Editing Ardarvia (section)

==Followers==

'''Lawful Good''' followers of the Iron Maiden recognize the importance of voluntarily following rules, as well as ensuring that these rules are both fair and clear, for otherwise voluntary obedience is eclipsed by tyranny, and the rule of fear. They often work to guide others towards a healthy balance of their desires and responsibilities. Their pursuits are as much a ongoing test and exercise of free will and responsibility, as it is for pleasure. They account for most of the church's great champions, as well as the most trusted and fair slave owners.

'''Lawful Neutral''' followers of the Iron Maiden recognize the importance of clear and strict guidelines to live by. The goddess' path offers stability and order, and seduces others towards a less chaotic, dangerous way of life. They enforce the order of their church, focusing on ensuring that all are adhering to the rules they have sworn themselves to, and that these rules are not unilaterally changed by those in power.

'''Neutral Good''' followers of the Iron Maiden are understanding and accepting, recognizing that not all are comfortable with their heart's desires. They seek to guide those souls, helping them make peace with their desires, while guiding them along a safe and consensual path. They often serve as counselors among the faithful, and those curious about it.

'''Clerics of Ardarvia''' tend to the spiritual guidance of their flock, instructing the faithful on the importance of understanding and respect between lovers, as well as the virtues of finding pleasure through service. Providing pleasure is a pleasurable act in itself, and to know one has grown closer to making oneself into a better slave for one´s master through enduring his/her whims, either related to one´s pain or pleasure, is the reward of the faithful. They are promoters of stability in all forms of relationships, and ever watchful for any form of abuse or perversion of Ardarvia's gifts. They promote their goddess' virtues, but they also recognize that not all will ever be comfortable with such things. They are as respectful of these people as they would be to their partners.

'''Paladins of Ardarvia''' are as shining champions of law and goodness as the paladins of any other deity. They stand apart, however, in their complete comfort with their sexual nature, and in the championing of their church's ideals. They are honorable in all their dealings, respectful, and eager to share their goddess gifts with those who would receive them.

'''Monks of Ardarvia''' strive to craft themselves into a form pleasurable to their goddess, working themselves towards a ever refining physical and spiritual ideal. A number of unusual fighting styles have originated in the monasteries and convents of these faithful, mostly involving the ability to fight while bound or blind, using their bindings as an integral part of their fighting styles. Most orders use sensory deprivation during training training, making their overall senses that much more acute and sensitive, and growing able to "read" the flow of air around themselves, or even using the minuscule vibrations transmitted through the floor to gain stock of their surroundings.

===Planar Followers===

An ever growing number of angels and other celestial beings continue to voluntarily come into Ardarvia´s service, either driven by their own desires, or by a need for cleansing and purifying rituals of penance. Many archons find comfort in Ardarvia's strict service, their immortal natures allowing them to endure extended periods of time in complete, immobilizing bondage to show Ardarvia the eagerness of their service, making for heavenly beautiful, living sculptures that line up the halls and gardens of Ardarvia´s homes and temples in the upper realms.

Among the most famous of Ardarvia's angels is the planetar warrior, Exquisite Lament. This statuesque, green-skinned angel is well known among the faithful for her tireless devotion to her goddess and to the mortals under her protection. This defender of the church has also been noted for her incredible compassion, and particularly for her eagerness to instill confidence in the meek. It has also been chronicled that she has often offered herself a slave to mortal masters, for a short time at least by the way beings such as her perceive time, in order to help him or her grow in expertise and understanding of both the submissive and dominant aspects of the faith.

The angels who have sworn themselves to Ardarvia can seem frightening to some, yet they are as benign as any of their more conventional kin.

Ardarvia also counts a number of risen fiends amongst her servants' ranks, each of them saved and fully sanctified by the arduous rituals of penance that carried them from their damned state to one of elevated salvation. The most notable being the marilith Urnsanei. Her leather-bound form, with her lower arms bound behind her in permanent prayer, her upper set missing, has become an icon of religious significance not only to repentant, formerly evil mortals, but also to those who hear the siren song of one of the most controversial of Ardarvia's sacraments, the Sacrifice.