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Elven Pantheon

Started by Fox², Sep 17, 2023, 10:16 PM

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Fox²

Solonor Thelandira
Keen-Eye, the Great Archer

Intermediate Elven Deity
Symbol: Silver arrow with green fletching
Home Plane: Arvandor
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Portfolio: Archery, hunting, wilderness survival
Worshipers: Arcane archers, archers, druids, elves, rangers
Domains: Chaos, Elf, Good, Plant, War
Nature Deity: Yes
Cleric Alignments: NG, CG, CN
Favored Weapon: "Longshot" (longbow)

Solonor Thelandira (soe-loe-nohr theh-lan-dih-ruh) is always in pursuit of quarry, and he rarely remains in one location for very long. Unlike many hunters, the Great Archer stalks prey only out of concern for the overall balance between the species and to destroy evil-doers, particularly the drow. His serious, sometimes grim, demeanor reflects the difficulty he faces in forging a workable compromise between the competing forces of civilization and wilderness, instinct and knowledge, and savagery and domesticity. Solonor's word is his bond, and his pledge is never given lightly. Solonor does not close to do battle with an enemy, but tracks and pursues instead, firing arrows from a never-empty quiver.

The church of Solonor is a disparate one, with little communication among groups of clerics except to exchange information. Solonor's clerics serve as scouts and archers in elven armies, as bowyers, fletchers, archery instructors in elven settlements, and as hunters and providers for far-flung rural communities. Among those Fair Folk who largely eschew the trappings of civilization, members of Solonor's clergy preside over initiation ceremonies into adulthood. Hawkeyes serve the Great Archer by working to maintain the balance of nature. Solonor's clerics are deadly enemies of those who worship Malar or Talos, and they often join forces with those who serve Rillifane Railathil in order to exterminate followers of those evil gods whenever they make their presence known.

Clerics and druids of Solonor pray for their spells whenever the moon is highest in the sky during the day. Solonor's faithful generally eschew frivolous celebrations, considering them unnecessary distractions to the tasks at hand. Once per lunar month, under the soft light of the full moon, the Great Archer's faithful assemble to give thanks for the skills Solonor has taught and the bounty thus provided. Hunters sacrifice hunting trophies that cannot otherwise be employed, and unbroken arrows engraved with the symbol of Solonor are fired into the sky to poke holes I the firmament and allow the light of Solonor's teachings to shine forth on his people (these arrows are never fired in a direction that would cause them to fall where they might hurt someone, including straight up). Each Shieldmeet, known to the Fair Folk as the Day of Corellon's Peace, the followers of Solonor assemble to compete in great archery meets. The winner of such contests are said to receive Keen-Eye's blessing. Many clerics and druids multiclass as arcane archers or rangers.

History/Relationships:

Like others of the elven pantheon, Solonor reports to Corellon and gets on well with the rest of the Seldarine. Other allies include benevolent nature deities and Silvanus. His greatest foes are Malar and Talos, followed closely by Lolth.

Dogma:

Walk in harmony with nature and oppose the efforts of those who disturb her delicate balance. Preserve the wild places fro excessive encroachment, and work with those who would settle the land to preserve the beauty that first attracted them. Hunt only for sustenance, culling the old and the weak from the herd so that all species may prosper. Like an arrow in flight, it is difficult to arrest the consequences of an action. Choose your targets carefully, for an ill-considered action can have a long reaching impact.
Retired.

Fox²

Tarsellis Meunniduin
Lord of the Mountains, Patron of the Snow Elves

Demigod
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Symbol: A snowcapped mountain
Home Plane: Ysgard (The Wild Ride/The Wild Hunt)
Serves: Corellon Larethian
Portfolio: Mountains, rivers, snow elves, wilderness
Worshipers: Snow Elves
Domains: Animal, Chaos, Elf, Plant, Protection
Nature Deity: Yes
Cleric Alignments: CG, TN, CN, CE
Favored Weapon: Spear

Tarsellis was a hearty warrior and legendary hunter, yet still deeply devoted to the wilderness and all its creatures. Conversely, he hated the drow more than anything else.
The Lord of the Mountains maintained a divine realm on the first layer of Ysgard called the Wild Ride or the Wild Hunt.

Tarsellis was a solitary figure amongst the Seldarine, considered rustic by the other elven gods. He used to be the superior of Solonor Thelandira, elven god of hunting, as well as a great friend of his, often hunting with him in the days of old before even mortal elves walked the world. However, the two had been embittered ever since Tarsellis fell in love with a dark yet beautiful goddess known as Megwandir. This caused a falling out between the two former friends, for Solonor objected to their romance out of suspicion towards Megwandir, suspicion proved correct when she was revealed to be Lolth.

Tarsellis's claims over the forests of mountain ranges also resulted in a rivalry of sorts with Rillifane Rallathil. He was also allies with Fenmarel Mestarine, the elven god of outcasts, and Shaundakul, the Faerûnian god of travel.

As Tarsellis was primarily the patron of the snow elves, he was rarely concerned with affairs in Faerûn. There were rumors of snow elven worshipers in the Spine of the World and the High Ice of Anauroch, however, and others sometimes offered tribute to him as Lord of the Mountains. His followers could be found among all non-evil and non-lawful wilderness-dwelling elves.

The primary duties of the priests of Tarsellis were to watch over their fellow snow elves and to erect shrines near mountain tops and passes. These secluded, druidic shrines, tucked away in the wildest and most remote mountain corners, were considered extremely holy and the center of the religion, and while a few were dedicated to other deities, most were for Tarsellis. There were regular temples to the Lord of the Mountains, where followers offered the finest furs and massive live animals as presents for the resident druids, but these were few in number.

According to one elven myth, Tarsellis was one of the original elven gods who Corellon ascended to divnity by giving a unique name. Snow elves alleged themselves to be the direct descendants of Tarsellis, alleging that to be the cause of some of their differences to other elves, and though most elven scholars were skeptical, the Lord of the Mountains did not seem displeased with his children's dedication.

Before the time of mortal elves and the Weaver's total fall to evil, Tarsellis fell in love with Lolth under the name of Megwandir, the quarrel over her trustworthiness eventually driving him and his former servitor deities apart. More recent tales depicted Hanali Celanil, elven goddess of love, as the one responsible for the rift, but older stories indicated the truth.
Retired.

Fox²

Tethrin Veraldé
The Shining One, The Master of Blades

Demigod
Alignment: Neutral Good
Symbol: A long sword and a short sword lying parallel to each other on a disk, angled to the upper left, a quarter moon above the swords and a full moon below.
Home Plane: Elysium (Tethridar)
Serves: Corellon Larethian
Portfolio: Battle magic (evocation), bladesingers, swordsmanship
Worshipers: Elven bladesingers, swordsmen
Domains: Elf, Protection, Sun, War
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG, CG, TN
Favored Weapon: Longsword

Tethrin was an adventurous, strident deity, who firmly believed that elven blades and magic were the path to victory.

Though Tethrin spent much of his time in Arborea, his own realm, Tethridar, was located on the first layer of Elysium. It was a small but pleasant domain with open fields, a fruit orchard, and a large copse of trees, inhabited by the spirits of his deceased followers who nonetheless continued to practice and hone their skills.

Tethrin was a member of the elven pantheon, the son of Corellon Larethian and Sehanine Moonbow. Other allies of his included Solonor Thelandira, the elven god of archery and hunting.

Tethrin had few enemies with the exception of the drow goddess Lolth, who would enjoy dealing a personal blow to both Corellon and Sehanine by striking Tethrin down. He was also opposed to her servitor demigod Selvetarm, who may have been sent by the Spider Queen in an apparently failed attempt to kill him. His concerns regarding this were somewhat lessened however, by the fact that he knew his father would see him resurrected and reinstated were he to be slain.

Tethrin's clergy stressed the value of swordsmanship, as well as combining with it with spellcraft. Most of the church was clergy (about 60%), while the rest was evenly split between bladesingers and ordinary fighters. Despite only having relatively recently begun developing a worshiper base, several orders of bladesingers and warrior's guilds were dedicated to him and monthly attempts to bring in new converts generally succeeded.

Aside from celebrating the holy days of Corellon and Sehanine to give thanks to the union that birthed Tethrin, a monthly holy day known as Tethrin's Match saw the clergy show off their fighting skills, bringing healthy attention and attracting new recruits. Blue and silver robes were worn on the holy days, though they were favored for everyday use either way.
Retired.