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Neutral Dieties of the Land

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Artemis; Goddess of the wilderness, the hunt, wild animals, fertility, death and magic

 

Symbol: A silver bow stretched so that it appears to be a crescent moon with an arrow notched at the ready

 

Domains: Animal, Healing, Magic, Death.

 

Portfolio: Hunting, Chastity, Healing, Disease

 

The daughter of Zeus. Artemis is depicted with the crescent of the moon above her forehead. Her main vocation was to roam mountain forests and uncultivated land with her nymphs in attendance hunting for lions, panthers, hinds and stags. She also protects and seeing to their well-being, also their safety and reproduction. She is armed with a bow and arrows. Artemis was a divinity of healing, but also brought and spread diseases such as leprosy, rabies and even gout.

 

As the moon has a dark side the hidden side to Artemis is her link to magic and death through disease or in childbirth.

 

Artemis is very possessive. She will show her wrath on anyone who disobeyed her wishes, especially against her sacred animals.

 

Among the epithets given to Artemis are: mistress of wild animals, nurse of youth's, helper in childbirth, huntress. She is represented as a maiden huntress clothed in a girl's short skirt, with hunting boots, a magical quiver, a silver bow and arrows and is accompanied by a hunting dog or a stag.

 

Beliefs:

 

Those who worship Artemis take on her role of protecting the wilderness as well as hunting and living off the land. Those who become her priestess are Virgins and will remain so or lose their ability to gain any more cleric levels.

 

Young girls between the ages of five and ten are sent to the sanctuary of Artemis to serve the Goddess for one year. During this time the girls are known as little she-bears.

 

When young girls reached puberty they are initiated into her cult, but when they decided to marry, which Artemis is not against, they are asked to lay in front of the altar all the paraphernalia of their virginity, toys, dolls and locks of their hair, they then left the domain of the virgin goddess.

 

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Bes, Dwarf God of Luck

 

Bes is a dwarf god that believed that he needed to guard the misfortunate from the evil spirits.

 

Symbol: A grotesque dwarven head or mask.

 

Domains: Magic, Protection, Trickery.

 

Portfolio: Childbirth, dwarven magic, fortitude, music and luck.

 

Said to be very ugly and grotesque Bes is depicted as having a large head, bushy beard and bowed legs; dwarves maintain that his appearance is so in order to scare off the evil spirits that had stayed around them.

 

Bes is the dwarven patron god of music and dancing, and is associated with other feminine aspects such as childbirth; Bes is also the dwarven deity most commonly associated with the uncommon dwarven mage.

 

Bes has an important role as a god who will prevent snakes and scorpions harming the family.

 

Clerics of Bes, as befits dwarven nature, are generally more practical than spiritual in their undertaking and are commonly perceived of as bards, conjurors or midwives.

 

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Ethellon: God of change (fey)

 

A god that is truly worshiped few, he is often seen as the bringer of death itself. To be able to believe in him one must believe that change is inevitable and must always come no matter what.

 

He is most actively worshipped around the changing of the seasons and widely cursed at rites of passing of the dead. He, after all, is the god of change and death is a change. At the changing of the seasons a few food offerings are often brought to him, and then for the rest of the season he is mostly forgotten except when one dies, then he is the first to be called out to though not in a pleasant way.

 

Ethellon is a far less active god then Finnavar and Daoine Sidhe, and often his existence is under discussion. Also the brownies often see him as cruel, yet in truth he is not. He just IS, as his worshipers describe him.

 

One more change has been assigned to the domains of Ethellon, one that makes him a bit more favoured. He is also the one who spreads Luck. This mostly being the reason that his worship wasn’t given up on a long time ago, because every brownie needs a bit of luck once every now and then.

 

Appearance: Ethellon is often pictured as a leprechaun, though his clothes are blue and silver instead of the usual green and gold. His symbol is that of the four-leaved clover with a rainbow behind it.

 

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Hera

 

Domains: Trickery, Knowledge, Protection

 

Wife to Zeus, often referred to as the Great Mother. Hera is compassionate and caring, yet at the same time she can be mysterious and dangerous. She is the protector of women, and mainly mothers, everywhere.

Oft she is called upon when a woman goes into labour, and many of her priestesses assist in the labour, blessing the mother with her divine comfort and care. The child is not their main priority, but will be helped if necessary, if only to save the mother any grievance.

 

Hera is pictured as a woman with dark yellow-green eyes and long black hair. She often wears purple and black, wielding a sceptre in her hand. Her sign is that of a peacock’s feather. Often when revealing herself to her followers only her eyes will be visible, adding to the intrigue and mystery.

 

One of her greatest mysteries perhaps is how she can continually forgive her husband for his transgression and escapades. She is very forgiving towards him, but less so towards the women he has been with. This has gotten her enemies among the more flirty goddesses but also allies among the male gods who wished to sire them for themselves.

 

Her clergy generally respect other religions but have significant problems with Zeus’ followers due to the pain their god inflicts upon their goddess. They also tend to not get along well with the followers of the more flirty goddesses.

 

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ISHTAR - Goddess of Love and War

 

Domains: Destruction, Healing, Protection, War

 

Ishtar is True Neutral, being perfectly balanced between her two aspects as the Goddess of Love and the Goddess of War. Linked by her followers with one particular heavenly body, her two aspects are seen as the Morning Star and the Evening Star. Her worshippers will pray at sunup and sundown, by the light of the first star of evening or the last star before dawn, depending on where the star is in the sky.

 

Ishtar’s symbol is an eight-pointed white star, or star disk, on a black or deep blue field. The eight points represent the various locations in the heavens her star can most easily be seen. She is also represented, in her aspect as the Goddess of War, by a rampaging lion. In her aspect of the Goddess of Love she is depicted as a maiden of exceeding beauty.

 

Worshippers of Ishtar can be any alignment, and most of her clerics tend to emphasize a single aspect of the goddess in their ministry to her followers. The High Priest(ess) of Ishtar, however, is typically True Neutral, either through natural disposition or long study and intense personal discipline to become worthy of the high calling. Her clerics must endure much hard discipline in their service to her and to the temple. Her clerics will not take the front line in any battle, preferring to support from the rear ranks, allowing her Champions and Paladins to lead in the fray.

 

The New Moon is one of the holiest of times for Ishtar’s followers, that being when her star is most easily seen. In lands where Ishtar is worshipped, the members of her clergy form an integral part of the governing body. Secular taxes and sectarian tithes are often not distinguished from each other in these lands, and it is not unusual to find the head of state is also her High Priest.

 

Her husband is said to be Silvanus, the god of the harvest who dies each year and has his soul dragged into the Underworld. During the ensuing winter season, Ishtar descends into the Underworld and contends with the Lord of the Abyss to get her husband back. She ultimately succeeds, and brings him back in time for spring to bring new life to the land.

 

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Ki, The Earth Mother

 

Domains: Earth, Protection

 

Ki's worshippers are mainly focussed upon the soil and stone of the earth, however in some cases they focus upon a wider range of things, the other elements for one. Mostly however their focus will lie in stones, soil and minerals.

Followers of Ki often use earth and stone tints in their temple outfits. The worship varies from temple to temple but ceremonies will often include stone altars, pillars or circles. Ki is a benevolent goddess who is seldom in any warlike strive or such. Her clerics and priests are mainly focussed on protection, not assault.

The temples of Ki are generally open to all visitors. The main halls that is, what happens behind the halls of worship is unknown to outsiders, generally however it is merely a place for the acolytes to sleep and rest, a place for private prayers and more of such things. The temples are often carved into stone walls or from stone slabs.

 

Those who worship Ki often do so out of a need for comfort and protection. Her clergy will often protect others with spells of the earth, seldom however do they indulge themselves in the art of healing. They know the spells, but to truly focus on them is rare, as it does not fit will in the sense of protection. Neither do they focus upon attack and fighting often. This does not mean they aren't capable, they just seldom need to as The Earth Mother is fairly neutral, thus not having any major enemies.

 

If manifested Ki will at times appear as a woman with long brown hair wearing a long brown gold dress with some gemstone jewellery. At times she may choose to appear as a huge mountain however, or a small peddle. Whichever is best suited to communicate with the follower in question. It could even be a grain of sand... after all a goddess her grandeur is not in her appearance.

 

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Leander (wemic)

 

Domains: Strength, Animal

 

The god of the hunt, the roaring tiger. Leander is a fierce hunter of the stretching plains, always on the prowl. He is the god of the wemics, worshiped before they go on a hunt and thanked after a successful hunt.

 

Leander is a simple god, he does not ask his followers for special ceremonial performances or anything like that. An offering is an offering, no matter how it is done. This may make him seem somewhat simplistic but it also makes him very pure. The intent is what matters, the way it is done comes second.

 

The same goes for hunts, a hunt is successful when you live and your prey dies. How you manage to take out your prey, whether by use of a javelin, your claws or magic doesn't matter. If the prey dies, the hunt has been good.

 

Leander appears as a huge cat, towering well over even the tallest of wemics. His roar is said to be capable of putting fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned hunters. And his huge claws can make the very earth tremble.

 

Leander is revered as well as feared by the wemics. He is mostly seen as a god protector and wise hunter, but they also realise that they should not invoke his wrath upon them. Thus they bring their offerings, and thank him after each hunt. In turn Leander watches over them, makes sure they are provided for and the hunts go well.

 

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Mmoomu - meaning 'Freedom'

 

Mmoomu, the uddered one, was woken from the heavens when the local fishing spot was emptied of thousands of cows femurs. She has watched the humans (and other bipeds) and is appalled to see that they raise the farmyard animals and use them for milk, eggs etc... only to reward them by turning them into pies. She does not resent the use of produce such as eggs and wool. It is the produce which means death which she resents.

Mmoomu does not only represent Bovines, but actually governs all farmyard animals. (Pigs, Chickens, Sheep etc)

 

In an ideal world, Mmoomu would like to see all her farmyard friends given freedom, and the abolition of things such as steak, leather jackets, pork chops, spicy chicken wings or anything which means the end of life for a loyal farm animal.

As yet, she has no humanoid followers, no temples, no holy artefacts.... However, if a humanoid wished to worship her, they would be expected to forsake the consumption of meat, respect all working animals (such as Pack oxen), and study the animal sphere of clerical spells OR embark on the path of a druid.

 

Mmoomu is trying to raise awareness amongst farm animals about what their eventual purpose really is. Through an unusual and unknown phenomona, a large number of farmyard animals have already turned to worship Mmoomu.

She would like to lead her followers to 'the promised pasture'.

 

It is rumoured that Mmoomu may have originally been, in life, one of the cows whose bones were thrown in the fishing hole. As yet, little is known of her origin.

 

Mmoomu appears in the form of a statue of a water buffalo with two birds upon its back.

 

Mmoomus Domains: Animal, Plant, Earth, Protection, War, Water

 

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Oghma - Lord of Knowledge

 

Oghma is also known as The Binder of What is Known, the Lord of Knowledge, Patron of Bards and the Wise God.

 

He is the most powerful god of knowledge in the Realms (Second if you consider magical ability as knowledge, Mystra’s domain)

His home realm is known as the House of Knowledge which consists of a huge library filled with every type of book and document. Each volume is chained to the shelves, only removable by the master librarian's key.

Oghma is known for his ability to answer many questions after a short period of study (the more difficult the question, the longer it takes) and the fact that he knows the secret name of all non-godlike creatures.

His alternate name, "The Binder", refers to his ability to trap demons and devils into a special prison of his making, and hold them there until such time as he chooses to release them.

Oghma is considered a patron of things creative and beautiful in both men and women alike.

 

Typically, his clerics have a focus in the Knowledge sphere of clerical spells (which they MUST take) and sometimes a degree of bardic abilities. Other spheres that tend to be touched upon are Trickery and Travel, as well as anything to do with enchantments (and to a lesser degree, Magic). His worshippers are artists, bards, cartographers, inventors, lore masters, sages, scholars, scribes and wizards.

Oghma's followers believe that knowledge is most supreme, particularly in its raw form, the idea. An idea has no weight but can move mountains. It has no height but it can dominate a nation. It has no mass but it can push aside empires. Knowledge is the greatest tool of humankind, outweighing anything made by mortal hands. Before anything can exist, the idea must exist. Music is often a tool with which great knowledge can be imparted to even the most unruly of minds, considering how children may be repulsed by the idea of learning but charmed by the approach of a lyrical tale or lesson.

 

 

Oghma has been thought of as having an alliance with Mystra in the past, and has made an enemy of Mask and Talos.

 

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Silvanus, Oak Father, The Green Man, John Barleycorn

 

Silvanus, the ‘Oak Father’ is also known as the ‘Green Man’ is a god of forests, groves, wild fields and is regarded as the protector of herds and cattle; he is associated with the natural cycle of the year and has strong agricultural connections.

 

Symbol: A pruning knife and a bough from a pine tree or otherwise a ‘wreath’ of barleycorn.

 

Domains: Animal, Death, Earth, Knowledge, Plant.

 

Portfolio: Agriculture, husbandry, fertility, growth, renewal.

 

Silvanus is a gentle God with his faithful and those who respect the natural environment, but for those who don't he can turn an uncaring and even righteously wrathful face towards any who threaten the wild places and woodlands.

 

In his aspect as Oak Father the ‘Green Man’ is seen as a stalwart defender of the forests of Galandar; those who disturb the balance can often be found at the edge of the forest, torn to pieces by wild animals that cannot be tracked.

 

At the end of the growing year the god, in his aspect of John Barleycorn, is cut down, bound, thrashed and ritually sacrificed in the burning of a wicker effigy in to which sheaves of wheat, harvested fruits, seeds, nuts and a number of animal sacrifices are placed; the ashes of his pyre are ritually plough in to the ground. John Barleycorn is magically ‘reborn’ at the beginning of the new growing year.

 

Beliefs:

 

The clergy of Silvanus are always male and many of their rituals are shrouded in secrecy, such as the ritual wherein the first fruits of the fields are offered to him, as well as meat and wine in a ritual which women are not allowed to witness.

 

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