The most developed society in the Eldawn's current state of imagination is that of the Radiant Wings. First of all, I need to amend the name Shining Wings. It was standing until recently, including in some of the cartographic posts on this blog, but has been altered slightly since. I conceived of the name Shining Wings very early in the development of the story. The name derives from the image that Ällora chose when he presented himself to the Radiant; an ethereal, dazzling, winged figure. However as I began to think about how to denominate the factions of Eldawn's humanity, it was cumbersome to type "members of the Shining Wings" or such. They needed a simple referral word, such as the elves, the Repentant, and so on. From the name Shining Wings, the "Shinings" sounded ridiculous, and wings sounds so ambiguous in isolation.
The word "Radiant" prevailed itself upon me after a small disagreement. Radiant has similar luminary connotations to shining, which is why it was considered in the first place. A slight hiccup made itself apparent with the word's etymology, which relates it to radius, though the original latin radiō simply means to radiate. This resolved itself when I remembered that circles are ubiquitous in the designs and motifs of Radiant architecture. So it was decided that the designative word for this society would be the Radiant, and the full name would maintain its avian associations as "The Radiant Wings". It appealed all the more as Radiant rhymes with Repentant; both these groups are subdivisions of the Fallen after all.
Now, to describe the characteristics of Radiant Wings society proper. The founder of the Radiant splinter group is Cevan, first son of Aram and Etria after the Rebellion. Cevan turned to Ällora for magical augmentation, unsatisfied with the compromised existence that he inherited by no fault of his own. Soon, Cevan convinced many of his siblings, nieces and nephews to join him in his allegiance to Ällora. The Radiant thus distinguished themselves from the Filial, the people who remained with Aram and Etria in loyalty to Eleyon.
If any one principle was the focus of this people, it would be the pursuit of technological progress. This directive has been honed over the centuries by the will of Ällora. While their technology was of course, based on magic, it still achieves a staggering degree of complexity. For example, by the time of the story, computing is bordering on artificial intelligence, telecommunications are similar to our own and medicine is developed enough to allow artificial organs to replace natural ones. Religion in the Radiant Wings is intertwined with academia and magical mastery, headed by a pantheon of beings established by Ällora. Faith is apparently grounded on scientific laws instead of divine mandate. This religion has a loosely defined and individualistic moral code. All in all, it is an embodiment of Älloran philosophy, with an utter disregard for the reflective merits of Yevanian thought.
Culturally, the Radiant identify strongly with light. Ällora, master of the electromagnetic force, naturally revealed himself and his purposes through illuminative visions. The 'Wings' in the 'Radiant Wings' are a reference to the angelic form that Ällora assumed, a majestic humanoid with brilliant white eagle's wings. Magnetism was naturally not chosen for these revelatory incidents because baseline humans do not have a direct sense of magnetic fields. Additionally, the pantheon of gods that Ällora instituted is associated with the celestial bodies, the great heavenly sources of light. Consequently, much of Radiant culture centres around astronomy and the lofty firmament. In contrast, fields concerned with the earth such as biology or geography are sidelined.
As a result of the values that the Radiant hold dear, social stratification is based on knowledge and scientific achievement. A rigourous educational system distinguishes prodigies from the mediocre early, singling them out for enhanced instruction and mentorship. In a society of technologically augmented immortality, age also plays a dominant role in determining authority. Spirited savants must still defer to the vast experience of their centuries-old elders. Great age is taken as a sign of maturity and wisdom, though this assumption is coming under artistic scrutiny by 2100AE.
My vision of Radiant Wings society is of a people who in many ways, are similar to us, despite their temporal and imaginative removals. They look for fulfillment, cherish similar hopes, foster parallel dreams. But in other ways, it is a world that is superior to our own. While not without a few blemishes, life in Elenis and Alanis is nonetheless superbly comfortable materially. The convenience of magic allows me to do away with the lower tiers of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Accordingly, the fabric of Radiant society is a primed canvas for the deliberation of human pursuit for self-actualisation. With this panoramic description in place, I will elaborate on the details of Radiant Wings culture in coming posts.
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