jhion Order admits they are years away from it’s development.
What do you think of the Jhion Order existing in a dark fantasy setting? Will technology be popularized in the years that follow, or rejected by the people of Faulest? And if the Jhion Order sees everything through scientific lenses, how do they explain the Witch Queen? Only your home campaign can answer those questions, as the future of these DireLands are in your hands.
Outro
Thank you for watching today’s DireLands Fantasy Campaign Setting episode. Please consider subscribing to this YouTube channel, liking and commenting on this video. And if you enjoyed this episode, consider becoming a patron on Patreon. Always remember that evil spelled backwards is live, so get out there and be evil!