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Istishia

2023-09-20T20:02:21Z

Almarea90:

{{FRWiki article|Istishia}}
{{Deity|name=
|icon=Ig_hu_istishia.png
|alias=The Water Lord, God-King of the Water Elementals
|power=G
|pantheon=F
|symbol= A Cresting Wave or a Drop of Water
|alignment=N
|cleric=NG, CG, N, CN, NE, CE
|portfolio=Elemental water, water elementals, purification through cleaning, wetness
|worshippers=[[Bard]]s, elemental archons (water), sailors, travelers
|domain_destruct=1
|domain_travel=1
|domain_water=1
|domain_canon=Ocean, Storm
|weapon=[[Warhammer]] (a wave)
|weapon_canon=
|allies= [[Deep Sashelas]], [[Trishina]], [[Eadro]], [[Persana]], [[Shekinester]], [[Surminare]], [[Valkur]], [[Water Lion]]
|enemies=[[Kossuth]]}}

Faerûn has many powers whose portfolios deal with water. Umberlee governs the oceans and ocean storms, Valkur strives to protect those who travel the waves, and Eldath has dominion over pools, springs, and waterfalls. Istishia (Is-TISH-ee-ah) is more abstract than all these deities. He represents water, but not any specific formation or body of water. He is a mutable yet dynamic deity who is dispassionate and difficult to pin down. He provides the atmosphere in which life is born, but not life itself. He furnishes a crucial resource, but apparently cares not how it is used. He is depicted as anything from an immense water elemental to a drop of rain to a water weird to a wave on the ocean. Istishia represents eternal transmutation that holds a fixed, essential nature at its core. He holds in his nature change accomplished over time, as water wears away stone, or sudden leaps from one state to another, as water changes to steam when heated. He is the guardian of all hidden treasures under water.
Like all the elemental lords, Istishia is relatively unfeeling toward his followers on Toril. His reactions are utterly unpredictable and thus, in an odd way, predictable in their unpredictability. The reasoning behind Istishia's actions is incomprehensible to most of Faerûns inhabitants, including his worshipers. The alien and uncaring stance of Istishia and the other elemental lords has led to the mistaken impression in the Realms that they are only lesser powers and their followers merely oddball cultists. During the Time of Troubles, Istishia was not spotted in the Realms.
Istishia always sends a representative to accept offerings (given to his devout worshipers) of water-hued fine fabrics that ripple like waves, gemstones in shades from clear to deepest emerald or sapphire, fine inks or dyes, or books or papers on which are written unsolved or unsolvable riddles or mathematical problems. These representatives can be anything from his priests to fish to water elementals. His gifts to his followers are most often the ability to travel easily through water, the knowledge to find something hidden in water, or a change in themselves (often a polymorph spell that changes a being's corporeal form, but sometimes a sudden insight into a problem) that allows them to accomplish a previously unattainable goal. The worshipers he favors and those he ignores seem chosen on a whim.

Istishia has been seen only three times in written record in avatar form on Toril, one of which was at the time of the creation of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Istishia appears as a 20- to 30-foot-thick column of water that moves effortlessly over or through whatever obstacles are placed in his path. He has also been known to split his water form up into two or more parts to confuse his enemies. His movements sound like the surf pounding on the shore, and his voice is the sound of rushing water, a babbling brook, and a gentle rain all at once.
Istishia has manifested many more times than he has sent an avatar to the Realms. Any significant source of water is viewed as a manifestation of the Water Lord by his faithful. Rivers, lakes, and streams are all viewed as sacred, as are the oceans and seas, fountains, rain, and even puddles. Istishia sometimes sends servant creatures from the Elemental Plane of Water such as water elementals, nereids, marids, and tritons to do his bidding or aid followers. He also sends water creatures such as fish, dolphins, whales, octopuses, or even the leviathan. The discovery of water when drilling for a well or when in a barren land is viewed as a sign of Istishia's favor.

=The Church=

Istishian priests are strongly encouraged to learn seamanship or acquire weather sense in addition to their required proficiencies. Special candles made by Istishian mystics burn even under water and are not extinguished by being exposed to liquids, though they may still be snuffed out with fingers or a snuffer.
Before the Time of Troubles, all of the elemental cults had clerics in their ranks. Now, only specialty priests remain. Why Istishia decided to convert his clerics to specialty priests over the years is unknown, though the church of Istishia teaches that the change was made to allow specialty priests to focus on their lord's element to the exclusion of other tasks. Since the Godswar, the Istishian church has added a small order of mystics and an order of crusaders to the church to fill niches in the priesthood that the more generalized clerics used to fill. In primitive or nomadic societies, Istishia is often served by shamans.
The Water Lord's faith has four major sects: the Church of the Magnificent Storm, the Church of the Sacred Sea, the Church of Watery Paths, and the Church of the Eternal Transformation. These sects work together with each other, though disagreements have been known to occur. In general, the Istishian faith is constantly evolving and new sects are diverted from or absorbed by old ones as the decades pass. The church holds a unified ranking
system throughout the faith, and the sects many dictate how the priests of a particular house of worship view and practice their religion.
The Church of the Magnificent Storm believes in the cleansing power of Istishia. In its eyes, Istishia washes away the impurities of both the land and sea and purifies the air. Stormers, as they are known, always try to be present during thunderstorms and other severe weather.
The Church of the Sacred Sea believes that large expanses of water represent the body of Istishia. Its members pray for calm seas and to protect both ships and ports from the Water Lord's power, but they also call upon the oceans to deliver Istishia's wrath against those who oppose the church. Many sages think that the difficulties that Thay, whose zulkirs have often courted the church of Kossuth, has had with its navy at various times are not the result of interference by Umberlee or even powerful wizardly rivals, but rather the work of this sect of the Istishian church.
The Church of Watery Paths believes that the rivers and streams of Toril represent the far reach of Istishia's power. Its members view rivers and streams as the veins and capillaries of Istishia and point out that no place on Toril is not shaped in some way by water, even if it is shaped by the absence of water.
Finally, the Church of the Eternal Transformation believes that just as water moves from one state to another yet remains eternally present, so life moves from one state to another yet continues. Life exists on terrestrial bodies like Toril on the Prime Material Plane and across the many planes of existence, and when life ends on one plane it is merely transformed to a form more suitable for its existence on another. All of the universe is therefore symbolized in the water cycle.
Priests of Istishia tend to establish shrines on the shores of bodies of water. Large temples exist primarily in port towns and cities. Other Istishian houses of worship are entirely under water and so inaccessible to most surface dwellers and uncommented on in their history or lore, though such Istishian holy sites have figured prominently in the oral and written histories of the aquatic races. The typical Istishian temple is of quarried sandstone or marble in clean, elegant lines and usually sits out on a pier or next to the water or incorporates a great many streams, ornamental pools, and fountains so as to make water a vital part of its landscaping.
Most Istishian priests minister to the needs of the faithful in one region or are attached to a particular shrine, temple, or holy site. However, the church believes that those who remain in one location and are immersed in the same company for too long become stagnant, so all Istishian priests move on to new postings on a rotating basis (so that all priests are not traveling to or learning new positions at the same time). In
general, a priest serves in one locale for five years and rotates to a new posting at the anniversary of the closest major holiday (Midwinter, Greengrass, Midsummer, Higharvestide, or the Feast of the Moon) to the
date at which she or he became a full priest. Postings may be extended by petition from a priest or his or her congregation for year-long periods until 10 years of service at one locale is reached. At that point, a priest
must move to a new post. Postings are overseen by the prestigious Elder Oversight Committee, and most of the church politics in the Istishian faith surround the actions of the Oversight Committee or attempts to influence its future actions. Needless to say, the life-long appointments to the committee are fiercely fought over when such positions open up due to death or retirement.
The head of the Istishian faith the Delphine Regentis a hereditary position passed down to the firstborn (of either gender) of the line of Grand Oracle Seldeetha Darinaalis, the first high priestess of the faith (and a halfelf of aquatic descent). However, the position is more a titular than a functional one. The actual control of the church is in the hands of a council of the seven regional heads of the faith known as the Primatus.
Novice Istishians priests are called Searchers. After completing a series of at three one-on-one courses of learning (a sort of apprenticeship in the faith) with Istishian senior priests, novice Istishians become full priests. In ascending order of rank, the titles in general use by the priesthood are: Essential Servant (full priest), Spring of the God, Tidal Messenger, Cephalian, Full Flood (senior priest), Monsoon, Typhonic Oracle (head of a temple or large shrine), Grand Oracle (senior or elder head of a temple), Stratus Primae (leader of a regions temples and shrines) and Delphine Regent (hereditary leader of the faith). A priest who has slain or soundly defeated an enemy of the church (usually a high-ranking priest of Kossuth or a fire-based creature of power) may add the honorific True to the beginning of his or her title. Specialty priests of Istishia are known as waterwalkers.

==Dogma==

At its heart, the Istishian faith believes that everything is interconnected and cyclical. Every one of the elements has its place, but water triumphs over all of them in the end, because though it may be transformed
by its environment, it retains its essential nature and in the end in turn transforms the environment it is in. The Istishian faith teaches that: Earth dissolves through water, fire is extinguished even by steam, and air becomes clouds and then rain, completing the eternal cycle. Istishia believes himself to be the great equalizer and leveler of the elements.
All sects of the Istishian faith tend to avoid personal combat and direct confrontation in their dealings with unbelievers. They believe that if allowed to go where they will, the essential truths embodied by the Water
Lord eventually convince all as to his power. That is not to say that the faith ignores events going on around them, but rather that they work quietly along less-obvious paths to accomplish their goals. Members of the faith are to follow the path of least resistance to accomplish their goals, just like water takes the easiest course to the sea.
Novices in the Istishian faith are charged as follows: The eternal Istishia acknowledges change but holds to his essential nature. Do not try to be what you are not; rather, excel at what you are and carry this message of personal excellence to the world. Be flexible but not unreasonable. As the rains flow down to the ocean in the folds of earth and not up mountains, so do the truths of Istishia spread throughout the land through their natural routes, not through rank force. The mysteries of life are to be enjoyed and puzzled, over, but realize that some answers do not come in this form or this world, but rather in the next. Realize that the cycles of life are mirrored by the cycles of fate; be prepared to pay the price or reap the reward for the actions of
your past or your future.

==Day-to-Day Activities=

Many visitors to a temple wonder why priests of Istishia would teach novices to throw pottery. Such a skill is useful both practically as a source of income for the church and as a teaching tool in the faith. Using water, Istishian priests mold clay to a desired form, dry the new pots in the air, finish them with fire, and (often) use them to carry water or other liquids. The interactions of the elements are demonstrated in making
pottery, as is the mutability of water and its final triumph.
Keeping waterways pure and clean is one major goal of the church, and this responsible long-term goal has made the Istishians one of the more easily accepted elemental cults to visit a town. (Wantonly polluting rivers,
streams, seas, and oceans is considered an insult to Istishia, as well as likely offending a number of other nature and water deities.) Other ongoing goals of the church are better communication among the aquatic races and between the aquatic races and surface dwellers. Many Istishian priests dream of a day when all water dwellers can be united in their goals and efforts underneath the benevolent guidance of the church. That this goal is utterly unachievable and presupposes the extinction of numerous major faiths seems not to sway them from clinging to it nonetheless - nor does it mean that they hold any malice toward other primarily aquatic faiths.

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

Each morning for a follower of the Water Lord begins with a quiet prayer said in Istishia’s name over a
drink of water, and each night ends the same way. Spring tide and near tide are celebrated with festivals by the church. During these festivals new members of the faith are dedicated to Istishia by being boisterously tossed into the sea or a lake or by diving into fountains or pools. Surface-dwelling communities of the faithful are often visited by water-dwelling emissaries from Istishia’s aquatic churches during these fêtes, and underwater churches in turn host surface-dwellers as guests through magical accommodations.
Waveriding is the ritual that Istishian specialty priests celebrate upon reaching a level of skill great enough to summon a water elemental from the Elemental Plane of Water. The ceremony is preceded by an hour-long
responsive reading and chant, after which the elemental is summoned. The elemental then carries the celebrant on a lone ride on the waves of a large body of water. When it returns with the priest celebrating the ritual, the elemental is tossed garlands of flowers, gifted with drafts of fine wine, and given beautiful crafted pieces of jewelry, pottery, or sculpture to carry back to Istishia’s realm as it leaves.

==Major Centers of Worship==

Any large coastal city is certain to have a temple to the Water Lord among its many buildings. Such temples are frequently as close to the docks is possible. Luskan, Waterdeep, Caer Callidyrr, Teshburl, and Calimport all have large temples dedicated to Istishia. Within the Inner Sea, the cities of Suzail, Starmantle, Alaghôn, Neldorild, Spandeliyon, Lyrabar, Procampur, and Selgaunt also boast temples to the Water Lord. The most holy site of the faith is the underwater fortress-temple in which the Delphine Regent lives in secrecy. It is sometimes referred to as the Castle of the Dancing Dolphin in reference to the dolphins featured in the coat-of-arms of the Delphine Regent, but its true name is unknown to those who walk above the waves. It is reputed to have fierce aquatic guardians both of the monstrous and the organized, intelligent variety.

==Affiliated Orders==

The orders of Istishian crusaders are known as the Cavaliers of the Seven Seas, whose members are natural water-breathers, and the Cavaliers of the Ever-Changing Truth, whose members are natural air-breathers. Istishian crusaders guard holy sites, escort emissaries of the faith, and pursue the ongoing feud against the church of Kossuth on a personal level. Mystics of the faith belong to the Order of Cryptic Transformational Purity. The symbol of this order is a human shapechanging into a fish. Because this symbol looks somewhat like a merman and the name of the order itself is so lofty, mystics of this order are often referred to colloquially as “fishtishians” or “the Water Lord’s fishmen” — much to their chagrin.

==Priestly Vestments==

Priests of Istishia dress in blue-and-green robes with coral decorations for ceremonial occasions. Exact decorations and garment construction are not mandated by the faith, but shaded or rippled dyeing, graceful embroidery or beadwork, or layered or dagged construction are often employed to convey water theme. The wave of Istishia is usually carved into a gemstone. Often the gemstone is jade. emerald, malachite, aquamarine, or
water opal.
Adventuring priest are free to wear whatever clothes they deem appropriate, though they are fond of wearing items in white, blue, green, and blue-purple hues. The use of armor heavier than chain mail frowned upon by the church and forbidden to waterwalkers.

Ilmater

2023-05-16T19:56:36Z

Almarea90:

{{FRWiki article|Ilmater}}
{{Deity|icon=Ig_hu_ilmater.png
|alias=The Crying God, the Broken God, the Lord on the Rack, the One Who Endures
|power=I
|pantheon=F
|symbol=A pair of white human hands bound at the wrists with blood-red cord or (older) a blood-stained rack
|alignment=LG
|cleric=LG, LN, NG
|portfolio=Endurance, suffering, martyrdom, perseverance
|worshippers=The lame, the oppressed, the poor, [[monk]]s, [[paladin]]s, serfs, slaves
|domain_good=1
|domain_healing=1
|domain_law=1
|domain_strength=1
|domain_canon=Suffering
|allies=[[Tyr]], [[Torm]], [[Ibrandul]] (now dead), [[Lathander]]
|enemies=[[Loviatar]], [[Malar]], [[Talos]], [[Bane]] (now dead), [[Bhaal]] (now dead), [[Myrkul]] (now dead)
|weapon=[[Unarmed strike]] - An open hand
|weapon_canon=}}

Ilmater (Ihl-MAY-ter) offers succor and calming words to those who are in pain, oppressed, or in great need. He is the willing sufferer, the one who takes the place of another to heft the other's burden, to take the other's pain. He is the god of the oppressed and unjustly treated.
Ilmater is quiet, kind, good-spirited, and slow to anger. He appreciates a humorous story and has a rather rustic humor himself. When his avatar appears, he takes assaults upon his person passively and rarely lifts a hand against another. He is not totally nonviolent, though, as many often assume by his doctrine of endurance. When facing cruelties and atrocities his rage can boil up, and then he is a figure of frighteningly righteous wrath. His appearance can frighten the young, but he takes great care to reassure them as he treasures children and all young creatures, taking exceptional offense at those who would abuse or harm them.
Ilmater is allied to and serves Tyr, aiding the blinded god in his travel and teaching him to live without his sight but to rely more upon his feelings. He is also on very good terms with Torm, who also serves Tyr, and the three deities are known collectively as the Triad.
Ilmater's symbol in the early days was the blood-stained rack, but since the Godswar the use of a pair white hands wound with blood-red cord has come into almost exclusive use. This newer symbol has increased Ilmater's popularity in the world at large.

Ilmater appears as a man with with broken joints who drags himself around in obvious pain using his smashed hands and ravaged limbs despite the agony activity causes. He is short, burly, and wears only a breechcloth. His balding head sports a homely, kindly face, and his hairy body is crisscrossed with scars, open cuts, burns, and other marks of torture.
Ilmater appears as an unseen, watchful presence accompanied by a whimpering or howling sound. In this form he speaks, telekineses items about, and hurls spells.
Alternatively, the Crying God can choose to possess any good-aligned creature who is being tortured without having done anything to earn such treatment under the laws of the realm in which the torture is taking place. When such a manifestation occurs, the tortured being’s body glows with a bright white aura, the being is healed and regenerated, all pain is banished, any restraints are broken asunder and torture devices smashed, and the being is set free, vigorous and alert. It Ilmater is angered enough by what has been done (sadistically cruel torturers and accompanying murders are definite triggers for this), he empowers the freed being to cast destructive spells for a turn or so, typically channeling the ability to cast such spells as chain lightning, flame strike, lightning bolt, meteor swarm, imprisonment, and sink.
Ilmater also acts through the appearance or presence of devas, einheriar (formed from martyrs), hollyphants, incarnates of courage, planetars, solars, and other not yet identified beings. More commonly he sends white doves, donkeys, daisies, white roses, field mice, and sparrows to show his favor and as a sign to encourage his faithful to persevere.

=The Church=

The followers of Ilmater are often perceived as being intentional sufferers, but in reality they concentrate a lot of effort on providing proper treatment and healing to those who have been hurt. They put others ahead of themselves, are sharing, and emphasize the spiritual nature of life over the gross material body.
Ilmater's priests tend to be the most sensitive and caring of humans. When new to the faith, since they see much suffering, they often weep. Over time, this constant tugging at their heartstrings wears at them, and they then tend toward a cynical view of life in Faerûn. They are distinguished from other cynics, however, by their inability to ignore or pass by others in need. Even when a cause is hopeless, they must help. Ilmatari are taught to be firm in their principles and fearless, with the result that they earn enormous respect with the general populace, but are often slain by brigands or those who hold different principles than they do. The church of Ilmater is different from many Faerûnian faiths in that it has many saints, among them St. Dionysius and St. Sollars the Twice-Martyred (whose symbol is a yellow rose).
Few priests of Ilmater are soldiers, and fewer still are merchants, but they do outstrip all other priesthoods in the size, number, and level of treatment in the many infirmaries and leper sanctuaries they maintain. From their inception into the priesthood, Ilmatari are trained in the recognition and treatment of all known diseases, injuries, and conditions; senior priests have had prepared detailed programmed illusions to show beings in various stages of harm. An Ilmatari priest who has been shown these could, for instance, recognize a human infested with rot grubs at a glance.
The process of joining the clergy of Ilmater is simple: A novice enjoys a gentle walk and talk with a senior priest, during which they talk and explore the novice's views of life. They then dine and the novice is (knowingly) given a wine that puts him or her into a gentle trance where various clergy and wizards friendly to the faith can easily employ mind-scrying spells to thoroughly explore the novice's true feelings, loyalties, and aims. If no dedication to evil or precluding religious or secular loyalties are found, the novice is accepted and adorned with the simple robes of Ilmater. (This cautious practice was instituted because many folk in the past have posed as willing entrants into the Ilmatari just to learn the medicines and physiclore and then stolen away with as many medical supplies as they could.)
All the Adorned are priests, but no titles are commonly used in the clergy except Brother and Sister. For senior clergy, Revered is added to this, and for the heads of temples, abbeys, and monasteries dedicated to the Crying God, Father and Mother are used. So, for example, the head of the Towers of Willful Suffering, the abbey to Ilmater in Eshpurta, is known as Revered Mother of the House Heldatha Dhussta.
The Adorned include clerics, specialty priests, and monks. Though the monastic orders usually dwell separate from the rest of the church in monasteries and abbeys, some monks also abide in Ilmatari temples to teach other Ilmatari about fields of knowledge they have specialized in or to provide their special form of hand-to-hand protection to the institution to which they are assigned.
The hierarchy of the Adorned usually centers around the leader of large temple, abbey, or monastery to whom the Ilmatari in the region report. Ilmatari are loosely ranked under this Revered Mother or Father, and abbeys and monasteries are usually tied to specific temples, often adding a second informal tier to the hierarchy.
Ilmater's priests are found where they are needed, which is usually in the worst possible conditions, ministering to the needs of the oppressed, the deceased, and the poor. Those outside the faith often view this as a strategic positioning of churches in areas which guarantee the persecution of Ilmatari (such as Mulmaster and Zhentil Keep). Priests of Ilmater may also be found among adventuring companies, and in addition to paladins are often the ones to go off rescuing this clan of kidnapped halflings or recovering that purloined family heirloom. It is not that they are foolish, but rather that they care for all things to the exclusion of their personal risk.
Shortly after the Time of Troubles, the reputation of the organized church was plagued by the actions of a neutral cult of Ilmater that believed in passing suffering around to others, especially nonbelievers. They were noted for self-flagellation, kidnappings, and inciting riots. Ilmater was not granting these cultists their powers or spells, and the Ilmatari church suspects that Cyric, Loviatar, and Beshaba was behind these deluded people.
Ilmater's specialty priests are called Painbearers.

==Dogma==

The Ilmatari are taught to help all who hurt, no matter what they are, and that the truly holy take on the suffering of others. Ilmater tells them that if they suffer in his name, he will be there to support them. They should stick to their cause if it is right, whatever the pain and peril. They are to stand up to all tyrants, resisting in ways both great and small, and to allow no injustice to go by unchallenged. They believe that there is no shame in a meaningful death. Some followers of Ilmater take a negative or darkly humorous view of the world, and the church accepts them as well. "Today is the first day in what's left of your life" fits very snugly into Ilmater's dogma, but most Ilmatari would add, "So live it well".
Novices in the faith are charged to: "Persevere in the face of pain. Heal the sick, the wounded and the diseased. Comfort the dying, the griefstricken, and the heartsick. Take on the burdens and the pain of others. Champion the causes of the oppressed and unjustly treated, and give shelter and kind counsel to the lonely, the lost, and the ruined. Pursue the service of Ilmater, and he will provide - leave gross riches and the acquisition of all but medicines to others. Take up the tasks no others dare".

==Day-to-Day Activities==

Ilmatari share what they have with those in need and always take time to counsel those who are upset and give healing and tender care to the injured. They speak for the oppressed, guide the lost, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and gather herbs and make medicines at all times for disasters to come. When war is expected and time permits, priests of Ilmater gather in strength with litters, shovels, tents, splints, bandages by the cartload, and wagons of medicines and healing potions to tend those who will soon suffer.
Priests of Ilmater see life as sacred and suffering as holy, but they do not stand in the way of others' desires or condemn them for their chosen path. For instance, Ilmatari would not stop a sorely injured warrior form rising up half-healed to plunge into battle again, openly seeking death while fighting the foe. Instead, they would freely assist the warrior by healing him enough to be mobile so that he could follow his own doom wish in the most honorable manner available to him.
Ilmatari bury the dead, treat the diseased, and give food, drink, and firewood to the poor. They also tour the wealthier cities and settlements of Faerûn soliciting moneys to support the church. Increasingly, since so many folk personally received the benefit of their kindnesses during the Time of Troubles,
people of all faiths give generously to the church of the Crying God. As the merchant Ashaerond of Westgate put it: "If I pay for one extra potion today, it
may be the last one tomorrow - but the one needed then to heal me."

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

There are no calendar-related special holy days or any other festivals observed by the llmatari. Instead, the daily rituals of prayer to Ilmater at least six times per day govern each and every day of service.
A special Plea must be made to Ilmater to receive divine dispensation for a Rest, which is a tenday vacation from serving Ilmater's dictates. Usually Ilmatari request this when they are emotionally exhausted, but some adventurer-priests use Rests to perform things Ilmater would otherwise frown upon. This custom is an established tradition that some leaders of the faith rely upon, sending their best fighting clergy out to do things that the church cannot otherwise accomplish (covertly removing a tyrant rather than confronting him openly, for example).
The most important ritual of the church of Ilmater is the Turning: It is the duty of every priest of Ilmater to try to get dying persons to turn to Ilmater for comfort, receiving the blessing of the Broken God before they expire. As the veneration of Ilmater grows, even in death, his healing power becomes greater.

==Major Centers of Worship==

The largest center of Ilmatari worship is the House of the Broken God in Keltar in Calimshan. The House of the Broken God is a huge monastery in the center of the town that is connected, via a series of walled gardens, to a temple farm on a hill northwest of Keltar, a walled leper house beyond that, and a sanitarium beyond that. Here Revered Father of the House Melder Rythtin of the Healing Hand, who is famous for his diagnoses and miraculous treatments of the afflicted, presides over the largest hospital and facility for brewing, concocting, and compounding medicines in Faerûn. Those unfriendly to Calimshan have commented that such a facility is located where it is because the cruelty of the Calishites makes it most needed in their realm - but they are too greedy and disgusted by the sick, the malformed, and the injured to allow such a place in their proud capital city.

==Affiliated Orders==

Ilmater's church has several affiliated knightly orders of paladins and warriors, including the Companions of the Noble Heart, the Holy Warriors of Suffering, the Order of the Golden Cup, and the Order of the Lambent Rose. Monastic orders are also numerous, and include the Disciples of St. Sollars the Twice-Martyred, whose most famous facility, the Monastery of the Yellow Rose, is located in Damara, high up in the Earthspurs near the Glacier of the White Worm. (Monks of this monastery specialize in genealogical studies.) Other Ilmatari monastic orders include the Followers of the Unhindered Path, the Disciples of St. Morgan the Taciturn, and the Sisters of St. Jasper of the Rocks. Most Ilmatari monasteries traditionally are named after flowers which symbolize something of significance
to the order, though this is not mandated.

==Priestly Vestments==

For ceremonial functions, Ilmatari wear a solid gray tunic, tabard, and trousers, or gray robes. They wear skullcaps in gray (most clergy members) or red (senior priests). Novices who have not yet been adorned wear no skullcaps. The symbol of Ilmater is worn as a pin over the heart or on a chain around the neck and serves as a holy symbol. Some of the older members of the faith have a gray teardrop tattooed to one side of their right or left eye.

In the field or on quests, Ilmatari priests dress appropriately for the mission and the weather, but usually wear gray tabards decorated with Ilmater's symbol stitched on the chest near the left shoulder over any other clothing or armor they wear. They are never without their holy symbols and a satchel of medicines, bandages, salves, splints, and slings.

Ibrandul

2023-05-06T17:26:55Z

Almarea90: Created page with "{{Deity |alias=Lord of the Dry Depths, the Skulking God, Lurker in Darkness |power=L |pantheon=F |symbol= Four interlocking silver circles on a dark purple background |alignme..."

{{Deity
|alias=Lord of the Dry Depths, the Skulking God, Lurker in Darkness
|power=L
|pantheon=F
|symbol= Four interlocking silver circles on a dark purple background
|alignment=CN
|cleric=CG, N, CN, NE, CE
|portfolio=Caverns, dungeons, the Underdark, skulks
|domain_cavern=1
|domain_chaos=1
|domain_darkness=1
|domain_scalykind=1
|domain_travel=1
|domain_trickery=1
|weapon=[[Quarterstaff]]
|allies=[[Ilmater]], [[Mask]]
|enemies=[[Shar]], [[Lathander]], [[Lolth]]}}

Worshipers in Calimshan and other areas of the Shining South claim that Ibrandul (Ih-BRAN-duhl) watches over humans who must venture into hostile underground areas, aiding and guiding those who serve him when they are in need. Ibrandul’s worship began in the prehistory of Calimshan, even before the founding of the Shoon Empire, which is now known as Iltkazar. Some tune after the defeat of the Djen, a tribe of nomadic humans was abducted from the Calim Desert by dark elf raiders from the city of Guallidurth, located deep beneath the desert sands. These humans served the drow as slaves for centuries, unable to flee the subterranean city because of their fear of the all-enveloping darkness.
The humans eventually escaped when a monstrous lizard emerged from the darkness, drove off the dark elf overseers, and led the slaves into the surrounding wilds of the Underdark. Some of the former slaves eventually returned to the surface and brought with them tales of the Lord of the Dark Depths to the tribes of the surface. Others remained in the dark tunnels, living in small, nomadic bands and subsisting by raiding the farms and caravan of the drow of Guallidurth and the humans of the surface. The subterranean dwellers slowly evolved into skulks—a cowardly race of humanoids with chameleonlike abilities—through a side-effect of one of the spells granted by the Skulking God. Both the humans of the surface and the skulks of the Underdark continue to worship Ibrandul, albeit with slightly different representations and sets of beliefs. Since then Ibrandul’s worship has quietly spread to many locations with access to the Underdark, including Undermountain beneath Mt. Waterdeep.
During the Time of Troubles, Ibrandul was spotted wandering the Underdark beneath Waterdeep. Unbeknownst to his worshipers, Ibrandul was killed during the Godswar by Shar. The now-petrified remains of his avatar are believed to lie at the bottom of a vast chasm in a lost level of Undermountain. Shar has always jealously guarded her rulership over darkness and those who work in it, and when Ibrandul was tremendously weakened by being forced into a minor avatar form (as all the powers were) during the Time of Troubles, Shar killed him for daring to subvert followers away from her ranks. When the gods ascended to the heavens, Shar had acquired the power and portfolio of Ibrandul. Shar’s guise as Ibrandul is quite useful to her, allowing her to subvert the worship of her hated enemy Selûne without drawing attention to her most faithful worshipers, the nightcloaks. Shar/Ibrandul enjoys the delicious irony of secretly eroding the power of the Lady of Silver, particularly in the city of Waterdeep, one of the seats of Selûne’s power.
Ibrandul was a taciturn and moody power, and Shar stills plays him as such when she speaks for him or has one of her avatars behave and appear as his used to. He displayed all intense emotions simply by flicking his tongue or blinking his eyes at a quicker pace. He radiated an aura of gloom, darkness, and ages long forgotten. He was always restless, wanting to stalk off into the dark and roam the tunnels of the Underdark searching for those might harm his followers.

Ibrandul (currently played by Shar) favors two forms, the Stalker and the Skulker. The Stalker is a monstrous lizard of the depths that looks like a fire
lizard with a long, thick tall. He has a gray-scaled body with a red-and brownmottled back and a reddish underside. He resembles a wingless, elongated red dragon. The Stalker is said to roam the endless caverns of Pandemonium hunting other predators and is the form most commonly portrayed in religious art in Calimshan and the Sword Coast North.
The Skulker might he mistaken for a stone golem or earth elemental. He
appears to be a humanoid of black and gray stone worn smooth as if long exposed to the eroding force of howling winds. The Skulker has no specific facial features, but his eye patches glow like cool magma in utter darkness.
The Skulker frequently shapechanges to alter his appearance, taking the shape of anything from a chisel-featured, bare-chested massive human known to natives of Calimshan to that of a stony roperlike creature known to the drow. The Skulker prefers to appear to mortals while lurking in perfect darkness where he is visible only by his glowing eyes and to aid or hinder others through wit and voices in the gloom.

Ibrandul commonly manifests as sounds: footsteps around the bend, breathing (which is often mistaken for wind moaning in the caverns), dripping water (often in arid regions of the Underdark), cave-ins (which rumble in understandable words and phrases), and in curious rock formations and erosion patterns. Many adventurers aided by Ibrandul have no idea that they have been visited by him; rather, they find themselves guided to their destinations by avoiding natural hazards and following peculiar-yet-natural signs — typically a trail of warm spots on tunnel walls (visible by infravision and lasting for only a few moments per spot). Ibrandul sometimes works through free-willed earth elementals, horgars (giant sluglike creatures that tunnel through the earth by melting stone), ibrandlin and other lizards of all sizes, skulks, oozes (gray and crystal varieties), and will o’ deeps.

=The Church=

Any creature who loved the darkness with a passion used to be able to join Ibrandul’s priesthood. Shar (masquerading as Ibrandul) now keeps watch over the sect of Ibrandul and grants his priests their spells. Shar is pleased with her new followers and makes all new initiates specialty priests, although numerous clerics of Ibrandul — about 20% of the total clergy — still exist from prior to the Fall of the Gods. Ibrandul’s clergy members used to include a few gray druids, but since the Time of Troubles they have stopped receiving spells from the Lord of the Dry Depths and now worship dwarf, gnome, or other Underdark deities.
In Calimshan and the Shining South, Ibrandul’s worship has declined significantly over the centuries among humans. Ibrandul is still worshiped with great fervor by the once-human bands of skulks who stalk the Underdark in the Calishite region of Faerûn and emerge only to raid the surface. As a result, the Skulking God is considered far more of an evil power in Calimshan than elsewhere in the Realm.
In the Sword Coast North, Ibrandul’s faith is a relatively recent arrival. Here the Lord of the Dry Depths attracts worshipers of a wide variety of alignments and races, and his priests emphasize his defender aspect more than his love of darkness. It is likely that Shar will shift this focus in the near future.
Before Ibrandul was slam, he provided his priests with spells to modify fire lizards into ibrandlin, the “lurkers in darkness” created in the image of the Stalker, which priests could train to guard Ibrandul’s temples.
With Shar’s favor, the ibrandlin are now beginning to breed true. Before the
Avatar crisis Ibrandul tended to ignore his followers once they were relatively safe, leaving all his clergy members as clerics and not providing enough divine power to turn the ibrandlin into a self-propagating species. It was probably this inattention to his worshipers and corresponding weakening in his power that led to his defeat by Shar.
Novice Ibrandulin (priests of Ibrandul) are called Children of Ibrandul, and addressed as “child” by priests. When initiated into the priesthood, they earn the title Lurker. Senior priests (those above 5th level) are Mysterious Lurkers, and the leader of a temple is an Impenetrable Lurker. Priests often take distinctive personal titles, and the recognition of such title by the Impenetrable Lurker of a temple is all that is required to make them official.
Ibrandul's specialty priests are called Darkwalkers.

==Dogma==

Followers of Ibrandul believe that the Underdark is every bit as vital as the surface world, and darkness is its greatest redeeming quality. In a world without light, there is no tedious and inescapable march of day and night to command the lives of intelligent creatures and no end to the variety of shapes and textures to experience tactilely — something which would be lost by merely looking upon them as surface dwellers do. Followers of Ibrandul believe that nothing is good or evil in the dark unless you consider it so, and such value judgments are frivolous.
Initiates to the Enveloping Darkness, as the faith is properly known, are charged: “There is perfect freedom in perfect darkness: independence, individuality, liberty from the judgment of others. Ibrandul protects you and
guides you in the dark ways. He drives away those who would do his children harm and from time to time reveals great treasures to those who venture into the depths. Remain steadfast to him, and he will stand by you.”

==Day-to-Day Activities==

All priests of Ibrandul proselytize among adventurers and the poor folk of cities. Ibrandulin are also expected to build temple fortresses deep in the Underdark to serve as sanctuaries for those who venture in the depths. They are to offer the protection of the Lord of the Dry Depths to those who must hide underground (from justice, their enemies, a plague, severe weather, or an attack on the city) by providing such people with guarded, defensible temples underground to stay in — in exchange for regular rental payments for a bed, food, a niche in the temple, and Ibrandul’s favor.
Many of Ibrandul’s clergy members wander in the Underdark as adventurers or aides to them. Their mission is to persuade everyone they meet to remain below the surface and acknowledge Ibrandul as their defender while below ground. Ibrandulin tend to roam alone in the Underdark, celebrating the darkness, which leads to a relatively high mortality rate among the lower-ranking priests. The smarter Ibrandulin stick with groups until they develop their survival skills and priestly powers a bit more. Shar tends to warn and protect higher-level followers of Ibrandul with the same subtle signs and manifestations that Ibrandul liked to use.
Each time priests of Ibrandul gain a level of experience, they are expected to throw a tithe of a tenth of their total wealth into a deep pit, where it should remain unrecoverable. All priests and more casual followers should throw a copper piece into any pit they cross as a thanks for safely negotiating it and into any nearby hole or crevice whenever they believe they have witnessed a sign from the Ibrandul.

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: At 5th level, all priests of Ibrandul must undergo a secret ritual involving ingesting ibrandlin blood and a magical ceremony conducted by an Impenetrable Lurker. As a result of this ceremony, known as elah’ranak (“Protective Armor of Darkness” in Alzhedo), large areas of the wrists, forearms, chest, back, and legs are covered with patches of overlapping scales in a fashion reminiscent of the ibrandlin.
Ibrandulin celebrate very few holy days. On cloud-covered nights when there is a new moon and the Land Above is pitch black, Ibrandul’s priests emerge for a ceremony known as the Foreshadowing. Beginning at midnight, this ritual celebrates Ibrandul’s promise to eventually envelop all the land above and below in darkness. Each Midwinter’s Eve, the faithful of Ibrandul give thanks to the Lurker in Darkness for their delivery from the hands of the dark elves. This ceremony, known as the Deliverance Unto Darkness, typically involves the sacrifice of a monstrous spider or some other creature or being intimately associated with Lolth or the drow and the casting of dark path spells. Long chains of Ibrandul’s worshipers then use the abilities granted them by the dark path spells to wander through the Underdark without light sources, trusting their deity to lead them to safety.
When turning undead, clerics of Ibrandul do not wield holy symbols. Instead, they reach down and grasp at a handful of earth or gravel and then let it trickle through their fists as if they were reminding the undead of what should happen when something dies.

==Major Centers of Worship==

Ibrandul can be worshiped anywhere it is dark and anywhere in the Underdark. Ibrandul has shaped elaborate altars out of the natural stone in numerous large caverns throughout the Underdark. They are recognizable as plateaus at least 20 feet across, worn glassy smooth across the top and having steps that ascend from any accessible side. At the very center of the plateau, Ibrandul carves many runes and glyphs of varying texture and shape so that followers can kneel and caress them while meditating.
Ibrandul’s largest and newest temple is the Deep Temple of Dark Hope, recently constructed deep beneath the streets of Waterdeep by Thalander “the Mad.” This temple serves as a stronghold and place of sanctuary for adventurers exploring Undermountain and the Underdark—for a steep fee. The subterranean temple can also be reached via a two-way gate from the Dark Gateway (also known as the Upper Temple), a secret shrine to Ibrandul located in the Trades Ward of the City of Splendors.

==Affiliated Orders==

The Shadows of the Night is a sinister organization based in the Calimshan’s Underdark comprising scattered bands of skulks. These skulks are somewhat more daring than their cowardly fellows and engage in fairly regular raids on the surface, although they still only attack when they have a vast superiority in numbers. It is believed the Shadows of the Night are led by some powerful evil creature—perhaps a renegade dark elf or illithilich.
The Knights Fallen is a band of priests, rogues, and warriors who stalk the
northern reaches of the Underdark. They serve Ibrandul by seeking out those who have lost their way in the darkness, typically adventurers or daring merchants, and delivering, them to relative safety in exchange for a significant fee. They are believed to be based in the Deep Temple of Dark Hope, but bands of this order have been encountered as far east as Anauroch and as far south as Amn.
Legends speak of an itinerant band of wanderers of various races who call themselves the Horgardin. The group is led by a half-dark elf gray druid of Ibrandul who leads his followers along a twisting path through the Underdark said to be created in ancient times by a huge horgar controlled by the Lord of the Dry Depths.
Since Shar assumed Ibrandul’s portfolio, orders of her followers have been (oddly) friendly to those of Ibrandul, although they tend to behave a bit condescendingly.

==Priestly Vestments==

Priests of Ibrandul wear dark purple ceremonial robes covered with a pattern of large, overlapping silver rings and belted with a black sash. The rings symbolize their interdependence (as fellow children of Ibrandul) and also the protective scales of the Lord of the Dry Depths. The holy symbol of Ibrandul is usually carved into a semiprecious stone and carried on a thong or chain, or sometimes formed symbolically from a puzzle ring of four interlinked silver finger rings worn as one ring.
In general, followers of Ibrandul have a distinct predilection for black and dark purple clothing with silver ornamentation. One might often mistake them for rogues (which they may be anyway) because they seem to dress as if to blend with darkness. When adventuring, the Skulking God’s clergy members wear reasonable armor that protects them yet enables them to move swiftly in the rough terrain of subterranean tunnels. Such armor is always tinted or dyed flat black or a deep purple so as not to reflect any light and is usually crafted from metals or 1izard skins found in the Underdark. Ibrandulin wield whatever weapons are appropriate and available.

Helm

2023-04-15T20:06:06Z

Almarea90:

{{FRWiki article|Helm}}
{{Deity|icon=Ig_hu_helm.png
|alias=He of the Unsleeping Eyes, The Watcher, the Vigilant, the Vigilant One, the Great Guard, the God of Guardians
|power=I
|pantheon=F
|symbol= An open, staring eye with a blue pupil and outline painted on the back of a right-hand war gauntlet or the palm of a left-hand war gauntlet
|alignment=LN
|cleric=LG, LN, LE
|portfolio=Guardians, protectors, protection
|worshippers=Explorers, [[fighter]]s, guards, mercernaries, [[paladin]]s
|domain_law=1
|domain_protection=1
|domain_strength=1
|domain_canon=Planning
|weapon=[[Bastard sword]] - "Ever Watchful"
|allies=[[Torm]]
|enemies=[[Bane]] (now dead), [[Bhaal]] (now dead), [[Garagos]], [[Mask]], [[Shar]], [[Talos]]}} [[File:Helm_symbol.jpg|thumb|Symbol of Helm]]

Helm (HELM) is the epitome of the guardian, the watcher, the guard, and has in years past been greatly venerated by those who need to remain watchful for evil at their doorsteps. He was once a touch more powerful god, but has fallen upon hard times. During the Time of Troubles, Helm was left with his powers and ordered to hold the gates to the Outer Planes against the other powers of the Realms when the other deities were stripped of their power and confined to the surface of Toril. Helm did so all too successfully, and much of the resulting destruction and deific turmoil caused by the many divine deaths of the Godswar is laid at his feet. Helm’s star is fading at a time when Torm and Gond are
attracting new followers.
Helm is difficult to understand and is often viewed as emotionless, heartless, and devoted only to his duty or goal at the cost of all mortal consideration. While he is devoted to the point of obsession, he is not heartless, but merely a stern disciplinarian. He is fond of children and has been known to be most uncharacteristically lenient (for Helm) when dealing with small infractions by them or on their behalf.
In attempting to comprehend Helm’s driven nature, many mortal sages have attempted to account for him throwing himself into his work by blaming his behavior on a broken heart caused by long-unrequited or spurned love. Others say he lost a great love to tragedy or eternally grieves for a lost relative, such as a brother, sister, or child. Still others account for his behavior more coldly as a burning ambition to become the greatest of deities. Helm has never given credence to any of these theories, as he considers such speculations frivolous use of time that could be spent more honestly at productive work.

Since the Time of Troubles, Helm has been increasingly reluctant to appear in Faerûn in avatar form, typically doing so only when a senior priest or temple is directly threatened and he is called upon. Helm always appears as a giant man in full plate armor, his face concealed by his helm. His height varies from one appearance to the next.
Helm often manifests as an upright, palm-out metal gauntlet making a stop or warding gesture or a closed, watchful war helm. From such images emanate heal or imbue with spell ability spells to aid or empower guardians, defensive magical barriers, wardmist magics, fields that reveal illusions and hidden or disguised attackers for what they truly are, and beams that force out-of-phase, ethereal, astral, or otherwise inaccessible beings fully into phase on the Prime Material Plane on Faerûn so they can be attacked by guardians. It is rare for offensive spells to lash out from a manifestation of Helm, but it has occurred. Most often such spells come from the war helm apparition and tend to be thin beams of lightning.
Helm also sometimes works through the presence or action of einheriar, helmed horrors, spectators, maruts, watchghosts, and living steels. In addition, Helm can choose to send vivid warnings in dreams, and if a believer sleeps touching an unsheathed weapon, the visions imparted to the believer by Helm can sometimes also be seen by the next being to touch the weapon, regardless of how much time has passed. Weapons consecrated to Helm can also thrum, sing, glow, dance, or vibrate in warning when the god desires them to.

=The Church=

Prior to the Time of Troubles, Helm was a well-respected faith in most areas of the North. Its large temple complexes were usually situated near dangerous and evil areas (such as Darkhold) and were regarded as a first line of defense against evil people and creatures. Wracked by defections in the wake of the Time of Troubles and active persecution in the North by those angry that Helm forced the destructive divine avatars to remain in Faerûn, the Vigilant or Watchful Ones (priests of Helm) have been in decline. They have only recently begun to recover popular favor and influence, strength, and organization under the unflinching, no-excuses leadership of the veteran priests of Helm from before the Time of Troubles known as the Tested and True. Most of these folk are people of inflexible beliefs and loyalty. They believe that Helm is the most favored of all the powers, for he was chosen to retain his powers to discipline the others.
Fighting their way back from a reputation that brands many dead magic areas the Legacy of Helm, the Tested and the True are having a tough time, but one which their strong discipline and the almost military hierarchy of the church of Helm are well suited to handle. All know their position by their rank within the church of Helm, and Helm himself sets the goals for his high priests and priestesses, determining what temples, abbeys, and shrines are to cooperate with each other in which ongoing efforts.
Titles used by the clergy of Helm are (in ascending order of rank): Novice, Adept, Trusty, Alert, Watchknight, Guardian, Overblade, High Watcher, and Senior Steeleye (a title applied to all senior clergy). These have been adopted only since the Time of Troubles, and members of the Tested and True and Watchers (specialty priests, derisively known as Godseyes) have been allowed to retain any older, personal, or variant titles. Clergy who lead or occupy an important office in a temple, abbey, or monastery may also bear additional titles pertaining to their duties.

==Dogma==

"He also serves who stands and waits and watches carefully" and "Careful planning always defeats rushed actions in the end" are popular sayings of Helm's faithful. Novices of Helm are charged to be vigilant and to be fair and diligent in the conduct of their orders. They must protect the weak, the unpopular, the injured, and the young and not sacrifice them for others. They must anticipate attacks and be ready, know their foes, and care carefully for their weapons so that their weapons can perform their duties properly when called upon.
"Never betray your trust" is the guiding phrase for faithful of Helm. This philosophy extends to thinking about how best to guard and protect, both in terms of weapons and the deployment of guardians, and to anticipating what attacks may come and having a practiced plan ready to deal with such threats. The faithful and the priests of Helm train and exercise so as to always be able to carry out their duties as best they can.
Helmites always obey orders, provided those orders follow the dictates of Helm. Helm's wishes are often revealed to his faithful in response to on-the-spot prayer (often via an omen spell). He is very responsive in sending guiding vision, especially when his faithful face conflicting orders or directives, even from his senior clergy. The thought of commanding undead rather than turning them or destroying them is abhorrent to Helm, and so his clergy are not allowed to do so and would never dream of trying. This difference in philosophy is a major factor in the rivalry between his church and that of Torm.

==Day-to-Day Activities==

Helmite clergy believe they can win back the rightful power of Helm only through demonstrated excellence of vigilance and purity of loyalty in their roles as guardians and protectors. They have set about trying to train bodyguards everywhere and spreading the word that only Helm-tested worshipers of the God of Guardians are truly worthy and reliable to their masters.

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

The Helmite faith always holds a Ceremony of Honor to Helm on each Shieldmeet, but its members observe no other calendar-related rituals to the God of Guardians.
On a daily basis, worshipers of Helm should always pray to the Vigilant One upon awakening and before composing themselves for slumber. A faithful worshiper who poses a question to the god typically receives some sort of (often cryptic) guidance in dream visions. Helm may also grace a nonbeliever who is growing interested in his faith with such visions.
The most holy major Helmite ceremonies are the Consecration of a Postulant, which is the dedication of a being seeking to be confirmed as one of the clergy of the church of Helm, and the Consecration of a Glymtul, which is a dedication of a special item to Helm's service (glymtul is an ancient word for favored thing). Other ceremonies of note are the Purification and the Holy Vigil. The Purification is a renewal of faith undergone by beings returning to the faith or atoning for a shortcoming in vigilance, loyalty, or worship. The Holy Vigil ceremony marks the ascension of a priest to a higher rank. It is a night-long ceremony of concentration in which a priest, by will power alone, keeps his or her weapon floating in midair. The weapon is enspelled by a senior priest through ritual magic to levitate, and the vigilance of the priest observing the ritual keeps it hovering.

==Major Centers of Worship==

The most prominent center of Helm's faith is the Noble Hand in Tsurlagol. The Noble Hand is both a temple and a training school for professional guards. It flourishes under High Watchful Weaponmaster Ellym Catsjaw Thourin, a retired adventurer of some reputation. Helm's worship is also still very strong in the Vilhon Reach and also in the South. The Temple of the Vigilant Guard in Iljak, led by Battle Marshal Senior Steeleye Tonorak Winthrax, is a bastion of the Helmite faith in the Vilhon Reach.

==Affiliated Orders==

The members of the Companions of the One True Vision, an order of Helmite clerics, fighters, and crusaders, were known for being unswervingly loyal shock troops able to follow orders asking them to engage the most difficult objectives without breaking and hold the most trying positions against overwhelming odds. Other affiliated Helmite orders include a small fellowship of battlefield healer known as the Watchers Over the Fallen, a group of dedicated bodyguards whom Helmite temples hire out to others to generate revenue called the Everwatch Knights, and an order of paladins called the Vigilant Eyes of the God.

==Priestly Vestments==

Priests of Helm wear spotless, shining, (often everbright - enchanted), unblemished full plate armor with open-faced helms (a visor reduces vision). Often the helms are topped with plumes. Such armor may be accessorized with red cloaks and tabards of steel gray, and such garments—or the armor itself—may be adorned with the Unsleeping Eye in the center of both back and breast. In southern regions, Helmite clergy members often wear the finest full plate armor set with gems and worked with gold filigree in designs that accentuate great
golden eyes set in the centers of their chests (on the breastplates) and backs. In areas where heavily armored clerics are frowned on, the armor is reduced to a set of heavy shoulder plates, but the helm remains in any case.

Because of the useful nature of the ceremonial gear of the priests of Helm, it is worn in the field as well as for ceremonial purposes, unless it is decorated with such costly materials that the priest fears it will attract thieves, in which case a more utilitarian version of the same full plate armor is worn. In either case, the armor is dominated by the symbol of Helm’s eve on the chest, often shown in a sunburst or as the topmost level of a stepped pyramid.

Grumbar

2023-04-10T20:29:26Z

Almarea90:

{{FRWiki article|Grumbar}}
{{Deity|name=
|icon=Ig_hu_grumbar.png
|alias=Boss of Earth, Earthlord, Gnarly One, King of the Land Below the Roots, Boss of the Earth Elementals
|power=G
|pantheon=F
|symbol=Mountains, often against a purple field
|alignment=N
|cleric=LG, NG, LN, N, LE, NE
|portfolio=Elemental earth, earth elementalists, solidity, changelessness, oaths
|worshippers=Elemental archons (earth), [[fighter]]s, [[monk]]s, [[ranger]]s
|domain_earth=1
|domain_time=1
|domain_canon=Cavern, Metal
|weapon=[[Warhammer]] - A stony fist
|allies=[[Geb]], [[Garl Glittergold]], [[Dumathoin]], [[Kartulmak]], [[Laduguer]], [[Urogalan]], [[Skoraeus]], [[Stonebones]]
|enemies=[[Akadi]], [[Urdlen]]}}

Grumbar (GRUM-bar) is a powerful deity, normally depicted in the art of his faith as an immense earth elemental with bulky, muscular arms and eyes that blaze like shimmering rubies. He represents stability and resistance to change, both typical properties of earth. He is also the quiet lurker and observer, the uncomplaining bearer of burdens, and the guardian of secret treasures in the dark folds of the earth’s crust.
Like all the elemental lords, Grumbar is relatively unfeeling toward his followers on Toril. His reactions are predictable in end result, if alien in logic; he resists change and development, opting always for maintaining the status quo. The relative inaction of Grumbar and the other elemental lords has led to their being viewed as only lesser powers in the Realms and their followers being classed as cultists. Grumbar is known as Etugen in the Hordelands, a goddess of the Elemental Plane of Earth. The distinction between a
male and female form of the Earthlord makes little difference to the faith.
Grumbar receives what offerings are given him without complaint, suggestion, or comment, sucking them down into the earth. He is said to be fond of sardonyx and jasper, and statues of him often bear eyes made of those gemstones or rubies. His gifts to his followers are most often protective magics or knowledge of the underearth’s secret places or of rich lodes of ore, though he seems to mete them out without determinable reason. Some dedicated followers have sacrificed gemstones or carved stone art objects to him throughout their lives and received nothing; others have merely spoken his name favorably and then tripped over a rich vein of precious ore. During the Time of Troubles, Grumbar was not spotted in the Realms.

Grumbar has been seen only four times in written record in avatar form on Toril. (The first time was during the creation of the Great Rift.) The Earthlord appears as a huge earth elemental standing more than 25 feet tall. His footfalls sound like earthquakes as he rumbles across the land. His voice is the pounding of one rock on another, the clacking of pebbles on a beach, or the breaking of sod with a plow.
Grumbar has sent manifestations more often than he has sent his avatar to the Realms. Every appearance of an earth elemental in the Realms is viewed as direct divine intervention by the followers of Grumbar. (Of course, it follows that enslaved earth elementals must be freed at any cost.) Grumbar is also said to send servant creatures from the Elemental Plane of Earth such as xorn, crysmals, khargra, or lava children to do his bidding or aid followers. Earthquakes are signs of his anger, and the location of a rich vein of metal, mineral, or gemstone ore is always viewed as a sign of his favor.

=The Church=

Before the Time of Troubles. all of the elemental cults had clerics in their ranks. Now, only specialty priests remain. Why the elemental lords decided to convert their clerics to specialty priests is unknown, but most actions that they take are cryptic and difficult to grasp. Since the Godswar, the Grumbarryn church has added a small order of monks and an order of crusaders to the church to fulfill duties in the ranks of the priesthood left ill attended with the loss of Grumbarryn clerics.
Members of the Grumbarryn priesthood often take it upon themselves to resist change at every possible turn. The expansionist activities of other churches frequently face opposition from devout followers of the Earthlord. This opposition takes many forms, both passive and active. Priests of Grumbar and gather together to summon an elemental for the purpose of destroying the foundation of a church under construction, or they may instigate an armed attack against followers of other powers. Their resistance to change does not limit itself to other churches, and includes changes in government, in organizations, and even in geography. Despite their fervent resistance to change, Grumbar’s priest are not considered fanatics. Their actions tend to be well thought out, and few of the decisions made by the church are ever arrived at in haste.
Grumbar’s priests are organized into Holds. Each Hold comprises 21 priests — seven specialty priests, seven monks, and seven crusaders — and as many members of the laity as the Hold can support. The high priest is always a specialty priest. Each Hold is composed of members of a similar alignment. While this sort of organization does reduce tensions within a particular Hold, it also causes the Grumbarryn faith to be viewed differently from region to region. Most priests stay in the same geographic area as other members of their Hold, but others wander the face of Faerûn, spreading the Grumbarryn faith and watching for threats to their religion. Most Holds of devout followers are small and their congregations and clergy members remain intent on whatever task the Grumbarryn church elders have set them for the year. In primitive or nomadic societies (such as those of the Tuigan), Grumbar is served by Shamans allied to no particular Hold.
Novice Grumbarryn are referred to as the Unspoken. Upon taking the Oath of Landwalking, they become full priests and are known as the Oathbound. In ascending order of rank, the titles in general use by the Oathbound are: Faithful Bedrock, Granite Flagstone, Righteous Rock, Buttress of the Faith, Steadfast Pillar, Devoted Tribune, Loyal Architrave, Founding Fist, Unchanging Bastion, Surmounting Arch, Loyal Vault, and Keystone of Grumbar. Specialty priests of Grumbar are known as Earthwalkers. Monks of Grumbar are known as Cornerstones.
Shrines and temples of Grumbar are always made of stone. Most have splendid vaulted ceilings and walls to give the site the feeling that a worshiper is down within the living rock. Wood is a rare commodity in Earthlord temples because of the church’s strong preference for stone, but gems and other precious minerals adorn most surfaces abundantly.

==Dogma==

The teachings of the church are built around a strong resistance to change, especially radical change. Important Grumbarryn followers, priest and warrior alike, are frequently portrayed in teaching stories and fables that augment the faithful’s belief in the importance of resisting change. Grumbarryn doctrine also speaks of the holiness and absolute quality of oaths. Grumbarryn take oaths with extreme seriousness and would never break one upon pain of being cast out of their faith.
Novices in the Grumbarryn faith are charged as follows: “The eternal Grumbar is perfect and unchanging. Strive to be more like the eternal one, not to change or allow change to happen. One’s given word is the bedrock upon which a stable society is built. To break an oath is to cause a crack in the foundation of civilization. Go forth and spread the word of Grumbar and show through your works the stability and safety he brings.”

==Day-to-Day Activities==

Those who follow the Earthlord can often be found in public criticizing those who would board ships and set sail to uncharted lands. Seeking out new lands is a noble calling, but Grumbarryn argue that there are more lands left to explore on the large continent of Faerûn, Karatur, and Zakhara. The sentient beings of Toril should spread out slowly and steadily to know the every crevice of its surface. Hurling oneself into the void is foolhardy recklessness at its extreme. Many of the clergy members preach that “more than enough problems exist to occupy our time here at home without looking for new troubles.” Grumbar’s clergy
members also take stances against changes in the social code, changes in government, the building of new landmarks that change the face of the land, such as dams, and changes in their own religion. Many of the older and higher-level clergy members are still trying to ascertain what error of conduct they committed that caused Grumbar to change all the church’s clerics into specialty priests after the Godswar.

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

The faithful are expected to pray to Grumbar each day upon rising and each night before resting, thanking him for keeping the earth stable and secure yet another day. Other than this daily ceremony, the church observes two personal ceremonies and a yearly festival.
The Oath of Landwalking is a solemn promise undertaken by all members of the Grumbarryn faith upon entering the priesthood that forbids them from traveling through the air or by sea. Only in the most dire of circumstances should priests of Grumbar take to the enemy element of air. Even then, they would probably suffer a loss of spells. Travel over water is allowed only when the church would benefit as a result of the sacrifice. Such benefits include the dedication of a branch temple or shrine in a new land, obtaining a new source of minerals or stone to replace one now mined out, or even the discovery of a new earth-based creature.
The Brotherhood of Earth is the ceremony that Grumbarryn specialty priests undergo that allows them, upon reaching a certain level of skill, to call forth their elemental brothers from the Elemental Plane of Earth. The ceremony is preceded by a day of fasting and prayer, after which the elemental is summoned. When it answers, it is given a gift of gems and gold to carry back to Grumbar with the good wishes of his faithful.
On Midwinter, the church holds a festival celebrating the completion of another year in the eternal church of Grumbar. During this festival church leaders and elders gather to plan the faith’s activities during the upcoming year. These plans, once set, are never varied from during the year and can only he changed at the next Midwinter festival.

==Major Centers of Worship==

Major temples to Grumbar lie hidden in the Spine of the World Mountains, the Giantspire Mountains, the Muaraghal (the east wall of Halruaa), the Wu Pi Te Shao Mountains, and the Orsraun Mountains. All are secret, hidden temples located in natural caverns or crafted with utmost skill to look like the terrain in which they are set until a traveler is almost on top of them. The southern part of the Muaraghal houses the most sacred site of the Grumbarryn church and most Grumbarryn try to make a pilgrimage to it once in their lives.

==Affiliated Orders==

The Grumbarryn monastic order is known as the Disciples of the Changeless Face. They are a stoic and spartan order whose members preserve the knowledge of how things are so that changes can be detected and countered. The crusading order of the faith is the Sardonyx Knights. This order’s members guard the holy sites of the faith against infidels and lead the few field actions the church undertakes.
They are also responsible for punishing those members of the faith who forswear oaths they have taken.

==Priestly Vestments==

Grumbarryn tend to be large, solid men, and the ceremonial vestments of the faith aim to make them look as large (and in their minds, stable) as possible. Ritual garb includes a brown cassock, belted at the waist; a brown leather hood or hat; a huge cloak of gray-green and rust brown with artificially extended and stiffened shoulder pads that make the wearer look as wide as she or he is tall; and platform clogs worn over soft leather boots. The holy symbol of Grumbar, a large ruby or sardonyx carved with Grumbar’s symbol and incorporated into a ring or pendant, is always worn.
Adventuring priests wear travel cloaks, boots, and clothing in the same earth-tone, gray, or black colors typical of their faith, but they understand that bulky clothing that makes one look large offers little real protection from a knife thrust or fired arrow. Bulky armor is another matter entirely, and Grumbarryn wear the most protective armor they can afford.

Gond

2023-04-04T19:23:28Z

Almarea90:

{{FRWiki article|Gond}}
{{Deity|icon=Ig_hu_gond.png
|alias=Wonderbringer, the Lord of All Smiths, the Inspiration Divine, the Holy Maker of All Things
|power=I
|pantheon=F
|symbol=A shining toothed wheel or cog with four spokes, in
ivory, bone, or metal
|alignment=N
|cleric=Any
|portfolio=Artifice, craft, construction, smithwork
|worshippers=Blacksmiths, crafters, engineers, [[gnome]]s, inventors, Lantanese, woodworkers
|allies=[[Lathander]], [[Oghma]], [[Waukeen]] (missing), [[Tempus]]
|enemies=[[Talos]]
|domain_earth=1
|domain_fire=1
|domain_knowledge=1
|domain_canon=Craft, Metal and Planning
|weapon=[[Warhammer]] - "Craftmaster"
|weapon_canon=}}

Gond (GOHND) Wonderbringer is the god of blacksmiths, woodworkers, inventors, and engineers. In religious art, he is most often portrayed as a burly, red-hued smith, with a mighty hammer and a forge and anvil that allow him to craft the stuff that stars are made from.
Gond serves Oghma along with Deneir and Milil. He gives the ideas Oghma holds in his portfolio concrete form and inspires others to make new things. He has grown very independent as his own power waxes, and his relationship to Oghma is already only dimly remembered at times by mortals. In Durpar, Estagund, and Var the Golden, Gond is worshiped as part of the Adama, the Durparian concept of a world spirit that embraces and enfolds the divine essence that is part of all beings. Here he is known as Zionil, patron of inventors, craftfolk, and creators.
Gond is always making new things. He often presses Oghma for their release into the mortal world without thinking through completely the impact they will have. He is fascinated with making the theoretical real and either does not consider or often does not care about the implications for the use of his inventions and discoveries. He has a constant need for bizarre components as well as raw materials for his work, and so may overlook shady sponsors for specific jobs provided that they pay well in materials, knowledge he can use, or future favors. He can be distracted, businesslike, sarcastic, or patronizing as well as incredibly helpful and brilliant. He is dedicated to his faithful, and though he sometimes does not immediately respond to them because he is busy, he always ensures that their needs are met.
During the Time of Troubles Gond, in the avatar of a gnome, washed ashore on Lantan. His true nature was quickly discovered, and the deity was revered and worshiped there until the crisis passed. As a result, Gond gave
the secret of smoke powder to the Lantanna, and arquebuses, stamped on the butts of their stocks with the symbol of Gond, have been shipped at a steady trickle to western ports since 1358 DR.

Gond’s avatar is rarely seen by mortals outside his temples; he much prefers to manifest in a lesser manner. His avatar sometimes appears as a short, slight man with straw-blond hair, at others times as a burly, red-hued smith, and at yet others a gnome. In any form, his sharp, bright, dark eyes stare out of a forge-scarred face that always bears an alert, inquiring expression. He wears a scorched smith’s smock over nondescript leathers, and at will can summon into being around himself glassteel plate armor that hovers over his body at a close distance, piece by piece, rather than actually encasing his form. He has a mighty hammer that he uses at his divine forge and as a weapon when necessary.
Gond appears most often as a forge hammer wreathed in gray smoke. He has also manifested as a pair of black, piercing eyes in a gray cloud accompanied by the faint ringing of distant forge hammers. Either manifestation can speak or cast spells, issuing spells forth as a burst of smoke that changes into the spell effect or touches the target of the spell to affect him or her. Most often he inspires ideas for new inventions or new applications for old inventions in his faithful. He also gives out magical or normal items geared to aid worshipers in particularly sticky dilemmas, though he often does not explain why the item he gives someone is suitable. Frequently the items he gives out evaporate in smoke after serving their purpose. Gond also sends baku holy ones, einheriar (who were in mortal life inventors), golems, lightning mephits, maruts, pseudodragons, steel dragons, crystal dragons, and animated furniture or equipment to aid mortals or to show his favor or presence.

=The Church=

Since the Time of Troubles, interest in and worship of Gond is on the rise, but this has brought increased attacks both from rival clergy and those who simply fear new inventions. Gondarism is the official state religion of the island nation of Lantan, which is also a hotbed of invention and new devices. Men tend to outnumber women in both Gondar clergy and laity, but there is no impediment to or prejudice against females rising in the ranks of the Gondar. Members of the Gondar faith are mainly human, but more and more gnomes are being accepted into the church, especially in the wake of the form that Gond’s avatar took during the Godswar.
In most of Faerûn, the proportion of clerics to Gondsmen (as his specialty priests are called) is 15:1. In Lantan, this proportion is nearly reversed, and
there are about 20 Gondsmen for every Gondar cleric. Most specialty priests of the faith are Lantanna, and most Lantanna merchants encountered in the Realms outside Lantan are specialty priests of Gond.
Clerics of Gond are called Krii, a Lantanna term meaning disadvantaged. Despite the implied slur, many clerics hold senior positions within the state religion in Lantan. A cleric occupies the post of Most Holy Avenue for Spreading the Faith, which is (in title at least) the supreme authority for all worshipers of Gond not in Lantan. There are a number of northern branches of the Gondar faith, including a budding temple complex in Tilverton.
Clergy refer to themselves as the Consecrated of Gond, and may speak of other Gondar priests as “fellow Consecrates,” but their titles of rank are simple: Wonderer (novice), Seeker Postulant (priest in training), Seeker after Small Things (confirmed priest), Greater Seeker, Seeker of the Twelfth Order, Seeker of the Eleventh Order, and so on up to Seeker of the First Order, High Seeker (a title held by all senior clergy), Master (leader of a religious community or one who tends a holy site), Artificer (one who has been personally rewarded and named by Gond for special service), and High Artificer (the supreme priest of the faith). Though Gondar may act independently in their duty of encouraging inventions, their religious hierarchy is ordered and obedience to a superior is unquestioning.

==Dogma==

The beliefs of the Gondar can be summed up as “Actions count.” Intentions and thought are one thing, but in the end it is the result — what remains after the sword is forged, the battle is fought — that is the most important. Talk is for others; those who truly serve Gond do. All Gondar are to strive to make new things that work. All of Gond’s clergy should become skilled at forging, casting, or tempering, and practice various means of joining and fastening until they are adept at making things to fit a space or situation with which they are confronted. To venerate Gond is to continually question and challenge the unknown with new devices and items. Elegance and usefulness are the two legs any new making should stand on.
Gondar must practice experimentation and innovation in the making of tools and implementation of processes and encourage these virtues in others through direct aid, sponsorship, and diplomatic support. They should strive to make farmers, hunters, and others think of new tools, improved ways of crafting and using their existing gear, and new ways of doing things.
The Consecrated must keep records of their strivings, ideas, and attempts, so that others can continue where they leave off when gathered at death to the Holy Maker of All Things. Gondar are instructed to observe, acquire, and store safely the makings of others, and show what they have learned to other Consecrated of Gond. They are to discuss ideas and spread them so that all may see the divine light that is Gond.

==Day-to-Day Activities==

Gondar keep the formulas for smoke powder and various sealants, cleansers, and lubricants secret. They sell small jars of all of these as they travel Faerûn, making a lot of money thereby as well as by selling buckles, small brass bells, mortars and pestles, and various monocles and lenses. The special glass jars they use to store smoke powder and other formulas were formerly made only in Lantan. They have proven so popular that rival makers have sprung up in Calimshan and the Tashalar. To protect church trade secrets, Gondar priests are charged to work against these rivals by sabotage, diplomacy, and financial influence, whenever they can covertly do so.
As they travel, Gondar clergy establish caches, investments, and alliances and grab samples of any new inventions they come across. It is their duty to assist inventors and innovators and to file regular reports to the nearest Master by means of messenger envoys of the faith as they travel.
Settling in one place is frowned upon unless a priest can show his or her superiors that their prospective home is a locale where much innovation occurs that bears need for constant watching such as Waterdeep, Athkatla, Suzail or Zhentil Keep. Making a handsome personal living while one serves Gond is encouraged, however, for who better walks upon Faerûn to demonstrate the rewards of following the Way of Gond?
Priests of Gond are much in demand as builders, especially of vaulted and buttressed temples dedicated to other gods. Because of these temple engineering and construction contracts, the faith of Gond is growing in wealth and influence, but also in foes. Who else would know the secret ways of a rival temple than the builder?

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

Gondar have only one calendar related festival: the Ippensheir, The Ippensheir is the name given to the 12 days immediately following Greengrass. It is named for Ippen, the first great cleric of Gond, who sometimes appears to clergy in need these days as Gond’s First Servant. During the Ippensheir, all clergy members of Gond’s faith and his devout worshipers gather at a temple, abbey, or holy site of Gond to share innovations and show inventions and innovations they have made or witnessed with and to their fellow Gondar. (Many cavern networks and remote towers where capable inventors once dwelt are revered by Gondar as holy sites.) It is a tune of feasting, drinking, and revelry, and some Gondar make much use of personal teleport magics and the network of gates maintained by the priesthood to link major defensible holy houses to visit as many gatherings of the faithful as they can during this time.
Daily rituals to Gond are simple: muttered prayers upon rising and retiring that are often scheduled as part of dressing or disrobing so that they are not forgotten, a longer prayer of thanks at the main meal of a priest’s day, and a special prayer of thanks and dedication of their work before commencing any work of new making (as opposed to repair or maintenance).
If a new tool or machine is seen or made by any Gondar, that Gondar is charged to make two copies of it if possible. One is hidden away against the prying eyes of thieves or vandals for later display to fellow Gondar, and the other is smashed — or preferably, burned — while a prayer of offering to Gond, the Sacred Unmaking, is chanted. This ceremony reinforces Gond’s dominion over both constructive and destructive engineering.

==Major Centers of Worship==

The heart of the Gondar faith is located at the High Holy Crafthouse of Inspiration in the city of Illul in Lantan. This large, walled monastery is run by Danactar the High Artificer, Most Holy Servant of Gond, the highest-ranking mortal priest of the Wonderbringer.
The House of the Wonderbringer in Tilverton, formerly known as Gharri’s House, is the most prominent temple of Gond in the Heartlands. It is led by High Artificer Burlan Almaether, who directs over 40 priests in devising new inventions in Gond’s name.

==Affiliated Orders==

The church of Gond has no affiliated knightly orders. It does have a great many honorary orders and societies within its ranks. These are usually founded to recognize the works of Gondar working in a particular specialty and to promote the easy exchange of ideas between those qualified in a field while preventing trade or church secrets from leaking out to competitors. Just a few of these societies include the Order of Puissant Stonemasons and Stonecarvers. the Holy Order of Most Skilled Architects and Bridgemakers, the Armorers of the Wonderbringer, the Most Arcane Order of Gearmakers, Clockmakers, and Automationists, the Society of Creative Castle Design and Construction, and the Industrious Brothers and Sisters of Carpentry, Cabinetry, Puppetry, and Toymaking.

==Priestly Vestments==

Gondar clergy members wear saffron ceremonial vestments with a crimson collar and stole. Over their right or left shoulder they wear a leather sash ending in a large pouch. The sash is dotted with small metal tools, gears, wire, cord, locks, hooks, hasps, buckles, and bits of steel, tin, and wood that might prove interesting or useful in a pinch (including, for Gondsmen, their lockpicks). Their vestments also include belts of large, linked metal medallions and enormous sun hats. They wear Gond’s holy symbol as a pendant fashioned of bone, brass, bronze, or ivory.
In dangerous situations, Gondar wear standard armor (along with their leather sash), but generally they prefer the protection of 10 or 12 big fighters. Most often they wear practical clothing hung about with baldrics and pouches crammed with useful supplies. Most priests of Gond wear bulky rings that function as knuckledusters and can also produce the equivalent of a cosh from their gear and three or four knives of various sorts. (Removable hoot-heel knives are a great favorite among the Gondar.) Few Gondar priests would steal, but most have and can use files and bolt cutters, and Gondsmen are proficient with lockpicks. Increasingly, Gondar priests have also taken to carrying small metal flasks of smoke powder sealed against sparks and damp and appropriate wicks to use with them to make explosive missile weapons when trouble arises.

Eldath

2023-04-04T18:34:11Z

Almarea90:

{{FRWiki article|Eldath}}
{{Deity|name=
|icon=Ig_hu_eldath.png
|alias=Goddess of Singing Waters, The Quiet One, Mother Guardian of Groves, the Green Goddess, the Mother of the Waters
|power=L
|pantheon=F
|symbol=Waterfall plunging into a still pool without causing
any disturbance of its waters, or a circular, sky-blue disk
fringed with green ferns
|alignment=NG
|cleric=LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
|portfolio=Quiet places, springs, pools, stillness, peace, waterfalls, druid groves
|worshippers=Druids, pacifists, rangers
|superior=Silvanus
|allies=[[Mielikki]], [[Silvanus]], [[Chauntea]], [[Selune]], [[Lathander]]
|enemies=[[Malar]], [[Loviatar]], [[Bane]] (now dead), [[Amaunator]] (now dead), [[Talos]], [[Moander]] (now dead)
|domain_good=1
|domain_plant=1
|domain_protection=1
|domain_water=1
|domain_canon=Family
|weapon=[[Unarmed strike]]
|weapon_canon=Net}}
[[Category:Nature_deities]]

Eldath (EL-dath) is the guardian of druid groves, and her presence is felt every place where there is calm. Her druids and clergy often aid other druidic faiths in establishing a grove and sanctifying it. In religious art, Eldath is often depicted as a dark-haired woman dressed in shimmering green or as a dryad or wild elf with blue and green hair. Her singing is heard in every babbling brook and waterfall.
Eldath is a pacifist and usually takes no hostile actions even when threatened. This is one of the reasons that Eldath is almost a forgotten power; most Faerûnians think of Mielikki, Silvanus, or Chauntea in relation to nature before they think of her. Eldath is enigmatic and speaks seldom. She seems shy, but possessed of unknown depths of character and an unexpressed resolve that cannot he broken. When challenged, she gives before challengers who only later discover that her apparent acceptance and retreat merely drew them out into an untenable position where they are surrounded, out of their element, and their reinforcements have been converted to her side.
Like Mielikki, Eldath serves Silvanus. Eldath sees him as a father figure, but often finds his robustness intimidating to her retiring nature. Mielikki and Eldath have a very close relationship. During the Time of Troubles Mielikki was heard to address her as “Datha,” and the two goddesses embraced as sisters.
While Eldath opposes all that Tempus stands for, she does not consider him a personal foe. He in turn, is said to consider her naive, but to respect her convictions and generally ignore her.

Eldath prefers not to appear in avatar form often; she seems almost shy. When she does appear, it is usually to wounded beings who have found their way into one of her sacred places or to her worshipers. Eldath takes the form of a tall, thin, yet graceful and beautiful translucent female human, nereid, or aquatic elf; she can be seen through at all times. Her feet are bare, her hair looks like spun glass or flowing ice and is colorless like water, and her eyes are deep green. Eldath’s green silken garments flow clingily around her, yet the sight of her soothes lustful thoughts rather than arousing them. She radiates stillness and peace.
Eldath appears most frequently as a whispering wind that brings a message and revives plants that it touches to the blooming height of health or a green glowing aura that has all the healing powers of the goddess, can speak aloud and in the minds of those within 120 feet, and can telekinese nonliving items within its confines. Eldath also acts or shows her favor through the appearance or actions of bears, raccoons, brownies, dryads, sylphs, nereids, feystags, sprites, stags, talking owls, unicorns, and other woodland creatures, common meadow and woodland flowers such as daisies, water plants such as water lilies and lotuses, and aquamarines, clear quartz, blue topazes, sapphires, and other stones in watery hues.

=The Church=

The church of Eldath is small and dispersed, the majority of its most ardent priests traveling and preaching or settling by some quiet spot and teaching those who come seeking enlightenment. In a world brimming with evil deities and their servants, orcs, goblins, warring nations, and other hostile forces, it is not surprising that Eldath's philosophy of peace and calm has failed to catch on. Still, it is viable and challenging, and legends speak of heroes, such as the elven war hero Telva, who embraced the cause of Eldath and abandoned warfare forever. One race of beings who travel against the tide of war with Eldath are the ondonti, a pacifistic orcish race.
Given the limitations and goals of the specialty priests of Eldath, it should not be surprising that there are not very many of them. Only some 10% of the priests of Eldath are specialty priests, called peacemen and peacewomen in the faith. The remainder of the followers are split between druids, clerics, a scant few mystics, and a relatively recently founded monastic order. Clerics, druids, mystics, and monks, while not as restricted as the specialty priests of Eldath, are encouraged to conduct themselves in a fitting fashion as put forth by their deity. It is a mark of skill among Eldathyn (especially adventurer-priests, known as Freewalkers) to defeat foes with defensive spells, making an enemy defeat himself through misdirection and manipulation. Most of the high-ranking members of the church's loose organization are peacemen and peacewomen, and the great druids and other senior clergy members of the faith defer to them in discussion. Relations between the five branches of the faith are excellent, and both of the more militant wings of the faith are very supportive and protective of the specialty priests, mystics, and monks, who are more retiring.
Pacifists and lovers-of-nature cleave to the Green Goddess. Many are vegetarians and herbalists who desire to take no life, but the ranks of the Eldathyn are studded with hardy adventurer-priests who serve as envoys to other faiths, act as go-betweens with urban worshipers (often guiding them to and from forest fastness temples), and carry items and messages from priest to priest within the faith. Although it is part of the making of a priest of Eldath that an individual must travel Faerûn widely enough to pray in at least nine sacred fastnesses (temple groves) dedicated to the goddess, most Eldathyn settle in one grove or one forest and live their lives thereabouts.
Eldathyn are organized in a simple hierarchy where a dozen or so priests, each of whom may have up to 14 underpriests dwelling with him or her, report to a senior priest who in turn reports to a grand priest responsible for a realm or larger region. Clergy of senior years, many accomplishments, or higher rank are styled Exalted, and traveling Freewalkers rank between full priests and senior priests. From the ranks of the Exalted come the leaders of temples to Eldath, most of whom preside over forest communities with open-air sacred places of worship known as fastnesses. As the leader of a fastness, they are entitled use the title Keeper of the Fastness.

==Dogma==

The philosophy of Eldath is highly advanced. It teaches that peace can only come from within and cannot be taught or imposed; it must be reached through thought and meditation. The faithful of Eldath should seek stillness and thereby find peace. They are to plant trees and green-leaved things and tend such things when they need it, wherever they may be.
Eldathyn are instructed to nurture and aid and not to restrict or punish. They may defend but not punish. Eldathyn may work violence only to defend, and they may slay no thing of the forest save to prevent it from slaying themselves or another under their protection.
All worshipers of Eldath are to aid fellow Eldathyn and clergy of Silvanus and Mielikki whenever possible and to give assistance, support, and shelter to displaced forest dwellers and to those who work to defend ponds, marshes, and streamside woods everywhere. They must swear to take no thinking life save in direst need and to share with all beings the beneficial things that grow in or come from running water that all may know of and praise Eldath.

==Day-to-Day Activities==

Eldathyn usually spend their lives tending unspoiled places to ensure that they survive and even flourish in the face of human and other depredations. Priests of Eldath replant burned areas, purge areas of plant diseases, construct boulder firebreaks, irrigate wooded areas, and clear streambeds to make rivulets flow more swiftly or create dams to slow runoff and encourage the life created by small pools. They even make bargains with nearby foresters to cut only in certain areas and leave other woodlands alone.
Eldath has a hatred of indiscriminate and greedy woodcutters, those who use fire as a weapon, and avaricious millers and careless beings who foul rivers and other waters. Her clergy are pledged to work against such individuals by whatever means seem most prudent for long-term success. They rarely resort to any sort of open confrontation for as long as possible as it tends to bring attacks down on the clergy but hidden priests can work in opposition unhindered.
Eldathyn are also charged with observing and recording what sort of birds, beasts, and plants dwell in what places and the changes in the amounts and locations of such flora and fauna over the years. They are to report such things to their superiors on a regular basis so that the senior clergy members, working with those of Silvanus and Mielikki, can interpret long-term trends in regional ecologies.
To raise funds for personal and church support, priests of Eldath may act as water-dowsers by employing an infallible water divination spell known to the church, as herbalists, gardeners, or as potion-makers. Few Eldathyn live in large settlements, but many dwell in springside cottages often with trained guard animals within an easy ride of cities or large towns so as to be able to serve the local populace as sources of medicines and potions. Clergy of Eldath are all taught to swim, and often teach this skill to nonbelievers in return for small offerings to the church and the goddess of food and coins that the priests can use.

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

Eldath's clergy members pray on a personal and individual basis when bathing or floating in ponds or streams, when standing under waterfalls, and in small chambers, caves, or forest bowers given over to regular meditation. Many forest paths in woods dwelt in by Eldathyn cross streams by means of log bridges bearing tiny huts with holes or trap doors in their floors, permitting modest clergy to immerse themselves for prayer or bathing. These are the most favored meditation spots for Eldathyn.
Prayers must be performed upon awakening, at sunset, and at least once during the dark hours, and may be performed at any other time as personally desired. In woodlands and remote wilderness areas, worship of the Green Goddess should be done unclad or as close to it as is possible in a given circumstance. Startled woodsmen tell of certain adventurer-priests standing in pools to pray with their weapons drifting in midair around them in slow, enspelled orbits so as to be ready to hand if danger came upon the scene.
The only calendar-related ritual of Eldath, the Greening (Greengrass) is also the only regular gathering and festival of the priesthood. It is preceded by Firstflow, a festival held at different times in different locales as the ice breaks up and the waters begin to flow. The only other occasions upon which Eldathyn gather in large numbers are consecrations of new places as open-air temples or shrines of the goddess. At such consecrations, the assembled clergy perform the Chant of the Fastness. An avatar of Eldath always appears to bless her worshipers' efforts, though she may not always speak or work magic other than making any spring or water in her new sacred place into water of Eldath for a tenday thereafter and giving it the power to regenerate and heal all creatures immersed in it until the dawn following the day of her appearance.

==Major Centers of Worship==

The most revered center of Eldathyn worship is Duskwood Dell in Amn, east of Eshpurta. There the waters of the River Rimril, a tributary of the Esmel River, plunge down the western cliffs of Eldath's Mount in the Troll Mountains via the Green Goddess Falls in a descent of over 400 feet and thence through a series of pools and lesser falls (called the Steps) out into Arundath, the Quiet Forest (known most commonly as the Snakewood for the serpentine denizens the Eldathyn use to scare away intruders). Here Most Exalted Fallskeeper Alatoasz Berendim
presides over a tree city of Eldathyn who train underpriests in the service of
the Green Goddess and send them out all over Faerûn to find their personal place in Eldath's service.
Elah'zad, an ancient Eldathyn holy site in Anauroch, is also a place of great power. According to the Bedine, Elah'zad was the home of the moon goddess, Elah (Selûne), but At'ar the sun goddess drove her away and made it a prison for Eldath, the Mother of the Waters, because she was jealous of Eldath's beauty. Here Eldath can choose to speak through the mouth of any woman who enters the House of the Moon, a nearly circular palatial temple formed of chalky, translucent desert rock in the midst of a lake set in a sacred grove surrounded by over a hundred small springs. (The woman falls asleep and the goddess directly and completely controls her body.) At the House of the Moon charged magical items of the Eldathyn faith can be recharged through prayer and ritual by the grace of Eldath.

==Affiliated Orders==

The Eldathyn church and the revitalized Mielikkian faith have grown extremely close recently. Eldathyn provide quiet sanctuary and supply to the Shadoweirs of the Mielikkian faith when they cannot receive support from those of their own religion. The Eldathyn faith also has close ties with Those Who Harp (the Harpers), an organization working throughout Faerûn for good and against the rise of great powers, which tend to endanger all natural life.
The church of Eldath has a circle of a few peacewomen and peacemen who have formed a group known as the Arbitrators of the Quiet One. They freely go to areas of conflict and attempt to serve as mediators in longstanding disagreements that have led to violent acts. They listen to both sides and try to find a middle ground without polarizing the issues through overt statements of moral judgment. They prefer to find resolutions that get at the heart of a problem so that once dealt with it does not flare up again in months or years.
The monastic order of Eldath is the Disciples of the Yielding Way, sometimes known as the Brothers and Sisters of the Open Palm. These monks guard sacred sites where many peacemen and peacewomen dwell and travel the countryside gathering information for isolated groves and fastnesses. They do not ever seek to provoke violence, but are quite deceptively deadly when defending themselves, their charges, and their holy sites.

==Priestly Vestments==

Priests of Eldath dress simply in green and blue robes decorated with water-colored (blue, green, translucent, and opalescent) semiprecious gems and embroidery in water patterns. Specialty priests don a series of sheer robes, each in different shades of blue and green. The sleeves and hems of the garments are artfully cut to look ragged like tossing waves or water ripples. All clergy wear Eldath’s symbol as a holy symbol; the sky-blue disk is fashioned of painted wood and fresh fern fronds are planted or affixed over the painted ones on the symbol whenever possible.
Eldathyn priests dress practically in the field, though some like to accent their dress with blue and green and allow the sleeves and hems of their garments to become ragged to simulate frothing water. Most wear leaf-green robes with moss-green accents, gray sashes, and brown overcloaks. Peacemen and peacewomen wear no armor and sport garb similar to their ceremonial dress made up of multiple layers of semitransparent robes and tabards over an opaque foundation robe or dress. Sightings of Eldathyn in the deep woods have given rise to many legends of wild folk of the woods.

Deneir

2023-04-04T18:32:34Z

Almarea90:

{{FRWiki article|Deneir}}
{{Deity|name=
|icon=Ig_hu_deneir.png
|alias=Lord of All Glyphs and Images, the Scribe of Oghma
|power=L
|pantheon=F
|symbol=A single candle set above a staring purple human eye
with a triangular pupil, or a single lit candle
|alignment=NG
|cleric=CG, LG, NG
|portfolio=Glyphs, images, literature, literacy, scribes, pictorial and
literary art, cartography
|worshippers=Historians, loremasters, sages, scholars, scribes, seekers of enlightment, students
|domain_good=1
|domain_knowledge=1
|domain_protection=1
|domain_canon=Rune
|weapon=[[Dagger]] - A whirling glyph
|weapon_canon=
|superior=Oghma
|allies=[[Oghma]], [[Azuth]], [[Milil]], [[Mystra]], [[Lliira]], [[Lathander]]
|enemies=[[Cyric]], [[Bane]] (now dead), [[Malar]], [[Talos]], [[Mask]]}}

Deneir (Deh-NEER) is the patron of the artist, the illuminator, the scribe, and the cartographer. His is the power to accurately render and describe, to write
and to read, and to pass on information. He counts as his foes all who destroy, hide, or distort knowledge.
He works for Oghma making sure that all that is known and true is accurately recorded in the Great Library. He is portrayed in religious art as a balding
old sage with a huge, flared beard whose eyes are in some way peculiar:
Sometimes they are a vibrant violet with triangular pupils, at other times
they are a brilliant ice blue, and at yet others they are blazing orbs of blue
fire. He is always shown holding a quill pen and carrying or writing in or on
a book, scroll, or parchment.
Deneir is caught up in the recording, filing, indexing and maintaining of all that was ever written or depicted. He can appear very absent-minded, and often trails off in midsentence because his mind is racing along other trails of thought even as he speaks. For all his acquaintance with book knowledge, he can be out of touch with the world as it is now — in particular, human customs in practice: He tends to use mannerisms of speech and hold to points of etiquette that disappeared long ago from Faerûn — or he may (unintentionally humorously) mix his slang terms or try to sound in vogue and actually sound profoundly dated. When he gets going on a story, he can eat up immense amounts of his listeners’ time as he diverges seemingly endlessly in parenthetical substories. For all their length, his tales always convey some vital piece of knowledge to those who wait them out.

Deneir most often appears as an old, balding sage with a huge flaring white
beard and eyes of intense blue or violet (though he has been known to appear younger, especially when in disguise). His voluminous robes are covered in glyphs and symbols that seem to serve as some sort of code to remind him of events and pieces of information. He usually carries quill pens, scrolls, and tomes, and may let some of these fall and be left behind. (This appears to happen accidentally, but in fact always occurs on purpose.) Mortals who recover such things find them to be enchanted pens, spell scrolls, tomes of magical power, or instructions for creating magical items or constructs. He can draw his spells from any school or sphere of magic, but out of long habit he tries never to use fire magic because valuable writings might be destroyed.
Deneir prefers to manifest as a glowing nimbus of light around a book. If a mortal opens the book, Deneir may move the radiance about to indicate things. He may telekinese the book and other nearby objects about or extend a glowing humanlike hand out of the light to cast spells, to wield or carry things, or to point and gesture. When appearing as this nimbus, Deneir rarely speaks, though he sometimes writes with silent letters of fire in midair or in a mortal’s mind, causing actual letters to he written on nothingness.
Deneir also manifests his approval or disapproval or aids his followers through the actions or appearance of baku holy ones, einheriar formed from the essences of great sages (and thus as warriors a rather fumbling lot—but great storehouses of knowledge), light aasimons, movanic devas, planetars, wisdom Incarnates, calico cats, white dogs with golden eyes, pinto and piebald horses, candles, quill pens and writing brushes, gold- or yellow-colored flowers, topazes, iolites, tourmalines, and star sapphires.

=The Church=

All the priests of Deneir are encouraged to learn to read and write more than just one tongue.
Priests of Deneir are found throughout Faerûn, as are shrines and temples
in Deneir’s name. Most of the temples of Deneir could best be described as libraries with attached sanctuaries and living quarters, for the preservation of written knowledge is the focus of Deneir’s faith.
Clergy members are known as Deneirrath. Only about 15% of clergy members are specialty priests. However, specialty priests occupy all the high positions within the church hierarchy. Clerics and monks are welcome, but even if they attain high levels, they are not usually awarded the leadership of temples. Monks may be promoted to the head of an abbey or monastery; however, they are always attached to a temple and rank beneath its high priest. As a result, there is some grumbling among nonspecialty clergy members of the faith, and many turn to adventuring to give them advancement in other areas.
Though females are as welcome as males in the Deneirrath hierarchy, the title “Priest” is used regardless of the gender of its holder. (The word “priestess” is something for other faiths.) The color of the cloaks priests of Deneir
wear denotes their ranks, which are (in ascending order): Applicant, Underpriest, Aspirant Priest, Full Priest, Priest Illuminator, Priest Calligrapher, Priest Editor, Priest Secretary, Priest Librarian, Aspirant Scrivener, Full Scrivener, and High Scrivener (the leader of a temple). The only higher ranks than these are granted personally by Deneir and consist of Writer Inquisitor (used by the most powerful and accomplished traveling adventurers
of the faith), Librarian, and High Librarian.
Deneir's specialty priests are Glyphscribes.

==Dogma==

Followers of Deneir believe that information that is not recorded and saved to be used later is information that is lost. Anyone who defaces or destroys a book should be punished in proportion to the value of the information lost unless she or he makes full replacement of it. Deneirrath must write everything down and let copying what is written fill every otherwise idle hour. They are to bring copies of every writing they gather to every temple of Deneir they arrive in (or make the copies there) so that knowledge may spread and nothing be lost. Information should be free to all and all should be able to read it, so that lying tongues cannot distort things all out of proportion. Deneirrath are to
write down all that people say, believe, and observe, leaving others to judge
what is true, of value, and proper for that which is not written is lost, and
there must be room for all tastes, all tongues, and all expression. Information
that does not harm should be made free to all.
Literacy is an important gift of Deneir and should be spread and taught. Deneirrath must learn to read and write and teach at least 10 mortals who do not venerate Deneir to do so also, so that such learning spreads.
Followers of Deneir have taken an oath of charity as well, such that they cannot turn down the request of another to write letters and transcribe information. If the one making the request is needy, they can take no payment for doing such duties, though they may charge those who can afford such services a fair rate. Deneirrath are to keep secrets they are exposed to in their charitable duties when bound to by oath or by their moral code.

==Day-to-Day Activities==

The primary task of priests of Deneir is to gather and write down-or copy out if it is already written knowledge and creative things (fiction, poems, song lyrics, witticisms, and diaries) so that nothing written is lost. Some priests never leave the copying cloisters of large temples, while others wander among cottages and hill farms copying out old half-remembered ballads that they can pay some toothless gray-hair to try to sing. Still others operate wealthy lending libraries in the bustling cities of Sembia or ride into danger all over Faerûn breaking into old tombs and delving into ruins in search of lost and forgotten writings before such things crumble away forever. These are the sort of deeds that have earned Deneir his nickname Scribe of Oghma.
Many common folk through the Realms, however, see Deneirrath as the scribes of the people because they take a special vow of charity upon becoming priests: to write letters and transcribe information for anyone who asks them to as long they do not have to copy out anything magical (mainly for their own safety) or write down anything from their own knowledge that would reveal the secrets of others. (A priest of Deneir imprisoned and ordered to list all the literate people in his town or list all those for whom he's drafted letters on matters of finance in the last decade would refuse to do so.) The poor receive such services for free, the average commoner in return for the price of the paper and inks plus a single silver piece, and wealthier petitioners pay the going rates. Large projects must be negotiated, but in slow times, priests of Deneir can be found in the local commons and bars, writing letters for those unable to do so.
Real wealth can be gained, however, by a priest asked to write something in strictest confidence for the Price of the Silent Scribe can be steep, with a third going to the priest and two-thirds to the nearest temple of Deneir. Strictest confidence means that no one outside the faith ever hears or reads of what the priest has been enjoined to silence on. The rumors of secret writings being written down and kept in secret libraries kept by the Deneirrath are true. These secret libraries may be anything from secret passages in temple offices and hollow pillars in shrines to great vaults and even forbidden towers in the larger abbeys and monasteries. Deneirrath caches of secret writings are always guarded by spells and usually also by monsters that range from watchspiders to watchghosts. Magical writings are always kept secret from outsiders. Deneirrath never admit that their senior priests do, in fact, copy out spells and make some of the scrolls that temples have been known to sell to adventurers, nobles, and wealthy merchants.
Educating others to read and write is another important task for the clergy of Deneir for which only nominal fees are charged. The temples and abbeys of the faith, however, charge stiff fees to train nonbelievers to be skilled scribes, limners (artists), illuminators, bookbinders, and parchmentmakers.

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

The only holy day that sees special ceremonies in the church of Deneir is the Shieldmeet, wherein copies of old contracts are taken out for public viewing and any mortal may ask to see a copy of any (nonmagical) writing in any temple of Deneir to which she or he can travel. Such records and writings must be specifically requested, however (not every contract written by Duke Teranzan), and must not violate the vows of confidentiality of the temple. Shieldmeet is the day on which the Gilding is observed: a rite in which priests gather in a great circle around a levitated manuscript and cast special spells, each of which impresses a single golden letter onto the page, to set forth the Words of Deneir in large letters for public display in days to come. (It is the duty of junior Deneirrath to hunt down and punish thieves who tear off or scrape at letters trying to get the meager gold.)
This is not to say that Deneirrath do not observe complex rituals. They do on a daily basis. These many ceremonies include chants, sung prayers, and responsive readings as well as private, personal prayers. Certain old priests utter a prayer with every illuminated letter they commence and again when they complete it or whenever they first make a mark upon a virgin page. Most Deneirrath pray to their deity when they undertake a major task such as copying out a noble family tree, making a map, or copying out a minstrel's chapbook of ballads for sale in the larger, more sophisticated cities of the Realms.

==Major Centers of Worship==

Iron Dragon Mountain, a hidden, legendary peak in the Earthfast Mountains, is the site of the Master's Library in Faerûn, a complex of many caverns where more books than anywhere else in all the Realms - even Candlekeep, the Library of Curna in the Curna Mountains, and the great libraries of Shou Lung - are stored. Here can be found the High Librarians, who have samples of all known written tongues and can read them (even dragon writings). Sixty or so High Librarians said to all be bearded, balding, shuffling men of great age - are said to live here. Their leader is the Librarian Supreme Haliduth Orspriir, a vigorous man who has lived some 600 years by the grace of Deneir. He can call on eight mature adult to great wyrm mist dragons who lair in various nearby peaks to defend the Library from attack. All devout Deneirrath undertake a pilgrimage to the Master's Library at least once in their lives, but most never get beyond the Reading Room, a small fastness well to the south of the true e temple, where a kindly old female Keeper (assisted and guarded by loyal watchghosts) makes use of a secret gate (usable only by nonliving matter) to send notes to the Master's Library requesting specific texts and to receive copies of the requested writings to hand to the faithful.
The treasured collections of Silverymoon, the artifact museums of Calimshan, and Twilight Hall in Berdusk are all important regional centers of Deneir's worship. The Edificant Library, administered jointly by the clergy of Deneir and Oghma and located in the Snowflake Mountains northwest of Carradoon, is another prominent regional temple.

==Affiliated Orders==

Deneir, with Mystra and other powers, has influence on the mysterious group known as the Harpers, and one of Deneir's largest churches, the Inner Chamber in Berdusk, is the front for an extensive Harper organization known as Twilight Hall. While Deneir has no militant knightly orders, his faith does number an order of scribes and several orders of monks. All temple scribes certified by the church of Deneir as skilled and trustworthy belong to the Literate Brotherhood and wear a pin or badge depicting a white quill with a gold nib. The monastic orders include the Preservers of the Ordered Way, who tend to remain cloistered and perform copying and illuminating work; the Disciples of the Free Word (known derisively as the Pens of the Poor), who pursue the church mission of offering scribe duties to the indigent with great vigor; and the Zealots of the Written Word (usually just called Zealots or Carmendines, after their founder), an adventuring order that accompanies priests of the faith on holy quests and pursues money-making efforts for the church.

==Priestly Vestments==

Deneirrath always wear the badge of the god upon their person if nowhere else, on a gold circlet worn about their brows. They are also never without their most important identifiers, their ubiquitous writing kits: triangular leather pouches belted to their right hips containing paper, inks, and pens. There is a saying about Deneirrath and their kits: If a Deneirrath is naked in the bath and the ceiling above him catches fire, he will grab any books in the room first, his writing kit second, and the door third, leaving clothes behind for more modest men.
The standard dress of priests of Deneir, both in normal daily use and for ceremony, is a tan, off-white, or white tunic with a stiff, circular collar, breeches, and a medium-length ornamental cloak of the sort known as a swirl cloak in the cities of the Sword Coast (because it covers nothing against winter winds and bad weather, but merely swirls out grandly behind the wearer). The color of the cloak denotes the rank of the cleric, from diagonally black-and-white striped for Applicants, to black for Underpriests, black with a maroon collar for Aspirant Priests, black with a gray central strip for Full Priests, gray with black trim for Priest Illuminators, all gray for Priest Calligraphers, indigo for Priest Editors, sepia for Priest Secretaries, turquoise for Priest Librarians, royal blue for Aspirant Scriveners, white with gold trim for Full Scriveners, and pure white for High Scriveners. Adventuring clerics of Deneir wear whatever is most suitable for their particular mission, but they always wear both their writing kits and badges bearing the symbol of Deneir somewhere on their person.

=Server Lore=

During the Time of Troubles Deneir's avatar resided in Candlekeep.

Akadi

2023-04-04T18:22:56Z

Almarea90:

{{Deity|name=Akadi
|icon=Ig_hu_akadi.png
|alias=Queen of Air, the Lady of Air, Lady of the Winds, Queen of Air Elementals
|power=G
|pantheon=F
|domain name=Elemental Plane of Air/The Great Funnel
|symbol=A billowing white cloud on a dark blue sky
|alignment=N
|cleric=LN, N, CN, NE
|portfolio=Elemental air, air elementalists, movement, speed, flying creatures
|worshippers=Animal breeders, elemental archons (air), rangers, rogues, sailors
|domain_air=1
|domain_travel=1
|domain_trickery=1
|domain_chaos=1
|domain_magic=1
|domain_illusion=1
|weapon=[[Flail]]
|weapon_canon=A whirlwind (heavy flail)
|superior=none
|allies=[[Aerdrie Faenya]], [[Shaundakul]]
|enemies=[[Grumbar]]}}
'''Akadi''' ''(pronounced: ah-kah-dee)'' is the whispering wind and the blinding gale storm, her form changing from season to season. Her kiss might be moist and sweet or bitter and cold. Uncaring, she carries sounds and scents along on her journey, but she never pauses to impress upon a traveler the importance of her travels.

Akadi has only been seen twice in written record in avatar form on Toril. The Queen of Air normally appears as a huge column of swirling winds resembling an immense tornado that towers from the earth into the clouds above. Her voice can range from the whisper of the slightest breeze through the trees to an insistent roar that can be heard for miles in every direction.
In religious art she is often portrayed as a huge, translucent blue woman with gigantic feathery wings that trail away into clouds. Her wings are said to toss the winds about the surface of Faerûn. Like all the elemental lords, Akadi is relatively uncaring of her followers on Toril. Her reactions are difficult to gauge, and she seems almost an alien being in her responses to most mortals not native to the Elemental Plane of Air. The relative inaction of Akadi and the other elemental lords has led to their being viewed as only lesser powers in the Realms and their followers being classed as cultists. Akadi is known as Teylas in the Hordelands, a god of the Elemental Plane of Air. The distinction between a female and male form of the Lady of the Winds makes no difference to the faith. Akadi does seem to have some small affection for her followers, but most often displays that affection when they make large offerings to her by burning precious incenses that waft to her on the winds — so it could be argued that she only cares when she is bribed to do so. While appeals to Akadi to change or still the winds, provide good flying currents, or bring gentle rains meet with her approval, she grants no prayers to raise or quell harsh storms, as storms lie within the purview of Talos and Umberlee (though she occasionally manages a whirlwind of brief duration but stunning force).

=The Church=

Akadian priests are strongly encouraged to learn weather sense and to acquire skill in playing a musical instrument that involves blowing air through it to produce sound (such as woodwind instruments, brass instruments, organs, and bagpipes) in addition to their required proficiencies.
Before the Time of Troubles, all of the elemental cults had clerics in their ranks. Now, only specialty priests remain. Why Akadi decided to gradually convert her clerics to specialty priests is unknown. Since the Godswar, the Akadian church has added a small order of mystics and an order of crusaders to the church to round out the capabilities of the priesthood. In primitive or nomadic societies (such as those of the Tuigan), Akadi is served by shamans.
Few priests of Akadi ever settle down in one place, so few communities feel threatened or benefited by the appearance of an Akadian priest. Akadian priests blow into a town or village upon the morning breeze and are typically gone by the time the sun sets. A philosophy of incessant movement and wanderlust has ingrained itself into the church of Akadi, and few temples exist to the Lady of the Winds. Those that do are most often open-air circles of wooden poles adorned with feathers and streamers that flutter in the slightest breeze. Priests of the faith travel across Faerûn, spreading the word of Akadi at each opportunity. They often lecture on the joys that the freedom of Akadi brings, but seldom stop to argue semantics or principles with those who would them, choosing instead to sew the seeds of the Queen of Air and then continue along to “wherever the winds take them.” This tendency to spout high-sounding verbiage has led to more than one Akadian priest being called a “windbag” in several senses of the word. The priests of Akadi are divided up between the Whisper and the Roar. These are not rankings within the church or even a division between those clergy members with parish territories and those of an adventuring bent. Rather, these are distinctions in philosophy of action. Those who follow the Whisper typically work behind the scenes, seldom showing themselves to be a member of the church of Akadi. Members of the Roar are much more direct about their involvement in the affairs of Faerûn. The disparate and unfocused nature of the activities of the church of Akadi as a whole has left few in Faerûn viewing it as any sort of threat, although personally ambitious members of the church can sometimes wreak havoc in a particular region. Akadi’s priests are organized mostly into “churches” formed of small cliques who follow a particularly charismatic Akadian. These cliques shift and flow over tune as the group politics lead to some members rising in status, others falling, and others leaving in disgust or empowered by the inspiring message of their leader to begin a new church in a far-off land. This sort of organization is very fluid and often very confusing to those outside the faith, as such folk are never sure who will be in charge in a tenday and therefore who to hold responsible for living up to agreements and contracts. Most Akadians have a reputation for being untrustworthy because of this very problem in their faith’s organization. When tune comes due for an Akadian to live up to a promise, frequently the answer received is: “I’m so sorry, that’snot my job anymore”—if one can find the Akadian the deal was struck with in the first place! Novice Akadians are referred to as Fledglings. Upon undergoing a personally designed rite of empowerment supervised by at least two senior clergy (and usually involving flying), they become full priests. In ascending order of rank, the titles in general use by the priesthood are: Winged One (full priest), Air of the Goddess, Breeze of Light, Zephyr (senior priest), Mistral, Sirocco(leader of a large “church”), and Whirlwind (leader of a very large church or priest of great experience). A priest who has slain or soundly defeated an enemy of the church (usually a high-ranking priest of [[Grumbar]] or an earth-based creature of power) may add the honorific “High” to the beginning of his or her title.

==Dogma==

The teachings of the Akadian church amount to a doctrine of finding one’s own enlightenment. The church feels that one can only find truth in what one is interested in and as soon as interest fails, all chance of finding further spiritual growth has left an activity or place. Therefore, the faithful must move from activity to activity, from place to place, pursuing a personal dream or series of interests and growing through the changing experiences each new day brings. The church pays little attention to resistance to its doctrine; such obstacles will be worn down over time. Few matters are ever deemed so important that the church feels the need to commit itself to a particular cause. The only stance that the Akadian faith takes adamantly is that its members and its priests should not be fettered or imprisoned; such a condition rapidly leads to the onset of depression among the faithful and a languishing death. Novices in the Akadian faith are charged as follows: “The eternal Akadi is change personified. Each new day reveals to us a new side of her. Strive to be as flexible as she is. Pursue everything that interests you in turn. Look at problems from as many viewpoints as possible to achieve the most creative answer. View life as an art form to create anew around you each day to your benefit and that of Akadi. The freedom to move about and to soar on the breeze of life is one of the inherent rights of every living thing. Fly forth and spread the word of Akadi and show through your works the fresh new life she brings.”

==Day-to-Day Activities==

Listening to the wind, traveling beneath the stars of Faerûn, pursuing personal interests of the moment, and speaking to others of the glories of Akadi dominate most priests’ lives. Some priests become almost obsessively involved in “life experiments” of a practical or esoteric nature. For instance, some may become deeply involved in breeding faster and sleeker hawks or running hounds, others may decide to see how orcs adapt to fierce and freakish windstorms, and yet others may spend endless hours trying to develop artificial wings for cats. Yet, once any project is no longer fun or interesting, Akadian priests drop it like a lead weight and move on to something new no matter how much time they have already invested in the activity.

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

Each day is an important event in the eyes of an Akadian. The faithful typically rise before the sun emerges to whisper their prayers on the morning breeze and stay up to watch the moon rise over Faerûn or glide the dying thermals of the waning day and joyfully speak their evening prayers.

The Fellowship of Flight is the ceremony that Akadian specialty priests undergo that celebrates their ability, upon reaching a certain level of skill, to summon an air elemental from the Elemental Plane of Air. The ceremony is preceded by an hour of solemn prayer, after which the elemental is summoned. When it answers, it is wafted with sweet-smelling incense, sung songs, sprinkled with flower petals, and given poems praising Akadi to carry back to her realm.

On Midsummer, the church holds its only calendar festival. To attend this festival, all of the faithful who are able to travel do so for tendays before Midsummer. They gather in the Shaar at the rums of Blaskaltar, which contain the site of the first known shrine to Akadi in Faerûn, now obliterated by the hand of time and seasons of wind and rain. Here the chant of the heroes of the faith is recited by all present and new names are added to the roll commemorating those who have passed on during the past year.

==Major Centers of Worship==

Few permanent temples to Akadi have been erected. Many of her shrines are tended by a rotating cycle of priests as they travel the countryside, leaving the shrine when their replacement arrives. The holiest site of the Akadian faith is the mound of the First Shrine of the Queen of Air in the ruins of Blaskaltar in the Shaar. The structure is long gone through ages of neglect; however, the faithful gather here yearly to remember the history of their church and its great members so that they do not lose their past and thus become doomed to repeat it.

==Affiliated Orders==

The order of Akadian crusaders is known as the Knights of the Wind’s Four Quarters. Its members tend to pursue personal quests and errands for church elders or carry out the ongoing vendetta against the church of [[Grumbar]]. Mystics of the faith belong to the Companions of the Summer Wind, who tend to be good-aligned, the Disciples of Spring’s Breeze, who are mainly neutral, or the Alliance of Midwinter’s Teeth, who are evil.

==Priestly Vestments==

Priests of Akadi dress for rituals in robes of white, light gray, and light blue, representing the many faces of their goddess. Silk is a preferred material in vestments, as its flowing nature pleases the goddess, and rare silks dyed in flowing or rippling patterns of blue or white are highly prized. Many priests wear jewelry of milky opal, crystal quartz, augelite, turquoise, beryllonite, blue spinel, or sapphire, and these are the stones from which Akadian holy symbols are constructed. Air elementals blow fine grit over one of these gemstones, thereby inscribing Akadi’s symbol; the stone is set into a piece of jewelry, forming a holy symbol.

==Adventuring Garb==

Adventuring priests and Akadian clergy members on the road dress practically, though they favor clothes or accessories of white, light gray, and light blue. They recognize that traveling through the countryside on the enemy element of earth requires heavier clothing to shield oneself from that harsh element. They typically confine their use of silk to a scarf or decorative vest and pack their ceremonial vestments carefully to protect them.

==Specialty Priests==

NAME: Airwalkers (not implemented in game)
ALIGNMENT: CN, CG, N, CN, CE
WEAPONS: Any one melee weapon; all other weapons must be missile or thrown weapons.
ARMOR: All armor types up to and including chain mail and shield.
MAGICAL ITEMS: Same as clerics, except forbidden from using magical items with earth-based effects.

- Karsus and aaracokra may be airwalkers.
- Airwalkers may cast wizard spells from the elemental air school in addition to priest spells. These spells are cast as if the airwalker were a mage of the same level. Airwalkers pray for their wizard spells instead of studying to memorize them, and chosen wizard spells replace priest spells potentially available for use that day. Airwalkers are always able to read elemental air spells on scrolls or in wizard spellbooks as if they knew read magic.
- All airwalkers gain a +2 bonus to saving throws vs. the harmful effects of air- or wind-related spells or cloud-like or gaseous breath weapons.
- Airwalkers are never injured from a fall so long as the distance of the fall does not exceed 10 feet per level of the airwalker.
- At 5th level, airwalkers gain the ability assume a wraithform once per day.
- At 5th level, airwalkers can summon one 8-HD air elemental once a day. It is important to note that the elemental summoned is not a servant of the airwalker, but rather is looked upon as an agent of Akadi that is to be respected. The ability to summon an elemental is granted once each day when airwalkers receive their normal complement of spells.
- At 7th level, airwalkers gain the ability to fly once per day.
- At 9th level, airwalkers gain the ability to cast cloudkill once per day.
- At 9th level, airwalkers can summon one 12-HD air elemental once a tenday. All the same conditions apply as for summoning an 8-HD air elemental.
- At 13th level, airwalkers can summon one 16-HD air elemental once a tenday. All the same conditions apply as for summoning an 8-HD air elemental.
- At 15th level, airwalkers can move through the Elemental Plane of Air without need for food or water.
- Airwalkers who work together can summon an elemental of greater HitDice than they would otherwise be able to alone. As long as both summoners remain alive, the elemental remains under their control for one full hour.

Eldath

2023-03-26T20:45:33Z

Almarea90:

{{FRWiki article|Eldath}}
{{Deity|name=
|icon=Ig_hu_eldath.png
|alias=Goddess of Singing Waters, The Quiet One, Mother Guardian of Groves, the Green Goddess, the Mother of the Waters
|power=L
|pantheon=F
|symbol=Waterfall plunging into a still pool without causing
any disturbance of its waters, or a circular, sky-blue disk
fringed with green ferns
|alignment=NG
|cleric=LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
|portfolio=Quiet places, springs, pools, stillness, peace, waterfalls, druid groves
|worshippers=Druids, pacifists, rangers
|superior=Silvanus
|allies=Mielikki, Silvanus, Chauntea, Selune, Lathander
|foes=Malar, Loviatar, Bane (now dead), Amaunator (now dead), Talos, Moander (now dead)
|domain_good=1
|domain_plant=1
|domain_protection=1
|domain_water=1
|domain_canon=Family
|weapon=[[Unarmed strike]]
|weapon_canon=Net}}
[[Category:Nature_deities]]

Eldath (EL-dath) is the guardian of druid groves, and her presence is felt every place where there is calm. Her druids and clergy often aid other druidic faiths in establishing a grove and sanctifying it. In religious art, Eldath is often depicted as a dark-haired woman dressed in shimmering green or as a dryad or wild elf with blue and green hair. Her singing is heard in every babbling brook and waterfall.
Eldath is a pacifist and usually takes no hostile actions even when threatened. This is one of the reasons that Eldath is almost a forgotten power; most Faerûnians think of Mielikki, Silvanus, or Chauntea in relation to nature before they think of her. Eldath is enigmatic and speaks seldom. She seems shy, but possessed of unknown depths of character and an unexpressed resolve that cannot he broken. When challenged, she gives before challengers who only later discover that her apparent acceptance and retreat merely drew them out into an untenable position where they are surrounded, out of their element, and their reinforcements have been converted to her side.
Like Mielikki, Eldath serves Silvanus. Eldath sees him as a father figure, but often finds his robustness intimidating to her retiring nature. Mielikki and Eldath have a very close relationship. During the Time of Troubles Mielikki was heard to address her as “Datha,” and the two goddesses embraced as sisters.
While Eldath opposes all that Tempus stands for, she does not consider him a personal foe. He in turn, is said to consider her naive, but to respect her convictions and generally ignore her.

Eldath prefers not to appear in avatar form often; she seems almost shy. When she does appear, it is usually to wounded beings who have found their way into one of her sacred places or to her worshipers. Eldath takes the form of a tall, thin, yet graceful and beautiful translucent female human, nereid, or aquatic elf; she can be seen through at all times. Her feet are bare, her hair looks like spun glass or flowing ice and is colorless like water, and her eyes are deep green. Eldath’s green silken garments flow clingily around her, yet the sight of her soothes lustful thoughts rather than arousing them. She radiates stillness and peace.
Eldath appears most frequently as a whispering wind that brings a message and revives plants that it touches to the blooming height of health or a green glowing aura that has all the healing powers of the goddess, can speak aloud and in the minds of those within 120 feet, and can telekinese nonliving items within its confines. Eldath also acts or shows her favor through the appearance or actions of bears, raccoons, brownies, dryads, sylphs, nereids, feystags, sprites, stags, talking owls, unicorns, and other woodland creatures, common meadow and woodland flowers such as daisies, water plants such as water lilies and lotuses, and aquamarines, clear quartz, blue topazes, sapphires, and other stones in watery hues.

=The Church=

The church of Eldath is small and dispersed, the majority of its most ardent priests traveling and preaching or settling by some quiet spot and teaching those who come seeking enlightenment. In a world brimming with evil deities and their servants, orcs, goblins, warring nations, and other hostile forces, it is not surprising that Eldath's philosophy of peace and calm has failed to catch on. Still, it is viable and challenging, and legends speak of heroes, such as the elven war hero Telva, who embraced the cause of Eldath and abandoned warfare forever. One race of beings who travel against the tide of war with Eldath are the ondonti, a pacifistic orcish race.
Given the limitations and goals of the specialty priests of Eldath, it should not be surprising that there are not very many of them. Only some 10% of the priests of Eldath are specialty priests, called peacemen and peacewomen in the faith. The remainder of the followers are split between druids, clerics, a scant few mystics, and a relatively recently founded monastic order. Clerics, druids, mystics, and monks, while not as restricted as the specialty priests of Eldath, are encouraged to conduct themselves in a fitting fashion as put forth by their deity. It is a mark of skill among Eldathyn (especially adventurer-priests, known as Freewalkers) to defeat foes with defensive spells, making an enemy defeat himself through misdirection and manipulation. Most of the high-ranking members of the church's loose organization are peacemen and peacewomen, and the great druids and other senior clergy members of the faith defer to them in discussion. Relations between the five branches of the faith are excellent, and both of the more militant wings of the faith are very supportive and protective of the specialty priests, mystics, and monks, who are more retiring.
Pacifists and lovers-of-nature cleave to the Green Goddess. Many are vegetarians and herbalists who desire to take no life, but the ranks of the Eldathyn are studded with hardy adventurer-priests who serve as envoys to other faiths, act as go-betweens with urban worshipers (often guiding them to and from forest fastness temples), and carry items and messages from priest to priest within the faith. Although it is part of the making of a priest of Eldath that an individual must travel Faerûn widely enough to pray in at least nine sacred fastnesses (temple groves) dedicated to the goddess, most Eldathyn settle in one grove or one forest and live their lives thereabouts.
Eldathyn are organized in a simple hierarchy where a dozen or so priests, each of whom may have up to 14 underpriests dwelling with him or her, report to a senior priest who in turn reports to a grand priest responsible for a realm or larger region. Clergy of senior years, many accomplishments, or higher rank are styled Exalted, and traveling Freewalkers rank between full priests and senior priests. From the ranks of the Exalted come the leaders of temples to Eldath, most of whom preside over forest communities with open-air sacred places of worship known as fastnesses. As the leader of a fastness, they are entitled use the title Keeper of the Fastness.

==Dogma==

The philosophy of Eldath is highly advanced. It teaches that peace can only come from within and cannot be taught or imposed; it must be reached through thought and meditation. The faithful of Eldath should seek stillness and thereby find peace. They are to plant trees and green-leaved things and tend such things when they need it, wherever they may be.
Eldathyn are instructed to nurture and aid and not to restrict or punish. They may defend but not punish. Eldathyn may work violence only to defend, and they may slay no thing of the forest save to prevent it from slaying themselves or another under their protection.
All worshipers of Eldath are to aid fellow Eldathyn and clergy of Silvanus and Mielikki whenever possible and to give assistance, support, and shelter to displaced forest dwellers and to those who work to defend ponds, marshes, and streamside woods everywhere. They must swear to take no thinking life save in direst need and to share with all beings the beneficial things that grow in or come from running water that all may know of and praise Eldath.

==Day-to-Day Activities==

Eldathyn usually spend their lives tending unspoiled places to ensure that they survive and even flourish in the face of human and other depredations. Priests of Eldath replant burned areas, purge areas of plant diseases, construct boulder firebreaks, irrigate wooded areas, and clear streambeds to make rivulets flow more swiftly or create dams to slow runoff and encourage the life created by small pools. They even make bargains with nearby foresters to cut only in certain areas and leave other woodlands alone.
Eldath has a hatred of indiscriminate and greedy woodcutters, those who use fire as a weapon, and avaricious millers and careless beings who foul rivers and other waters. Her clergy are pledged to work against such individuals by whatever means seem most prudent for long-term success. They rarely resort to any sort of open confrontation for as long as possible as it tends to bring attacks down on the clergy but hidden priests can work in opposition unhindered.
Eldathyn are also charged with observing and recording what sort of birds, beasts, and plants dwell in what places and the changes in the amounts and locations of such flora and fauna over the years. They are to report such things to their superiors on a regular basis so that the senior clergy members, working with those of Silvanus and Mielikki, can interpret long-term trends in regional ecologies.
To raise funds for personal and church support, priests of Eldath may act as water-dowsers by employing an infallible water divination spell known to the church, as herbalists, gardeners, or as potion-makers. Few Eldathyn live in large settlements, but many dwell in springside cottages often with trained guard animals within an easy ride of cities or large towns so as to be able to serve the local populace as sources of medicines and potions. Clergy of Eldath are all taught to swim, and often teach this skill to nonbelievers in return for small offerings to the church and the goddess of food and coins that the priests can use.

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

Eldath's clergy members pray on a personal and individual basis when bathing or floating in ponds or streams, when standing under waterfalls, and in small chambers, caves, or forest bowers given over to regular meditation. Many forest paths in woods dwelt in by Eldathyn cross streams by means of log bridges bearing tiny huts with holes or trap doors in their floors, permitting modest clergy to immerse themselves for prayer or bathing. These are the most favored meditation spots for Eldathyn.
Prayers must be performed upon awakening, at sunset, and at least once during the dark hours, and may be performed at any other time as personally desired. In woodlands and remote wilderness areas, worship of the Green Goddess should be done unclad or as close to it as is possible in a given circumstance. Startled woodsmen tell of certain adventurer-priests standing in pools to pray with their weapons drifting in midair around them in slow, enspelled orbits so as to be ready to hand if danger came upon the scene.
The only calendar-related ritual of Eldath, the Greening (Greengrass) is also the only regular gathering and festival of the priesthood. It is preceded by Firstflow, a festival held at different times in different locales as the ice breaks up and the waters begin to flow. The only other occasions upon which Eldathyn gather in large numbers are consecrations of new places as open-air temples or shrines of the goddess. At such consecrations, the assembled clergy perform the Chant of the Fastness. An avatar of Eldath always appears to bless her worshipers' efforts, though she may not always speak or work magic other than making any spring or water in her new sacred place into water of Eldath for a tenday thereafter and giving it the power to regenerate and heal all creatures immersed in it until the dawn following the day of her appearance.

==Major Centers of Worship==

The most revered center of Eldathyn worship is Duskwood Dell in Amn, east of Eshpurta. There the waters of the River Rimril, a tributary of the Esmel River, plunge down the western cliffs of Eldath's Mount in the Troll Mountains via the Green Goddess Falls in a descent of over 400 feet and thence through a series of pools and lesser falls (called the Steps) out into Arundath, the Quiet Forest (known most commonly as the Snakewood for the serpentine denizens the Eldathyn use to scare away intruders). Here Most Exalted Fallskeeper Alatoasz Berendim
presides over a tree city of Eldathyn who train underpriests in the service of
the Green Goddess and send them out all over Faerûn to find their personal place in Eldath's service.
Elah'zad, an ancient Eldathyn holy site in Anauroch, is also a place of great power. According to the Bedine, Elah'zad was the home of the moon goddess, Elah (Selûne), but At'ar the sun goddess drove her away and made it a prison for Eldath, the Mother of the Waters, because she was jealous of Eldath's beauty. Here Eldath can choose to speak through the mouth of any woman who enters the House of the Moon, a nearly circular palatial temple formed of chalky, translucent desert rock in the midst of a lake set in a sacred grove surrounded by over a hundred small springs. (The woman falls asleep and the goddess directly and completely controls her body.) At the House of the Moon charged magical items of the Eldathyn faith can be recharged through prayer and ritual by the grace of Eldath.

==Affiliated Orders==

The Eldathyn church and the revitalized Mielikkian faith have grown extremely close recently. Eldathyn provide quiet sanctuary and supply to the Shadoweirs of the Mielikkian faith when they cannot receive support from those of their own religion. The Eldathyn faith also has close ties with Those Who Harp (the Harpers), an organization working throughout Faerûn for good and against the rise of great powers, which tend to endanger all natural life.
The church of Eldath has a circle of a few peacewomen and peacemen who have formed a group known as the Arbitrators of the Quiet One. They freely go to areas of conflict and attempt to serve as mediators in longstanding disagreements that have led to violent acts. They listen to both sides and try to find a middle ground without polarizing the issues through overt statements of moral judgment. They prefer to find resolutions that get at the heart of a problem so that once dealt with it does not flare up again in months or years.
The monastic order of Eldath is the Disciples of the Yielding Way, sometimes known as the Brothers and Sisters of the Open Palm. These monks guard sacred sites where many peacemen and peacewomen dwell and travel the countryside gathering information for isolated groves and fastnesses. They do not ever seek to provoke violence, but are quite deceptively deadly when defending themselves, their charges, and their holy sites.

==Priestly Vestments==

Priests of Eldath dress simply in green and blue robes decorated with water-colored (blue, green, translucent, and opalescent) semiprecious gems and embroidery in water patterns. Specialty priests don a series of sheer robes, each in different shades of blue and green. The sleeves and hems of the garments are artfully cut to look ragged like tossing waves or water ripples. All clergy wear Eldath’s symbol as a holy symbol; the sky-blue disk is fashioned of painted wood and fresh fern fronds are planted or affixed over the painted ones on the symbol whenever possible.
Eldathyn priests dress practically in the field, though some like to accent their dress with blue and green and allow the sleeves and hems of their garments to become ragged to simulate frothing water. Most wear leaf-green robes with moss-green accents, gray sashes, and brown overcloaks. Peacemen and peacewomen wear no armor and sport garb similar to their ceremonial dress made up of multiple layers of semitransparent robes and tabards over an opaque foundation robe or dress. Sightings of Eldathyn in the deep woods have given rise to many legends of wild folk of the woods.

Deneir

2023-03-19T18:05:18Z

Almarea90:

{{FRWiki article|Deneir}}
{{Deity|name=
|icon=Ig_hu_deneir.png
|alias=Lord of All Glyphs and Images, the Scribe of Oghma
|power=L
|pantheon=F
|symbol=A single candle set above a staring purple human eye
with a triangular pupil, or a single lit candle
|alignment=NG
|cleric=CG, LG, NG
|portfolio=Glyphs, images, literature, literacy, scribes, pictorial and
literary art, cartography
|worshippers=Historians, loremasters, sages, scholars, scribes, seekers of enlightment, students
|domain_good=1
|domain_knowledge=1
|domain_protection=1
|domain_canon=Rune
|weapon=[[Dagger]] - A whirling glyph
|weapon_canon=
|superior=Oghma
|allies=Oghma, Azuth, Milil, Mystra, Lliira, Lathander
|foes=Cyric, Bane (now dead), Malar, Talos, Mask}}

Deneir (Deh-NEER) is the patron of the artist, the illuminator, the scribe, and the cartographer. His is the power to accurately render and describe, to write
and to read, and to pass on information. He counts as his foes all who destroy, hide, or distort knowledge.
He works for Oghma making sure that all that is known and true is accurately recorded in the Great Library. He is portrayed in religious art as a balding
old sage with a huge, flared beard whose eyes are in some way peculiar:
Sometimes they are a vibrant violet with triangular pupils, at other times
they are a brilliant ice blue, and at yet others they are blazing orbs of blue
fire. He is always shown holding a quill pen and carrying or writing in or on
a book, scroll, or parchment.
Deneir is caught up in the recording, filing, indexing and maintaining of all that was ever written or depicted. He can appear very absent-minded, and often trails off in midsentence because his mind is racing along other trails of thought even as he speaks. For all his acquaintance with book knowledge, he can be out of touch with the world as it is now — in particular, human customs in practice: He tends to use mannerisms of speech and hold to points of etiquette that disappeared long ago from Faerûn — or he may (unintentionally humorously) mix his slang terms or try to sound in vogue and actually sound profoundly dated. When he gets going on a story, he can eat up immense amounts of his listeners’ time as he diverges seemingly endlessly in parenthetical substories. For all their length, his tales always convey some vital piece of knowledge to those who wait them out.

Deneir most often appears as an old, balding sage with a huge flaring white
beard and eyes of intense blue or violet (though he has been known to appear younger, especially when in disguise). His voluminous robes are covered in glyphs and symbols that seem to serve as some sort of code to remind him of events and pieces of information. He usually carries quill pens, scrolls, and tomes, and may let some of these fall and be left behind. (This appears to happen accidentally, but in fact always occurs on purpose.) Mortals who recover such things find them to be enchanted pens, spell scrolls, tomes of magical power, or instructions for creating magical items or constructs. He can draw his spells from any school or sphere of magic, but out of long habit he tries never to use fire magic because valuable writings might be destroyed.
Deneir prefers to manifest as a glowing nimbus of light around a book. If a mortal opens the book, Deneir may move the radiance about to indicate things. He may telekinese the book and other nearby objects about or extend a glowing humanlike hand out of the light to cast spells, to wield or carry things, or to point and gesture. When appearing as this nimbus, Deneir rarely speaks, though he sometimes writes with silent letters of fire in midair or in a mortal’s mind, causing actual letters to he written on nothingness.
Deneir also manifests his approval or disapproval or aids his followers through the actions or appearance of baku holy ones, einheriar formed from the essences of great sages (and thus as warriors a rather fumbling lot—but great storehouses of knowledge), light aasimons, movanic devas, planetars, wisdom Incarnates, calico cats, white dogs with golden eyes, pinto and piebald horses, candles, quill pens and writing brushes, gold- or yellow-colored flowers, topazes, iolites, tourmalines, and star sapphires.

=The Church=

All the priests of Deneir are encouraged to learn to read and write more than just one tongue.
Priests of Deneir are found throughout Faerûn, as are shrines and temples
in Deneir’s name. Most of the temples of Deneir could best be described as libraries with attached sanctuaries and living quarters, for the preservation of written knowledge is the focus of Deneir’s faith.
Clergy members are known as Deneirrath. Only about 15% of clergy members are specialty priests. However, specialty priests occupy all the high positions within the church hierarchy. Clerics and monks are welcome, but even if they attain high levels, they are not usually awarded the leadership of temples. Monks may be promoted to the head of an abbey or monastery; however, they are always attached to a temple and rank beneath its high priest. As a result, there is some grumbling among nonspecialty clergy members of the faith, and many turn to adventuring to give them advancement in other areas.
Though females are as welcome as males in the Deneirrath hierarchy, the title “Priest” is used regardless of the gender of its holder. (The word “priestess” is something for other faiths.) The color of the cloaks priests of Deneir
wear denotes their ranks, which are (in ascending order): Applicant, Underpriest, Aspirant Priest, Full Priest, Priest Illuminator, Priest Calligrapher, Priest Editor, Priest Secretary, Priest Librarian, Aspirant Scrivener, Full Scrivener, and High Scrivener (the leader of a temple). The only higher ranks than these are granted personally by Deneir and consist of Writer Inquisitor (used by the most powerful and accomplished traveling adventurers
of the faith), Librarian, and High Librarian.
Deneir's specialty priests are Glyphscribes.

==Dogma==

Followers of Deneir believe that information that is not recorded and saved to be used later is information that is lost. Anyone who defaces or destroys a book should be punished in proportion to the value of the information lost unless she or he makes full replacement of it. Deneirrath must write everything down and let copying what is written fill every otherwise idle hour. They are to bring copies of every writing they gather to every temple of Deneir they arrive in (or make the copies there) so that knowledge may spread and nothing be lost. Information should be free to all and all should be able to read it, so that lying tongues cannot distort things all out of proportion. Deneirrath are to
write down all that people say, believe, and observe, leaving others to judge
what is true, of value, and proper for that which is not written is lost, and
there must be room for all tastes, all tongues, and all expression. Information
that does not harm should be made free to all.
Literacy is an important gift of Deneir and should be spread and taught. Deneirrath must learn to read and write and teach at least 10 mortals who do not venerate Deneir to do so also, so that such learning spreads.
Followers of Deneir have taken an oath of charity as well, such that they cannot turn down the request of another to write letters and transcribe information. If the one making the request is needy, they can take no payment for doing such duties, though they may charge those who can afford such services a fair rate. Deneirrath are to keep secrets they are exposed to in their charitable duties when bound to by oath or by their moral code.

==Day-to-Day Activities==

The primary task of priests of Deneir is to gather and write down-or copy out if it is already written knowledge and creative things (fiction, poems, song lyrics, witticisms, and diaries) so that nothing written is lost. Some priests never leave the copying cloisters of large temples, while others wander among cottages and hill farms copying out old half-remembered ballads that they can pay some toothless gray-hair to try to sing. Still others operate wealthy lending libraries in the bustling cities of Sembia or ride into danger all over Faerûn breaking into old tombs and delving into ruins in search of lost and forgotten writings before such things crumble away forever. These are the sort of deeds that have earned Deneir his nickname Scribe of Oghma.
Many common folk through the Realms, however, see Deneirrath as the scribes of the people because they take a special vow of charity upon becoming priests: to write letters and transcribe information for anyone who asks them to as long they do not have to copy out anything magical (mainly for their own safety) or write down anything from their own knowledge that would reveal the secrets of others. (A priest of Deneir imprisoned and ordered to list all the literate people in his town or list all those for whom he's drafted letters on matters of finance in the last decade would refuse to do so.) The poor receive such services for free, the average commoner in return for the price of the paper and inks plus a single silver piece, and wealthier petitioners pay the going rates. Large projects must be negotiated, but in slow times, priests of Deneir can be found in the local commons and bars, writing letters for those unable to do so.
Real wealth can be gained, however, by a priest asked to write something in strictest confidence for the Price of the Silent Scribe can be steep, with a third going to the priest and two-thirds to the nearest temple of Deneir. Strictest confidence means that no one outside the faith ever hears or reads of what the priest has been enjoined to silence on. The rumors of secret writings being written down and kept in secret libraries kept by the Deneirrath are true. These secret libraries may be anything from secret passages in temple offices and hollow pillars in shrines to great vaults and even forbidden towers in the larger abbeys and monasteries. Deneirrath caches of secret writings are always guarded by spells and usually also by monsters that range from watchspiders to watchghosts. Magical writings are always kept secret from outsiders. Deneirrath never admit that their senior priests do, in fact, copy out spells and make some of the scrolls that temples have been known to sell to adventurers, nobles, and wealthy merchants.
Educating others to read and write is another important task for the clergy of Deneir for which only nominal fees are charged. The temples and abbeys of the faith, however, charge stiff fees to train nonbelievers to be skilled scribes, limners (artists), illuminators, bookbinders, and parchmentmakers.

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

The only holy day that sees special ceremonies in the church of Deneir is the Shieldmeet, wherein copies of old contracts are taken out for public viewing and any mortal may ask to see a copy of any (nonmagical) writing in any temple of Deneir to which she or he can travel. Such records and writings must be specifically requested, however (not every contract written by Duke Teranzan), and must not violate the vows of confidentiality of the temple. Shieldmeet is the day on which the Gilding is observed: a rite in which priests gather in a great circle around a levitated manuscript and cast special spells, each of which impresses a single golden letter onto the page, to set forth the Words of Deneir in large letters for public display in days to come. (It is the duty of junior Deneirrath to hunt down and punish thieves who tear off or scrape at letters trying to get the meager gold.)
This is not to say that Deneirrath do not observe complex rituals. They do on a daily basis. These many ceremonies include chants, sung prayers, and responsive readings as well as private, personal prayers. Certain old priests utter a prayer with every illuminated letter they commence and again when they complete it or whenever they first make a mark upon a virgin page. Most Deneirrath pray to their deity when they undertake a major task such as copying out a noble family tree, making a map, or copying out a minstrel's chapbook of ballads for sale in the larger, more sophisticated cities of the Realms.

==Major Centers of Worship==

Iron Dragon Mountain, a hidden, legendary peak in the Earthfast Mountains, is the site of the Master's Library in Faerûn, a complex of many caverns where more books than anywhere else in all the Realms - even Candlekeep, the Library of Curna in the Curna Mountains, and the great libraries of Shou Lung - are stored. Here can be found the High Librarians, who have samples of all known written tongues and can read them (even dragon writings). Sixty or so High Librarians said to all be bearded, balding, shuffling men of great age - are said to live here. Their leader is the Librarian Supreme Haliduth Orspriir, a vigorous man who has lived some 600 years by the grace of Deneir. He can call on eight mature adult to great wyrm mist dragons who lair in various nearby peaks to defend the Library from attack. All devout Deneirrath undertake a pilgrimage to the Master's Library at least once in their lives, but most never get beyond the Reading Room, a small fastness well to the south of the true e temple, where a kindly old female Keeper (assisted and guarded by loyal watchghosts) makes use of a secret gate (usable only by nonliving matter) to send notes to the Master's Library requesting specific texts and to receive copies of the requested writings to hand to the faithful.
The treasured collections of Silverymoon, the artifact museums of Calimshan, and Twilight Hall in Berdusk are all important regional centers of Deneir's worship. The Edificant Library, administered jointly by the clergy of Deneir and Oghma and located in the Snowflake Mountains northwest of Carradoon, is another prominent regional temple.

==Affiliated Orders==

Deneir, with Mystra and other powers, has influence on the mysterious group known as the Harpers, and one of Deneir's largest churches, the Inner Chamber in Berdusk, is the front for an extensive Harper organization known as Twilight Hall. While Deneir has no militant knightly orders, his faith does number an order of scribes and several orders of monks. All temple scribes certified by the church of Deneir as skilled and trustworthy belong to the Literate Brotherhood and wear a pin or badge depicting a white quill with a gold nib. The monastic orders include the Preservers of the Ordered Way, who tend to remain cloistered and perform copying and illuminating work; the Disciples of the Free Word (known derisively as the Pens of the Poor), who pursue the church mission of offering scribe duties to the indigent with great vigor; and the Zealots of the Written Word (usually just called Zealots or Carmendines, after their founder), an adventuring order that accompanies priests of the faith on holy quests and pursues money-making efforts for the church.

==Priestly Vestments==

Deneirrath always wear the badge of the god upon their person if nowhere else, on a gold circlet worn about their brows. They are also never without their most important identifiers, their ubiquitous writing kits: triangular leather pouches belted to their right hips containing paper, inks, and pens. There is a saying about Deneirrath and their kits: If a Deneirrath is naked in the bath and the ceiling above him catches fire, he will grab any books in the room first, his writing kit second, and the door third, leaving clothes behind for more modest men.
The standard dress of priests of Deneir, both in normal daily use and for ceremony, is a tan, off-white, or white tunic with a stiff, circular collar, breeches, and a medium-length ornamental cloak of the sort known as a swirl cloak in the cities of the Sword Coast (because it covers nothing against winter winds and bad weather, but merely swirls out grandly behind the wearer). The color of the cloak denotes the rank of the cleric, from diagonally black-and-white striped for Applicants, to black for Underpriests, black with a maroon collar for Aspirant Priests, black with a gray central strip for Full Priests, gray with black trim for Priest Illuminators, all gray for Priest Calligraphers, indigo for Priest Editors, sepia for Priest Secretaries, turquoise for Priest Librarians, royal blue for Aspirant Scriveners, white with gold trim for Full Scriveners, and pure white for High Scriveners. Adventuring clerics of Deneir wear whatever is most suitable for their particular mission, but they always wear both their writing kits and badges bearing the symbol of Deneir somewhere on their person.

=Server Lore=

During the Time of Troubles Deneir's avatar resided in Candlekeep.

Deneir

2023-03-17T21:51:40Z

Almarea90:

{{FRWiki article|Deneir}}
{{Deity|name=
|icon=Ig_hu_deneir.png
|alias=Lord of All Glyphs and Images, the Scribe of Oghma
|power=L
|pantheon=F
|symbol=A single candle set above a staring purple human eye
with a triangular pupil, or a single lit candle
|alignment=NG
|cleric=CG, LG, NG
|portfolio=Glyphs, images, literature, literacy, scribes, pictorial and
literary art, cartography
|worshippers=Historians, loremasters, sages, scholars, scribes, seekers of enlightment, students
|domain_good=1
|domain_knowledge=1
|domain_protection=1
|domain_canon=Rune
|weapon=[[Dagger]] - A whirling glyph
|weapon_canon=
|superior=Oghma
|allies=Oghma, Azuth, Milil, Mystra, Lliira, Lathander
|foes=Cyric, Bane (now dead), Malar, Talos, Mask}}

Deneir (Deh-NEER) is the patron of the artist, the illuminator, the scribe, and the cartographer. His is the power to accurately render and describe, to write
and to read, and to pass on information. He counts as his foes all who destroy, hide, or distort knowledge.
He works for Oghma making sure that all that is known and true is accurately recorded in the Great Library. He is portrayed in religious art as a balding
old sage with a huge, flared beard whose eyes are in some way peculiar:
Sometimes they are a vibrant violet with triangular pupils, at other times
they are a brilliant ice blue, and at yet others they are blazing orbs of blue
fire. He is always shown holding a quill pen and carrying or writing in or on
a book, scroll, or parchment.
Deneir is caught up in the recording, filing, indexing and maintaining of all that was ever written or depicted. He can appear very absent-minded, and often trails off in midsentence because his mind is racing along other trails of thought even as he speaks. For all his acquaintance with book knowledge, he can be out of touch with the world as it is now — in particular, human customs in practice: He tends to use mannerisms of speech and hold to points of etiquette that disappeared long ago from Faerûn — or he may (unintentionally humorously) mix his slang terms or try to sound in vogue and actually sound profoundly dated. When he gets going on a story, he can eat up immense amounts of his listeners’ time as he diverges seemingly endlessly in parenthetical substories. For all their length, his tales always convey some vital piece of knowledge to those who wait them out.

Deneir most often appears as an old, balding sage with a huge flaring white
beard and eyes of intense blue or violet (though he has been known to appear younger, especially when in disguise). His voluminous robes are covered in glyphs and symbols that seem to serve as some sort of code to remind him of events and pieces of information. He usually carries quill pens, scrolls, and tomes, and may let some of these fall and be left behind. (This appears to happen accidentally, but in fact always occurs on purpose.) Mortals who recover such things find them to be enchanted pens, spell scrolls, tomes of magical power, or instructions for creating magical items or constructs. He can draw his spells from any school or sphere of magic, but out of long habit he tries never to use fire magic because valuable writings might be destroyed.
Deneir prefers to manifest as a glowing nimbus of light around a book. If a mortal opens the book, Deneir may move the radiance about to indicate things. He may telekinese the book and other nearby objects about or extend a glowing humanlike hand out of the light to cast spells, to wield or carry things, or to point and gesture. When appearing as this nimbus, Deneir rarely speaks, though he sometimes writes with silent letters of fire in midair or in a mortal’s mind, causing actual letters to he written on nothingness.
Deneir also manifests his approval or disapproval or aids his followers through the actions or appearance of baku holy ones, einheriar formed from the essences of great sages (and thus as warriors a rather fumbling lot—but great storehouses of knowledge), light aasimons, movanic devas, planetars, wisdom Incarnates, calico cats, white dogs with golden eyes, pinto and piebald horses, candles, quill pens and writing brushes, gold- or yellow-colored flowers, topazes, iolites, tourmalines, and star sapphires.

=The Church=

All the priests of Deneir are encouraged to learn to read and write more than just one tongue.
Priests of Deneir are found throughout Faerûn, as are shrines and temples
in Deneir’s name. Most of the temples of Deneir could best be described as libraries with attached sanctuaries and living quarters, for the preservation of written knowledge is the focus of Deneir’s faith.
Clergy members are known as Deneirrath. Only about 15% of clergy members are specialty priests. However, specialty priests occupy all the high positions within the church hierarchy. Clerics and monks are welcome, but even if they attain high levels, they are not usually awarded the leadership of temples. Monks may be promoted to the head of an abbey or monastery; however, they are always attached to a temple and rank beneath its high priest. As a result, there is some grumbling among nonspecialty clergy members of the faith, and many turn to adventuring to give them advancement in other areas.
Though females are as welcome as males in the Deneirrath hierarchy, the title “Priest” is used regardless of the gender of its holder. (The word “priestess” is something for other faiths.) The color of the cloaks priests of Deneir
wear denotes their ranks, which are (in ascending order): Applicant, Underpriest, Aspirant Priest, Full Priest, Priest Illuminator, Priest Calligrapher, Priest Editor, Priest Secretary, Priest Librarian, Aspirant Scrivener, Full Scrivener, and High Scrivener (the leader of a temple). The only higher ranks than these are granted personally by Deneir and consist of Writer Inquisitor (used by the most powerful and accomplished traveling adventurers
of the faith), Librarian, and High Librarian.
Deneir's specialty priests are Glyphscribes.

==Dogma==

Followers of Deneir believe that information that is not recorded and saved to be used later is information that is lost. Anyone who defaces or destroys a book should be punished in proportion to the value of the information lost unless she or he makes full replacement of it. Deneirrath must write everything down and let copying what is written fill every otherwise idle hour. They are to bring copies of every writing they gather to every temple of Deneir they arrive in (or make the copies there) so that knowledge may spread and nothing be lost. Information should be free to all and all should be able to read it, so that lying tongues cannot distort things all out of proportion. Deneirrath are to
write down all that people say, believe, and observe, leaving others to judge
what is true, of value, and proper for that which is not written is lost, and
there must be room for all tastes, all tongues, and all expression. Information
that does not harm should be made free to all.
Literacy is an important gift of Deneir and should be spread and taught. Deneirrath must learn to read and write and teach at least 10 mortals who do not venerate Deneir to do so also, so that such learning spreads.
Followers of Deneir have taken an oath of charity as well, such that they cannot turn down the request of another to write letters and transcribe information. If the one making the request is needy, they can take no payment for doing such duties, though they may charge those who can afford such services a fair rate. Deneirrath are to keep secrets they are exposed to in their charitable duties when bound to by oath or by their moral code.

==Day-to-Day Activities==

The primary task of priests of Deneir is to gather and write down-or copy out if it is already written knowledge and creative things (fiction, poems, song lyrics, witticisms, and diaries) so that nothing written is lost. Some priests never leave the copying cloisters of large temples, while others wander among cottages and hill farms copying out old half-remembered ballads that they can pay some toothless gray-hair to try to sing. Still others operate wealthy lending libraries in the bustling cities of Sembia or ride into danger all over Faerûn breaking into old tombs and delving into ruins in search of lost and forgotten writings before such things crumble away forever. These are the sort of deeds that have earned Deneir his nickname Scribe of Oghma.
Many common folk through the Realms, however, see Deneirrath as the scribes of the people because they take a special vow of charity upon becoming priests: to write letters and transcribe information for anyone who asks them to as long they do not have to copy out anything magical (mainly for their own safety) or write down anything from their own knowledge that would reveal the secrets of others. (A priest of Deneir imprisoned and ordered to list all the literate people in his town or list all those for whom he's drafted letters on matters of finance in the last decade would refuse to do so.) The poor receive such services for free, the average commoner in return for the price of the paper and inks plus a single silver piece, and wealthier petitioners pay the going rates. Large projects must be negotiated, but in slow times, priests of Deneir can be found in the local commons and bars, writing letters for those unable to do so.
Real wealth can be gained, however, by a priest asked to write something in strictest confidence for the Price of the Silent Scribe can be steep, with a third going to the priest and two-thirds to the nearest temple of Deneir. Strictest confidence means that no one outside the faith ever hears or reads of what the priest has been enjoined to silence on. The rumors of secret writings being written down and kept in secret libraries kept by the Deneirrath are true. These secret libraries may be anything from secret passages in temple offices and hollow pillars in shrines to great vaults and even forbidden towers in the larger abbeys and monasteries. Deneirrath caches of secret writings are always guarded by spells and usually also by monsters that range from watchspiders to watchghosts. Magical writings are always kept secret from outsiders. Deneirrath never admit that their senior priests do, in fact, copy out spells and make some of the scrolls that temples have been known to sell to adventurers, nobles, and wealthy merchants.
Educating others to read and write is another important task for the clergy of Deneir for which only nominal fees are charged. The temples and abbeys of the faith, however, charge stiff fees to train nonbelievers to be skilled scribes, limners (artists), illuminators, bookbinders, and parchmentmakers.

==Holy Days/Important Ceremonies==

The only holy day that sees special ceremonies in the church of Deneir is the Shieldmeet, wherein copies of old contracts are taken out for public viewing and any mortal may ask to see a copy of any (nonmagical) writing in any temple of Deneir to which she or he can travel. Such records and writings must be specifically requested, however (not every contract written by Duke Teranzan), and must not violate the vows of confidentiality of the temple. Shieldmeet is the day on which the Gilding is observed: a rite in which priests gather in a great circle around a levitated manuscript and cast special spells, each of which impresses a single golden letter onto the page, to set forth the Words of Deneir in large letters for public display in days to come. (It is the duty of junior Deneirrath to hunt down and punish thieves who tear off or scrape at letters trying to get the meager gold.)
This is not to say that Deneirrath do not observe complex rituals. They do on a daily basis. These many ceremonies include chants, sung prayers, and responsive readings as well as private, personal prayers. Certain old priests utter a prayer with every illuminated letter they commence and again when they complete it or whenever they first make a mark upon a virgin page. Most Deneirrath pray to their deity when they undertake a major task such as copying out a noble family tree, making a map, or copying out a minstrel's chapbook of ballads for sale in the larger, more sophisticated cities of the Realms.

==Major Centers of Worship==

Iron Dragon Mountain, a hidden, legendary peak in the Earthfast Mountains, is the site of the Master's Library in Faerûn, a complex of many caverns where more books than anywhere else in all the Realms - even Candlekeep, the Library of Curna in the Curna Mountains, and the great libraries of Shou Lung - are stored. Here can be found the High Librarians, who have samples of all known written tongues and can read them (even dragon writings). Sixty or so High Librarians said to all be bearded, balding, shuffling men of great age - are said to live here. Their leader is the Librarian Supreme Haliduth Orspriir, a vigorous man who has lived some 600 years by the grace of Deneir. He can call on eight mature adult to great wyrm mist dragons who lair in various nearby peaks to defend the Library from attack. All devout Deneirrath undertake a pilgrimage to the Master's Library at least once in their lives, but most never get beyond the Reading Room, a small fastness well to the south of the true e temple, where a kindly old female Keeper (assisted and guarded by loyal watchghosts) makes use of a secret gate (usable only by nonliving matter) to send notes to the Master's Library requesting specific texts and to receive copies of the requested writings to hand to the faithful.
The treasured collections of Silverymoon, the artifact museums of Calimshan, and Twilight Hall in Berdusk are all important regional centers of Deneir's worship. The Edificant Library, administered jointly by the clergy of Deneir and Oghma and located in the Snowflake Mountains northwest of Carradoon, is another prominent regional temple.

==Affiliated Orders==

Deneir, with Mystra and other powers, has influence on the mysterious group known as the Harpers, and one of Deneir's largest churches, the Inner Chamber in Berdusk, is the front for an extensive Harper organization known as Twilight Hall. While Deneir has no militant knightly orders, his faith does number an order of scribes and several orders of monks. All temple scribes certified by the church of Deneir as skilled and trustworthy belong to the Literate Brotherhood and wear a pin or badge depicting a white quill with a gold nib. The monastic orders include the Preservers of the Ordered Way, who tend to remain cloistered and perform copying and illuminating work; the Disciples of the Free Word (known derisively as the Pens of the Poor), who pursue the church mission of offering scribe duties to the indigent with great vigor; and the Zealots of the Written Word (usually just called Zealots or Carmendines, after their founder), an adventuring order that accompanies priests of the faith on holy quests and pursues money-making efforts for the church.

==Priestly Vestments==

Deneirrath always wear the badge of the god upon their person if nowhere else, on a gold circlet worn about their brows. They are also never without their most important identifiers, their ubiquitous writing kits: triangular leather pouches belted to their right hips containing paper, inks, and pens. There is a saying about Deneirrath and their kits: If a Deneirrath is naked in the bath and the ceiling above him catches fire, he will grab any books in the room first, his writing kit second, and the door third, leaving clothes behind for more modest men.
The standard dress of priests of Deneir, both in normal daily use and for ceremony, is a tan, off-white, or white tunic with a stiff, circular collar, breeches, and a medium-length ornamental cloak of the sort known as a swirl cloak in the cities of the Sword Coast (because it covers nothing against winter winds and bad weather, but merely swirls out grandly behind the wearer). The color of the cloak denotes the rank of the cleric, from diagonally black-and-white striped for Applicants, to black for Underpriests, black with a maroon collar for Aspirant Priests, black with a gray central strip for Full Priests, gray with black trim for Priest Illuminators, all gray for Priest Calligraphers, indigo for Priest Editors, sepia for Priest Secretaries, turquoise for Priest Librarians, royal blue for Aspirant Scriveners, white with gold trim for Full Scriveners, and pure white for High Scriveners. Adventuring clerics of Deneir wear whatever is most suitable for their particular mission, but they always wear both their writing kits and badges bearing the symbol of Deneir somewhere on their person.