Editing Irda (section)

==Irda Culture==
Irda culture actually varies between editions. 

In AD&D, it's stated that Irda inhabit a tropical island paradise called Anaiatha, which is concealed by powerful magical protections from outsiders - however, those failed at a key point in their histories, and after the War of the Lance, many Irda families had been stranded in Ansalon for generations due to those protections wavering in the Cataclysm, allowing the forces of evil to capture many irda. These irda pursue a nomadic existence, hoping to find a way back to Anaiatha, guided by a telepathic calling that they can hear during the High Sanction (full moon) of Solinari; a period of nine days every 36 days during which they can find their way instinctively to Anaiatha, despite the shielding magic. Unfortunately, the journey lasts far longer than the duration of High Sanction, and few lost Irda are ever able to return to Anaiatha on their own.

Anaiatha is described as a tropical paradise, where the irda roam nomadically between the caves and valleys, reveling in the lush vegetation and friendly animals of their home. In this edition, they are governed by an absolute monarch who can trace his or her lineage to Igrane (or Igraine, depending on your source), the first High Ogre to turn from the evil of his culture and found the Irda movement. These kings can be either male or female, and rule until they reach the age of 400, at which point they must step down and allow one of their offspring to take the throne in their place.

In 3e, the name "Anaiatha" was stripped away, and the monarchy was changed into something that the irda ''used'' to have, but which they abandoned due to their disparate, individual-centered lifestyles. Instead, each irda group or community democratically appoints two life-long (unless they vote otherwise) designated figures; a ''Decider'', basically a mayor-equivalent who makes decisions that affects the group as a whole, and a ''Protector'', who is charged with defending their community. This is due to the novel "Dragons of Summer Flame", in which it's stated that irda are hyper-isolationist; even in their homeland, they basically avoid interacting with each other as much as possible, with everybody just doing whatever the hell they want and living their life how they see fit. Also, Races of Ansalon came out after the events of the War of Souls trilogy, so it had to address all of the post-War of the Lance stuff that'd happened in the novels.

One really weird thing that changed between editions was irda reproduction. In AD&D, all we know about it is their Monstrous Compendium writeup that says that irda "give birth to 1d4 children every 50 years", with "Tales of the Lance" saying they live for 550+5d10 years (so that's 555 to 600 years). Then the novels interfered. In "Dragons of Summer Flame", which introduced the rather creepy, yet also weirdly believable, idea of the ''Valin''; a magical compulsion to mate inflicted by the elder irda on their race so their isolationism wouldn't drive them to extinction. This magical compulsion links the souls of a male and female irda - or, reputedly, on rare occasions, a female irda and a male of another race - and compels them to mate on pain of hideous physical torment and ultimately death, ending only when the two finally make a baby. Out of necessity, most Irda give into the Valin, decide what is best for the child, and then go their separate ways, but they still find the experience uncomfortably rapey, especially as it triggers without their consent; fortunately, it usually only happens once or twice in their life time.

...What? Don't believe us? Read the passages from Dragons of Summer Flame, later canonized by Races of Ansalon, and see for yourself:

''Irda join with other Irda only once in their lives, for the purpose of mating. This is a traumatic experience for both male and female, for they do not come together out of love. They are constrained to come together by the magical practice known as the '''Valin'''. Created by the elders of the race in order to perpetuate the race, the '''Valin''' causes the soul of oen Irda to take possession of the soul of another. There is no escape, no defense, no choice or selection. When the '''Valin''' happens between two Irda, they must couple or the '''Valin''' will so torture and torment them that it may lead to death. Once the woman has conceived, the '''Valin''' is lifted, the two go their separate ways, having decided between themselves which would be responsible for the child's welfare. So devastating is this experience in the lives of two Irda, that this rarely happens more than once in a lifetime. Thus few children are born to the Irda, and their numbers remain small.''