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Corellon Larethian
[b]Creator of the Elves, the Protector, First of the Seldarine, Protector and Preserver of Life, Ruler of All Elves, Coronal of Arvandor[/b]
[b]Greater Power of Arborea[/b]
CG
PORTFOLIO: Magic and elven magic (especially elven High Magic), music, arts, crafts, war, the elven race (especially gold elves), poets, poetry, bards, warriors
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Olympus/Arvandor
SUPERIOR: None
ALLIES: Chauntea, Cyrrollalee, Eilistraee, Emmantiensien, Carl Glittergold, Horus-Re, Lathander, Lurue, Mielikki, Milil, Moradin, Mystra, Oberon, Selune, Shiallia, Skerrit, Silvanus, Sune, Tapann, Titania, Tyr, Ubtao, Yondalla, the Seldarine
FOES: Cyric, Talos, Malar, Moander, the Queen of Air and Darkness, the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee), the ore and goblinkin pantheons
SYMBOL: Crescent moon
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
The leader of the elven pantheon, Corellon Larethian (CORE-ehlon Lah-RETH-ee-yen), is said to have given birth to the entire elven race, although sometimes Sehanine (or Angharradh) is given credit as well. Elven lore states that the Fair Folk sprang from drops of blood Corellon shed in epic battles with Gruumsh mingled with Sehanine's (or Angharradh's) tears. The Creator of the Elves embodies the highest ideals of elvenkind, and he is the patron of most aesthetic endeavors, including art, magic, music, poetry, and warfare. He is venerated by all the Fair Folk, except the drow and those who have turned to Lolth, Ghaunadaur, Vhaeraun, and other dark powers. Corellon is especially popular with elf and half-elf mages, musicians, and poets.
As ruler of the Seldarine, Corellon has a strong relationship with almost all the other elven powers, including Eilistraee, his daughter by Araushnee (Lolth), whom he reluctantly banished from Arvandor along with her mother at the Dark Maiden's insistence. Either Sehanine or Angharradh is now said to be Corellon's consort, depending on the subrace of the speaker, and the Protector works closely with the Goddess of Moonlight and the Triune Goddess in their dual aspects. Only Fenmarel Mestarine is somewhat estranged from the Coronal of Arvandor, and the Lone Wolf's differences with Corellon are not all that great. The Creator of the Elves has forged strong alliances with the leaders of the other demihuman pantheons in the face of the seemingly endless waves of human expansion and the ever-present threat of the monstrous populations and their dark powers, as well as with the good- and neutral-aligned powers of the humans. The Protector works closely with Mystra, the Mother of All Magic. Whereas the Lady of Mysteries governs the Weave, Corellon oversees elven magic, particularly elven High Magic, and the intimate connection between the Fair Folk and the mantle of magic that envelops the world. (More information on elven High Magic is found in the Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves sourcebook.) Corellon's epic battle with Gruumsh One- Eye, leader of the orc pantheon, is legendary, and the pair of pantheistic patriarchs ave never reached a lasting truce in their never-ending battle over territory. Malar's relentless attacks on the Seldarine and the Fair Folk have likewise earned him Corellon's eternal enmity. The rift between Corellon and his former lover Araushnee, now known as Lolth, is still as bitter as the day he banished the Spider Queen to the Abyss and named her tanar'ri. The Protector's rift with his errant son Vhaeraun is nearly as deep, and the Protector has despaired of the Masked Lord ever repenting of his evil ways. In his vigilant defense of elves and their homelands, Corellon has earned the enmity of countless powers whose worshipers seek to seize the forests, magic, or wealth of the Fair Folk.
Corellon is a powerful warrior god whose hands protect his creations with the gentleness of a sculptor and the unspeakable power of a master swordswinger. While other deities may reflect the joy, delights, and accomplishments of the Fair Folk, Corellon stands as an ever-vigilant watcher over them. His life spirit flows from and into the elves and their lands, and while mortal elves daydream and enter the reverie, Corellon never abandons his watchfulness. Only when it is time for the Fair Folk to pass from Faerun to Arvandor does he finally cease watching over each elf and allows Sehanine to take a larger role in caring for them.
Corellon frequently wanders the elven lands and borders in disguise (often in the form of one of the diminutive sylvan race), observing the actions of priests and craftsfolk and defending elven homelands from interlopers. Though his martial might is swift and terrible, the soft-spoken Creator of the Elves is ever humble and always open to learning something new, one of his sources of might. He enjoys discovering new philosophies of thought and new methods of action, even from mortals, and he has a keen interest in other cultures.
Corellon's primary servitors are identical twin spirits, Lashrael and Felarathael. Held by some of the Fair Folk, particularly gold elves, to be demipowers in their own right, Corellon's messengers are solars who resemble tall, shining, androgynous elves clad in gleaming white robes. They are most often seen delivering messages for the Protector in the Realms, and they are also dispatched to defend elves if they are threatened. The two have distinctive personalities, however. Lashrael is given to emotional extremes. When delivering a message, Lashrael speaks with great conviction, and depending upon the message, enormous joy or sorrow. In battle, Lashrael is ferocious, neither asking nor giving quarter. Felarathael, on the other hand, is the very image of rational detachment, treating all situations with logic and calm reason. Felarathael always speaks in a slow, measured, but immensely reassuring voice, and fights with unhurried skill. When Lashrael or Felarathael strike a victim in combat, they may inflict one of the following effects in lieu of damage: victim steeps (no saving throw allowed), victim is randomly teleported 1d10 miles, victim is polymorphed into a woodland animal, or victim suffers from amnesia.
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, Cru: No, SP: Yes
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, Cru: No, SP: No
All clerics (including multiclassed half-elven clerics and elven fighter/clerics, a multiclassed combination allowed to elven priests of Corellon), crusaders, and specialty priests of Corellon receive religion (elf) and reading/writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies.
Corellon is venerated by all the Tel'Quessir who have not turned to dark powers, even those who do not specifically worship him, for the Fair Folk were born of his blood, and they do not forget their debt to the Creator. Likewise, Corellon's role in banishing Lolth and the drow from the surface, thus ending the madness of the Crown Wars, has earned him the eternal, if largely unspoken, gratitude of elves across Faerun. Curiously, the clergy Corellon's church is somewhat removed from elven society, and the Protector's priesthood is less involved in the governance of elven realms , than a N'Tel'Quess might imagine. While the Protector's followers are held in high esteem for their unflagging contribution to the defense of elven realms and the breathtaking beauty of their artistry, in general their place in elven society reflects the guardian and creative aspects of Corellon's nature far more than his position as Coronal of Arvandor and Ruler of All Elves. Some theologians suggest the warriors and wizards who predominate in positions of authority in elven society in a sense comprise the priesthood of Corellon in his leadership aspect, but this view is not widely accepted.
Corellon is venerated in rocky areas of natural beauty, always with a special place for viewing the moon and stars. Temples of the Protector are rare, however, since the elves are individualistic when it comes to his worship. Shrines are more common, but they are little more than clearings with a good view of the sky. His temples are shaped from great natural geological formations, including shallow caves entered from above, natural amphitheaters, and great rock spires. Trees and other plants are woven into such edifices, resulting in great natural cathedrals woven of stone and plants.
Novices of Corellon are known as the Faerna. Full priests of the Protector are known as the Faernsuora. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Corellite priests are Aegisess (Protector), Adoness (Peacekeeper), Kerynsuoress (Holy Warrior), Ivae'ess (Lightbringer), Avae'ess (Joy-bringer), Syolkiir (Wltdstar), Lateu'suoress (Crescent- Moonblessed), Araegisess (Great Protector), Aradoness (Great Peacekeeper), and Ark-erynsuoress (Great Holy Warrior). High-ranking priests have unique individual titles but are collectively known as the Cormiira (Blessings of Corellon). Specialty priests are known as feywardens.
The clergy of Corellon includes gold elves (33%), moon elves (30%), wild elves (15%), sea elves (10%), half-elves of various ancestries (12%) and even a handful of dark elves.
Corellon's clergy is nearly evenly divided between clerics (38%), including fighter/clerics, specialty priests (30%), crusaders (28%) and a handful of wizards (4%), including mages, specialist wizards, and multiclassed mages. The clergy of Corellon contains a few more males (55%) than females (45%) Dogma: The Tel'Quessir are both wardens and sculptors of magic's end less mysteries. Through Art and Craft, bring forth the beauty that envelops and let the spirit gambol unfettered.
The song of joy and the dance of freedom shall ever soar on the wings of those who dare take flight. Guard against the slow death of stultifying sameness by seeking out new experiences and new ways. Ward against those who seek only to destroy in their inability to create and commune with the natural and mystical world. Be ever vigilant in force of arms and might of magic against any return of the banished darkness, and also be strong in heart against the corruption from within which allowed the Spider Queen to foment the chaos and evil of the Crown Wars.
Day-to-Day Activities : Priests of Corellon are expected to serve actively in the defense and artistic development of elven communities and to work to mediate disputes that arise among the Fair Folk or between the elves and other sylvan deities. In service to the Protector, many Corellite priests serve in the armed forces of their homeland, defending elf-claimed territories from the relentless expansion of other races and training their fellow elves in combat skills and magic. Others work closely with elven artisans and craftsfolk instructing them in the skills they need to create works of wondrous beauty, as well as using their own creative talents in similar pursuits. Finally, members of Corellon's priesthood are often called upon to act as diplomats and arbitrators between the various clergies, the various subraces of elves, the various classes of elven society, and even between elven communities. While few priests of the Coronal of Arvandor actually serve as rulers or councilors, many work behind the scenes to ensure the smooth functioning of government.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : Corellon's faithful celebrate a great number of holy days, most of which are tied to astronomical events and occur only once every few years (such as Shieldmeet) or decades. Of particular import, once per lunar month, when the crescent moon softly illuminates the night sky, Corellon's faithful gather in moonlit glades to celebrate the gifts of their deity in a festival known as Lateu'quor, the Forest Communion of the Crescent Moon. Devotees of the Protector offer up their praises through music, song, dance, and the offering up of their most beautiful creations. True works of art are sometimes brought up to Arvandor so as to be appreciated by the spirits of those elves who dwell among the Seldarine, while others are kept within Corellon's shrines and temples so that the Fair Folk of Faerun may wonder at the fruits of Corellon's greatest gift: creativity. On rare occasions such revels spontaneously unleash a glorious magica ceremony whose results are guided only by the Creator of the Elves. Sometimes the landscape is reshaped, and the site is thereafrer considered sacred to the Protector. At other times, the communal magic coalesces into an item-usually a sword, long bow, set of cloak and boots, suit of elven mail, or musical instrument-of unearthly beauty. Such items art-then enchanted by Corellon's seniormost priests and are thereafter considered holy relics of the faith.
Major Centers of Worship: Corellon's Grove, located near the center of the northern half of Evermeet at the heart of the great forest that blankets the Green Isle, is held to be the site closest to Arvandor in all of the Realms. Many Tel'Quessir claim to have seen Corellon Larethian himself, as well as other members of the Seldarine, wandering amidst this oasis of unearthly beauty.
Corellon's Grove is visited by the Fair Folk of Evermeet for 123 solemn ceremonies, private worship, or simple private meditation.
The trees that surround Corellon's Grove magically weave their branches together, preventing entrance to the shrine. Treants sometimes join the guardian trees in watching over the shrine, as do the countless sylvan creatures who roam the Green Isle.
Wrought iron gates entwined with ivy and blooming roses yearround permit passage only to Tel'Quessir who approach wishing to worship Corellon and the Seldarine.
Gleaming white marble walkways flanked by tall columns adorned with ivy and roses, like the entrance gates, lead through the heart of the Grove and connect the numerous shrines found within. Magical fountains are scattered throughout the grove, and their enchanted waters are said to confer one or more effects similar to those of potions of healing, elixirs of health, potions of heroism, potions of invulnerability, potions of extra-healing, and potions of vitality. Within the Grove may be found shrines to Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, Labelas Enoreth, Rillifane Rallathil, Sehanine Moonbow, and even the king and queen of faerie, Oberon and Titania. Each shrine contains a white marble statue depicting one of the Seldarine or faerie monarchs, and elves who pray before them are said to sometimes receive magical blessings from the power so depicted.
The Ar-Tel'Quessir who constructed Corellon's Grove chose not to include shrines to the rogue powers of the Seldarinesuch as Erevan Ilesere, Fenmarel Mestarine, Shevarash, or Solonor Thelandira or to aspects of the Seldarine worshiped by the other subraces-such as Angharradh, Bear, Eagle, Raven, or Wolf, but all such powers and aspects of powers are nonetheless venerated in Corellon's Grove by the Fair Folk. Corellon's shrine is the largest by far found within the Grove, a great dome of green marble woven into the forest canopy. The First of the Seldarine and Creator of the Elves is portrayed traditionally as a tall, unnaturally thin, androgynous elven figure with a thin face, high cheekbones, and narrow, slanted eyes. The figure is clad in scale armor and carries a long, slim sword. A delicate coronet graces the brow of the Coronal of Arvandor, and a sense of peace and contentment radiates from the statue itself. Any of the Fair Folk who pray here may receive a special blessing from Corellon, although at most one such favor is granted per year.
Corellon may manifest as discussed above, or he may grant the ability to cast cure light wounds or cure serious wounds once at some future time. Some elves report after praying at the shrine that the Protector gifted them with an item of magic (usually a weapon or article of clothing), while others have found woodland animal companions or mounts such as giant eagles, moonhorses, or pegasi awaiting them as they completed their supplications.
In the aftermath of the destruction of the Grove caused by the rampage of the Elf-Eater in the Year of the Unstrung Harp (1371 DR), Corellon's Grove is rebuilt by all the Fair Folk and expanded and changed considerably. When completed, the reconsecrated Grove contains shrines of all the known powers and distinct aspects of the Seldarine, and its design better represents the diverse architectural styles employed by the various elven subraces.
Affiliated Orders: Corellon is the divine patron of many knightly orders, many of which claim to trace their heritage and membership hack to the Time of Flowers. Such orders are typically composed largely of crusaders, warriors, and wizards (particularly fighter-mages), but their composition has varied widely over the millennia and from culture to culture.
Notable orders in ages past have included the Knights of the Golden Wyrm, the Blade of Sahandrian, the Fey Staghorns, and the Swords of the Seldarine. On Evermeet, the Wings of Yathaghera, the Knights of the Alicorn, the Weavers of Bladesong, and the Vassals of the Reverend Ones are all pledged to support the Protector in the defense of the Green Isle. Few orders have remained on the mainland of Faerun since the Retreat began in the Year of Moonfall (1344 DR), but of those that remain, the Swords of Evereska are the most notable for their unwavering defense of that alpine vale. Outside of elven homelands, the most frequently encountered agents of an elven knightly order belong to the Fellowship of the Forgotten Flower, a loosely structured organization dedicated to the recovery of lost elven relics from long-abandoned elven realms.
Priestly Vestments : Ceremonial vestments for priests of Corellon- often worn in normal situations by choice, although such attire is not required-consist of azure robes made of gossamer and embroidered with silver quarter moons. Silver circlets engraved with the Protector's symbol are worn on the brow. The holy symbol of the faith is a silver or mithral lunate pendant worn on an slender chain hung from the neck.
[b]Adventuring Garb: When adventuring, Corellon's priests generally favor sky blue cloaks, elven chain mail, long swords, and long bows in conscious imitation of their divine patron. Clerics, restricted to bludgeoning weapons, favor clubs, slings, staff slings, and staves, although maces and flails are employed as well. Leather, studded leather armor, or elven chain mail is favored in situations requiring stealth, in addition to elven cloaks and boots, whereas elven chain mail or elven plate mail (or N'Tel'Quess approximations) are favored in situations requiring direct melee combat.[/b]
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Angharradh
The Triune Goddess, the One and the Three, the Union of the Three, Queen of Arvandor
Greater Power of Arborea
CG
PORTFOLIO: Spring, fertility, planting, birth, defense, wisdom
ALIASES: Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, Sehanine Moonbow
DOMAIN NAME: Olympus/Arvandor
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Berronar Truesilver, Chauntea, Cyrrollalee, Eilistraee, Lurue, Mielikki, Milil, Mystra, Oberon, Selune, Sharindlar, Sheela Peryroyl, Silvanus, Sune, Titania, Yondalla, the Seldarine
FOES: Auril, Malar, the Queen of Air and Darkness, Talos, Umberlee, the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee), the goblinkin pantheons
SYMBOL: Three interconnecting circles laid out in a triangle that points down
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Angharradh (ON-gahr-rath) is the face of the power who is both three separate goddesses-Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, and Sehanine Moonbow who are collectively known as the Three-as well as a single goddess-the One-who subsumes their separate aspects. The Triune Goddess presents many different faces, depending upon circumstances. In spring and during harvest time she is a fertility goddess. She watches over the planting of crops, blesses births, and keeps the land green and growing. In wartime, she is a grim warrior deity who wields a red sword and mercilessly slays the enemies of the elves. When wisdom is required, the One and the Three is a source of guidance and council. Among the Fair Folk, Angharradh is worshiped nearly exclusively by moon elves and a handful of half-moon elves.
The other elven subraces worship Angharradh's aspects as separate goddesses, but they rarely give homage to the Union of the Three. Whether Angharradh is truly a combination of the three goddesses or a separate deity in her own right actually lies in the hearts of her individual worshipers.
According to silver elven mythology, Angharradh was born from the essence of the three greatest goddesses of the Seldarine before the first of the Fair Folk walked the forests of Faerun. The Triune Goddess arose in the aftermath of a great battle between the Seldarine and the anti-Seldarine, a host of evil powers who had invaded Arvandor at the bequest of Araushnee (now Lolth), Corellon's traitorous consort. When an arrow launched by Eilistraee at an onrushing ogrish god was subtly warped by the magic of the treacherous Araushnee and felled the Protector instead, Aerdrie struck down the Dark Maiden in revenge. The Seldarine assumed the unconscious daughter of Araushnee and Corellon was to blame for her father's collapse. Sehanine's timely escape from Vhaeraun's prison allowed the Goddess of Moonlight to expose Araushnee's crimes and the Masked Lord's complicity, but the Weaver of Destiny defiantly rejected the collective authority of the assembled Seldarine to convene a council to investigate her actions. In response, Aerdrie, Hanali, and Sehanine drew together and merged into a luminous cloud before coalescing in the form of the Triune Goddess.
Angharradh then restored Corellon to health, taking her place by the Protector's side and declaring her intention to prevent treachery from ever entering the heart of a goddess of Arvandor again.
As the consort of Corellon and co-ruler of the Seldarine, Angharradh is on excellent terms with the other members of the elven pantheon. The Triune Goddess has a strong, motherly interest in both Eilistraee and Mielikki, and, more so than Corellon, maintains strong ties with the paramount goddesses of other human and demihuman pantheons. Angharradh strongly opposes the destructive efforts of Talos and the Gods of Fury (particularly Malar, for it was the Beastlord who unleashed the Elf-Eater on Evermeet in the Year of the Unstrung Harp (1371 DR)). The Triune Goddess reserves her strongest hatred for Lolth, as the Spider Queen has never ceased her efforts to undermine Corellon or to destroy his progeny, the Fair Folk.
As the One and the Three, Angharradh is both three distinct goddesses and a goddess in her own right. While some Teu- Tel'Quessir assume that the aspect of Sehanine is Angharradh's primary facet-a point of confusion due in part to the belief by other subraces of the Fair Folk that Sehanine, not Aerdrie or Hanali, is Corellon's consort-in truth all three goddesses are equal and each reflects the duality that is their individual nature and that of the Triune Goddess. As such, Angharradh's nature reflects the personality traits of each of the Three, including the impulsive and whimsical nature of the Winged Mother, the romantic and affectionate nature of the Heart of Gold, and the serene and ephemeral nature of the Daughter of the Night Skies. The fusion of the Three was born of Araushnee's betrayal and the collective threat to Arvandor and the Seldarine. As such, the Triune Goddess exhibits the fierce protectiveness and unbending resolve of the Queen of Arvandor.
The Church
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, druids, mystics, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: NG, CG, N, CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, Cru: No, D: No, Mys: No, SP: Circle
singers as the other deity followed; totem sisters no
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, Cru: No, D: No, Mys: No, SP: No
All clerics (including multiclassed half-elven clerics), crusaders, druids, mystics, and specialty priests of Angharradh receive religion (elf) and reading/writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies.
The Teu-Tel'Quessir view the Three as separate aspects of the One and consider the Triune Goddess to be as powerful and influential as Corellon Larethian and who presides, alongside her consort, with equal authority over the Seldarine and the Fair Folk. Gold elves generally do not know what to make of Angharradh. Most consider her to be either a separate goddess or a typical silver elf misinterpretation of Sehanine Moonbow, consort to Corellon Larethian. They generally do not object to the silver elves' veneration of the tripartite deity, however, and even pay her homage themselves on rare occasions. Dark elves, green elves, sea elves, winged elves, and most half-elves do not worship Angharradh, nor is her nature and existence even debated, as is the case among the Ar-Tel'Quessir.
Angharradh's temples resemble the houses of worship dedicated to the Three, either emphasizing the characteristics of the temples of one of the three goddesses, or blending all three styles of temple equally. The Triune Goddess's temples always display the symbol of the One and the Three as well as the symbols of the individual goddesses.
Novices of Angharradh are known as Triune Seekers. Full priests of the Triune Goddess are known as Trimorphs. Angharradhan priests use titles as appropriate for the aspect they primarily venerate. Specialty priests are known as either circle singers or totem sisters (druids). The clergy of Angharradh includes moon elves (93%), half-moon elves (5%), and elves and half-elves of other subraces (2%). Angharradh's clergy is composed primarily of clerics, crusaders, mystics, and specialty priests of Aerdrie Faenya (15%), Hanali Celanil (35%), and Sehanine Moonbow (40%). The remainder (10%) are totem sisters, a type of druid.
Perhaps 33% of the specialty priests of the three affiliated with the faith of Angharradh are actually circle singers. The clergy of Angharradh is pretty evenly split between male (48%) and female (52%).
Dogma: Through unity and diversity there is strength. Be ever vigilant against She Who Was Banished and work together in defending the lands of the Fair Folk from those who would work evil. Celebrate the One and the Three for their collective purpose and individual expressions of life. Through the melding of widely different skills and interests, creativity, life, and artistry are nurtured and new ideas are discovered.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Angharradh serve the Triune Goddess much like the clergies of Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, and Sehanine Moonbow. Most priests of the Triune Goddess are affiliated with one aspect of the Three, and their activities reflect their association with that particular aspect. A handful of female silver elven priests are practitioners of the ancient secrets of totemic magic. These mysterious elves create small wood or stone charms inscribed with pictorial symbols that can pass special magical abilities on to their owners. Totemsisters are also considered wise women and sages and are often consulted on important issues.
They also serve as priests of Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, and Sehanine Moonbow, as well as their single embodiment, Angharradh. Totem-sisters craft beneficial totemic images for their tribe and are considered great sources of wisdom and comfort. They attend births, bless young children, help with planting and harvest, and bless warriors going into battle.
Particularly successful totem sisters are sought out by other tribes and aspiring totemic practitioners for advice and counsel.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : Members of Angharradh's priesthood celebrate the holy days and important ceremonies of one of the Three, depending upon which aspect of the Triune Goddess they particularly venerate. The only holy day celebrated exclusively by those who pray to Angharradh is the Melding of the Three, held quadrennially on Cinnaelos'Cor (the Day of Corellon's Peace), more commonly known in the Calendar of Harptos as Shieldmeet. While this holy day is more generally observed by elves in honor of the Protector, the Teu- Tel'Quessir celebrate the tripartite aspects of Angharradh and the unification of the Three that have led to centuries of peace in Arvandor and elven realms in Faerun. In addition to singing great hymns to the Triune Goddess, Angharradh's faithful often assemble to invoke great feats of cooperative magic on this day.
Major Centers of Worship: The Hall of Trifold Harmony is a soaring temple of green and white marble in the elven city of Taltempla on the eastern shore of the Green Isle. Angharradh's house of worship is located amidst neighboring temples of Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, and Sehanine Moonbow in the temple district of Evermeet's second-largest city, and the ranks of the Triune Goddess's priesthood are drawn from silver elves who serve in the temples of both the One and the Three. The temple of Angharradh is jointly administered by a triumvirate of the seniormost silver elven priests of the three elven goddesses resident in the city. They are Faranni Omberdawn, Blythswana Iliathor, and Renestrae Narlbeth, respectively the fourth, second, and first-ranking priests in their individual temples.
The Hall of Trifold Harmony serves as the center of silver elven culture in Taltempla, and the Triumvirate of Angharradh assists the informal ruler of the city, High Mage Gaelira, in ameliorating the infrequent disputes that arise among the temples of the various Seldarine powers venerated in the city.
Affiliated Orders: The Angharradhan church has no knightly orders specifically affiliated with the Triune Goddess. However, some members of orders affiliated with either Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, or Sehanine Moonbow worship their order's patron as an aspect of Angharradh.
Priestly Vestments : Angharradh's priests wear the ceremonial garb of the clergies of the Three. Some priests wear the garb of one aspect of the Triune Goddess, while other priests incorporate pieces of each fashion into their holy vestments. The holy symbol of the faith is an inverted silver triangle inscribed on both faces with the symbol of the Triune Goddess.
Adventuring Garb: In combat situations, clerics, crusaders, and specialty priests of the One and the Three favor ornate, gleaming suits of elven chain mail or, in rare situations, elven plate mail. Their preferred weapons include long and short bows, long and short swords, and spears, although most are trained in a wide range of weapons. Shields emblazoned with the symbol of the Triune Goddess are common among the faithful, as are heraldic charges per pall (parted in three, as the letter "Y") with the symbol of Sehanine on top, the symbol of Aerdrie in the lower left, and the symbol of Hanali in the lower right as viewed by the shield-bearer. Totem-sisters favor long bows and spears and use only nonmetallic armors.
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Aerdrie Faenya
The Winged Mother, Lady of Air and Wind, Queen of the Avariel, She of the Azure Plumage, Bringer of Rain and Storms
Intermediate Power of Arborea and Ysgard
CG
PORTFOLIO: Air, weather, avians, rain, fertility, avariel
ALIASES: Angharradh
DOMAIN NAME: Olympus/Arvandor and Ysgard/Alfheim
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Akadi, Cyrrollalee, Eachthighem, Eilistraee, Fionnghuala, Isis, Koriel, Lurue, Remnis, Shaundakul, Sheela Peryroyl, Syranita, Stillsong, the Seldarine, various Animal Lords
FOES: Auril, Talos and the Gods of Fury (Auril, Malar, and Umberlee), the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee)
SYMBOL: Cloud with the silhouette of a bird
WOR. ALIGN.: NG, CG, N, CN
Aerdrie Faenya (AIR-dree FAH-ane-yuh) is the elven goddess of the air, weather, and birds. As the bringer of rain, she is the closest the Fair Folk have to a fertility goddess. At one time, the Winged Mother's followers were composed largely of the avariel, much like Deep Sashelas was and is worshiped primarily by sea elves. However, unlike their aquatic kin, the winged elves were nearly wiped out by the dragons before the First Flowering, and what was believed to be the last of their race in Faerun flew westward before the start of the Crown Wars.
Today, gold, moon, and wild elves who desire certain weather conditions make the most frequent sacrifices to Aerdrie. Her small church is also popular with elves who possess flying mounts, such as asperii, dragons, giant eagles, griffons, hippogriffs, and pegasi. The Lady of Air and Wind is revered by all nonevil birds, particularly aarakocra and other sentient avians, but their numbers are small and declining as well. She is also called on by elves oppressed by overly lawful creatures.
Aerdrie is both an aspect of Angharradh and one of the three elven goddesses-the other two being Hanali Celanil and Sehanine Moonbow-who collectively form the Triune Goddess.
This duality tightly binds Aerdrie with the two other senior elven goddesses, and the three collectively serve alongside Corellon in leading the Seldarine. Aerdrie maintains close relations only with those powers of the air who share a love of birds and freedom as deeply held as the Lady of Air and Wind. Aerdrie is particularly close with Syranita, the gentle goddess of the aarakocra, and some theologians speculate the two may eventually merge if the bird-men continue their steady decline.
Aerdrie is also close with the avian lords of the Beastlands, particularly the hawk lord. Since the Time of Troubles, Aerdrie has been romantically linked with her long-time ally, the human god Shaundakul, the Rider of the Winds, but this new twist in their relationship is undoubtedly little more than a passing fancy, at least on the Winged Mother's part. Aerdrie contests with Talos and the Gods of Fury, for they challenge her control of the winds and seek to wield them for purely destructive purposes. The deep antipathy between the Winged Mother and the Frostmaiden stems from the war in Arvandor between the Seldarine and the anti-Seldarine forces who were arrayed against them. Aerdrie soundly defeated Auril in that battle, forever banishing the Frostmaiden from Olympus, and the two goddesses continue their eternal war on the myriad worlds of the Prime.
Aerdrie is the elven expression of freedom and impulse, and she dislikes being tied down to any one place for too long. Her realm is so close to the philosophical border between Arborea and Ysgard that it moves back and forth, sometimes part of Arvandor and sometimes part of Alfheim. Aerdrie delights in the sound of wind instruments and in creating unpredictable atmospheric conditions, including fairly severe or violent thunderstorms on occasion, but her primary joy is simply feeling the air rush past her with the ground far below. The Winged Mother is a somewhat distant goddess who rarely involves herself in elven culture, and she is far more chaotic than the rest of the Seldarine. Of all the elven races, only Aerdrie takes a keen interest in the avariel, and few of them remain in the Realms.
Other Manifestations
Aerdrie rarely manifests in the Realms, except through natural processes such as strong winds, rain showers, and even powerful storms. The Lady of Air and Wind manifests around Evermeet as great storms, vast cyclones, and winds of hurricane force that affect only nonelven ships. Her efforts also ensure that no ill wind or weather can ever destroy the Green Isle.
The Winged Mother does watch over those Fair Folk who take flight into her domain, whether it be through magic or their own wings. If an elf or worshiper of any race somehow falls from a great height, whether it be off a cliff or out of the sky, the Winged Mother may manifest as a deep blue nimbus of flickering light that envelops the plummeting creature and enables him or her to slow his or her descent and make a gentle landing, similar to the effects of a feather fall spell. If a worshiper in flight is targeted by a land-bound archer, the enveloping nimbus of Aerdrie's manifestation confers a defensive shield equivalent to a protection from normal missiles effect. While the Lady of Air and Wind rarely grants omens to her priests, when she does they manifest as whispering winds. The Seldarine call on agathinon, asuras, and ancient treants as their preferred servants, but Aerdrie is also served by aarakocra, aasimar, aasimon, air elementals, aerial servants, androsphinxes, asperii, atomies, avorels, azmyths, birds of all nonevil species (particularly eagles, falcons, hawks, kingfishers, and owls), cloud dragons, cloud giants, crystal dragons, djinn, eladrin (particularly bralani), faerie dragons, firetails, fremlins, frosts, griffons, gorse, hippogriffs, hollyphants, kenku, kholiathra, ki-rin, lammasu, lillendi, noctrals, opinicus, pegasi, pegataurs, phoenixes, pixies, reverend ones, rocs, seelie faeries, shedu, silver dragons, sylphs, spirits of the air, sprites, storm giants, sunflies, swanmays, swarms of grasshoppers or locusts, sword archons, talking owls, tempests, tressym, t'uen-rin, vortexes, windghosts, and wind walkers. She demonstrates her favor through the discovery of feathers of any sort, hornbill ivory carved in the form of an avian species, psaedros, raindrops (a common name for cassiterite crystals), sapphires, turquoise, weirwood birdpipes, and wind instruments of any sort. The Winged Mother indicates her displeasure by suddenly transforming a gentle zephyr or little rain shower into a lashing storm, by causing flocks of birds to suddenly dissolve, each bird going its separate way, and by causing the offender's plumage-whether it be natural or a form of adornment-to suddenly molt.
The Church
CLERGY: Clerics, mystics, specialty priests, air elementalists
CLERGY'S ALIGN. : CG.CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, Mys: No, SP: No, AEle: No
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, Mys: No, SP: No, AEle: No
All clerics (including multiclassed half-elven clerics), mystics, and specialty priests of Aerdrie receive religion (elf) and reading/ writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies. Most priests of Aerdrie have a strong fear of being confined or trapped bordering on claustrophobia. They suffer a -1 penalty on initiative, attack rolls, and saving throws under such conditions (this includes nearly all underground areas). Aerdrie's priests must sleep outdoors except during winter or times of bad weather.
Like all the Seldarine, Aerdrie is venerated by all elves save the drow. However, aside from those winged elves who remain, very few of the Fair Folk primarily worship the Lady of Air and Wind. The Queen of the Avariel is seen as flighty, even for the chaotic Seldarine, and somewhat distant, and the inclusion of the aarakocra and other avian races slightly diminishes the strength of elven devotion to her. Aerdrie's temples, known as aeries, are usually located on high hilltops or mountain slopes having a good view of the land around them and the open sky.
While the Winged Mother's shrines are little more than alpine ledges, accessible only to those creatures capable of flight, Aerdrie's temples are delicate crystalline spires bedecked with glass chimes whose ringing tones peal across mountain valleys, borne by swirling winds. Small open-mouthed caves, connected by short tunnels that honeycomb the peaks on which the goddess's temples rest, allow access to Aerdrie's glass-enclosed chapels and permit the wind to whistle through the heart of the peak.
Novices of Aerdrie are known as Eaglets or the Tethered. Full priests of the Winged Mother are known as Winged Brothers or Sisters. Titles used by Aerdrian priests vary widely from temple to temple, with many high-ranking priests having unique individual titles. Among the priest caste of the winged elves of Mount Sundabar, commonly employed titles include Aquiline Hunter, Cloud Walker, Feathered Dancer, Rain Bringer, Rising Thermal, Silent Screech, Sky Diver, Soaring Spirit, and Wind Chaser. Specialty priests are known as halcyons. At one time, the clergy of Aerdrie was dominated by winged elves (90%), but her church today consists primarily of moon elves (40%), gold elves (38%), aarakocra (10%), and elves and half-elves of other subraces (8%). A handful (4%) of winged elves (including half a dozen or so half-winged elves whose wings are strong enough only for gliding) compose the remainder other clergy, scattered across the most distant and inaccessible reaches of the Realms. Although specialty priests compose only a small fraction of Aerdrie's clergy (20%), they occupy nearly all of the high positions within the Wind Mother's church. The remainder of Aerdrie's priests are either clerics (42%), including multiclassed half-elven clerics, air elementalists (30%), or mystics (8%). About 59% of Aerdrie's clergy members are female, the remainder are male.
Dogma: The ever-changing reaches of the sky are the great gift of the Winged Mother. Take flight into her windswept embrace, and gambol amidst the everchanging clouds. Honor those who dwell with the Lady of Air and Wind and cherish the birds who dance on her tresses. In change there is beauty and in chaos there is the birth of new life. Ascend, soar, glide, dive, and ascend again and relish in the freedom that the Winged Mother bequeaths. The air is the breath of life.
Day-to-Day Activities: Aerdrie's priesthood is primarily concerned with exploration and maintaining good relations with sentient avian races (for example, giant eagles and aarakocra).
With the decline of the avariel, few elven priests of the Winged Mother are capable of flight without magical aid. As a result, many Winged Siblings work to create new spells and items by which magical flight is possible, and a not a few of their more adventuresome brethren seek lost relics of yore that permit the same. Similarly, members of Aerdrie's clergy raise winged steeds employed by the aerial cavalries of elven realms and tend cotes of fanciful birds from far-off lands to dwell in formal elven gardens and to supply the molted plumage employed in elven fashions. As servants of the Bringer of Rain and Storms, Aerdrie's priests work closely with elves involved in agriculture and horticulture to ensure favorable weather systems for their crops. Winged Brothers and Sisters are also charged with destroying evil avians, such as eblis, perytons, and simpathetics, as the Lady of Air and Wind considers them perversions of nature.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : The Dance of Swirling Winds is a semiannual festival held on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes to celebrate the changing seasons and to honor the Winged Mother. The winds are always strong on such days no matter where Aerdrie's followers gather. Celebrants make offerings of beautiful feathers and join in an aerial ballet danced to the music of wind instruments played by some of the participants.
Those who lack wings or magical means of flight may ride the wind (as the 2nd-level wizard spell) as a gift of the goddess herself. For the duration of the formal ceremony, recipients of Aerdrie's blessing are usually tethered by long ropes to others who can command their own aerial movements. Once the dance breaks up, however, wind dancers, as they are known, are swept across the forest canopy for miles in a breathtaking flight before settling gently in a sylvan glade not too far from home.
Major Centers of Worship: According to legend, great aeries of the avariel may be found in undiscovered lands far to the west of Faerun, whose inhabitants are descended from winged elves who fled the relentless annihilation of their race by the great wyrms of the North during the Time of Flowers. Before they fled, the center of Aerdrie's faith was the Aerie, a great temple-city said to have been located amidst the Star Mounts at the heart of the High Forest. While some claim that the Aerie's last remnants are now inhabited by the great red wyrm known to humans as Inferno, more credible tales hold that Elaacrimalicros, an ancient green dragon who has savaged the surviving population of aarakocra in the region, has claimed the legacy of the avariel.
The Aerie of the Snow Eagles is a crystalline citadel built atop the peak of Mount Sundabar in the distant land of Sossal, north and east of Pelvuria, the Great Glacier. The last redoubt of the avariel in Faerun, Aerdrie's preeminent temple has long been forgotten, even by the Fair Folk of Cormanthyr, Evereska, and Evermeet. From the steep, icy slopes of Mount Sundabar, the Children of the Winged Mother take flight across the frigid skies of the Cold Lands, fishing in the freezing waters of Sossar Bay, hunting across the icy reaches of the Great Glacier, and engaging in aerial acrobatics across the northern sky. The temple itself resembles an inverted glass cone built to replace the shearedoff mountain top of Mount Sundabar. (The avariel believe the peak was removed by a Netherese archmage seeking to create his own floating sky city before the fall of Netheril, but in truth it may have been destroyed when white wyrms destroyed the remnants of the dwarven kingdom of Dareth.) The crystalline, conical temple is nearly 3,000 feet in diameter at its base and 3,000 feet high at its peak.
Within the temple's glassteeled walls, endless zephyrs dance hither and yon and tiny rain showers erupt out of thin air, a never-ending manifestation of the power of the Lady of Air and Wind. The temple floor is overgrown with tropical plants nurtured by the brilliant sunshine and regular rainfall to create a jungle paradise. Rare birds from the farthest reaches of Abeir- Toril gambol and caw while young winged elves test out their wings overhead. The avariel community of Mount Sundabar, including the crystalline temple on the mountain top and winged elven nests on the mountain's flanks, is loosely governed by Winged Father Aquilan Greatspan, an avariel. Aquilan has led the last remaining major enclave of winged elves in Faerun for nearly five centuries, and his wise leadership has seen the avariel survive, if not exactly prosper, amidst the ruins of the Ice Kingdom of Dareth. Like the Stout Folk who preceded them, the greatest threat to the avariel is Hoarfaern, the realm of white dragons and their bestial servant creatures who dwell in the dwarf-carved halls of the northern Mountains of Dareth.
Affiliated Orders: The Wing of Plumed Kingfishers is an aerial military order composed primarily of moon and gold elven crusaders and rangers. The order is subdivided into aerial cavalry divisions by the species of their mounts, with asperii, giant eagle-, griffon-, hippogriff-, and pegasi-mounted Plumed Kingfishers predominating. Before the power of elven civilization began to ebb in Faerun, this order patrolled the skies above most forests of the Realms, protecting land-bound elves below from threats above. Today only two major branches of the ancient order of Plumed Kingfishers survive, one based in Evermeet and the other based in Evereska. The Wing of the Green Isle includes a division of moon elves mounted on giant eagles, a division of gold elves mounted on pegasi, and a handful of moon and gold elven dragon riders mounted on gold, silver, and bronze dragons. The Wing of the Evereskan Eyrie includes a large division of moon elves mounted on giant eagles and a smaller division of the Teu-Tel'Quessir mounted on asperii.
Priestly Vestments: Ceremonial garb for priests of Aerdrie consists of sky-blue robes, with those of high rank wearing the darkest shades. Feathers are used in decorating their clothing and armor, and at least one feather is worn in the hair. The holy symbol of the faith is a feather of great beauty, willingly given after molting by a sentient avian who venerates the Winged Mother. A new feather must be found at least once per year.
Adventuring Garb: When adventuring, Aerdrie's priests prefer light, flexible armor that maximizes maneuverability and minimizes weight and drag. Streamlined helms, carved to resemble stylized bird heads and padded to reduce concussions, are secured with leather chin straps. Missile weaponsparticularly javelins and elven bows with flight arrows-are commonly employed in combat. If at all possible, priests of Aerdrie who lack wings of their own obtain wings of flying or similar magical means of flight. At the very least, they seek to train a steed capable of flight, such as an asperii, dragon, giant eagle, griffon, hippogriff, or pegasus.
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Deep Sashelas
Lord of the Undersea, the Dolphin Prince, the Knowledgeable One, Sailor s Friend, the Creator
Intermediate Power of Arboreas
CG
PORTFOLIO: Oceans, sea elves, creation, knowledge, underwater and sea elven beauty, water magic
ALIASES: None
DOMAINNAME: Olympus/Arvandor and Ossa (Aquallor)/Elavandor
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Cyrrollalee, Eadro, Eilistraee, Istishia, Persana, the Seldarine, Surminare, Syranica, Trishina, Valkur, Water Lion, various Animal Lords
FOES: Blibdoolpoolp, Demogorgon, Sekolah, Panzuriel, Umberlee, the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee)
SYMBOL: Dolphin
WOR. ALIGN.: LG,NG,CG,LN,N,CN
Deep Sashelas (DEEP SA-sheh-lahs) is the Lord of the Undersea and the patron of sea elves, whom he created long ago by modifying Corellon's land-bound creations. Sashelas is a powerfully creative deity who is forever changing the environments below the sea, creating islands and reefs by altering continental rifts, tinkering with undersea volcanoes, and the like. He is also said to create the deep undersea caverns that the sea elves can use for air-breathing when they wish. Sashelas is known as the Knowledgeable One, for he provides advice as to where food can be found or the enemies are hidden. The sea elves also claim that Deep Sashelas is the author of the Chambeeleon, a resplendent spell tome held in the royal vaults of Thunderfoam an age ago but since lost. Followers of other aquatic gods make similar claims.
Deep Sashelas is a member of the Seldarine and remains on good terms with the other elven deities, but he directs most of his efforts toward maintaining an alliance of nonhuman sea powers known as the asathalfinare. While he does not explicitly lead the group, the Lord of the Undersea occupies a pivotal role and mediates many potential conflicts and disagreements.
Other members of the asathalfinare include Trishina, the dolphin goddess (who is Sashelas's consort), Surminare, goddess of the selkies, Syranita, goddess of the aarakocra (whose membership is somewhat of an anomaly), Persana, god of the tritons, Eadro, leader of the merfolk and lo-cathah, and the enigmatic Water Lion.
The Lord of the Undersea opposes the machinations of all evil powers of the seas, including Abyssal lords such as Demogorgon and Dagon, as well as those whose followers long ago retreated to the Underdark, such as Blib-doolpoolp.
Sashelas has a special enmity for Sekolah the Great Shark, the sahuagin god, and for Panzuriel the Enslaver, a dark power worshiped by kraken and other sentient, evil denizens of the ocean depths. The Lord of the Undersea helped banish and weaken power, and the Lord of the Undersea considers carefully what steps can be taken to restrain and bind that evil power of the sea bed. Likewise, Sashelas works to contain the evil of the human sea goddess Umberlee, and of late has lent his aid to the human god of sailors, Valkur, as a natural counterweight to Umbcrlee's burgeoning influence over the seas of Abeir-Toril.
The Lord of the Undersea is a charismatic leader and an inspired creator whose art is everchanging. Unlike the other Seldarine, Deep Sashelas is rarely satisfied with what he's done and always seeks to improve it. Deep Sashelas can be fickle and flighty, and there are many myths that involve his amorous exploits with such creatures as mermaids, selkies, mortal sea elven maids, human females, and even one demigoddess, it is rumored. Trishina has some tolerance for such straying, but not too much. Sashelas's fellow Seldarine derive great amusement from Trishina's ability to spot Sashelas's wandering attentions and stymie him, usually by warning off the object of his desire.
Deep Sashelas is very active on Abeir-Toril. His avatars often terraform the undersea environment, although he does not undertake such actions without first consulting other deities with an interest in such matters. He does not overinvolve himself by dispatching avatars to help sea elves in battles, but he will do so if he scents any involvement by Sekolah, and his avatars keep a watchful eye on any unexplained activities that might involve Panzuriel (unusually organized raids by merrow or koalinths, for example). His avatar is 50% likely to be accompanied by an avatar of Trishina unless the avatar has been sent to woo or seduce some pretty female who has attracted his eye.
Rarely the avatar may accompany an avatar of another member of the asathalfinare.
The Church
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, druids, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN. : NG, CG, N (druids only), CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, Cru: No, D: No, SP: Yes
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, Cru: No, D: No, SP: No
All clerics, crusaders, druids, and specialty priests of Deep Sashelas receive religion (elf, aquatic) and reading/writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies. Priests of Deep Sashelas must be aquatic elves, aquatic half-elves, or malenti.
The DM is encouraged to allow Deep Sashelas's clergy access to the underwater spells detailed in Of Ships and the Sea.
As Lord of the Undersea and de facto leader of the asathalfinare, Deep Sashelas is well regarded by most nonevil races who reside beneath the surface of Toril's oceans. Whereas aquatic elves generally venerate Sashelas to the near exclusion of the other members of the Seldarine, elves of other races view him simply as one god of the pantheon of nature- and magic-oriented deities who compose the Seldarine. Some sailors (particularly land elves) sacrifice to Sashelas for their safety and aquatic elven clerics take these offerings and trade with other mortals for the gain of the entire race.
Temples of Deep Sashelas are found in most aquatic elven communities, including lumathiashae, off the coast of Evermeet, Fhaoralusyolkiir, located near the mouth of the Vilhon Reach, and Adoivaealumanth, located off the coast of Telflamm in the Easting Reach. The Dolphin Prince's temples usually serve as the spiritual, physical, and social centers of aquatic elven communities. Those found in the Sea of Fallen Stars are typically undersea coral temples, carefully grown and tended, while those found in the Great Sea are typically sprawling constructs of natural stone and sea materials resembling spiraling shells. Inside all such temples are a network of small and medium- sized caves and passages lit by continual light magics of varying shades and intensities. Some chambers are air-filled and are used to examine items plundered from the sunken ships of air-breathers, but most are filled with sea water and artwork Grafted by sea elves. A wide variety of stone statues, mosaics made of shells, scrimshaw, air fountains, and a motley collection of artifacts from the Waterless Void above are scattered throughout Sashelas's temples for the use and enjoyment of the inhabitants of the surrounding community. Central chapels are usually grand vaults characterized by three-dimensional radial or spiral symmetries.
Sashelas's numerous temples are managed by an organized clerical hierarchy collectively known as Delphions. The clergy of each temple are locally autonomous, but they provide each other with information about the movement of the sahuagin and other enemies. Novices of the faith are known as the Impure, while acolytes of the faith are known as the Bathed.
Titles employed in most temples of the Great Sea include Sea Otter, Seal, Walrus, Sea Lion, Delphinus, Narwhal, and Balaenas. Titles employed in most temples of the Inner Sea include Clam, Oyster, Nautilus, Argonaut, Trophon, Cowrie, Abalone, Conch, and Pearl. High priests of the faith are collectively known as Delphites but always have unique individual titles. Almost all Delphions are aquatic elves (99%), with the remainder (1%) aquatic half-elves. According to legend, a handful of malentia type of sahuagin that is externally identical to an aquatic elf-have renounced their evil heritage in ages past and become priests of Deep Sashelas. Specialty priests come into two varieties: sea druids and aquarians. Aquarians (50%) and clerics (35%) make up the large majority of the clergy and are strongly affiliated with a single community. Crusaders (10%) make up the militant arm of the faith and tend to migrate from community to community in response to increasing tensions with neighboring communities of sahuagin. Sea druids (5%) have little to do with their kin, tending to the vast unsettled reaches of the Undersea and leading largely solitary lives. They are organized into at least two druidic domain hierarchies, the Circle of the Great Sea and the Circle of Fallen Stars.
The clergy of Shashelas is pretty evenly split between male (51%) and female (49%) members.
Dogma: Swim the great currents and the shallow seas. Exult in the everchanging beauty and life of the bounteous Undersea.
Revel in the joy of creation and increase its myriad aspects.
Seek not to hold that which is everchanging, but instead love the change itself. Seek out fellow swimmers who honor the ways of the Lord of the Undersea, and ally with them against those who see only the darkness of the deeps. Follow the way of the dolphin. Promote the use of the seas by all reasonable folk for all time to come; fight those who would hoard its riches or pollute its depths.
Day-to-Day Activities : The clergy of Deep Sashelas are more organized than most elven priesthoods because of their role as mediators and befrienders of nonaquatic races. Delphions interact regularly with dolphins who inhabit the region surrounding their home communities, and senior priests are almost always accompanied by their dolphin companions. Sashelan priests establish and maintain contacts with land-dwelling elves, if feasible.
As a result of their extensive networks of contacts, Sashelas's priests have prevented many sahuagin incursions from succeeding, gaining the latter's undying hatred. Delphions also conduct ritual shark hunts and attack sahuagin communities.
Delphions expend a great deal of effort on the creation of beautiful works of art in homage to the Creator. Individual priests of Deep Sashelas create fabulous sculptures of living coral in and around their homes and in their communities. Others sculpt extraordinary jeweled and pearled living coral works of art or train fish to perform spectacular and delightful maneuvers and dances.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : Deep Sashelas is honored individually through the creation of works of art and other wonders, and prayers are given to the Lord of the Undersea upon initiating and after completing such projects. Daily observances by Sashelas's clergy thank Deep Sashelas for his benevolence and the beauty of the undersea world, but the most important rituals are timed to coincide with especially high and low tides, known as the High Flow and the Deep Ebb, respectively.
During such ceremonies, the Delphions make offerings of precious natural objects and items of great artistry. Meanwhile, acolytes swim in complex patterns accompanied by dolphins, and sing deep, reverberating songs of praise to the Lord of the Undersea and his creations. While both ceremonies are similar in form, the High Flow is a joyous celebration emphasizing beauty, creativity, and artistry, while the Deep Ebb is a grim, martial ceremony emphasizing the remembrance of those who are lost and vigilance against the everpresent enemies of the Undersea.
Major Centers of Worship: The great city of Thunderfoam is located beneath the waves of the Trackless Sea atop a submerged plateau due north of Evermeet and due west of Uttersea. Steam from great rents in the sea floor warms the frigid waters, rendering the region habitable to the Alu- Tel'Quessir. The scions of Alaer have long ruled the aquatic elves of Aluchambolsunvae from the Dolphin Throne at the heart of the submerged capitol city under the benevolent aegis of Deep Sashelas and his clergy. The Caldera of the Dancing Dolphin is a natural amphitheater located atop Mount Delphion on the eastern outskirts of Thunderfoam. On the northern slope of the great crater is the Dome of the Dancing Dolphin, a massive volcanic dome that has been transformed by the clergy of Sashelas into an aquatic cathedral of stunning beauty and size. From the Dolphin Dome, as the temple is commonly known, Sashelas's priests oversee the spiritual, artistic, and martial needs of the aquatic kingdoms populace.
The clergy of the Dome of the Dancing Dolphin have grown particularly concerned of late by the emergence of the Kraken Society as a power in the Trackless Sea. Despite reports that Slarkrethel serves Umberlee, the priests of Aluchambolsunvae fear that the kraken secretly serves the banished Panzuriel as well as Umberlee by aiding that dark power's efforts to reestablish his malign influence in Abeir- Toril's seas. In response to this perceived threat, Delphions of the Dolphin Dome have extended their network of allied beings as far east as the shores of Faerun, and they are said to be recruiting agents among the land-dwellers to extend their influence into the cities of the North where the Kraken Society has established a presence.
Affiliated Orders: The Knights of the Killer Whale are an order of Sashelan crusaders dedicated to the destruction of the evil races of the sea, including ixitxachiti, koalinth, krakens, merrow, scrags, and sahuagin. The order is based in the Citadel of the Seven Seas, a great hollowed-out undersea volcanic plug encircled by the Mintarn archipelago in the Sea of Swords The Lances of the Sea Unicorn are an order of clerics, crusaders, and aquarians who garrison a series of nine undersea citadels and numerous smaller redoubts that stretch across the floor of the Sea of Fallen Stars from Delthuntle to Airspur. The order seeks to largely contain the sahuagin of the Alamber Sea to the eastern reaches of the Inner Sea, as most sea elven communities of the Sea of Fallen Stars are located to the west of that border.
Deep Sashelas also sponsors several loosely affiliated pods of sea elven rangers, but they are not considered part of his clergy (that is, the church's hierarchy).
Priestly Vestments: Priests of Deep Sashelas wear either loose-fitting sea green robes or armor created entirely from shells hut eschew any form of headdress. Shell mail, as it is known, effectively serves only an ornamental role for sea elves, as it provides a base Armor Class of 9. The holy symbol of the faith is a lustrous pearl at least one half inch in diameter.
Adventuring Garb: Sashelas's clergy generally eschew armor, even when entering dangerous situations as they find it impedes their underwater movements and adds little to their defenses. Only a few Sashelan priests possess sea elven scale mail (described below), but those who do generally employ it in combat situations. Clergy of Deep Sashelas favor the traditional weapons of the sea elves-nets, spears, and tridents-and rare is the Delphion who is proficient in anything else (aside from underwater crossbows). The most intricately constructed demihuman scale mail is found in the undersea kingdoms of the sea elves. More as a matter of appearance and ceremony than for additional protection-it provides protection equal to that of normal scale mail, the sea elves adapted the idea of scale mail to their own peculiar designs. Their armor can be worn underwater, as it is made of metals that do not rust, and the scales are affixed to the backing of eel-skin, which does not disintegrate as leather does in salt water. Brought forth only in times of war or great ceremony, this expensive armor is worn only by the noble elven elite. This scale mail is unique among others for its beautiful silver coating. Some surface armorers wonder whether this coating is silver, platinum, or even mithral. It is generally agreed that the rare scale mail of the sea elves is nearly as valuable as elven chain mail.
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Discussioni: 1,114
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Erevan Illesere
The Trickster, the Chameleon, the Green Changeling, the Evershifting Shapechanger, the Fey Jester, the Jack of the Seelie Court
Intermediate Power of Arborea
CN
PORTFILIO: Mischief, change, rogues
ALIASES: None
DOMAINNAME: Olympus/Arvandor
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Avachel, Baravar Cloakshadow, Brandoharis, Dugmaren Brightmantle, Eilistraee, Garl Glittergold, Milil, Nathair Sgiathach, Oheron, Shaundakul, Squelaiche, Tapann, Titania, Tymora, the Seldarine
FOES: Beshaba, Mask, the Queen of Air and Darkness, the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee)
SYMBOL: Nova star with asymmetrical rays
WORALIGN..: NG, CG, N, CN
Erevan Illesere (AIR-eh-van ILL-eh-seer) is the elven god of mischief and change and the patron of elven and half-elven rogues. The Trickster's following is not as large as most of his fellow elven gods for Erevan is too unpredictable for most elves.
Nevertheless, he commands his share of attention from the Fair Folk, particularly by those engaged in thievery or other forms of knavery, those who seek excitement so as to alleviate the boredom of near-immortality, as well as many young elves who seek a life of adventure and danger. Erevan is also revered by some members of the small sylvan races, such as pixies, sprites, and leprechauns, but most such fey beings revere the deities of the Seelie Court.
The Trickster often seeks the company of similarly inclined powers of other pantheons, for the patience of his fellow elven powers has been worn thin by eons of endless pranks at their expense. Despite his fickle nature, however, Erevan is fiercely devoted to the Seldarine, and the other elven powers know that they can count on him to come to their aid should they require it. Erevan is part of an informal group of mischiefmakers that includes Brandobaris, Garl Glittergold, and Tymora. He likes to play pranks with them (and on them), and as a result, he has made a few enemies among the more serious and sober of powers of many pantheons-Helm being a notable examplealthough the Trickster does not much care as long as he is having a great time. The Trickster's boon companion is Avachel, an aspect of the draconic power Hlal, also known as Aasterinian or Quicksilver. The Trickster and Quicksilver are almost never separated and their adventures are legendary among younger elves who dream of emulating the mythic duo's daring exploits.
Erevan has long-standing rivalries with other rogue powers, including Beshaba and Mask, for their cruelty and greed offends the Tricksters light-hearted nature.
Erevan is a fickle, utterly unpredictable power who can change his appearance at will. He is one of the most fun-loving powers in the multiverse, and he seems incapable of remaining still or concentrating on a single task for any extended period of time.
The Trickster enjoys causing trouble for its own sake, but his pranks are rarely either helpful or deadly. However, Erevan becomes very dangerous if sylvan races or weak elven groups are threatened, and he is always championing the underdog.
Erevan rarely rights another being directly, preferring to escape and possibly catch his opponent off guard at a later time. His favorite tactic is to change his height to any size from between 1 inch to 6 feet and alter his appearance to reflect one of his innumerable guises. Regardless of how he appears at any given time, Erevan always wears green somewhere upon his person, a sign of his love of the woodlands the Fair Folk call home. The Trickster's weakness for fine wine has gotten him into trouble on more than one occasion, but his vows to swear off the grape only last long enough to refill his glass. Erevan's fancies are as fleering as a desert rain, and he is attracted to mortals who make their own luck. He does not appreciate those who constantly rely on his favor to get by, and he abandons those who per- sistently rely on his unwavering assistance. Mortals who rely on themselves, however, are often granted a helping hand by the fickle Trickster.
The Church
CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests, thieves
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: CG, CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, SP: No, T: No
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, SP: No, T: No
The Seldarine call on agathinon, asuras, and ancient treants as their preferred servants, but Erevan is also served by aasimar, asrai, atomies, bac-chae, bariaurs, cath shee, centaurs, change cats, chaos beasts, chaos imps, cooshee, copper dragons, crystal dragons, dopplegangers, dryads, einheriar, eladrins (particularly coures), elven cats, ethyks, faerie dragons, faerie fiddlers, feystags, firestars, firetails, frosts, grigs, gorse, hamadryads, hybsils, kenku, kholiathra, korred, leprechauns, luck eaters, magebanes, mercury dragons, monkey spiders, nixies, nymphs, ooze sprites, oreads, pixies, pseu-dodragons, raccoons, ratatosk, reverend ones, satyrs, sea sprites, seelie faeries, sprites, sunflies, sylphs, tressyms, vortexes, and weredragons.
He demonstrates his favor through lucky coincidences, playful pranks, and discovery of good luck charms such as alexandrites, amber, azurite, carnelians, frost agates, jade, rubies, turquoises, and electrum coins. The Trickster indicates his displeasure through a sequence of minor misfortunes such as the loss and recovery of valued small items and the like.
Priests of Erevan include multiclassed half-elven clerics, elven cleric/thieves, and elven fighter/cleric/thieves. Erevan's spe ialty priests include elven specialty priest/thieves. All clerics and specialty priests of Erevan receive religion (elf) and reading/writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies. For the Fair Folk, Erevan represents all that is chaotic and free in the elven psyche and the spirit of mischievous fun they share with many other sylvan beings. The Trickster's church is regarded as little more than a loose fellowship of adventuresome rogues and pranksters, and most elves find Erevan to be too unpredictable for their tastes to actually venerate the god.
Tales of the priesthood's various exploits are widely enjoyed by elf youths and commoners, for they often are at the expense of their elders and those of noble blood and highbrowed attitudes.
Despite the general appreciation for anecdotes about the exploits of Erevan's fol lowers, individuals are often rightly regarded with a great deal of suspicion in person. Members of other races regard the followers of Erevan as archetypal examples of the flighty behavior ascribed to all elves (who can never be safely trusted). Erevan may never be worshiped in the same location twice, and few of his followers remain in at any location for any length of time. As such, only a handful of temples of the Trickster exist, and they are carefully hidden. For the most part, Erevan's houses of worship are little more than permanent shrines by the standards of other faiths and they are reserved for meetings and the like. The handful of priests who tend such shrines of necessity must go elsewhere to pray to their god.
Novices of Erevan are known as the Gullible. Full priests of the Trickster are known as Quicksilvers. Priests of Erevan of all ranks create their own titles and most change their titles frequently.
Specialty priests are known as mischiefmakers. Priests of the faith typically associate themselves with one or more regional branches of the faith, but such ties are voluntary and typically quite fluid. Contact between the various branches of the faith is infrequent at best. The clergy of Erevan includes moon elves (45%), green elves (30%), half-elves of various ancestries (15%), gold elves (9%), and a handful of elves of other races (1%). Erevan's clergy includes specialty priests (40%), spe cialty priest/thieves (20%), thieves (16%), cleric/thieves (14%), and clerics (10%). The clergy of Erevan has slightly more males (53%) than females (47%).
Dogma: Change and excitement are the spice of life. Live on the edge, unbound by the conventions of society in a spirit of constant self-reinvention. Puncture the self-righteousness, sanctimony, and pretension that pervades orderly society with mischievous pranks that both amuse and enlighten. Inspire laughter and happiness, giddy silliness, and welcome release from care so that the routine of day-to-day existence does not become worn so deep that it grinds all the joy from life.
Celebrate the spontaneous, and practice random acts of helpfulness.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Erevan are wild, mischievous, independent, and utterly unpredictable, playing tricks on others for the sheer joy of it. They oppose settled interests of all sorts and delight in upsetting both the rule of law and powerful people and in generally creating mayhem. They have little in the way of formal duties, and minister to the faithful primarily through example and instruction in the skills required of mischievous rogues.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : Followers of Erevan gather monthly for a Midnight Gambol, which is held in a sylvan glade beneath the light of the full moon. The exact location of each Midnight Gambol is a secret that is passed among the faithful by word of mouth in the days leading up to the event.
Anyone who manages to discover the festivities through his or her own ingenuity is welcome to participate. Erevan's followers are often joined in their revels by the mischief-loving subjects of the Seelie Court, particularly sprites and pixies. Each Midn ght Gambol includes the sacrifice of beautiful objects (most of which are borrowed), dancing, wine-drinking, tale- telling, and endless prank-playing.
Major Centers of Worship: Given the faith's restriction prohibiting followers of the Trickster from ever worshiping their god in the same place twice, it is not surprising that few temples of Erevan of any note exist in the Realms. However, a few sacred sites, scattered throughout Faerun, serve as the foci of pilgrimages by Erevan's most daring followers.
Overlooking the head of the Arglander River in the heart of the High Peaks (the mountain range due south of the Deepwash) lies a hidden cavern complex known as Quicksilver's Lair. Said to have once been the abode of Avachel, Erevan's boon companion, the legendary site is now the home of a clutch of mercury dragons, believed to be the descendants of Avachel. The caverns house a vast store of beautiful objects, most of which were brought there by followers of the Trickster. The resident wyrms guard the objects with care. If the tales of the Fair Folk are to believed, the greatest collection of relics from the ancient elven realms of Eiellur, Syorpiir, Orishaar, and Thearnytaar is hidden here as well, assembled as those realms crumbled before the armies of Ilythiir. All priests of the Trickster aspire to pray to their god once in their lives at Quicksilver's Lair, but the route to the site is a secret that each petitioner must discover separately. The High Peaks are said to be strewn with the lost treasures brought as offerings by those who failed to find the lair.
Affiliated Orders: While no formal military orders are associated with Erevan's church, countless bands and guilds of elven and half- elven rogues have been founded in honor of the Trickster. A notable example is the Knaves of the Missing Page, a fellowship of elven spellfilchers (mage/thieves) based in the Vale of Evereska but active throughout Faerun. Knaves specialize in the recovery of elven magical artifacts, spell scrolls, and spell tomes that have been acquired by other races, particularly humans.
Priestly Vestments: The ceremonial garb of the Trickster's priesthood emphasizes the practical over the ornamental.
Erevan's priests wear black leather armor and black leather caps, though their armor is often concealed by clothing or cloaks. The holy symbol of the faith is a stolen trinket of some sort that has been blessed by a priest of Erevan. Each such holy symbol must be replaced by another purloined token at least once every ten days, more frequently if at all possible. Note that the spell create holy symbol is never granted to priests of Erevan as the god expects them to provide for themselves.
Adventuring Garb: Priests of Erevan outfit themselves as is common for rogues, favoring black leather armor or silenced elven chain mail for protection and weapons such as clubs, daggers, darts, knives, lassos, long swords, short bows, slings, short swords, and staffs. Magical items that facilitate thieving skills as well as those that allow the wearer to alter his appearance or form are highly prized.
Silenced elven chain mail has each link of chain armor wrapped in thin leather or light cloth bunting. This to some extent silences the armor, at the cost of increasing its encumbrance by one-third and increasing its price significantly as well. Of course, it is even rarer than ordinary elven chain mail itself. Silenced elven chain mail has the following modifiers to thief skills: pick pockets (-25%), open locks (-5%), find/remove traps (-5%), hide in shadows (-10%), and climb walls (-25%).
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Fenmarel Mestarine
The Lone Wolf
Lesser Power of Limbo
CN
PORTFOLIO: Feral elves, outcasts, scapegoats, isolation and isolationists
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Limbo/Fennimar
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Eilistraee, Gwaeron Windstrom, the Seidarine, various Animal Lords
FOES: The drow pantheon (except Eilistraee)
SYMBOL: Pair of elven eyes in the darkness
WOR.ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Fenmarel Mestarine (FEHN-muh-rehl MESS-tuh-reen) is the eternal outsider, the solitary god who holds himself aloof from his fellows. He is venerated by outcasts from elven society, many of whom have withdrawn voluntarily in response to perceived slights, as well as by elves who have been isolated from the main body of their race and who live in wild, relatively uncivilized rural groups. Although he does not actively seek the worship of mortals, Fenmarel serves as the teacher and protector of those who turn to him, one who is silent and subtle, instructing his people in survival, spying, camouflage, deception, and secrecy.
Fenmarel dislikes the company of other powers, and he avoids relationships of any sort-whether they be alliances or mutual enmities- whenever possible- The Lone Wolf is even somewhat of an outcast among the Seldarine, his nominal allies, although he supports them in their endless war with the Spider Queen and her followers. He has removed himself to Limbo voluntarily, although he has a home in Arvandor when he so chooses.
Fenmarel was once Lolth's lover, one of the first to be seduced by her power and promises, but he turned away from her before completely slipping over to the dark side, for which she has never forgiven him. Neither has Fenmarel forgiven Lolth for her breach of faith with the elven race, and thus he hates drow.
The Lone Wolf gets along well enough with Solonor Thelandira (said to be his brother) and Shevarash, both of whom join him in actively combating the plots of the Spider Queen and defending the Fair Folk against her depredations. However, Fenmarel's relations with Corellon Larethian are somewhat strained by his perception that the Protector still somehow holds the younger god at fault for succumbing to Lolth's entreaties long ago. Only the kindhearted-ness of Sehanine Moonbow draws the Lone Wolf back to Arvandor on rare occasions.
Fenmarel is eternally sullen and serious, a perfect counterbalance to fun-loving Erevan Ilesere. He has no interest in communicating with members of other pantheons or N'Tel'Quess unless absolutely necessary, and when he does speak he is usually bitter and cynical. Although he tries to avoid commitments of any sort, the Lone Wolf always abides by his word, no matter how reluctantly it is given. Fenmarel frequently dispatches his avatar to patrol the elven borders in disappearing woodlands, jungles, and similar environments, not unlike Corellon in more sizable homelands.
The Church
CLERGY: Specialty priests
CLERGY’s ALIGN: CN
TURN UNDEAD: SP No
CMND UNDEAD: SP No
All specialty priests of Fenmarel receive religion (elf) and reading/ writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies.
The church of Fenmarel is regarded with a great deal of suspicion and hostility in most elven societies, for many of his followers in such areas are considered to be little better than outlaws, even if their exile is voluntary. Only in isolated tribes that actively venerate the Lone Wolf (usually to the exclusion of all other deities) are his faithful accorded respect for the practical lessons of survival that they teach. Among other races, Fenmarel and his followers are either un- known or spoken of as primitive followers of a savage god, both of whom are better left undisturbed.
The followers of the Lone Wolf can be loosely divined into two camps, neither of which constructs temples to the god. Elven outcasts, who either remove themselves or are forcibly banished from elven society, are loners by nature who rarely even seek out other members of their faith, let alone join with them in formal worship Similarly, isolated, primitive tribes of elves are unlikely to construct edifices of any sort, let alone a temple However both types of worshiper construct personal shrines to the god, the location of which is always kept secret, even from fellow worshipers. The composition of such shrines varies widely from individual to individual and from tribe to tribe,but most shrines of Fenmarel include some common elements. Typically located in a hidden hollow or niche of some sort, shrines often contain bones, teeth, or claws representing the savagery of the world as well as sticks and leaves representing the environment in which both protection and sustenance may be found. Exiles often include a personal token symbolizing the reasons for their separation from elven society.
Novices of Fenmarel are known as the Lost. Full priests of the Lone Wolf are known as the Unbowed. Fenmarel's priests create their own individual titles or forgo them altogether. Specialty priests, known as lone wolves, are comprised of green elves (53%), moon elves (22%), half elves (10%), lythan (8%), gold elves (6%), and a handful of elves of other ancestries (1%).
Fenmarel's clergy includes only specialty priests (100%). The clergy of Fenmarel has a slightly higher number of male members (56%) than female members (44%).
Dogma: The world is a harsh and unforgiving place, with uncompromising demands on those who would forge their own path. Rely not on others for protection, for betrayal comes easily, but on you own skills and those taught to you by the Lone Wolf: the skills of camouflage, deception and secrecy. Follow the way of the Lone Wolf, for his is the path of self-sufficiency.
Fear not hard work, for the fruits of your labor prove your worth to yourself.
Day-to-Day Activities : For the most part, members of Fenmarel's clergy are found only among hands of feral elves in the wilderness. Outcasts from elven society who make their way among other cultures are typically lay followers and not priests. Members of Fenmarel's clergy instruct their fellows in the skills first taught by the god, including how to spy, survive on their own, engage in deceptions and guerilla tactics, and use poisons to take down enemies with subtlety, but otherwise they have few formal responsibilities aside from ensuring their personal survival.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : The church of Fenmarel does not celebrate widely recognized holy days. Instead, each individual or band venerates the Lone Wolf in personal worship services of their own devising. Many outcasts mark the day of their personal banishment with private contemplation, while tribes of feral elves mark anniversaries of important events in the group's oral history, many of which are correlated with astronomical events easily noted by the naked eye.
Major Centers of Worship: The Misty Vale is a largely unexplored, thickly overgrown, stiflingly hot jungle tucked between the Dun Hills, the Cliffs of Talar, and the Bandit Wastes, due east of Lapaliiya and the Shining Sea. In the courts of the High Suihk of Ormpur and the Overking of Lapaliiya, records dating back to the founding of both realms speak of a race of feral elves dwelling in the steaming forest who hunt down and kill any intruders into their ancient homeland. To the other races of the region, these legendary denizens of the Misty Vale are known as the grugach. This term's on-gin has been variously ascribed to an archaic elvish term meaning feral ones, a green elven clan name, and a word coined by a traveler from another world who saw similarities between the tales told in Lapaliiya and the most reclusive wild elves of his own land. In truth, the Fair Folk of the Misty Vale are simply a primitive and highly xenophobic clan of green elves, albeit with a significant amount of moon elven and dark elven blood, who have been isolated from the outside world for centuries. The term grugach is indeed a misnomer dating back to the visit of a sorcerer from a world known as Oerth, but the name has stuck in the popular imagination of the region.
The Misty Vale has been continuously occupied by the Fair Folk since the Second Crown War was fought approximately 13,000 years ago. First, the moon elven realm of Orishaar (located in the forests that now make up the Duskwood and the plains of the Shaar) fell swiftly to the brutal surprise attack of the dark elves of Ilythiir. Then the green elven realms of Syorpiir, Eiellur, and Theamytaar (located in the woodlands that stretched from what is today the Thomwood to the Chondalwood) fell in the five centuries that followed. The fall of Eiellur was aided in part by traitorous green elves who thought their appeasement actions could help restore the peace. After each defeat at the hands of the dark elves, the surviving populace was enslaved by the Ilythiiri. In most cases, the enslaved moon elves and green elves were absorbed into the general population by the genetically dominant dark elves within a generation or two. The betrayers of Eiellur were rewarded by the Ilythiiri with an untamed, tangled tract of jungle on a plateau overlooking the River Talar. While few survived the horrors that had been previously unleashed in the woodlands by dark elven sorcerers and still lurked therein, a small band, reduced to a barbaric way of life, managed to survive with the protection of Fenmarel and took to calling themselves the Or- Tel'Quessir or people of the woods. Over time their feral descendants were joined by escaped moon elven and green elven slaves fleeing conscription and life on the Ilythiiri slave farms, and the population grew. Although the Ilythiiri would have undoubtedly hunted the Misty Vale tribe to extinction eventually, the Descent of the Drow spared the Or-Tel'Quessir from that horrific fate.
Of all the Seldarine, the Fair Folk of the Misty Vale venerate only Fenmarel, for they turned away from the rest of the elven pantheon millennia ago out of feelings of both personal guilt and abandonment by their gods. Tales of the Lone Wolf's own betrayal by the Spider Queen have been incorporated into the ancient tales of betrayal at the hands of the hated Ilythiiri that still dominate the oral tradition of the Or-Tel'Quessir. Some myths claim that Fenmarel personally led the tribe out of bondage. Other legends claim the Lone Wolf dwelt alone among the beasts of the Misty Vale until the Or-Tel'Quessir arrived and that for many years he taught them the skills of camouflage, deception, and secrecy they would need to survive. While the feral Or-Tel'Quessir have built no temples to their god, Fenmarel's shrines are found wherever the jungle is thickest and most tangled. In turn, the Lone Wolf acts through the fearsome predators of the forest, descended from the castoffs of unholy experiments of Ilythiiri sorcerers, causing them to hunt down intruders but ignore the Fair Folk who dwell among them.
Affiliated Orders: The Fenmaren church has no affiliated knightly orders for obvious reasons. Among the Or-Tel'Quessir, every able-bodied adult of the tribe fights for the Lone Wolf.
Thus, in a sense the entire tribe acts as the militant arm of the faith.
Priestly Vestments: The ceremonial garb of Fenmaren priests in primitive bands deep in the wilderness consists of bodies plastered in mud and covered with leaves and sticks.
Among more civilized groups, Fenmaren priests garb themselves in hide armor adorned with bones, teeth, and crude drawings of wild beasts. The holy symbol of the faith is a talon or fang of a wild beast slain without any assistance by the priest who bears it.
Adventuring Garb: When adventuring, priests of Fenmarel prefer weapons and armor constructed through the use of skills taught by their god, although they employ the best armor and weapons available if need be.
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Hanali Celanil
The Heart of Gold, Winsome Rose, Archer of Love, Kiss of Romance, Lady Goldheart
Intermediate Power of Arborea
CG
PORTFOLIO: Love, romance, beauty, fine art and artists
ALIASES: Angharradh
DOMAIN NAME: Olympus/Arvandor
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Eachthighem, Eilistraee, Cyrrollalee, Isis, Lliira, Lurue, Milil, Sharess, Sharindlar, Sheela Peryroyl, Sune, Tymora, Verenestra, the Seldarine
FOES: Bane (dead), Cyric, Eshebala, Moander (dead), Shar, Talona, Talos and the gods of fury (Auril, Malar, and Umberlee), the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee)
SYMBOL: Heart of gold
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Hanali Celanil (HAN-uh-lee SELL-uh-nihl) is the elven goddess of love, romance, and beauty. Lady Goldheart is predominantly depicted as female, although on rare occasions it is said that she has taken male form. Hanali is revered especially by gold elves and moon elves. Her followers also include elven artisans (particularly sculptors), lovers, performers (particularly bards and dancers), and nobles. Lady Goldheart is also widely revered by half-elves born of joyous unions, in honor of the love that brought their parents together. Hanali is closely associated with Evergold, a sacred crystal fountain and pool found within her crystal palace in Arvandor. She keeps watch over her followers by using the placid waters of Evergold as an immense crystal 138 ball, and philters of love created by elves are said to contain drafts of this fountain's waters.
Hanali is both an aspect of Angharradh and one of the three elven goddesses-the other two being Aerdrie Faenya and Sehanine Moonbow - who collectively form the Triune Goddess.
This duality tightly binds Hanali with the two other senior elven goddesses, and the three collectively serve alongside Corellon in leading the Seldarine. Hanali has been romantically involved with nearly every member of the Seldarine, particularly Erevan Ilesere, yet she remains amicable with nearly all of her current and former suitors alike. The only notable exception is Fenmarel Mestarine, although he and Lady Goldheart are still formally allied. The Lone Wolf resents the fact that Hanali spurned him long ago in favor of Erevan Ilesere, and some believe that Hanali's fickleness was what drove Fenmarel into the embrace of Lolth (Araushnee).
Hanali shares the waters of Evergold with the human goddess Sune, as well as the demipower Sharess and several other goddesses of pantheons not worshiped in the Realms. A friendly but intense rivalry exists between Lady Firehair and Lady Goldheart over the innate superiority of human vs. elven beauty. Hanali is close to the human goddess Sharess, particularly in her aspect as Zandilar, as the Dancer was once an elven demigoddess of the Yuir elves whose energy was directed toward passionate, physical love that burns hot and quickly but eventually dies out. While Verenestra (the patron goddess of dryads, nymphs, and sylphs) is rather jealous and snobbishly avoids contact with other goddesses of beauty, love, or romance, Hanali's kind nature and joyous celebration of life have finally won over the Oak Princess, making the two fast friends. Lady Goldheart actively opposes the efforts of those powers who would destroy beauty and love (such as Lolth and Talos) or who nurture bitterness and heartache (such as Shar). Hanali's deep enmity for Eshebala, the Queen of the Foxwomen, is rooted in the latter's exploitation of both beauty and love for her own selfserving, vain, and hedonistic reasons.
Hanali is a being of timeless beauty and benign nature, who always forgives minor transgressions and delights in rewarding her followers with the bliss of unexpected love and affection.
She embodies romance, beauty, love, and joy in elven spirits, her only flaws being her own mild vanity and flighty nature.
Although she rarely appears to her faithful, Hanali delights in seeing the growth of love among elves, and her avatar often acts in secret to protect young lovers.
The Church
CLERGY: Clerics, mystics, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN. : NG, CG, CN
TURN UNDEAD; C: Yes, Mys: No, SP: Yes, at priest level -2
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, Mys: No, SP: No
All clerics (including multiclassed half-elven clerics), mystics, and specialty priests of Hanali receive religion (elf) and reading/ writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies.
Although it is not an absolute requirement, very few clerics of Hanali have a Charisma score below 15. Hanali's church is widely regarded among all elven races, with the notable exception of the drow. Her church is very popular among gold elves, particularly young nobles, and Lady Goldheart is believed to oversee their endless galas, revels, and romances. Among moon elves, Hanali is seen as the most beautiful face of Angharradh in her guise as guardian of romantic love and cherished beauty. While Hanali's cult is small among green and winged elves, they see her as the embodiment of natural beauty found in the forest and atop the mountains. Likewise, while Lady Goldheart's church in aquatic elven communities is small, Hanali is given praise for the beauty of the undersea, with shrines dedicated to her in undersea grottoes and in shallow, crystal-clear seas among coral reefs. Although Hanali is not widely known outside of elven society, there is an intense rivalry between the followers of Lady Goldheart and those of Sune.
Temples of Hanali are bright and beautiful, with fountains and springs throughout and great gardens encircling the central chapel. Most of Lady Goldheart's houses of worship are designed with young lovers in mind, providing endless mazes of shady paths, babbling brooks, quiet pools, leafy bowers, and flowering hedgerows, so as to facilitate amorous trysts and romantic rendezvous. Interior chambers are designed so as to permit the entrance of the sun, moon, and gentle breezes.
Many chambers display beautiful works of art, serving the local community as museums, while others are designed as great concert halls from which strains of music spill out into the surrounding gardens.
Novices of Hanali are known as the Beauteous. Full priests of the Heart of Gold are known as Paramours. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Hanalian priests are Dove, Suitor, Lover, Libertine, Soft Caress, Heart's Desire, and Fiery Ardor.
High-ranking priests have unique individual titles. Specialty priests are known as goldhearts. The clergy of Hanali includes gold elves (30%), moon elves (28%), half-gold elves (17%), half-moon elves (15%), wild elves (7%), half-wild elves (2%), and a handful (1%) of dark elves, sea elves, winged elves, and half-elves of those ancestries. Hanali's clergy includes specialty priests (38%), mystics (32%), and clerics (including multiclassed half-elven clerics) (30%) and is nearly evenly split between females (54%) and males (46%).
Dogma: Life is worth living because of the beauty found in the world and the love that draws twin hearts together. Nurture what is beautiful in life, and let beauty's glow enliven and brighten the lives of those around yu. The greatest joy is the rapture of newfound love and the tide of romance that sweeps over those wrapped in its embrace. Seek out and care fore love wherever it takes root and bring it to its fullest bloom so that all may share in the joy and beauty it creates. Always give shelter and succor to young lovers, for their hearts are the truest guides to life's proper course.
Day-to-Day Activities : Hanali's priests are flighty and somewhat vain, given to dancing and wild celebrations. The hierarchy is loosely organized, and priests are free to join or leave the church as they wish. Paramours preside over marriage and rites of passage ceremonies for young elves, although they are not required to marry, for Hanali's concern is love, not necessarily marriage. Members of Hanali's clergy spend their days cultivating beauty and love in all their myriad forms. Many of Lady Goldheart's priests tend fine gardens, white others amass personal or temple-based collections of gems, crystal sculptures, and other fine works of art. While things of gold and crystal, particularly jewelry and statues, are favored, beautiful art in any form is admired, collected, and displayed. Hanali's priests must always be finely dressed, and displaying one's personal beauty to its best advantage is a requirement of every priest of the Heart of Gold.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : While Hanali's priests are given to frequent impromptu revels, their greatest celebrations are held every month beneath the bright light of the full moon. Such holy days are known as Secrets of the Heart, for romantically involved participants are said to experience the full bloom of their affections on such nights, allowing them to evaluate the strength of their feelings. Likewise, the inner beauty of celebrants visibly manifests as a rosy glow in their cheeks and eyes for days thereafter. Offerings of objects of great beauty are made to Lady Goldheart during such holy festivals, some of which are swept into Arvandor while others are returned to be shared among all of Hanali's followers. It is not uncommon for artists to unveil their latest work at such holy days, nor is it rare for young lovers to either pledge their troth secretly or proclaim it to all assembled, for doing so is said to invite Hanali's favor.
Major Centers of Worship: The Vale of Evereska is located amidst the Shaeradim, a small mountain range on the western edge of Anauroch, due north of the Battle of Bones. (Humans sometimes employ the nomenclature Graycloak Hills for the mountains surrounding Evereska, but that is more properly applied to the next set of hills to the north, also known as the Tomb Hills.) The Vale is a wide alpine valley with an inner ring of knolls surrounding the center of the valley. The three highest hills, known as the Sisters, form a fairly even triangle around the walled city of Evereska. The highest hill of the three, Bellcrest, is the site of Hanali's temple, an enormous structure of white marble and moonstone, surrounded by gardens that bloom year-round with rare flowers and exotic fruit. The Fountainheart of Shimmering Gold is led by the stunningly beautiful moon elf, Hamalitia Everlove, whose beauty has continued to increase over the centuries. The temple has housed countless Evereskan weddings, revels, and dances, and in addition to displaying works of Evereska's greatest artisans, holds many greatest artistic treasures from Ascalhom, Eaerlann, Illefarn, Myth Drannor, and Sharrven.
On a low pedestal at the center of the gardens, accessed through a maze of rose-entwined boxwood, stands a statue of the goddess carved from rare white stone. The sculpture depicts Lady Goldheart with angular, delicate features, exquisite lips curved in a knowing smile, and almond-shaped lips. One longfingered hand rests over her heart, and the other touches a pointed ear, a traditional portrayal of the goddess showing that she is ever receptive to the prayers of lovers. The love of Amnestria (moon elven daughter of Queen Amlaruil Moonflower of Evermeet) and Bron Skorlsun (a human ranger and Harper), combined with the magic of Amnestria's moonblade, created a gate from the base of the garden statue to the island of Evermeet. In the Year of Maidens (1361 DR), however, the gate's mainland terminus was moved to Blackstaff Tower in Waterdeep by Danilo Thann after the Waterdhavian dandy and Arilyn Moonblade, half-elf daughter of Amnestria and Bron, solved a series of murders by the Harper Assassin.
Affiliated Orders: The Chaperones of the Moonlight Tryst are a fellowship of romantically inclined rogues and rangers who discretely safeguard young elven lovers from those who would take advantage of their distraction and/or innocence. Members of this merry band are also called on occasionally to facilitate secret meetings between lovers of rival houses or to aid them in eloping against their family's wishes. Chaperones of the Moonlight Tryst usually work closely with the priests of the local temple of Hanali, as those who serve Lady Goldheart often receive the confidences of those struck by the arrows of the Archer of Love.
Priestly Vestments: Hanali's priesthood pride themselves on the stunning beauty of their clerical vestments. Paramours wear golden robes sprinkled with gold dust, and they wear their hair long and unbound without any covering. Gold rings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and earrings are common adornments. The holy symbol of the faith is either a miniature gold rose or a miniature gold stylized heart. Both forms of Hanali's holy symbol are often worn as a brooch or necklace.
Adventuring Garb: Hanali's priests are drawn to romantic quests like moths to a flame, and thus they take to adventuring more than one might otherwise expect. In dangerous situations, Hanali's followers must strike a balance between beauty and pragmatism. Paramours favor weapons and armor that are a beauty to behold, emphasizing the natural elven grace of their bearer, yet that also guard against any weapon strike or spell that might mar their natural beauty. As such, Hanali's priesthood prefer chainmail (of elven make if available), shields, and weapons unlikely to bring them into melee combat or to disfigure the appearance of an opponent.
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Labelas Enoreth
The Lifegiver, Lord of the Continuum, the One-Eyed God, the Philosopher, the Sage at Sunset
Intermediate Power of Arborea
CG
PORTFOLIO: Time, longevity, the moment of choice, history
ALIASES: Chronos, Karonis, Kronus, the Simbul
DOMAIN NAME: Olympus/Arvandor
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Deneir, Cyrrollalee, Eilistraee, Milil, Mystra, Null, Oghma, Savras, Shekinester, the Seldarine
FOES: Myrkul (dead), Orcus (dead)/Tenebrous (undead), Yeenoghu, Velsharoon, the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee)
SYMBOL: Setting sun
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Labelas Enoreth (LAH-bay-lahs EHN-or-eth) is the elven god of longevity and time. At the creation of the Fair Folk, Labelas blessed the elves with long lifespans and decreed that their appearances would not be marked by the passage of time. The Lifegiver cooperates with Sehanine in overseeing the lifespan of elves and their growth away from and beyond mortal realms.
He measures the lives of the Fair Folk and decrees when they should be ended, allowing passage to Arvandor. As Lord of the Continuum, Labelas governs the orderly passage of time and guards against those who would alter the path of history.
Labelas confers wisdom and teachings on young and old alike, and although he is rarely invoked, the Lifegiver is often praised.
The Lifegiver knows the future and past of every elf, faerie, or sylvan creature. Labelas is worshiped by sages, historians, philosophers, librarians, and all those who measure the changes wrought by the passing of years.
Labelas has also been venerated in other guises at various places and times in history. When the Sy-Tel'Quessir settled the Yuirwood, the Seldarine merged with the ancient gods of the Yuir, transforming them into aspects of the various powers of the elven pantheon. The Simbul was the Yuir goddess of the moment of choice, the edge, the space between the now and the future, what is and is not, the power of balance embodied in the point of decision where fate is determined intuitively without reason or knowledge. When the Seldarine and the Yuir elven deities merged, the Simbul had to chose between Labelas Enoreth (the Seldarine power of time and philosophy) and Erevan Ilesere (the elven god of change) to ally with, and eventually she became an aspect of Labelas and then faded into near oblivion. Even the Cha-Tel'Quessir of the Yuirwood have long forgotten this goddess, and the Simbul, Queen of Aglarond, only discovered the divine ancestry of her name in the Year of the Banner (1368 DR). Likewise, along forgotten-aspect of Labelas, known as Chronos, Karonis, or Kronus, was worshiped centuries ago in the tiny realm of Orva, now sunk beneath the waters of the Vast Swamp of eastern Cormyr.
Labelas gets on well with the rest of the Seldarine, although his relationship with Erevan Ilesere is sorely tested by the other's antics on occasion, but the Lifegiver makes allies of few other powers. In ancient times, when Mystryl was venerated as the human goddess of time, Labelas was closely allied with the Lady of Mysteries, and that close relationship has continued with the current incarnation of Mystra. Labelas and the Guardian of the Lost, an aspect of the draconic deity Null also known as Chronepsis, have an understanding, and it is said that Labelas and Shekinester, Queen of the Nagas, are slowly building an alliance. Since the Time of Troubles, Clangeddin Silverbeard, dwarven god of battle and war, has nursed a grudge against Labelas for defeating him in battle on the isle of Ruathym. While the Lifegiver has attempted to apologize for his actions, the Father of Battle is slow to forgive, as is typical of the Stout Folk.
The Lifegiver strongly opposes the powers of entropy and undeath, particularly Tenebrous and Yeenoghu.
Labelas is also a philosopher-god, a patient teacher and instructor.
His demeanor is calm and meditative, and he is not given to sudden action or hasty speech. According to legend, he traded an eye for the ability to peer through time. Labelas concerns himself with transgenerational changes and the growth of learning and wisdom among elves, and thus rarely involves himself directly in the lives of individuals.
Vartan Hai Sylvar is a gold elf who served as the avatar of Labelas during the Time of Troubles. While in mortal form, Labelas inflicted a great deal of pain and destruction on the isle of Ruathym and Vartan's companions, the crew of the Realms Master, causing Vartan to reject his god for a time. Eventually, Labelas and Vartan reconciled, but not before the gold elf had taught his deity a great deal about the proper exercise of his power and value of trust and friendship. The Chosen of Labelas has served for a brief period as Vartan's proxy in the plane of Arvandor, but he has left that service to return to the Realms.
He continues to serve his god, and both god and elf have grown from this relationship.
The Church
CLERGY: Clerics, mystics, specialty priests, chronomancers
CLERGY’SALIGN: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, Mys: No, SP: No, Chr: No
CMND UNDEAD: C: No, Mys: No, SP: No, Chr: No
All clerics, mystics, and specialty priests of Labelas receive religion (elf) and reading/writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies. If chronomancers, as detailed in the Chronomancer supplement, are permitted in the campaign, then elven and half-elven chronomancers may be members of Labelas's clergy.
The church of Labelas has a small, but dedicated, following in most elven cultures, and its teachings are widely heralded throughout the realms of the Tel'Quessir. The counsel of the Lifegiver's priests is always sought when far-reaching decisions must be made. Although Labelas is venerated by members of all the elven subraces, the Ar-Tel'Quessir in particular revere the Lifegiver and follow the teachings of his clergy for the philosophical nature and farseeing perspective of both the god and his priests is in close harmony with their natural perspective on the course of life The faithful of Labelas are on good terms with the cult of Hanali Celanil, for the followers of the Heart of Gold give thanks to the Lifegiver for preserving the beauty that Lady Goldheart bequeaths.
Temples of the Lifegiver are monuments unbowed by the passage of time, whether they be built amidst the branches of a venerable forest giant or constructed from weathered stone carved from the slopes of an ancient mountain range. The central chapel of each temple is dominated by a massive golden sundial inlaid in the floor, and windows are placed or limbs trimmed back so as to allow the direct rays of the setting sun to bathe the massive time pieces in colorful hues. Each house of worship has a library of some sort associated with it, and many such temples house some of the greatest collections of elven lore assembled in the Realms.
Novices of Labelas are known as Tyros. Full priests of the Lifegiver are known as Time Sentinels. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Labelasan priests are Observer, Recorder, Librarian, Lorist, Scholar, Historian, Sage, and Philosopher. High-ranking priests have unique individual titles but are collectively known as the Wizened Specialty priests are known as chronologians. The clergy of Labelas includes gold elves (40%), moon elves (30%), wood elves (12%), sea elves (10)%, half-elves of those ancestries (7%), and a handful of elves and half-elves of other stock (1%). Labelas's clergy is divided between clerics (77%), specialty priests (20%), and a handful of mystics (2%) and chronomancers (1%). (If chronomancers are not permitted in the campaign, then the percentage of mystics in the clergy should be raised to 3%.) The clergy of Labelas has many more women (61%) than men (39%).
Dogma: The march of time is inexorable, but the blessings of the Lifegiver enable the children of Corellon to live long and fruitful lives, unmarked by the passage of years. Record and preserve the lessons of history, and draw lessons from that which has unfolded. In the end, the sun always sets before the next day dawns anew. When you follow Labelas's teachings, time is on your side.
Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Labelas are the keepers of elven history and lore, and they are charged with searching for hidden facts of the past. They compile and protect such sacred knowledge and record it for the instruction of future generations.
Members of Labelas's clergy are also philosophers and teachers, responsible for educating the young and promoting and acquiring knowledge.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : The faithful of Labelas do not celebrate individual holy days, for the passage of time is uniform, independent of the events that unfold in each regular interval. Instead, the Lifegiver's followers gather each day in small groves near his temples as the sun sets to mark the passage of another day, a daily ritual known as the Marking of Time. They utter prayers to Labelas and recite all that they have learned in the past day to be recorded by the lorekeepers of Arvandor who serve the One-Eyed God.
It is considered a great honor if a priest of Labelas attends a birth, as it is a sign that the child will live a long and fruitful life.
Such visitations always occur at the first sunset after the birth and involve casting a bless spell on the infant as prayers to Labelas are exclaimed to the heavens. A priest of the Lifegiver does not perform such a ceremony unless she or he receives a vision in advance from the god giving such instructions.
Major Centers of Worship: The ruins of the elven city of Mhnlamniir lay at the heart of the High Forest, less than two days' travel from the west end of the Old Road and three days' travel east from the Lost Peaks. At the height of Eaerlann's civilization, Mhiilamniir was the site of a number of major temples and seats of power for elven clergies in the North. While Mhiilamniir's largest building is a now-ruined temple dedicated to Corellon Larethian, the city's oldest temple has always been the Temple Beyond Time, a soaring tower shaped like an elongated hourglass consecrated in the name of the Lifegiver.
Labelasan religious texts suggest that the Temple Beyond Time existed as far back as the early days of Aryvandaar, nearly 25 millennia ago. Mhiilamnnr is no longer safe enough for elven pilgrims to visit due to the tenancy of a rabidly paranoid green dragon, Choloracndara, who lairs in Corellon's ruined house of worship and claims the entire temple city and its environs as her domain. Nonetheless, Labelas's temple and its inhabitants survive unmolested due in part to the temple's peculiar relationship with the time stream. The Temple Beyond Time can be seen or entered for a few moments at widely varying intervals. The only permanent inhabitants of the Temple Beyond Time are a trio of Siluvanedenn bael-nom, known collectively as the Timespinners: Susklahava Orbryn, Roan-mara Neirdre, and Phantyni Evanara. In life, each of the Timespinners was a gold elven priestess of Labelas, and they have served the Lifegiver for millennia as historians, sages, and oracles. The faithful of the Lifegiver interpret the god's omens as to when the Temple Beyond Time can be reached and then travel to the site in order to consult with the eternal seers who dwell within. Those petitioners who enter the tower bear the risk that when they emerge many years may have passed, even though the interval seemed like little more than a few hours to those within.
The dark, calm waters of Lake Eredruie, a large pond at the headwaters of the Glaemril in the forests of northwestern Deepingdale, have long been held to be sacred to Labelas by the Fair Folk. Elves who immerse themselves in the lake's waters can add 3d20 years to their lifespan, although the magic or the waters works only once A flask of Lake Eredruie water acts as a potion of healing on elves and half-elves only, but loses its potency if mixed with any other liquid or substance. The Teu- Tel'Quessir of the neighboring village of Velethuil, known to humans as Bnstar, have long venerated the Lifegiver at the Treespnng of Eredruie, a natural spring that bubbles forth from a hollow in the upper trunk of a hiexel and runs down the side of the tree to feed the neighboring Lake Eredruie The Treespnng is tended by an aged moon elf, Sorsasta Fernsong, rumored to have enchanted numerous elixirs of health, elixirs of youth, and potions of longevity from the potent waters.
Affiliated Orders: The Order of the Setting Sun is a fellowship of elf and half-elf archeologists, bards, historians, lorekeepers, scholars, sages, and the like who seek to preserve and/or rediscover the relics and knowledge of elven cultures that have passed into history. The Knights Paradoxical are an elite order of warriors, wizards, and priests who seek to preserve the integrity of the time stream and prevent significant alterations to history by chronomancers and their ilk. Members of this ancient order may be found guarding legendary time gates and tracking down copies of time conduit spells (as detailed in the various Arcane Age products) to keep them out of the hands of those who would meddle with history either deliberately or through carelessness.
Priestly Vestments: Priests of Labelas wear light gray robes of wispy, gossamer construction. When a small light source is viewed through the robes, such vestments shine with the deep reds, purples, and oranges of the sunset. The holy symbol of the faith is a semicircular gold disk carved to re-semble the setting sun.
Adventuring Garb: Servants of Labelas eschew heavy armor or sophisticated weaponry. For most priests of the Lifegiver, simple light gray robes (of more durable construction than their ceremonial vestments) and a staff or dagger serve as adequate protection. When available, elven cloaks, elven boots, and other items that allow the wearer to pass unnoticed are employed by members of Labelas's clergy.
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Rillifane Rallathil
The Leaflord, the Wild One, the Great Oak, the Many-Branched, the Many-Limbed, Old Man of the Yuirwood
Intermediate Power of Arborea
CG
PORTFOLIO: Woodlands, nature, wild elves, druids
ALIASES: Bear, Eagle, Raven, Wolf, Relkath of the Infinite Branches, Magnar the Bear
DOMAIN NAME: Olympus/Arvandor or Seelie Court
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Baervan Wildwanderer, Cyrrollalee, Eilistraee, Eldath, Emmantiensien, Mielikki, Sheela Peryroyl, Silvanus, Skerrit, Oberon, Osiris, Titania, Verenestra, the Seldarine, various Animal Lords
FOES: Malar, Moander (dead), Talos, the Queen of Air and Darkness, the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee)
SYMBOL: Oak tree
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Rillifane Rallathil (RILL-ih-fane RALL-uh-thihl) is protector of the woodlands and guardian of the harmony of nature. He is often likened by his priests to a giant ethereal oak tree, so huge that its roots mingle with the roots of every other plant in the Realms, that stands at the heart of Arvandor, the High Forest of Olympus. The great tree draws into itself all the ebb and flow of seasons and lives within the woodlands of the green elves. At the same time, it defends and sustains those lands against disease, predation, and assaults of all kinds. The Leaflord is the patron of the Sy-Tel'Quessil and revered by many voadkyn.
When the Sy-Tel'Quessir settled the Yuirwood, the Seldarine merged with the ancient gods of the Yuir, transforming them into aspects of the various powers of the elven pantheon. Both Magnar the Bear and Relkath of the Infinite Branches, also known as Many-Limbed, Many-Branched, and the Old Man of the Yuirwood, became aspects of the Leaflord. Relkath easily merged with and slowly reinvigorated a primitive facet of the Leaflord's nature that had been slowly overshadowed over the ages by the increasingly tamed way of life of the Fair Folk, even among the Sy-Tel'Quessir. As a result of this subtle change of heart, in the centuries since absorbing Relkath, Rillifane's primordial spirit has returned to the fore to great effect.
Concurrently, the Sy-Tel'Quessir and Cha'Tel'Quessir (half-elves of the Yuirwood) have rediscovered the ways of their most primitive ancestors and reforged their tribal cultures, eschewing the formation of successors to the great green elven civilizations such as Illefarn, Thearnytaar, Eiellur, and Syorpiir. In contrast to the obvious impact of the absorption of Relkath by the Leaflord, Magnar the Bear was almost totally subsumed after being absorbed, and this aspect of Rillifane is little remembered even among Cha-Tel'Quessir. The half-elves of the Yuirwood speak only of Mag-nar's Great Sleep, a centuries-long hibernation from which the Bear has yet to emerge.
Much like Ubtao, Ulutiu, and Uthgar, Rillifane is served by a host of great spirits including the primeval Bear (comingled with Magnar the Bear by the Cha-Tel'Quessir), Eagle, Raven, and Wolf, among others. These aspects of the Leaflord are recognized only by the Sy-Tel'Quessir and a few Cha-Tel'Quessir and not by the other elven or half-elven subraces. Unlike those other powers' worshipers, however, Rillifane's followers do not venerate any one great spirit exclusively, although they may have done so in the distant past. Instead, the Leaflord's faithful call upon one or more spirits associated with their god as appropriate for the situation at hand. Rillifane is on good terms with all the Seldarine, as well as most sylvan and faerie powers. The Leaflord's primary concern is that all creatures have the opportunity to act out their roles in nature without abusing them, a concern Rillifane shares with Corellon Larethian, the great creator and protector of the Fair Folk. Solonor Thelandira and Rillifane work together closely to preserve and protect the natural world, but they do differ fundamentally on the issue of hunting. In the spirit of the alliance that binds the Great Archer and the Leaflord, Solonor does not permit his priests and followers to hunt within the woods where Rillifane's brooding, forbidding presence cautions against this, unless their need is great. While Rillifane permits hunting for food by hungry folk, he detests hunting for sport. Rillifane is closely allied with Emmantiensien the Treant-King and Silvanus the Oak Father.
The trio's conversations are many and seemingly endless to others, as none of the three is given to hasty thought or expression.
Rillifane is always a respected guest at the Seelie Court, and aside from Emmantiensien, he is friendliest with Skerrit the Forester and often romantically linked with Verenestra the Oak Princess.
Rillifane is quiet, reflective, and enduring over eons unchanged.
He is the least flighty of all the Seldarine, the least likely to act on a whim, and often grave and self-absorbed. The Leaflord rarely sends an avatar to the Prime, disliking direct action and preferring that his priests carry out his wishes. Rillifane's avatar appears only when major destruction of a Tel'Quessir (usually Sy-Tel'Quessir) habitat is threatened. The appearance of such an avatar is heralded by sudden gusts of wind shaking leaves from the trees, a sign unmistakable to his priests.
The Church
CLERGY: Clerics, druids, mystics
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: NG, CG, N, CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, D: No, Mys: No
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, D: No, Mys: No
The Seldarine call on agathinon, asuras, and ancient treants as their pre- ferred servants, but Rillifane is also served by aasimar, aasimon, alaghi, amber dragons, atomies, badgers, bariaurs, bears, belabra, bhaergala, bomhardii beetles, buraq, cantobeles, cath shee, centaurs, cooshee, dryads, earth eli. mentals, einheriar, eladrins, elven cats, ethyks, faerie dragons, feystags, too dogs, forest spirits, giant lynxes, giant sundews, grigs, hamadryads, hol-lyphants, hybsils, jaguars, jungle giants, jungle snakes, kholiathra, leopards, leprechauns, lythari, mist dragons, mold men, monkey spiders, moon-horses, nature elementals, norans, sprites, swanmays, mountain lions, nymphs, oreads, owls, pixies, porcupines, pseudodragons, quickwood, ratatosk, reverend ones, seelie faeries, silver dogs, singing trees, skunks, small forest mammals, stag beetles, sunflies, sylphs, talking owls, thornies, thylacines, tigers, unicorns, vampire moss, warden beasts of the forests, werebears, wereboars, weretigers, wild boars, wild stags, wolverines, wolves, and wood giants. He demonstrates his favor through the discovery of amber, emeralds, microline, the sudden changing of colors of a single leaf or an entire tree, the budding and rapid growth of a new tree limb, or the sudden appearance of a forest animal that approaches to be petted without fear. The Leaflord indicates his displeasure by causing the leaves of an entire branch to suddenly fall off in front of the offending individual's feet, creating the sound of twigs repeatedly snapping in a rapid succession, or causing an object such as an acorn to fall out of the sky and strike the offending individual on the head.
All clerics (including multiclassed half-elven clerics), mystics, and specialty priests (including multiclassed half-elven specialty priests) of Rillifane receive religion (elf) and reading/writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies. Rillifane is venerated by nearly all the Sy-Tel'Quessir, and his priests serve as the spiritual and moral leaders of most green elven tribes and communities.
The Leaflord's church is greatly admired by the other subraces of the Fair Folk for its principled stand in favor of the preeminence of nature, and the faith's priests are widely respected wherever they travel. Nevertheless, the uncompromising stance of some members of Ril-lifane's clergy sometimes leads to conflicts over both tactics and degree with the leaders of the Ar-Tel'Quessir, the Teu-Tel'Quessir, and other churches of the Seldarine. Halflings, particularly tallfellows, gnomes, particularly forest gnomes, centaurs, and hybsils all pay homage to the Leaflord if they live in or on the border of elven woodlands. Dwarves rarely come into contact or conflict with the forest-dwelling followers of Rillifane, and humans tend to view the Leaflord as simply an even more primitive and wild aspect of Silvanus the Oak Father.
Rillifane's temples are actually huge oak trees with platforms built among the branches and vine bridges connecting them to each other and platforms in adjoining trees. Shrines of the Leaflord, always a grand oak tree deep within the depths of a forest but too small to serve as a temple of the Leaflord, are chosen by members of Rillifane's clergy after receiving a dream or vision directing them to particular tree. Such shrines are marked by the priest with a carving of a small canary in the trunk about 2 feet from the ground. With the cutting back of forests and the subsequent growth of trees selected as shrines, it is not unheard of for such symbols to be discovered high above the ground and/or on the edge of a much-shrunken woods. Should a shrine be defiled in any way, the dedicating druid (or nearest worshiper of Rillifane if the druid is dead) instantly knows of the action and is expected to do everything possible to bring about the defiler's death.
Novices of Rillifane are known as Acorns. Full priests of the Leaflord are known as Oakhearts. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Rillifanean priests are Felsul, Silverbark, Laspar, Hiexel, Blueleaf, Phandar, Duskwood, Shadowtop, and Weirwood. High-ranking priests have unique individual titles, and druids have titles reflecting their place in the hierarchy of that branch of the faith as well. Specialty priests are known as druids (or skinwalkers). The clergy of Rillifane includes green elves (52%), moon elves (26%), lythari (8%), gold elves (6%), half-elves of various ancestries (4%), voadkyn (3%), and a handful of other elven races as well (1%). Rillifane's clergy is dominated by specialty priests (75%), including multiclassed half-elven specialty priests, but includes clerics (20%), including multiclassed half-elven clerics, and mystics (5%) as well.
The clergy of Rillifane contains a pretty even number of male (51%) and female (49%) members.
Dogma: The Great Oak draws energy from all the living creatures of the world and nourishes, sustains, and protects them from outside threats. Live in harmony with the natural world, allowing each living being the opportunity to serve out its natural purpose in life. As the Leaflord's countless branches, his faithful are to serve as his mortal agents in the natural world- Defend the great forests from those who would ravage their riches, leaving only destruction in their path. Contest both the quick and the slow death of Rillifane's bounty and hold strong like the great oaks in the face of those who can see only their own immediate needs.
Day-to-Day Activities: The church of the Leaflord generally keeps to itself, extending itself only to help fellow elves and other sylvan beings. The church hierarchy is organized regionally and divided into branches, as each type of priest serves a specific role. The druids who compose the bulk of Rillifane's clergy tend to the health of the forests and those who dwell within, fiercely contesting any attempt to further reduce those forests that remain. Many clerics serve as ambassadors of the faith, working outside the communities of the Sy-Tel'Quessir to educate other races and even other elven subraces how to better dwell in harmony with nature. The few mystics found within the clergy act much as individual druids do, eschewing the formal organization of the circles. In times of war, however, the leaders of each region unite the branches of the faith and the Sy-Tel'Quessir warriors into a single force.
Rillifane's priests are deadly enemies of those who hunt for sport or those who harm trees maliciously or unnecessarily. In particular, all priests of Rillifane have a great hatred for the priests of Malar, since the followers of the Beastlord often make elves the object of their hunts and their ethos is anathema to those who serve the Leaflord. Rillifane's priesthood is charged with rooting out and destroying sentient plants whose nature has been twisted by external forces into a warped perversion of nature. In particular, they seek to destroy hangman trees, obliviax, death's head trees, black willows, serpent vines, and any form of evil treant, including dark trees.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : Rillifane's faithful gather twice yearly at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes to hold fey dances in large groves of oak trees deep in the heart of great forests. The Budding is a joyful celebration of new life celebrated through dance and song and preceded by an extended period of fasting. A ritual hunt of an ancient and noble hart is undertaken on this day, from which the venison serves to break the fast of the Leaflord's faithful. This ritual honors Rillifane's bounty and reminds his followers of the natural cycle of life that plays out beneath the Leaflord's boughs. The Transformation marks the arrival of autumn and the vibrant hues that bedeck the canopies of the Leaflord around this time. The Sy-Tel'Quessir and elves of other subraces who seek a form of spiritual rebirth or a major change in their lives gather to celebrate Rillifane's eternal promise that the trees will bloom again and that life is a process of continual renewal.
Major Centers of Worship: Moontouch Oak is the name of both a gargantuan oak tree over 300 feet tall and the temple of the Leaflord nestled amidst the forest giant's boughs. Located at the heart of the Tangled Trees region of Cormanthor on the northern hank of the Elvenflow where Moontouch Creek joins the River Duathamper, the temple tree is believed to be the largest living oak in Faerun. Some elven legends claim that the tree is actually the still-living remnants of an avatar of the Leaflord that led several clans of the Sy-Tel'Quessir eastward, away from the devastation of the Crown Wars, many centuries ago. Moontouch Oak has housed approximately two score green elven druids of the Circle of Emerald Leaves in its branches since the early days of the Sy-Tel'Quessir settlement of Arcorar, as the Elven Woods were then known. From -982 DR, with the coming of Venominhandar to the Emerald Vale, until - 206 DR, when the great green wyrm was finally slain, the druids of Moon-touch Oak were sorely besieged, as were their kin, but the temple-tree was never abandoned, despite numerous attacks by the wyrm and its minions. With the death of Venom, as the dragon was known, the Sy-Tel'Quessir set about reclaiming the woodlands, now known as the Tangled Vale, under the direction of the druids of Moontouch Oak. Nine centuries later, when the Army of Darkness ravaged Cormanthyr and eventually destroyed Myth Drannor, the druids of Moontouch Oak again stood firm in the face of the nycaloth-led assault, and the temple tree of Rillifane was never violated. Nine millennia after the conclusion of the Crown Wars, Moontouch Oak stands unbowed. The temple consists of a network of platforms sculpted from the tree's branches and hollows cultivated in the great oak's trunk, all of which are linked by bridges of woven vines.
Hallucinatory terrain spells and the thick leaf coverage mask the religious community's very existence from the outside world, but the influence of the Circle of Emerald Leaves is felt throughout the Tangled Vale and beyond. The aged green elf who leads the Circle is Great Druid of the Tangled Vale Katar Oakstaff, who was a child in the final years of Coronal Eitargrim's reign before Myth Drannor fell.
Affiliated Orders: While rangers are not included in the church hierarchy of Rillifane, many such elven warriors do serve in loose fellowships affiliated with individual druid circles as the militant arm of the faith. Each such band of rangers has its own name, but collectively they are known as the Order of the Oakstaff.
Priestly Vestments: The ceremonial garb of the Leaflord's priests includes a laurel wreath worn on the head and armor fashioned of tree bark. Dark green dyes are rubbed into the armor to show rank within the church, with the darkest hue reserved for the high priests of the faith. Tree bark armor provides protection equivalent to leather armor, but the wearer incurs a -1 penalty for all saving throws against fire. The holy symbol of the faith is an acorn enclosed in amber.
Adventuring Garb: When adventuring, members of Rillifane's clergy favor armor and weapons made from natural materials such as wood and animal parts, including those with magical enhancements.
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Discussioni: 1,114
Registrato: May 2017
Sehanine Moonbow
Daughter of the Night Skies, Goddess of Moonlight, the Lunar Lady, Moonlit Mystery, the Mystic Seer, the Luminous Cloud, Lady of Dreams
Intermediate Power of Arborea
CG
PORTFOLIO: Mysticism, dreams, death, journeys, transcendence, the moon, the stars, the heavens, moon elves
ALIASES: Angharradh
DOMAIN NAME: Olympus/Arvandor
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Baravar Cloakshadow, Cyrrollalee, Dumathoin, Eilistraee, Kelemvor, Leira (dead), Lurue, Milil, Mystra, Oberon, Savras, Segojan Earthcaller, Shaundakul, Selune, Titania, Urogalan, the Seldarine
FOES: Cyric, Gruumsh, Malar, Myrkul (dead), the Queen of Air and Darkness, Shar, Talos and the Gods of Fury (Auril, Umberlee, and Malar), Velsharoon, the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee)
SYMBOL: Full moon with moonbow (opaque milky crescent)
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Whereas Corellon's symbol is the crescent moon, Sehanine Moonbow (SEH-ha-neen MOON-boe) is the elven goddess of the moon or, more specifically, the full moon. She governs divinations, omens, and subtle magics and protects against madness.
She watches over the dreams of the elves, keeping them from harm while in reverie and sending omens to protect them from future dangers. Sehanine watches over the passage of elven spirits from the world, and she is protectress of the dead.
The Daughter of the Night Skies is also a guardian and guide to those elves whose days in the mundane world of mortals are done and who seek to travel from the lands they know and love to distant refuges such as Ever-meet. She also watches over such refuges and ensures they are kept safe from intrusion.
Sehanine governs long journeys, both physical and spiritual, and in elven cultures that proclaim the reality of reincarnation, Sehanine and Corellon work together to guide the spirit to its best subsequent incarnation as it works its way toward perfection.
Although Sehanine is venerated by all the Fair Folk (including half-elves and a handful of gnome illusionists), she is particularly revered by moon elves, who view her as their protector, and gold elves, who are the most withdrawn from the world of all the elven subraces. Tel'Quessir seeking to explore transcendental mysteries, awaiting passage to Evermeet or Arvandor, or undergoing physical or spiritual journeys pray to the Goddess of Moonlight, as do mystics, seers, diviners, and weavers of illusions.
Alternately called the wife and daughter of Corellon, Sehanine is the mightiest of the female powers in the elven pantheon.
Identified with the mystic power of the moon, Sehanine's tears are said to have mingled with Corellon's blood and given life to the elven race. The elves do not forget this. Sehanine is both the primary aspect of Angharradh and one of the three elven goddesses-the other two being Aerdrie Faenya and Hanali Celanil-who collectively form the Triune Goddess.
This duality tightly binds Sehanine with the two other senior elven goddesses, and the three collectively serve alongside Corellon in leading the Seldarine, just as the Goddess of Moonlight is said to do in other myths. Sehanine has excellent relations with all of the Seldarine, and it is her kind-heartedness that soothes the anger of Shevarash in his darkest fury and her welcoming nature that brings Fenmarel back to Arvandor on occasion. The Luminous Cloud has few strong relationships outside of the Seldarine, for her otherworldliness is beyond even most other deities. Sehanine works closely with Selune, for the two share similar concerns, and the Goddess of Moonlight is a strong ally of Eilistraee, whom she considers an adopted daughter of sorts. Sehanine has also forged alliances with some of the other human and demihuman powers who oversee death, but she has no tolerance for those who practice in the black arts of necromancy. (Sehanine does tolerate careful experimentation in white necromancy, and it is said that she vigilantly oversees the creation of baelnorn as a necessary, if undesirable, practice.) Sehanine's antipathy for Lolth has existed since the latter was Araushnee, consort of Corellon and the mastermind who nearly engineered the death of the Protector and the defeat of the Seldarine. The Lady of Dreams actively opposes the nefarious schemes of the Spider Queen and the other drow powers. With the rise of humanity and its rapacious expansion into traditional elven homelands, Sehanine has found her energies increasingly occupied by thwarting the destructive ravages of gods such as Auril, Cyric, Malar, Talos, and Umberlee.
Sehanine rarely concerns herself directly with events in the Realms, aside from weaving illusions around secret elven retreats such as Evermeet, Synnoria, Rucien-Xan, and Myth Dyraalis and guiding elves coming to those lands. Her power waxes and wanes with the phases of the moon, growing strongest when the moon is full. As befits the elven goddess of mysteries, Sehanine is cloaked in secrets and illusions and rarely speaks her mind directly, preferring to communicate through a process of dreams, visions, and other mystic experiences.
The Goddess of Moonlight is truly spiritual and ephemeral being who evades any attempt to define her and whose serenity surrounds her like a mantle of moondust.
The Church
CLERGY: Clerics, crusaders, mystics, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: NG, CG, N, CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, Cru: No, Mys: No, SP: Yes
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, Cru: No, Mys; No, SP: No
All clerics (including multiclassed half-elven clerics), crusaders, mystics and specialty priests of Sehanine receive religion (elf) and reading/writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies.
All priests of Sehanine ma' pray for and receive the 1stlevel wizard spell sleep as one of their 1st-level spells if they desire. Their casting time for this spell is 4, not 1. All other aspects of the spell remain the same.
The church of Sehanine is generally perceived as removed from the daily concerns and outward expression of everyday life. As such, little is known of the Lady of Dreams and her clergy members by the N'Tel'Quess Among elves, Sehanine's faith is closely held and deeply cherished, for th( Luminous Cloud envelops and binds together all the Tel'Quessir. For the Fair Folk, Sehanine embodies the joy at the heart of the elven spirit, and her priests serve as guides to the next world or life that one may achieve through transcendence.
Sehanine's temples are soaring monuments open only to elves and a few pious half-elves. Most such temples are constructed of white stone (often marble) and shaped so as to suggest imminent flight. Symmetry and circles are highly prized by the faith, reflected in the architecture of Sehanine's houses of worship.
The central chapel is always perfectly circular and is usually open to the night sky or covered by a retractable or transparent dome. Great gardens and hedgerow mazes often encircle the main structure, their formations imitating the paths of the heavenly bodies in the night sky above. Near long-standing temples, megaliths form great stone circles for use in tracking the position of the moon, fixed stars, and wandering stars by elven astrologers.
Novices of Sehanine are known as the Mooncalled. Full priests of the Daughter of the Night Skies are known as the Heavenly.
In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Sehanite priests are Stargazer, Moondancer, Sky Seer, Vision Seeker, Omen Teller, Dream Walker, Transcendentalist and Reverent Dreamer.
High-ranking priests have unique individual titles. Specialty priests are known as starsingers. The clergy of Sehanine includes moon elves (54%), gold elves (34%), wild elves (5%), half-moon elves (4%), half-gold elves (1%), and half-wild elves (1%), and a handful (1%) of dark elves, sea elves, winged elves, and half-elves of those ancestries. Sehanine's clergy includes specialty priests (40%), mystics (35%), clerics (20%), including multiclassed half-elven clerics, and crusaders (5%) and the priesthood is nearly evenly split between females (52%) and males (48%).
Dogma: Life is series of mysteries whose secrets are veiled by the Luminous Cloud. As the spirit transcends its mortal bounds and new mysteries are uncovered, a higher form is achieved and the cycle of life continues. Through contemplation and meditation, communion with the Lady of Dreams is achieved.
Through dreams, visions, and omens revealed in sleep or the reverie, the Daughter of the Night Sky unveils the next step along the path and the next destination on the endless journey of mystic wonder that is life and death and life. Revere the mysterious moon, who draws forth tides or being from us all.
Day-to-Day Activities: Sehanine's priests are the seers and mystics of elven society. They serve as the spiritual counselors to elves and half-elves who seek to embark on journeys in search of enlightenment so as to transcend their current state of being. As shepherds and protectors of the dead, Sehanine's priests organize and administer funeral rites and guard the remains of the fallen.
They seek out and destroy undead creatures, for Sehanine holds such creatures-with the notable exceptions of baelnorn and other good-aligned undead beings who voluntarily prolong their existence in order to serve their kin-to be blasphemous. As defenders of elven homelands, Sehanine's clergy are responsible for weaving and maintaining the illusions that guard those sanctuaries that remain and for divining potential threats to their continued existence. The prime task of adventuring priests is the retrieval of lost arcane and magical knowledge, especially if it pertains to illusions and/or divinations. Other seek out isolated elven enclaves, bringing them news of the Retreat and practical assistance in preparing for such a journey if they so choose. (Sehanine's priests do not provide any guidance along the journey itself, as this is done through direct intuitive revelation by the Lady of Dreams herself.) Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : Sehanine's faithful celebrate a wide variety of holy days, all of which are tied to the position of various heavenly bodies, particularly the phase of the moon and various types of eclipses. Many of these celebrations occur once per decade, once per century, or even once per millennium.
The most frequent celebrations of Sehanine's faithful are held monthly beneath the light of the full moon. Lunar Hallowings, as such holy days are known, are marked with personal meditation and collective entrance into a communal trance. On occasion, Sehanine manifests through her assembled worshipers, knitting together their spirits in a true sharing of minds. Such holy days are concluded with a joyous freeform dance beneath the most visible manifestation of the Goddess of Moonlight (the moon) that lasts until the first rays of dawn.
Once per year, Sehanine's faithful gather on the night of the Feast of the Moon for the Mystic Rites of the Luminous Cloud.
Similar in many ways to the monthly Lunar Hallowings, the Mystic Rites of the Luminous Cloud are notable for the visible manifestation of the Lady of Dreams whereby the assembled worshipers are enveloped in a mantle of shimmering, silvery light that then rises up and darts across the heavens. During such mystical flights across the sky, the sacred mysteries of Sehanine are revealed to the participants, with each participant learning secrets appropriate to his current level of spiritual development. The ceremony concludes when the nimbus of light returns to the earth and the forms of Sehanine's worshipers coalesce.
When the time comes for an elf to leave the ordinary lands of mortals and pass on to Arvanaith, it is common for the individual elf to spend several days in vivid daydreams and waking reverie. Exactly when this happens is unknown to any elf, even to Sehanine's own priests. It is usually obvious to other elves when one of the Tel'Quessir is undergoing this change, but two marker events are definitive indicating that the Transcendence has begun. First, Sehanine sends the elf a vision where she or he must go to begin this journey from the world. Second, within the lens of the elf's eye appears a telltale opaque milky crescent, the moonbow of Sehanine's honorific name. When the time comes for an elf great in wisdom and accomplishment to depart, an accompanying full moon may display the moonbow as an event in nature. On rare occasions at such a rime, other elves join with the one about to depart in a shared trance state, sharing memories and knowledge in a direct telepathic communion known as the Circle of Transcendence. In some elven cultures this departure is a physical one, that is the elf walks off alone into the wilderness and his or her body is never found. In other societies, the elf's spirit departs its material body, leaving behind a lifeless husk.
In cases of violent or accidental death where the spirit is not utterly destroyed, Sehanine's priests serve in the stead of the departed spirit in the ritual of Transcendence. A Ceremony of Recovery involves one or more days of meditation and mystic communion with the natural and spiritual worlds. If successful, the priest channels the lost spirit through his or her own link with Sehanine, enabling the spirit to transcend to Arvanaith.
During such ceremonies, after contacting the lost spirit, Sehanine's priests display the characteristic moonbow within the lens of their eyes, but such manifestations of the Lady of Dreams vanish immediately upon the ritual's conclusion.
Elven funeral rites vary widely from community to community and from individual to individual, reflecting the nature of the departed spirit. If the elf has simply answered Sehanine's call, as opposed to death by accident or violence, death rituals are more often a celebration that the elf has achieved the joys of Arvanaith than a time of mourning. In either case, if the body remains, the method of disposal varies as well. In some communities, the assembled mourners gather with great pomp to watch the body be interred in the ground, with examples of the late elf's artistry and passions displayed and speakers expounding on the merits of the deceased. Other elven societies bury the body immediately, regarding it as a mere husk from which the life force has departed. After disposing of the shell, they celebrate the spirit of the elf who once resided there. Still other elves believe that burning is the only way to truly rid the spirit of its earthly ties. Not only does it free the spirit for Arvanaith, it also prevents anyone from using the body for nefarious purposes.
Elven cultures that bury the bodies of the fallen with great ceremony leave the most durable archeological evidence of their funeral rites, and thus the practice of interring the bodies of elven dead in formal tombs is less widespread than commonly perceived. Of all the elven subraces resident in Faerun, the remains of gold elves, and to a lesser extent moon elves, are most commonly interred within burial vaults, but that practice is by no means universal within those subraces, nor is it restricted to them alone. Elven tombs are typically hewn from bedrock and warded by powerful magic. Whereas the Stout Folk typically trust in mechanical traps to ensure the sanctity of their fallen kin, the Fair Folk weave protective mantles into the construction of tombs and eschew false tombs and extended gauntlets of traps. The Luminous Cloud is said to gather elven tombs to her bosom, and most are cloaked in enduring illusions designed to obfuscate their location and to mislead grave robbers who would violate the sanctity of the elves interred within.
Elven tombs are typically subdivided into three chambers, each of which is of circular or rectangular shape with an arching dome-shaped or semicylindrical ceiling, respectively. The first such chamber represents the world from which the elf has departed and is dominated by carvings of the natural world including plants and animals from sylvan settings. Commonly a pool of crystalline water, enspelled so as to prevent evaporation or stagnation, is set in the center of the first chamber. The second chamber is dominated by a stone bier on which rests the body of the fallen elf. The Fair Folk rarely place their dead within a sarcophagus unless the body is badly mauled, as they feel to do so restricts the freedom of the spirit in Arvanaith. The walls of the second chamber are adorned with examples of the fallen elf's gifts, and the ceiling is carved with a depiction of the heavens as they were at the time of the elf's death. (By analyzing such records, sages are sometimes able to date the age of a particular elven tomb.) The third chamber represents Arvanaith, the destination of the elf's spirit. The walls of the chamber are carved with depictions of the Seldarine (as the pantheon is perceived in the culture that created the tomb). The ceiling is carved with a stylized depiction of a crescent moon within a full moon, symbolizing the combined role of Corellon and Sehanine (or Angharradh) in overseeing the passage of the spirit to Arvanaith. The third chamber is otherwise empty, but all who enter are overwhelmed with a feeling of great peace. This is not a magical effect but a collective manifestation of the Seldarine.
Violent action or thought is impossible within the third chamber of an elven tomb. Items of magic and other riches are rarely entombed within an elven tomb when they could be better used by those elves who have not yet journeyed to Arvanaith.
Nevertheless, ancient elven tombs are sometimes filled with artifacts of elven artistry, including examples of magical items or spells developed by the elf interred within the tomb.
Sometimes the elves of a single house are interred within the same crypt. In such cases the first chamber may be shared by the individual tombs, with the second and third chamber housing the body of the fallen and representing the destination of the spirit.
Major Centers of Worship: While the largest temples of Sehanine are found on the Green Isle, in the Vale of Evereska, and in the woods of the Elven Court, the site most sacred to the Lady of Dreams is the Tears of Aloevan. This is an otherworldly cloud of magic accessed through a mystical pool of water found in an unearthly sylvan glen at the heart of Ardeep Forest. Much like the dark elf Qilue Veladorn serves both Mystra and Eilistraee today, Aloevan was once the Chosen of both Sehanine and the Lady of Mysteries. The moon elven queen's descent into madness and her eventual death was a tragic loss for both the Fair Folk and the other human and demihuman races of the region caused by her inability to control the silver fire that raged within her. Upon her death, Aloevan's spirit was unable to pass on to Arvanaith and was instead enmeshed within a nimbus of silver fire that hovered between Faerun and Arvandor. To assuage the madness of their queen who had sacrificed so much, seven priests of Sehanine created a link between the natural world and the spiritual limbo in which Aloevan's spirit was trapped.
For centuries, Sehanine's priests have labored to ease the torment of the mad queen and in the process have recreated the long-lost court of Ardeep within the pocket dimension formed from the silver fire Aloevan could no longer control. Aloevan's spirit is now capable of manifesting in a form similar to that of a spectral harpist within the Court of Silver Fire, as the mystic temple is known, but her laughter and tears are tinged with madness and only the beneficence of the seven priests enables her to hold on to the vestiges of her sanity. During times of a solar eclipse, passage between the glen in Ardeep Forest and the Court of Silver Fire is possible. At such times a priest of Sehanine may make his or her way to Aloevan's mystical court at Sehanine's request to replace one of the seven priests who is ready to pass on to Arvanaith. Although many others have sought entrance to Aloe-van's court, none have returned to tell the tale, so it is unknown if any who were not called there by Sehanine have ever succeeded.
Affiliated Orders: The Knights of the Seven Sacred Mysteries are well known for their service in defense of elven homelands from N'Tel'Quess invaders as well as their ongoing efforts to retrieve tomes of long-lost elvish lore and items of elven artistry from the ruins of fallen realms. The order is composed of elves and a few half-elves, most of whom are of moon elven or gold elven ancestry, and it includes many crusaders, as well as a handful of clerics, fighters, and rangers, in its ranks. The order's entrance requirements are kept secret from nonmembers, but it is generally known that there are seven tiers in the order's hierarchy and that it can take a century or more of faithful service to Sehanine before the next mystery is revealed. Knights of the First Mystery are the lowest ranking members of the order, while Knights of the Seventh Mystery are some of the most powerful agents of Sehanine in the Realms. No half-elf has ever risen higher than the rank of Knight of the Fourth Mystery, but it is not known if that fact indicates the difficulty of ascending the order's rarefied ranks and the small representation of halfelves in the order or if it is a manifestation of a bias against those who have some degree of N'Tel'Quess ancestry. The order's preeminent chapter houses are found in the city of Ruith on Evermeet, the Vale of Evereska, and amidst the Tangled Trees settlement of the Elven Woods.
The Sentinels of the Moonbow are a small fellowship of rangers pledged to the service of the Goddess of Moonlight. Sentinels watch over animals that may hold the reincarnated spirits of elves of ages past and that may once again assume elven form.
These rangers in the service of Sehanine are also pledged to the tracking and destruction of undead creatures whose existence is a blight upon the land.
The Veiled Choir is a mysterious sisterhood of elven mystics whose very existence is obscured by a veil of legend, mystery, and rumor. Sisters of the Veiled Choir are renowned for their prophetic ability, and their visions are revealed in an unending chorus of song. Only a handful of these ancient elven seers are believed to exist, residing in ancient temples of the Lady of Dreams whose very existence has long been forgotten by even the Fair Folk. Young elves in search of adventure often attempt to find the sisterhood's oracular redoubts of which, curiously, none are located on the Green Isle. On rare occasions a lucky and persistent elf discovers a Veiled Cantoria, but those who seek to simply follow in their footsteps always fail in their quest.
The reward for reaching a sanctuary of the Veiled Choir is always the blessing of the Luminous Cloud and a mysterious prophecy, the unraveling of which may consume the rest of the recipient s life.
Priestly Vestments: Members of Sehanine's clergy favor silvery- white diaphanous gowns (for the priestesses) and togas (for the priests). A silver diadem is worn on the head, oftentimes with a moonstone pendant dangling above the brow.
Simple sandals are worn on the feet, and a silver lace sash is worn around the waist. The holy symbol of the faith is a moonbar crystal carved in the shape of a small flat disk (approximately three inches in diameter), and such devices are often worn around the neck on a delicate-looking silver or mithral chain.
Adventuring Garb: Priests of the Daughter of the Night Skies favor mail over leather armor, and most carry round shields whose unadorned, reflective fronts are polished mirror bright.
Such armor is typically fancifully adorned, emphasizing the grace and bearing of the wearer. Senior priests are well known for the elaborate suits of elven chain mail or elven plate mail they favor, although many such suits were lost with the fall of Myth Drannor. Sehanine's clergy favor missile weapons, particularly short and longbows, and staves. Staffs of the moonlight and rings of shooting stars are particularly prized.
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