#Sylvan Primarie

[tanoraqui]

ok so the notable question for this au is,

Note: Option 4 is the only one that really works with an ironic, sylvan mirror of the Fall of Eregion in the Second Age. But we don't need to keep that in mind! This is a Beren & Lúthien au; anything else is beyond the scope of the project.

Note 2: Option 4 doesn’t necessarily remain uninvolved in this story. Just that he isn’t yet!

[y-rhywbeth2]

Elves: Pantheons

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. There's a lot of lore; I don't know everything. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest. Frankly these posts may get updated now and then. etc]

Physiology and quirks | Names & Clans and Houses || Pan-Cultural things: Social life | Time and 'Growing Up an Elf' | Homes | Language | Art | Entertainment | Technology || Elven 'Subraces' still a wip || Philosophy and Religion & Pantheons || Half-elves | [WIP]

Right. Religion part 2: the bastards the pointy eared ones worship. Who needs this many gods?? This is one of those posts that's so long I got disoriented editing it, so it might be a touch messy.

Also it's long. L o n g.

The Sylvan Gods The og elven pantheon on Toril; Non-elven archfey warlocks may also get something out of this if you want a patron.

The Seldarine + The Asathalfinare The elven gods and the disagreements about them.

The Dark Seldarine The exiles and the pack of weirdoes they got grouped in with along the way.

(Corellon, Lolth and Eilistraee are cleric options in BG3 so in theory I should be giving them fuller write ups and they're only getting brief attention here.)

The Sylvan Gods (Seelie):

The original pantheon of the elves of Toril.

The fey and the fey gods have strong ties to elves and their ancestral gods as well, being cousins of sorts; while they share 'blood' with the elven gods, the first elves to come to Toril worshipped the Sylvan gods as their pantheon, not the Seldarine. Even in modern times many elves, especially the green and copper elves, live and worship alongside the fey as neighbours 'often [including] prayers to other faerie powers when worshiping the Seldarine.' Likewise the fey serve and worship the Seldarine as well as their own lords.

The Seldarine are strongly allied with and mingle freely with other fey powers, especially the Seelie Court, I haven't seen any specific mention of worship of the Unseelie fey who obviously are antagonistic counterparts in the fashion of the Dark Seldarine and the Seldarine, as well as being enemies to the Seldarine. I've seen no mention of any of the Dark Seldarine being allied with the Queen of Air and Darkness, the Unseelie Queen, so I assume that the elves in general, including dark elves, do not traffic with the evil fey. On the reverse, the Seelie fey don't seem to be actively opposed to the Dark Seldarine, although that doesn't mean they're on good terms.

The Seelie Queen Titania works closely with Corellon where their goals overlap, though Erevan Illesere is the closest aligned with the Sylvan Gods and may have actually given birth to one of them.

The two pantheons co-exist with perfect ease, and there’s not stigma against elves venerating deities of either pantheon and many elves include prayers to archfey while honouring the Seldarine.

Just like the Seldarine, the fey courts are technically the rulers of their mortal children and their primary concern is the wellbeing of their people and the realms they live in.

Elven fey heritage remains strong, and elves and fey both have a shared and vested interest in maintaining the magic and nature they live enmeshed in. But even the elves are generally barred from the inner circles of sacred fey matters and they don’t get invited to secret seelie court meetings on occasions where the archfey meet on the prime, although they do gather together for some holy revels like Midsummer.

4e and 5e ‘demote’ the fey deities to archfey, however the differences between powerful planars like archfey, archdevils, demon lords and deities is extremely blurred really. Some deities are exiled archdevils, Lolth is a demon lord and a goddess, Corellon can serve as the archfey patron to a feypact warlock, etc. Still, mechanically I imagine that in 5e a worshipper and servant of, say, Verenestra is going to be a warlock rather than a cleric on average.

The fey deities consist of the inner circle known as the Seelie Court and the allied gods who are not formally a part of the court but are still related, as well as the Torilian god Lurue.

This isn't all of them, but these were the ones who are classified as gods and whose lore overlaps with elves at some point:

Yathaghera. The Winged Queen [Lurue]

‘The Unicorn is a symbol of hope, joy, salvation, and protection for the needy, forlorn, and forsaken. Life is to be relished and lived with laughter. Quests are to be taken on a dare and gifts to be made on a whim. Impossible dreams are to be pursued for the sheer wonder of the possibility of their completion. Everyone, no matter how unique, is to be praised for their strengths and comforted in their weaknesses. Evil melts the quickest in the face of a rapier wit and unshackled joy. Search for the unicorn and in pursuit find happiness.’

Symbol: a unicorn, rampant against a silver crescent moon.

The goddess Lurue the Unicorn Queen’s elven aspect, also part of the Faerûnian pantheon, who is seen as the ruler of pegasi and unicorns on Evermeet. Believed to be a daughter of Selûne, Lurue is the goddess of talking animals, adventure and whimsy, an adopter of outcasts (and literal lost souls, Lurue is apparently known to seek those who die alone and faithless and take them with her in her wanderings around Toril), and she never abandons her faithful when they need her. Visitors from other DnD settings have thought her to be the Torilian aspect of the fey deity of the same nature, Eachthighern, or else his daughter by Selûne, but Lurue has no idea who that is and claims no relation.

Eachthighern, Lord of Unicorns and Pegasi Has a couple of origin myths, one of which is that he's Erevan's son. Eachthigern apparently has no presence on Toril, though sages familiar with other worlds have hypothesised in-universe that he is the father of Lurue or that the divine unicorn of the Moonshaes, Kamerynn is his Torilian aspect. The god is known to appear when fey and elven communities are battling against evil in order to heal their wounded. Torilian elves are aware of his existence, and believe that the unicorns of Evermeet are his descendants. Unicorns are sacred creatures in elven faiths, and harming or killing them is an act of sacrilige met with death. Those chosen by unicorns as riders are treated with religious levels of reverence.

Portfolio: unicorns, healing, loyalty and protection Symbol: a unicorn horn

Titania, the Faerie Queen; the Queen of Light; the Summer Queen Head of the pantheon. Titania’s known to come across as flighty and silly, which covers well for the fact that she’s the strategist of the pantheon. Perfectly calm and borderline impossible to piss off (succeeding is a Bad Idea). Known to take mortal lovers. Portfolio: magic, friendship, and the fey and their realms Symbol: white diamond, containing a blue star at its centre

Oberon, the Lord of Beasts A warrior and protector god. Possibly Titania’s consort, sometimes called a king, though he doesn’t actual hold the title and if he is with Titania it’s an open on-off relationship and both flirt with mortals. And anything else that catches their attention. Portfolio: nature, wild places, animals Symbol: white stag

Verenestra, the Oak Princess Goddess of dryads. Verenestra is vain and flighty and generally shuns the company of other powers of love and beauty; the elven goddess Hanali is the only one who has managed to coax her into friendly terms. Verenestra is known for seducing mortals (and then growing bored of them, though at least leaving them with some form of gift). Portfolio: dryads, charm, beauty Symbol: a silver mirror

Skerrit, the Forest Walker God of centaurs and satyrs. A hunter and preserver of a healthy balance within an ecosystem. Skerrit in particular is noted to have a cult amongst the Tel’Quessir. Portfolio: community and natural balance Symbol: an oak growing from an acorn

Emantiensien, god of treants The treant god is known to hear the music played by elves, and hears all the hidden knowledge of the world, remembering all he has ever learnt. Though it will take him a long time to translate them into a manner of communication mortals understand. He speaks few words, but what he says is worth listening to. Domains: treants, trees, deep and hidden magic Symbol: a pair of acorns

----

The Elven Pantheon:

The elven pantheon is the Seldarine – 'the Siblings of the Woods,' consisting of many elven powers, which in most traditions are led by Corellon Larethian. Some say Corellon rules with Sehanine as his consort and second in command, some say Sehanine is one of his daughters, moon elves say his consort is Angharradh who rules alongside him as an equal. Corellon's original consort was Lolth, who Corellon felt ruled with him as an equal and Lolth felt she was being treated as a toy kept in a pretty cage, and it certainly seems/seemed that Corellon’s heart lies far more strongly with his former lover than anybody else (Corellon’s feelings for Lolth were/are… a touch obsessive.) According to other traditions the Seldarine are all actually siblings. Some undercurrents, and a comment from Ed Greenwood, suggests they might be a messy polycule.

Not all elves worship or acknowledge the entire pantheon, nor do they worship them the same or place the same level of emphasis on them. These divisions exist both within larger cultural umbrellas as well as within house politics - some elven houses revere a larger pantheon, and others cherrypick who they worship sometimes to the point of henotheism. More obscure members of the Seldarine are occasionally remembered in specific locations or minorities, such as Vandria Gilmadrith, the other child of Corellon and Lolth who did not go into exile and serves as the elven goddess of vigilance and grief, only really invoked by the occasional mournful elf consumed by betrayal and bereavement.

Sun elves have a rigid hierarchy of gods with Corellon as king, with everyone else in their 'appropriate' rank: Sehanine, Labelas and Hanali being very highly regarded, while 'primitive' gods like Rillifane and Fenmarel go at the bottom of the hierarchy. (Erevan is classified as a migraine.) Lashrael and Felarathael, a pair of solars who serve Corellon, are worshipped by the Ar'Tel'Quessir as gods. -

Moon elves consider Aerdrie, Hanali and Sehanine as aspects of Angharradh, and view her as having equal importance to Corellon. Of these aspects they consider Sehanine Moonbow her primary aspect and moon elves are just generally very enthusiastic about her faith. -

Dark elven communities who worship the Seldarine will often include Eilistraee and Vhaeraun in their own localised pantheon, although the latter may be pacified more than venerated. They've also, historically, included deities less known on Toril like Vandria, Tilvenar/Darahl FIrecloak (god of metalwork, fire, earth and - according to them - subterranean lava flows), and Araleth Letheranil (god of twilight and light, specifically starlight, defender against evil forces, who really hates Lolth). Sehanine was also popular with the dark elves, pre-descent, possibly due to their moon elven ancestry. -

Green and wood elves acknowledge Corellon as the origin point of elvendom, and then completely side-line the entire pantheon including the First of the Seldarine in favour of Rillifane, Solonor and Erevan while focusing the rest of their attention on fey gods and other nature deities. -

Aquatic elves acknowledge that there are other gods, but past a token acknowledgement they worship Deep Sashelas as their patron and head of the Asathalfinare. -

Winged elves pay lip service to the rest of the Seldarine, but their faith is exclusively and deeply focused on Aerdrie Faenya, who they believe gave them their wings.

There are 28 deities total in the Seldarine. 11 are in the 'mainstream' Torilian pantheon who can generally be recognised by everyone, with an extra 3 who are local fey aspects of the Faerûnian pantheon and unique to Toril, plus a pair of twin solars who serve Corellon and hold sanctified status.

Sun elves ascribe the gods a strict hierarchy where Corellon rules over them with Sehanine as his consort and second in command. Moon elves place Angharradh as Queen of Arvandor, and place her and Corellon as having equal authority. Green elves don't really have any interest in Corellon and most of the pantheon at all, prioritising Rillifane and mostly worship the fey pantheon and nature itself. Dark elven communities that worship the Seldarine usually place them behind Eilistraee in importance. Aquatic elven religion is borderline henotheistic in its reverence of Deep Sashelas to the point of almost or entirely excluding the rest of the pantheon. Even within these umbrellas you can find diversity in beliefs and philosophy.

In truth the Seldarine are very loosely organised and most deities spending all their time seeing to their own goals and duties only really gathering and working together when something important comes up, and are loathe to make decisions quickly, devoting decades to centuries of debate and weighing the consequences and ripple effects of every potential choice.

Corellon, alongside Angharradh - either as a whole being or as Sehanine, Aerdrie and Hanali working together in unison - hold seniority and speak for the Seldarine, but there does seem to be something of a democracy going on.

Despite most elves being isolationists, many of the Seldarine are actually in favour of the elves embracing multiculturalism – Corellon takes an active personal interest in learning more of non-elven cultures, Angharradh encourages diversity as a strength, Sehanine and Labelas encourage reaching out to other peoples and fostering understanding and peace (a lesson Labelas learnt from pissing off Clangeddin, who is slow to forgive him despite his shows of contrition). Mortal elves aren’t all that interested in listening, on the whole. Sun elven religion continues to insist that preserving elven culture unchanged, and shunning all others, is a religious duty handed from on-high by the Seldarine. Despite frequently disagreeing with the elves’ decisions, the gods rarely intervene on the grounds of mandated free will (which applies to all deities, really).

‘There are some things the gods cannot prevent, for to do so would be to take all choice from the hands of their mortal children.’ - Angharradh

While often assigned a more frequent gender and pronouns, the Seldarine have no gender, or at least no consistent gender, for example Erevan has been credited with Loki-style shapeshifting parenting shenanigans. Nor, despite them being divine parents and progenitors of the elven race, are they considered mortal elves. Elves consider assigning the Seldarine genders, or depicting them behaving as mortals in the fashion of, say, greek mythology, as humans do with the Faerûnian pantheon, to be hubris and blasphemy – The gods are not mortal, and it’s wrong to try and narrow them into mortal perceptions. (Yet many elves have still managed to blaspheme, which is probably more of an out-of-universe writer bias thing/writers not all being on the same page. Again). Often the Seldarine prefer to manifest as natural phenomena or abstract concepts than humanoids: Colossal trees (Rillifane) and immobile tidal waves (Sashelas), clouds and storms (Aerdrie), azure moonlight or stars (Corellon)… Sehanine is particularly noted to defy attempts to define her with any form of description, let alone the physical.

It's believed that once natural features, such as trees, are old enough that they are capable of hosting the divine essence of the Seldarine, and elves pray by talking to the gods through them.

It has also been said amongst the various things that went on in 4e, but also by Ed Greenwood, that certain members of the pantheon are not the elven gods found in other worlds but elven aspects of the Faerûnian pantheon residing within Corellon's court.

'I envisaged Arvandor as being ruled by Corellon (holding sway over a fey court of elven deities and visiting mortal supplicants and elf spirits, in a vast forest dominated by trees whose leaves glowed a soft blue in moonlight). I saw Sune as dwelling on the plane, and welcome in Corellon’s court as Hanali Celanil, but possessing an essential personal nature disinterested in ruling, dominance, or authority.' - Ed Greenwood

If you use that; Corellon, Angharradh, Solonor Thelandira, Erevan Ilesere, Fenamarel and Shevarash are 'true' members of the Seldarine and others are fey aspects. It's likely that Ao's 'if a newcommer clashes with the porfolio of a pre-existing god then you have to fuse or else fight for the position' rule applied here, and that the Tel'Quessir brought worship of - for example - Sehanine with them and since a moon goddess position was already taken Selûne filled the Sehanine shaped space in their faith while the original elven goddess is actually hanging out on other spheres of existence.

The core elven pantheon of the Realms is as follows:

Corellon Larethian, First of the Seldarine

Sacred Mother and Father, the Protector and Preserver of All Life, Coronal of Arvandor, Creator of All Elves, Ruler of All Elves

'The Tel'Quessir are both wardens and sculptors of magic's end less mysteries. Through Art and Craft, bring forth the beauty that envelops and let the spirit gambol unfettered. The song of joy and the dance of freedom shall ever soar on the wings of those who dare take flight. Guard against the slow death of stultifying sameness by seeking out new experiences and new ways. Ward against those who seek only to destroy in their inability to create and commune with the natural and mystical world. Be ever vigilant in force of arms and might of magic against any return of the banished darkness, and also be strong in heart against the corruption from within which allowed the Spider Queen to foment the chaos and evil of the Crown Wars.'

Portfolio: Magic, music, art, craft, war, poetry, bards, warriors Symbol: Crescent Moon

Parent of elvenkind, patron of artisans and warriors, god of HIgh Magic (and magic in general). Corellon is usually the most revered of the pantheon in any elven community - dark elves obviously notwithstanding.

'While other deities may reflect the joy, delights, and accomplishments of the Fair Folk, Corellon stands as an ever-vigilant watcher over them. His life spirit flows from and into the elves and their lands, and while mortal elves daydream and enter the reverie, Corellon never abandons his watchfulness.'

He spends a lot of time wandering elven homelands and their borders disguised - usually as something like a pixie, or another small and easily dismissed faerie - to patrol for danger as well as observe mortal elves going about their lives, especially artisans and his own priests.

Corellon is soft spoken and noted to be 'always humble,' a description that may vary by the writer or be the result of harshly learnt lessons. He delights in learning new things - opinions and philosophies, techniques and arts - even in interaction with mortals, and is particularly keen to learn about the mortal cultures of the N'Tel'Quessir, who most of his children won't go near.

Corellon maintains friendships and alliances with leaders and members of multiple other pantheons as well as his daughter Eilistraee, and Mystra, due to his position as god of magic and the elven ties to the Weave making magic's health and stability a primary concern. His enemies consist of those who would cause harm to the elves.

His clergy serve as mediators in disputes amongst elves, as well as diplomats, and tend to either involve themselves heavily in the military or in artistic institutions.

Clergy: A 'handful of dark elves.' Sun elves: 33% Moon elves: 30% Green elves: 15% Aquatic elves: 10% Half-elves: 12%

Angharradh, The Triune Goddess

the One and the Three, the Union of the Three, Queen of Arvandor

‘Through unity and diversity there is strength. Be ever vigilant against She Who Was Banished and work together in defending the lands of the Fair Folk from those who would work evil. Celebrate the One and the Three for their collective purpose and individual expressions of life. Through the melding of widely different skills and interests, creativity, life, and artistry are nurtured and new ideas are discovered.’

Portfolio: spring, fertility, planting, birth, defence, wisdom Symbol: Three interconnecting circles laid out in a triangle that points down

The fusion of Sehanine Moonbow, Hanali Celanil and Aerdrie Faenya, who, according to legend, formed during Lolth’s banishment after her betrayal was revealed. The three goddesses joined their power to heal Corellon after he was injured as part of Lolth’s assassination attempt. She incorporates the dogmas, teachings and all the aspects of the three goddesses; an agriculture goddess, a warrior, an advisor. Individualism and community. Birth, life, death. etc. A handful of elves from all subraces find themselves called to Angharradh, however she is almost exclusively worshipped by moon elves. Sun elves place Sehanine in her place, and think the moon elves are just being careless (or blasphemous) with their religious lore. She isn't mentioned in any other elven traditions, and other elves have no idea she exists.

A priestess of Angharradh is also a priestess of Hanali, Sehanine or Aerdrie.

She is patron of a moon elven tradition of druidesses specialising in runic magic, who serve their family and communities as spiritual guides dispensing advice and blessings (agriculture, war, journeys, love problems, childbirth, marriages, etc).

Sehanine Moonbow, Daughter of the Night Skies [Selûne]

Goddess of Moonlight, the Lunar Lady, Moonlit Mystery, the Mystic Seer, the Luminous Cloud, Lady of Dreams

'Life is series of mysteries whose secrets are veiled by the Luminous Cloud. As the spirit transcends its mortal bounds and new mysteries are uncovered, a higher form is achieved and the cycle of life continues. Through contemplation and meditation, communion with the Lady of Dreams is achieved. Through dreams, visions, and omens revealed in sleep or the reverie, the Daughter of the Night Sky unveils the next step along the path and the next destination on the endless journey of mystic wonder that is life and death and life. Revere the mysterious moon, who draws forth tides or being from us all.'

Portfolio: Mysticism, dreams, death, journeys, transcendence, the moon, the stars, the heavens, moon elves Symbol: Full moon with moonbow

The primary aspect of Angharradh. In some traditions, particularly sun elven faiths, Sehanine is the consort of Corellon Larethian and the second in command. In others she's his child, and in others she's his sibling. She protects and guides elves in reverie and life's journeys and in death; governs divination magics and sends visions and omens of fore coming danger to elves; protects elven lands with veils of enchantments and illusions; 'protects against madness'; and is patron deity of moon elves.

Sehanine is 'cherished' by almost all elves, and believed to be embodied in the elven spirit with enjoins the People as a whole; 'the joy at the heart of the elven spirit.'

She is sacred to moon elves above all others, their devout reverence of her as a culture was what led to their name. She once saw similar devotion from dark elves, who came about from moon elves intermarrying with the green elven Ilythiiri tribe, though that's long gone.

While she is considered sacred to the moon elves above others, particularly as the guardian who watches over elves on journeys, she is also greatly revered by sun elves as the protector of elven homelands who keeps them hidden from the outside world.

Sehanine refuses to be defined by descriptions and almost never voices her opinion directly, preferring only to communicate via dreams, omens and visions.

She is known for her patient kindness and motherly habits and puts the most effort into reaching out to the Seldarine's most estranged members; considering EIlistraee an adopted child, coaxing Fenmarel back to Arvandor on occasion, and soothing Shevarash's temper.

As a god of death, she obviously has enmity with gods who tamper with it via undeath like Velsharoon and Myrkul. She tolerates careful exploration of white necromancy (geared more towards healing magic and soothing lost souls, plus the occasional animation of undead like baelnorn liches when such a sacrifice must be made), but has no patience for black necromancy and the torments it delivers on the souls it damns.

Moon elves: 54% Sun elves: 34% Green and wood elves: 5% Half-moon elves: 4%

With other elves and half-elves making up 1% respectively.

Labelas Enoreth, the Sage at Sunset [Lathander/Amaunator]

The Lifegiver, Lord of the Continuum, the One-Eyed God, the Philosopher

'The march of time is inexorable, but the blessings of the Lifegiver enable the children of Corellon to live long and fruitful lives, unmarked by the passage of years. Record and preserve the lessons of history, and draw lessons from that which has unfolded. In the end, the sun always sets before the next day dawns anew. When you follow Labelas's teachings, time is on your side.'

Portfolio: Time, longevity, 'the moment of choice,' history Symbol: a setting sun

It is believed that when the first elves were born that Labelas used his mastery over time to bless them with their long lifespans, decreeing that their physical forms would be untouched by the passing of time. He works closely with Sehanine, overseeing the passage of elven lives as they move closer to death and deciding when this life and time on Toril has reached its end (and then perhaps when their next life has begun - sunset to sunrise). He apparently traded an eye for the ability to see through time, and is believed to know the future and past of all elves and fey, is worshipped by sages, historians, librarians and is patron to sun elves who particularly revere him. He focuses not on individual lives, but on the 'transgenerational changes and the growth of learning and wisdom among elves.'

As with Sehanine, undeath is blasphemy to Labelas' doctrine and he hates Myrkul.

Sun elves: 40% Moon elves: 30% Wood elves: 12% Sea elves: 10% Half-elves: 7% Drow, Avariel and half-drow: 1%

Aerdrie Faenya, the Winged Mother [Akadi]

'The ever-changing reaches of the sky are the great gift of the Winged Mother. Take flight into her windswept embrace, and gambol amidst the everchanging clouds. Honor those who dwell with the Lady of Air and Wind and cherish the birds who dance on her tresses. In change there is beauty and in chaos there is the birth of new life. Ascend, soar, glide, dive, and ascend again and relish in the freedom that the Winged Mother bequeaths. The air is the breath of life.'

Portfolio: air, weather, avians, rain, fetrility, the avariel Symbol: the silhouette of a bird on a cloud.

Aerdrie is the flighty patron deity of the winged elves, and mostly disinterested in everybody else, though she does patrol the oceans around Evermeet in avatar form alongside her fellow deities, protecting the elves of the isle and has had to branch out and encourage worship amongst non-winged elves since the avariel are almost extinct at this stage. She is primarily worshipped by farmers and other elves seeking good weather.

Moon elves: 40% Sun elves: 38% Dark elves and half-elves: 8% Winged elves*: 4%

*While they worship her more than anybody else, the avariel are almost extinct.

Rillifane Rallathil, the Leaflord [Silvanus]

'The Great Oak draws energy from all the living creatures of the world and nourishes, sustains, and protects them from outside threats. Live in harmony with the natural world, allowing each living being the opportunity to serve out its natural purpose in life. As the Leaflord's countless branches, his faithful are to serve as his mortal agents in the natural world Defend the great forests from those who would ravage their riches, leaving only destruction in their path. Contest both the quick and the slow death of Rillifane's bounty and hold strong like the great oaks in the face of those who can see only their own immediate needs.'

Portfolio: nature, woodlands, druids, green elves Symbol: an oak tree

Guardian of nature and patron of the green elves, he is pictured in elven philosophy as a giant metaphysical oak tree within Arvandor, whose roots are part of every mortal tree upon the material plane. It is part of the ebb and flow of natural cycles and seasons, and sustains the world against disease, predation and assault.

Rillifane is the most grounded member of the pantheon, and spends most of his time navel gazing, preferring to let his priests get on with it without him pushing and prodding them. The only time he'll directly act on Toril is to intervene when an elven habitat is under heavy threat.

He contains multiple aspects as great spirits who usually take the form of great animals, which are worshipped by the green elves. It's believed that there is some holy connection between individual elves and one of these aspects, and that these spirits act as patrons, guides and protectors.

Green and wood elves: 52% Moon elves: 26% Lythari*: 8% Sun elves: 6% Half-elves: 4% Dark elves and others: 1%

Solonor Thelandira, the Great Archer

Keen-Eye, the Forest Hunter

'Walk in harmony with nature and oppose the efforts of those who would disturb her delicate balance. Preserve the wild places from 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.'

Portfolio: archery, hunting, wilderness survival, wood elves Symbol: a silver arrow with green fletching

Solonor concerns himself with maintaining a careful balance between settled interests and uncultivated nature; keeping the integrity of the natural world safe from careless exploitation while also seeing to the needs of people.

He guards the borders of elven homelands, alongside Corellon, Fenmarel and Shevarash, and works with Rillifane to care for the natural world.

Naturally, he's prayed to by hunters and rangers, and over the years some humans have also begun praying to him. Elves hoping to remain hidden in hostile territory also make offerings.

He's said to be the brother of Fenmarel Mestarine, and is noted to be kindred spirits with Eilistraee, which has been interpreted alternatively as them being half-siblings and/or courting.

He takes issue with senseless destruction and killing for the sake of killing, which has made him and Bhaal enemies.

Moon elves: 33% Wood and green elves: 28% Sun elves: 22% Half-moon: 8% Half-green/wood: 3% Half-sun: 2% Lythari: 3% Dark, winged and aquatic elves: 1%

Deep Sashelas, Lord of the Undersea

the Dolphin Prince, the Knowledgeable One, Sailor's Friend, the Creator

'Swim the great currents and the shallow seas. Exult in the everchanging beauty and life of the bounteous Undersea. Revel in the joy of creation and increase its myriad aspects. Seek not to hold that which is everchanging, but instead love the change itself. Seek out fellow swimmers who honor the ways of the Lord of the Undersea, and ally with them against those who see only the darkness of the deeps. Follow the way of the dolphin. Promote the use of the seas by all reasonable folk for all time to come; fight those who would hoard its riches or pollute its depths.' -

Portfolio: creation, knowledge, oceans, sea elves Symbol: a dolphin

Sashelas plays little role in the lives of most elves, since his interests lie almost entirely beneath the waves. For surface elves he's the patron of sailors, to whom they make offerings for safe journeys and protection against Umberlee (these offerings, thrown overboard, are collected by sea elves and put to use for the benefit of their community).

While a member of his own pantheon, Sashelas is also the head of his own pantheon of aquatic deities called the Asathalfinare: comprised of the likes of deities of merfolk, selkies, tritons, etc. He spends most of his time focused on the wellbeing of aquatic elven communities and creating new art projects like underwater cave systems chasing his whims.

He's notorious for being unable to keep it in his pants, much to the extreme annoyance of his wife and the great entertainment of the rest of the Seldarine, who view his marital drama as one of their favourite soap operas.

Only aquatic elves (and half-elves) are part of his priesthood.

The Asathalfinare, which is not given a whole lot of focus so can be covered here, consists of:

Trishina, goddess of dolphins, and Sashelas' consort. Eadro, god of locathah and merfolk. Persana, god of tritons. Surminare, goddess of selkies. Water Lion, who is just weird.

The gods cooperated for the strength of their respective peoples, and to organise against their common enemies in Umberlee and the sahuagin god Sekolah.

(As this post is long as fuck and the sea elves are basically never relevant I'm just going to leave it at that.)

Hanali Celanil, Lady Goldenheart [Sune]

the Heart of Gold, Winsome Rose, Archer of Love, Kiss of Romance

'Life is worth living because of the beauty found in the world and the love that draws twin hearts together. Nurture what is beautiful in life, and let beauty's glow enliven and brighten the lives of those around you. The greatest joy is the rapture of newfound love and the tide of romance that sweeps over those wrapped in its embrace. Seek out and care for love wherever it takes root and bring it to its fullest bloom so that all may share in the joy and beauty it creates. Always give shelter and succour to young lovers, for their hearts are the truest guides to life's proper course.'

Portfolio: fine art, artists, beauty, romantic love Symbol: a golden heart

Hanali's primary worshippers are artists (which for elves means sculptors more than anything else), bards, dancers, actors and lovers. While there's definitely a sexual component to Hanali's realm of influence, she is the goddess of love and apparently frowns upon empty hedonism.

Appropriately for a love goddess, Hanali delights in seeing love and affection growing between people and her avatar often manifests in secret to protect elven lovers from those who would tear them apart. Her clergy are also under instructions to protect and aid lovers, regardless of any social stigma.

Depictions of Hanali in religious art show her with one finger resting on her chest, pointing at her heart and the other pointing to one ear, indicating that she is 'ever receptive to the prayers of lovers.'

Hanali herself has had trysts with nigh every member of the Seldarine, though her strongest affections lie with Erevan.

Sun elves: 30% Moon elves: 28% Half-sun: 17% Half-moon: 15% Green and wood: 7% Half-wood: 2% Everyone else: 1%

Erevan Illesere, the Trickster

The Chameleon the Green Changeling, the Evershifting Shapechanger, the Fey Jester, the Jack of the Seelie Court

‘Change and excitement are the spice of life. Live on the edge, unbound by the conventions of society in a spirit of constant self-reinvention. Puncture the self-righteousness, sanctimony, and pretension that pervades orderly society with mischievous pranks that both amuse and enlighten. Inspire laughter and happiness, giddy silliness, and welcome release from care so that the routine of day-to-day existence does not become worn so deep that it grinds all the joy from life. Celebrate the spontaneous, and practice random acts of helpfulness.’

Portfolio: Change, Mischief, Rogues Symbol: Nova star with asymmetrical rays

Patron god of rogues and adventurers, elven high society sometimes struggles to understand - no disrespect meant - why they have this deity. Primarily worshipped by troublemakers and those elves bored with the slow pace of elven society.

Erevan has no attention span; he's 'utterly unpredictable'; would rather spend his time partying and drinking and can be easily bribed with wine; gives aid when and where he feels like it and quickly gets annoyed and starts ignoring people when they rely on his divine aid too often; and enjoys setting up pranks, especially if they illustrate the flaws of people or rain on the parade of those who think themselves more important than anyone else.

His flightiness and propensity for pranking his fellow gods has led the Seldarine to lose patience, so Erevan is usually found in the company of gods with similar senses of restlessness, chaos and fun (Tymora, Shaundakul, the gnome pantheon, etc).

The only consistent description of Erevan is that he always wears something green - other than that he's a shapeshifter who never looks the same.

The only thing Erevan takes seriously is bullying. He's protective of small, vulnerably elven communities, and always champions the underdog. When said underdogs are threatened Erevan's flighty love of harmless pranks immediately cease to be 'harmless.' His championing of the underdog also makes him Eilistraee's closest friend.

Moon elves: 45% Green and wood elves: 30% Half-elves: 15% Sun elves: 9% Other: 1%

Fenmarel Mestarine, the Lone Wolf

‘The world is a harsh and unforgiving place, with uncompromising demands on those who would forge their own path. Rely not on others for protection, for betrayal comes easily, but on you own skills and those taught to you by the Lone Wolf: the skills of camouflage, deception and secrecy. Follow the way of the Lone Wolf, for his is the path of self-sufficiency. Fear not hard work, for the fruits of your labor prove your worth to yourself.’

Portfolio: Outcasts, Scapegoats, Isolation Symbol: A pair of eyes in darkness

Fenmarel was once a lover of Lolth before her attempted coup, who was almost tricked into betraying Corellon on her behalf, but panicked and backed out. Out of guilt, and the belief that Corellon resents him for his affair, Fenmarel left Arvandor for Limbo in self-exile. His relationship with Corellon is strained, and he resents Lolth and extends this to the dark elves.

Fenmarel is bitter, sullen, hates company of any kind, and has no sense of humour, always expecting the worst. He avoids commitments, but does extend his patronage to elven exiles and outcasts who find themselves without a community, serving as their protector while he teaches them how to survive in the wilderness and how to lie and hide amongst hostile company.

Followers of Fenmarel are viewed with suspicion and hostility by other elves who encounter them, as their choice of god is itself an admission of great wrongdoing and there's a strong chance these elves were banished from their communities for serious crime/s.

Green elves: 53% Moon elves: 22% Half-elves: 10% Lythari: 8% Sun elves: 6% Other: 1% Fenmarel hates the drow, and probably doesn't accept any.

Shevarash, the Black Archer

The Night Hunter, the Arrow Bringer

'The greatest enemy of the Seldarine is Lolth, who sought the corruption of Arvandor and the overthrow of the Creator. The greatest enemy of the Fair Folk is the drow, the debased followers of the Spider Queen who long ago were enmeshed in her dark web. Redemption and revenge may be achieved through the utter destruction of the drow and the dark powers they serve. Only then may the joy of life begin anew. Hunt fearlessly!'

Portfolio: Vengeance, Military crusades, Loss, Revenge, 'Hatred of drow' Symbol: A broken arrow before a teardrop

Shevarash was once a mortal green elf, known for his carefree nature and love of life, whose family was slaughtered by drow during a historical event known as the Dark Court Slaughter. In response he prayed to Corellon that he would never to smile again until Lolth and every single drow was dead, and spent the rest of his life hunting dark elves. Instead of sending him to therapy, when he died Corellon had him promoted to god. Sages believe that Shevarash may have been deified as a sort of lightnign rod for the surface elves' hatred of their cousins, keeping them from reaching the level of hatred seen in the Crown Wars so that Lolth has less to work with in corrupting more elves.

Shevarash has been forced to play nice with Eilistraee and is forbidden to harm her followers, but he doesn't like it.

While a member of the Seldarine he's not that close to them. He views Fenmarel as a superior, Solonor as a mentor, and is receptive to Sehanine's attempts to comfort him and get him to calm down already.

His entire personality revolves around how much he hates drow and anything to do with them, which has earned him pragmatic alliances with gods who are opposed to Lolth and/or are in conflict with drow, but not much friendship.

Except Shar, who he's sleeping with for her ability to numb his pain, which is causing something of an ongoing freakout amongst his pantheon.

Green elves: 33% Moon elves: 32% Sun elves: 29% Half-elves: 6%

Naturally there is absolutely zero chance in hell that Shevarash is accepting dark elves as priests, even if any would apply. Half-drow also need not apply.

And the members who are Toril exclusive:

Khalreshaar [Mielikki]

'Intelligent beings can live in harmony with the wild without requiring the destruction of one in the name of the other. Embrace the wild and fear it not, because the wild ways are the good ways. Keep the Balance and learn the hidden ways of life, but stress the positive and outreaching nature of the wild. Do not allow the trees to be needlesly felled or the forest burned. Live in the forest and be a part of the forest, but do not dwell in endless battle against the forest. Protect forest life, defend every tree, plant anew where death fells a tree, and restore the natural harmony that fire-users and woodcutters often disrupt. Live as one with the woods, teach others to do so, and punish and curtail those that hunt for sport or practice cruelties on wild creatures.'

Mielikki’s elven aspect; according to the oldest legends she's a human druid who died defending elven woodlands from the encroachment of human civilisation and was honoured with godhood by Corellon.

After the Time of Troubles a different version of her story rapidly gained popularity, one that says she's the daughter of Hanali Celanil and Silvanus, a half-elven goddess. This version of her story is immensely popular with half-elves, who eagerly claim her as a half-elven god, while many 'trueblood' elves (yes, that's a term they use) 'dismay.'

Zandilar the Dancer [Sharess]

'Life is to be lived to its fullest. That which is good is pleasurable and that which is pleasurable is good. Spread the bounty of the goddess so that all may join in the Endless Revel of Life and bring joy to all those in pain. Infinite experiences await those who would explore, so try the new as well as savouring the old.

Sharess’ elven aspect. Once a goddess of the Yuir pantheon who joined the Seldarine, and later fused with the Mulhorandi goddess Bast to survive when Vhaeraun nearly killed her. In contrast to Hanali, who is romantic, enduring love, Zandilar is passion that burns bright then burns out.

Avachel, ‘Quicksilver’ [Hlal/Aasternian]

The elven aspect of the draconic deity of learning, invention and pleasure; a trickster and patron of copper dragons, Hlal, sometimes known as Aasternian, who found her way into the pantheon by association with her bestie, Erevan. The two tend to do each others’ pantheon’s heads in with their pranks and humour, and generally find each others’ company more welcoming. In her elven aspect Hlal goes by male pronouns more often than not, and is represented as a mercury dragon. His adventures with the Fey Jester are the topic of many elven legends. Followers are encouraged to wander and follow their curiosity, as well as always thinking for themselves. The worst sin one could commit is in not trusting in yourself and allowing another to determine your life and thoughts for you.

Lashrae and Felarathael

A pair of solars loyal to Corellon who serve as messengers, worshipped by sun elves as members of the pantheon.

Usually dispatched as divine messengers and guardians whenever Corellon needs to make an important pronouncement to somebody for whatever reason. Lashrae is extremely emotional in manner and behaviour; Felarathel is stoic and coldly logical, although he makes reassuring company apparently.

They're also known for putting people in enchanted sleeps, teleporting them miles away, turning them into woodland animals, or robbing them of memories. Usually hostile creatures.

-------

The Dark Seldarine

Not a pantheon in the sense that the other two are. The term is simply used to group together the deities most commonly associated with drow, none of these entities are allies*. Whereas a worshipper of the Seldarine can honour all the elven gods, the seelie court and any other deities relevant to their lives, a worshipper of the Dark Seldarine may find this a struggle as none of the drow gods want to share with each other. They can't even share a plane, with each deity living alone. The closest to an alliance in there is Selvetarm being enslaved by Lolth. *That said, Eilistraee and Vharaun are supposed to have worked out their differences and possibly even be friends by the time the 15th century's rolled around. It hasn't turned up on paper so far, but that's what was planned for them.

Lolth is the most powerful and infamous, and generally the only known drow deity to non-drow (and a great deal of her own drow worshippers, honestly). Selvetarm and Kiaransalee begrudgingly recognise her authority and serve her, while the twins and Ghaunadaur don't but lack the power to challenge her directly.

They're not hands-off gods. Eilistraee alone keeps her distance in order to afford her followers their freedom ('she acknowledges the need for individual drow to find their own path to redemption that heavy-handed interference on her part would preclude') and doesn't object to them worshipping other gods alongside her, but the rest of the Dark Seldarine demand 'absolute obedience and exclusive veneration in exchange for great power' and tend to show up in person and directly meddle a fair bit. If a specific church has control of a city then all other gods are off the table (Menzoberranzan is a Lolth stronghold; Llurth Dreier is Ghaunadan; V'elddrinnsshar is Kiaransaleen) When more than one church has significant presence in a settlement it usually tears said settlement apart due to the conflict.

The Dark Seldarine has origins in the War of the Seldarine when Lolth - then Araushnee, goddess of destiny and artisans and patron godess of the dark elves - attempted to stage a coup and claim power from her lover, Corellon (it was not a healthy relationship on either side). She was aided by their son Vhaeraun, who between one parent neglecting him and the other verbally and physically abusing him, resented them both enough to have no problem backstabbing the one and allying with the other with the aim to stab her in the back later. Eilistraee, trying to earn the attention and affection of both parents, was easily manipulated into becoming a pawn and seemingly assassinated her father. While Corellon was willing to overlook her part and Sehanine defended her against accusations of guilt, Eilistraee was exiled with her mother and twin both at her own request (because the dark elves would need divine aid to counter Lolth) and Vharaun's demand (to spite Corellon for favouring his sister).

The twins were permitted to simply leave, and Vhaeraun left with his unconscious sister to places unknown. Their mother, on the other hand, was transformed into a demon and banished to the Abyss.

Sages estimate these events occurred between -30,000 DR and -29,500 DR.

Eilistraee and Vharaun remained within elven knowledge and were worshipped for aeons. Araushnee worked her way to the title of Demon Lord in the Abyss, along the way picking up a drow necromancer from another world (Kiaransalee) and suffering the advances and then the enmity of the primordial evil Ghaunadaur, who - unbeknownst to Lolth - had also been cultivating worship on Toril since at least as early as -25,100 DR.

Lolth first noticed the existence of Toril in -24,400 DR after the incursion of a moon elf in the Abyss, and then turned her attention towards corrupting the elves to spite Corellon.

When, exactly these various deities began to be classified as a pantheon is unknown to me, but it was likely formed at some point during the Crown Wars as the Ilythiiri, formerly worshippers of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun - before the First Sundering and the Dark Disaster destroyed the twins' worshipper bases and took them out of the picture for eons - fell further and further under the control of the cults of Ghaunadaur, Lolth and Kiaransalee and started to build coherent religions out of these new deities (many dark elves died to divine smiting whenever their blind efforts to understand their new goddess offended).

With the Descent of the Drow and the dark elves splintering into various hostile factions and cities, worship of the Dark Seldarine has developed into countless different forms and all the religions (and the sects within those religions) view each other poorly. Lolthites, for example, claim that Lolth is the only true deity and that the other 'gods' are pretenders, the Seldarine in disguise trying to tempt them away with lies and trickery, demons in Lolth's service, and so on so forth... assuming they're aware that other gods exist.

Like the Seldarine, there are other dark elven gods, but I haven't heard of them on Toril so I'm assuming they aren't known or worshipped.

Lolth, the Spider Queen

Quarvalsharess, Weaver of Chaos, the Mother of Lusts, Dark Mother of All Drow, Demon Queen of the Abyss, Queen of the Demonweb Pits

'Fear is as strong as steel, while love and respect are soft, useless feelings that none can lean on. All drow who do not worship Lolth must be converted or destroyed. All weak and rebellious drow must be weeded out. All who impugn the faith must perish. Males or slaves of other races who act independently of Lolth's dictates (and those of her priests) must be sacrificed to Lolth. Those of the faithful whose loyalty is weak must be eliminated. Children are to be raised as loyal worshipers of Lolth, and each family should produce at least one priest to serve the Spider Queen better than his or her parents. Arachnids of all sorts are to be revered, and anyone who mistreats or kills a spider must die. '

Portfolio: chaos, spiders, evil, darkness, dark elves, (formerly: destiny) Symbol: A black spider with a drow woman's head Realm: 'The Demonweb Pits,' in the Abyss

Formerly Corellon's consort Araushnee, the Weaver of Destiny, patron deity of dark elves and goddess of artisans and fate who felt suffocated and resentful in her position and decided to stage a coup to claim power for herself.

The most well known of the Dark Seldarine and generally the only drow god anyone's heard of. A bottomless pit of sadism and ambition and all around terrible mother who enjoys terrorising everybody and watching the world dissolve into chaos and bloodshed for her own personal hunger games.

Zinzerena, the Hunted

The Princess of Outcasts

'Raise yourself up by bringing others down. Don't reveal your strength, or your hatred, until your victim is helpless. Don't strike until you have the advantage the only fair fight is the one you win. Once the trap is sprung, make time to gloat before the kill. The legs of the spider are made to be broken.'

Portfolio: Assassins, Lies, Illusion, Humiliation, Ambushes Symbol: A sword draped in a black cloak Realm: The Prime Material Plane

A mortal assassin of legendary skill whose power led her to the bottom rung of godhood (demigod), her divinity and portfolios were usurped by Lolth on Toril, but apparently Zinzerena has returned as an independent demipower due to the Second Sundering.

She is the token neutral god of an evil pantheon (Chaotic Neutral). Information on Zinzerene is hard to get, and the only source on her is from setting-neutral sources or for Greyhawk*, so whether this is accurate or not is hard to tell until - and if - any conflicting Realms-specific information overwrites it. *Zinzerena is not from Torilian drow stock, and it's believed that she was born on Oerth. Some stories claim that she's the demigod child of Lolth herself, hidden and raised away from the Spider Queen's sight until she was old enough to strike out at her mother.

Zinzerena's lore is taught from parent to child through folktales rather than in recorded formal religious texts: a hero to the common people who tricks her way into the ranks of the gods. All her tales seem to involve illusion magic. She is revered by the commoner and those even lower than them, those who toil and suffer under the tyranny of the noble houses and yearn for change.

While she preaches cruelty, such teachings are more in the spirit of surviving in a harsh world rather than cruelty for cruelty's sake.

Her ethos is not incompatible with Vhaeraun, though as a goddess of rogues she's likely to be seen as competition for the same followers and he may be more interested in keeping her down (as a goddess she will likely be more popular than him with drow women.)

Vhaeraun, the Masked Lord

the Masked God of Night; the Shadow

‘The shadows of the Masked Lord must cast off the tyranny of the Spider Queen and forcibly reclaim their birthright and rightful place in the Night Above. The existing drow matriarchies must be smashed, and the warring practices of twisted Lolth done away with so that the drow are welded into a united people, not a squabbling gaggle of rival Houses, clans, and aims. Vhaeraun will lead his followers into a society where the Ilythiiri once again reign supreme over the other, lesser races, and there is equality between males and females.’

Portfolio: thievery, trickery, drow poisoners and poisons, drow men, and ‘evil doings in the surface world’ Symbol: A mask Realm: 'Ellaniath,' on the prison plane of Carceri

'...why are things so cruel and divisive? Why isn't there more harmony, mutual enjoyment, and common growth in power? Why, after thousands of years, are we still all stuck in this one cavern, at each other's throats all the time when we could be great, rule a vast part of the Underdark, and all live like surface-world kings?' - The questions that earn you an audience with Vhaeraun.

His church is less like a faith and more like a resistance movement, he doesn’t care what you personally think of him and will lend his power to you so long as your goals of overthrowing Lolth align with his (don’t be rude though). Vhaeraunites are forbidden to interact with dwarves and gnomes for some reason (which Vhaeraunites have been known to ignore, maybe because the writers forgot about this?), though intermarriage with surface elves to bring them into the fold and alliances with the shadier side of humanity are relatively common, and Vhaeraun accepts converts from them. He and Mask often exploit their overlapping portfolios and masquerade as each other in an attempt to poach followers and usurp each others place. Vhaeraun in particular is trying to leverage it to spread his influence through human cultures and secure his people’s footholds. The two also count each other as allies, so it's not bothering them much.

His priests are split into two groups; Darkmasks and Masked Traitors. The latter is comprised of priestesses of Lolth who have secretly defected. Vhaeraun lends his aid so that they can go undetected within the hierarchy of Lolth’s church and serve as spies and saboteurs. Darkmasks are his more obvious priests who serve him openly; mostly drow, of whom all are male, with some humans, half-drow and elves (which does include women).

Vhaeraun himself has mood ring hair and eyes – they change colour depending on his current emotions. He’s vain and a bit hypocritical (he and his followers can use whatever underhanded methods they please to advance, but if you use them on his followers he’ll lose his shit and tear your neck out. Some of his followers say he is a caring god (to them)). He also has a bad temper and bears grudges a mile long, especially against his neglectful father, his abusive mother, Sehanine (who he failed to keep imprisoned), his son (who ended up being enslaved by Lolth), his sister (who was 'the favourite')... a lot of people.

Since the War of the Spider Queen – when he and Eilistraee sort-of ended up the same entity and apparently developed an ‘understanding,’ deep enough to even merit the term ‘friendship,’ - he has apparently softened a touch and encourages his followers to extend their reach by presenting themselves as helpful rather than as conquerors and rogues (even if they're only pretending to be 'good' as a mask to divert scrutiny from their less savoury activities) and he advises them to leave Eilistraeeans alone. Whether said followers are listening to those commands is another matter.

Eilistraee, the Dark Maiden

Lady Silverhair, Lady of the Dance

'Be always kind, except in battle with evil. Encourage happiness everywhere. Learn and teach new songs, dances, and the flowing dance of skilled swordwork. Promote harmony between the races. Befriend strangers, shelter those without homes, and feed the hungry. Repay rudeness with kindness. Repay violence with swift violence so that those who cause it are swiftly dealt with. Aid drow in distress and give them the Lady's message: 'A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace and live beneath the sun again where trees and flowers grow.'

Porfolio: song, beauty, dance, swordwork, hunting, moonlight, fertility and motherhood Symbol: a silver long sword against a full moon, with silvery filaments surrounding it in a nimbus Realm: 'The Court of the Dance,' in Ysgard

Token good party member. Eilistraee tries to be a caring mother figure to the drow, who she attempts to pull away from the Dark Seldarine's influence and put into therapy and PR schemes so that they can return to the surface and live peaceful lives.

Eilistraee is melancholy and brooding more often than not, kind natured but with a temper simmering under the surface. Happiness comes to her while watching musicians, craftsmen, and acts of kindness and love.

She tries to give her worshippers as much space and personal freedom as possible, and when those followers are harmed she will lash out. Not always directly, but Eilistraee often lends her aid to beings she favours in small, practical ways.

She has a bizarre aversion to clothes that we've all been judging Ed Greenwood for for years.

Selvetarm, Champion of Lolth

The Spider that Waits, the Spider Demon, Prince of the Aranea, Lord of the Venomire

'War is the ultimate expression of individual power, and only through battle and death can one realize the respect of one's comrades. Hone fighting skills constantly and teach those who will follow into the fray. Never give or receive quarter, and die amidst the bloodlust of battle against overwhelming odds. Cultivate as many different weapon tricks and combat manoeuvres as a spider has arms, and never fear that hidden venom, like a secret vengeance waiting to strike, will serve you ill.'

Portfolio: Warriors Symbol: Spider in front of a crossed sword and mace. Realm: The Demonweb Pits

Patron of drow warriors and a symbol of ultimate prowess in combat.

Selvetarm is the son of Vhaeraun and Zandilar, who attempted to seduce Vhaeraun in an act of intrigue that nearly killed her. Their son wandered the world alone, ignoring and seemingly being ignored in the conflict between the two pantheons he was born between and eventually came across a fellow outcast in the form of Eilistraee. His aunt successfully befriended him and hoped that maybe he could be part of healing the rift between dark elves and their cousins. Lolth thought so too, and also really didn't like the idea of Eilistraee having any allies, so she decided to ruin everything.

His grandmother convinced him that a demon lord, Zanassu (who just so happened to have pissed her off by claiming to have lordship over spiders) should be slain by him so that he could take the demon's essence, empowering himself and making himself more useful and more impressive to his aunt, whose approval he craved. Taking on Zanassu's essence, as intended, corrupted him into something malicious and destructive, and the battle weakened him enough that Lolth was able to step in and enslave his will to hers. She made him her personal bodyguard and slave.

Selvetarm is perpetually angry and spiteful. He hates everything that lives, and especially hates Lolth more than anything. The only good thing in the world to him is the skill of a trained fighter. He can be extremely patient if he really has to, but hates doing so and would rather just go into a raging murder frenzy. If called on by his priests he'll generally either manifest and deal with the issue himself or totally ignore the prayer.

His clergy are usually a minor subset of Lolth's clergy, being seen as her followers as just another demon under her command. More recently his followers have begun pushing back working on establishing their own communities independent of the Spider Queen. She isn't taking kindly to that.

Kiaransalee, the Revenancer

Lady of the Dead, the Vengeful Banshee

'Death comes to all, and cruel vengeance will be exacted on those who waste their lives on the petty concerns of this existence. True power comes only from the unquestioning servitude of the once-dead, mastery over death, and the eventual earned stature of one of the ever-living in death. Hunt, slay, and animate those who scorn the Revenancer's power, and answer any slight a thousandfold so that all may know the coming power of Kiaransalee.'

Portfolio: Undeath, Revenge Symbol: The hand of a drow woman, bearing many silver rings on her fingers. Realm: 'Thanatos,' in the Abyss

Kiaransalee was a mortal dark elven queen from a different world called Threnody who decided to start practicing necromancy and experimenting on the populace and was exiled by her husband and proclaimed drow. She responded to that by turning all of Threnody into an dead wasteland and then fled to the Abyss when the Seldarine informed her they were decidedly unhappy about that. Within the Abyss she garnered enough power to become a minor divinity, and met the exiled Araushnee/Lolth who forced her into vassalage. The two have a terrible working relationship, and Kiaransalee would love to rip the Spider Queen's heart out and eat it; to that end she beat the shit of the demon lord of undeath Orcus and stole his house, establishing herself as an elven goddess of undeath.

Her followers are few, mostly being found in small settlements and hidden enclaves and they tend to have a laser focus on the undead, usually becoming undead themselves.

She counts Jergal amongst her enemies, likely a combination of squabbling over closely linked offices and a disagreement over the role of undeath. (Kiaransalee, like most necromancers, sees it as mastery over death while Jergal is all about the nihilism and death of everything, undeath is just another temporary state and undead that exist without his permission/outside of his service are blasphemous).

Ghaunadaur, the Elder Eye

That Which Lurks, the Ancient One

'All creatures have their place, and all are fit to wield power. Those who hunt weed out the weak and strengthen the stock of all. Those who rebel or who walk apart find new ways and try new things and do most to advance their races. Creatures of power best house the energy of life, which Ghaunadaur reveres and represents.' 'The faithful of Ghaunadaur are to make sacrifices to the Eye, persuade others to sacrifice themselves to Ghaunadaur or in service of the Eye, further the knowledge and fear of Ghaunadaur, and in the end give themselves to Ghaunadaur in unresisting self-sacrifice. Priests of Ghaunadaur are to convert all beings that they can to worship Ghaunadaur. They must slay all clergy of other faiths, plundering their temples and holdings for wealth to better their own lot and to further the worship of Ghaunadaur.'

Portfolio: Outcasts, Rebels, Oozes, Slimes, Jellies, Ropers, Anything subterranean Symbol: An eye on a purple background Realm: 'The Cauldron of Slime,' on the Paraelemental Plane of Ooze

A primordial evil with dominion over oozes and slimes who has been plaguing Toril with his presence since the dawn of its existence. Ghaunadaur is am amorphous giant blob of dark purple covered in tentacles. Within Realmspace he also controls the cults of the Demon Lord, Jubilex, and the Elder Elemental God, Tharizdun, as these two eldritch horrors have no presence on Toril themselves.

It's believed on Toril that beings such as gelatinous cubes and mustard jellies were once sapient, but when Ghaunadaur attempted to usurp the newly-made Demon Lord Lolth by seducing her and she said she wasn't interested in fucking a giant puddle of slime he threw a temper tantrum and stripped them of all sentience for something to hurt, which destroyed his own power in the process since they were no longer able to worship him. Nowadays he's taking them from Lolth.

Ghaunadaur's behaviours and intentions can be impossible for humanoids to wrap their heads around. Ghaunadaur cannot communicate with words (or not many) telepathically communicating with blunt and simple messages of three words of less. Sometimes it sends its greatest aid in exchange for empty lip service and sometimes it eats those who pray to it without any warning. Ghaunadaur almost always appears in person when called upon by its followers. Its titular eye may appear on its altars, and making eye contact and not looking away fast enough causes a host of random effects like: dropping dead, going into a coma, rapid aging, going into a blind murderous rage against everyone around you, panic attacks and generalyl losing your mind in a manner similar to failing a Sanity check when playing Call of Cthulhu.

In exchange for whatever its giving its followers - 95% of whom are men, although Ghaunadaur himself doesn't care what your gender is - Ghaunadaur expects constant praise accompanied by being fed sacrifices, with the expectation being that in the end you will be sacrificed.

[thecreaturecodex]

Hargin

"maggot princess" © @bowelfly, accessed here

[The hargin is a monster I first heard of recently, thanks to @abominationimperatrix. They're found in the stories of Gilgit, a province of west Asia currently belonging to Pakistan. The idea of a shapeshifting, charming, monster bride being a giant maggot is delightful to me, a novel twist on the various swan maidens and selkies of Western Europe. As is the idea that bioaccumulation can result in scavengers becoming magical. In Gilgit, the ibex is considered a fairy animal, and so maggots that eat a dead ibex are those that turn into hargins. I expanded it to fey of all kinds.

Also, how cool is the art? @bowelfly knocked this one out of the park. I sent them references for traditional Gilgit-Baltistan clothing.]

Hargin CR 3 CN Fey This creature has the body of a woman, but the head of a giant maggot. Her neck stretches to impossible lengths. She wears fine robes and carries a stringed instrument.

A hargin is a fey creature that becomes a fey creature through unusual means—its diet. Hargins begin their lives as the ordinary maggots of flies, laid in carrion. The difference is that the carrion is a fey creature of some kind. By eating flesh imbued with fey energy, the maggots themselves become dimly magical and sapient, and then rapidly turn on each other. By the time one had devoured its peers, it has grown to monstrous proportions, and then molts not into a fly pupa, but into a humanoid hargin. The hargin is capable of changing its shape, and then proceeds to enter humanoid society in disguise.

Hargins differ in terms of their alignments, but most have acquisitive personalities. A hargin typically wishes to gain some sort of power, prestige or fame in their humanoid form, or barring that, get rich. Some hargins turn to performance, others to theft, and others seduce their way into the households of the nobility. Although hargins are somewhat naïve, they are charming and capable, and have a handful of magical tricks to assist them in either social climbing or larceny. They spend almost all of their lives in disguise, returning to their monstrous forms only in order to defend themselves.  Hargins are more likely to view other members of their own species as threats than allies. Hargins are sexually compatible with the humanoids they mimic, and some fey or aberrant blooded sorcerers have a hargin ancestor somewhere on their family tree.

In combat, a hargin uses its bite attack as its primary weapon, but may carry weapons to defend itself as a humanoid in order to not blow its cover. Its mandibles ooze digestive acids, and it can concentrate them into a caustic bolus. A hargin’s neck can extend impossibly far, even in humanoid form, and they are sometimes mistaken for rokurokubi due to this ability.

Hargin  CR 3 XP 800 CN Medium fey (shapechanger) Init +4; Senses low-light vision, Perception +5, scent Defense AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 10 (+4 Dex) hp 27 (5d6+10) Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +3 DR 5/cold iron; SR 14 Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee dagger +6 (1d4+1/19-20), bite +1 (1d6 plus 1d6 acid) or bite +6 (1d6+1 plus 1d6 acid) Ranged shortbow +6 (1d6/x3) or acid spit +6 touch (2d6 acid) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (15 ft. with bite) Special Attacks extensible neck Spell-like Abilities CL 5th, concentration +7 3/day—charm person (DC 13), faerie fire, hypnotism (DC 13), ventriloquism (DC 13) 1/day—deep slumber (DC 15), invisibility, touch of idiocy Statistics Str 12, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 8, Cha 14 Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 17 Feats Deceitful, Point-Blank Shot, Weapon Finesse Skills Bluff +10, Diplomacy +8, Disguise +10, Knowledge (local, nature) +6, Perception +5, Perform (string instrument) +8, Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +10, Survival +5 Languages Common, Sylvan SQ change shape (humanoid, alter self) Ecology Environment any land or urban Organization solitary Treasure standard (lute, dagger, shortbow with 20 arrows, other treasure) Special Abilities Acid (Ex) A creature that takes acid damage from a hargin’s bite or spit attack must succeed a DC 14 Fortitude save or take half the damage again (minimum 1) at the beginning of the hargin’s next turn. The save DC is Constitution based. Acid Spit (Ex) As a standard action, a hargin can spit a bolus of acid. Treat this as a ranged touch attack with a range of 30 feet and no range increment. A creature struck takes 2d6 points of acid damage. Extensible Neck (Ex) A hargin has fifteen feet of reach with its bite attack, and treats cover as being one step less for the purposes of making attacks with her bite attack or acid spit. A hargin may extend its neck in order to make an acid spit attack, effectively increasing its range to 45 feet. A hargin may extend its neck even in humanoid form.

[rene-hl-trashcan]

Sylvan & Sylvia Character Sheet!

I found this character sheet template on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to do one for all of my MCs. I already have an elaborated story of them in my head so this might motivates me to actually write it lol. Sylvan and Sylvia are a set so they get to go first!

◟( ˃̶͈◡ ˂̶͈ )◞

If I could sum up these "twins" in short warning tag, it would be :

Sylvan : Unhinged obsessive floof. Do not be deceived. Proceed at your own risk.

Sylvia : The ice and thorns are protection. Please proceed with gentleness.

(You can read the reasons below lol) 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Sylvan and Sylvia aren't actually twins or blood-related siblings but they're doppelgangers to each other from alternate universes. Sylvia's parents didn't marry out of love like Sylvan's so they didn't go through all the courting phases. They got together early and that's why in her world, she was born nearly a year earlier than him.

Sylvia was originally so closed-off and near-emotionless when she first joined the household. She also struggled to express her emotions or needs despite how welcoming her new family was. Those self-preservation defensive walls of hers were the primary catalyst and the beginning of Sylvan's absolutely unhinged obsession over the people he has came to claim as his. He did everything he could to ensure that she felt safe, warm and welcomed into his family; willingly giving up everything he has, unyielding and persistent despite her rejections, skirting around her boundaries and walls as he tried to find a crack where he could wedge his way into her heart. It were long arduous years for him to gain the trust of his new sister but when she finally opened up, he already developed the toxic yandere habit of obsessing over the people he likes.

Hence, that is also the reason Anne has no chance of dying, Sebastian would never walk the path of a murderer, and Ominis would be free from the Gaunts in the AU where Sylvan is the protagonist. He loves his Slytherin Trio so much to allow anything bad ever touching them lol.

That unhinged boy would fight god with a toothpick if it meant he got to secure your happiness for you. Best/worst part, you don't even have to like him or reciprocate his love. He understands that he can't force people to like him so he wouldn't expect you to do so. Which sounds good and all until you realised that he would also use the same excuse to justify the fact that he couldn't force himself to not like you and that he is unwilling to stop himself from bulldozing his way into your life.

Also, Sylvan loves cuddles and hugs. Boy has the horrible habit of pulling everyone he likes into a cuddle whenever he felt like it. When it comes to cuddles, he will hug first ask consent later. 🤣🤣🤣

TLDR; if Sylvan likes you, you're already his and he would do anything he is capable of to ensure that you feel safe, loved and happy.

Meanwhile, Sylvia is a squishy softy hiding under the icy RBF mask.

[kades-rp-lore-hell]

are you ready for a long-ass tangent? good, because i've decided it's time for me to tell you sylvan's entire development history as a character.

so, first and foremost, sylvan was not originally made to be a roleplay blog character. his original and primary purpose is to be a self insert guy i can draw kissing and/or hanging out with characters i like.

the character that eventually became sylvan was made... about 5 years ago, i think. maybe. and he was originally made to be a sword and shield self insert. he had a different design, though i never drew it. i made it in gacha life or something and lost the screenshot.

that's usually how i start designing characters. i open up gacha life and/or picrew and start dicking around until i end up with something i like that i can mess with more when i eventually draw the character. which i never did with galarian sylvan. his name was originally oliver, by the way.

anyway, from memory, i think he looked something like this.

do excuse the Slop, 'tis but a quick doodle.

i don't think i ever worked out much of a backstory for galarian sylvan. i didn't think about him for very long. he was kind of just... the sword and shield protagonist.

personality wise, i remember him being a guy who didn't talk very much, even when commanding his pokemon in battle. he was a very good battler, though. good enough to become champion. this is not a trait that stuck around.

anyway, galarian sylvan faded into the back of my mind eventually... until i played pokemon black. (cool kade fact: for some reason i played pokemon black and then pokemon white 2??? i don't know why i did that. it's not really relevant to this story.)

and i was like. hoo boy. i want to make a self insert guy i can draw kissing N. and THEN i was like wait a minute. don't i already have a pokemon guy i can recycle. i would kind of have to rework everything but idk i have a face and name to start with i guess.

but what do i make him wear. i contemplated this for a very long time. outfit design is not my strong suit. so i focused on backstory first.

in my first idea for his backstory, he was a team plasma member. he wasn't a normal grunt but i don't remember what was special about him. i didn't keep this idea for very long and don't remember most of the details, but whatever i had cooking i eventually decided "messed with canon too much."

so i tried something else. his second backstory is... closer to what he have now, but still some pretty notable differences.

so, he lived in lacunosa town, with parents who argued frequently and eventually split, his mom leaving after a big fight.

but sylvan (who was still called oliver by the way.) had something else going on. you see, he had this problem where he kept encountering legendary and mythical pokemon. like, at least once a year i think, some legendary pokemon, presumably including ones who aren't even unovan, would show up and just stare at him or something and then leave.

except one time he encountered a legendary pokemon who didn't just stare at him and leave. i think it was supposed to be either kyurem or one of the swords of justice. doesn't really matter. whoever it was became aggressive and attempted to attack him. pretty sure he got out uninjured.

and then, depending on which iteration of this backstory was currently in my head, he either left lacunosa town of his own accord or was sort of... exiled, i guess. either way, he thought of himself as dangerous to be around.

and then. uhhhhh. my memory of this backstory gets a lot fuzzier after that. i have a very vague little timeline i wrote out in the back of one of my sketchbooks at some point. apparently this version of sylvan had two exes? an ex girlfriend and an ex boyfriend. i only remember this version of him having an ex boyfriend and I don't remember what the ex girlfriend contributed to the story.

so, what i THINK happened next is that he moved to sinnoh with his boyfriend. but over time sylvan became very possessive over his boyfriend, who freaked out and abandoned him. or something like that. sylvan, unable to pay for the place they were living, proceeds to fuck off into the woods or some shit and live there.

so he lives in the woods for a little while. at this point he had grown to fear/hate humans and disown the title of human. and then one day he comes across an injured pokemon who he begrudgingly decides should be taken to the pokemon center.

on his way there he sees zekrom flying overhead and he thinks "oh god not this shit again." this leads into sylvan encountering N, and i don't remember many details beyond that, i don't think i thought about it much. i do remember that sylvan was afraid to fall in love with N because he worried that he would get all freaky possesive on him like he did with his ex.

pretty sure the "sylvan is weirdly yandere-adjacent" thing is one of the first things i got rid of in this backstory, lol. though he does still have a bit of a possessive/jealous streak, it's been toned down a whollleee lot. to the point where it hasn't even really come up on the roleplay blog i don't think. though there was a mmm event i was planning to do where it was a lot more appearent, but i ended up not doing it because i Didn't Want To.

ANYWAY. there isn't exactly any given point where the backstory i just described to you became the backstory he has now. just... over time, stuff got removed or changed or swapped out until we got here.

...but let's circle back to his clothing now, eh? because this whole time, i knew i didn't want his original outfit, but had no fuckin clue what he should wear now.

until i remembered this one time, a long time ago, before i even made galarian sylvan, i participated in an ask game on tumblr. someone made a post that was like "send me an ask with a character you like and i'll assign them an outfit from my pinterest board." so i gave them a character, and they gave me this:

ohoho, it's all coming together. i thought, "i can put these clothes on a character." and i did! i also used tiktok at the time, and i thought about a tiktok i had seen recently where someone talked about why they liked the pokemon cherrim. and i was like. "what if i give my guy a cherrim." and i did!and a cherry blossom theming to boot.

unfortunately, i still have the first drawing i ever did of sylvan's current design. which means unfortunately i will be showing it to you. this was made in the summer of 2022, i think.

i went through a few different eye shapes for him before i landed on how they look now. here are very quick doodles of two of his previous eye shapes:

fun fact he wasn't originally meant to have a deerling. i looked at deerling and was like "oh i could give him that— wait they aren't always pink. meh, i'll give him something else." and then i changed my mind at some point and I don't really remember why.

over time his eye shape kind of slowly morphed from the second one in that image to his current eye shape. here's an old picture where he's kind of in that process:

pretty sure most of the colors used in his design were color picked from pokemon he either had or was supposed to have at some point. though i couldn't tell you which ones are which, and some of them might have been color picked and then shifted slightly.

i think... if i were to remake his party today... it would be mostly the same, but he'd have a munna instead of a deerling. i mean, look at munna. that is a sylvan pokemon if there has ever been a sylvan pokemon.

and he did originally have a munna, in addition to the deerling and everyone else and also a shiny audino. but a little while after i made the roleplay blog, i retconned the munna and audino out of existence because i didn't do anything with them and wanted less characters to keep track of. a few months later i would finalize N's team for the blog and add his trainer card to the pinned, giving me six new pokemon to keep track of. whatever, me.

but if i redid his team now i'd replace sage with a munna because it fits him better, i like that he doesn't have a full party because he doesn't battle, and i like that all of his pokemon are from different regions. because he's been to many different regions. i guess giving him multiple unovan pokemon works because even though he's been to so many places he's still a unovan at heart, but idk.

if you ever wondered about sylvan's Triangles™ (his necklace and belt buckle), those are there because i like latias and latios. and i wanted to give my self insert something related to that. so, two little triangles in the color of mega latias and latios. yay.

anyway, his visual design has stayed mostly the same since this drawing. his hair has been simplified a bit though.

i don't remember at what point i gave him siblings. they just showed up in my brain at some point. i think that was after i changed sylvan's name to sylvan though, so let's talk about that.

so, as i've mentioned, sylvan was originally named oliver. at some point i decided that name didn't suit him. so i started looking for new names. it took a while, but there's not much of an interesting story to tell about it. it was just a lot of me browsing name websites.

i really liked florian, but that was taken by the male scarlet and violet protagonist. i was soooooo pissed about that.

briefly considered viorel, which would have been a funny name to pick since it's an anagram of oliver. but it didn't really suit him either. even less than oliver in fact.

anyway, eventually i ended up at sylven. that's not a typo. the issue here was that i did think the name fit his vibes, but i didn't actually like the name very much at first. i quickly learned that it had an alternate spelling, sylvan, which i liked the look of a little more.

so i was like. fuck it, sure. he's sylvan now. does he need a last name? i'll give him a last name. let's just throw the word cherry into google translate. yeaaaah, kirsche, that'll do. the name sylvan has grown on me quite a bit since, actually.

uhhh. OH, right, i was gonna talk about his family a little. there's not a lot to say about their development, i don't think. but they have gone through a few name changes themselves.

sylvan's mom went from holly to azalea

sylvan's dad doesn't necessarily have an old name that was ever canon, but he didn't have an Official™ name for a while. when i first made him in the sims i just hit the random button for a while until it gave me mason. it didn't fit the theme the rest of the family had but it was a fine placeholder name. eventually i gave him vernon.

sylvan's older brother was always oliver i think. for the funny.

sylvan's older younger sister (sister who is younger than sylvan but older than his other sister) went from poppy, to lilac after i realized poppy was taken, to laelia.

sylvan's youngest sister was fern for quite a while, before i noticed that all sylvan's family had names that were six letters long. so i gave her willow to fit that.

i THINK that's all my words finally. unless i think of more things to say later. if you read all this... why.

[vigilskeep]

Do u have any thoughts on the Spirit Warrior specialization from Awakening

spirit warrior specialisation my fucking beloved. it’s soooooo interesting. the fact that non-mages can make deals with spirits??? the fact that the templars apparently don’t draw a distinction???

also it’s described as “they flirt with inhabitants of the fade who agree to augment mortal abilities in exchange for a glimpse of the physical world” (emphasis mine). are they possessed??? do they give spirits little mortal world vacations like What Is The Deal. this is justice’s automatic specialisation in awakening so they do apparently function just as a spirit in the physical world does, implying possession. though of course not all spirit healers are actively possessed, and it’s a similar concept. the primary difficulty is that it’s much easier for mages to get in contact with a spirit than it is for a warrior, generally stuck in the physical world. (the fact that dwarves can become spirit warriors is Fascinating btw.) one has to imagine that a mage’s assistance is required to facilitate becoming a spirit warrior?

one of the most interesting things about the spirit warrior specialisation is of course the similarity to fenris’ lyrium ghost skillset in da2. i suppose it’s the same concept: giving a non-mage magical capabilities by adding something inherently magical, such as lyrium tattoos or the presence/assistance of a spirit. arguably it’s the same concept behind templar abilities. the distinction between mage and non-mage is not nearly as clear-cut as anyone would like to think

i love that the templars don’t draw a distinction. thedas is a world full of magic outside what mages produce, and awakening has a few nods to this as well as the spirit warrior spec; there’s a chanter’s board quest where templars want help researching ancient sylvans, for instance. it’s easy for us with our video game mechanics knowledge to see a character’s class and say oh obviously that isn’t a mage, but what does a templar see when they look at a spirit warrior? what do they see for that matter when they look at a reaver, or at fenris, or at someone who uses enchanted weapons? what do they see when they look at a golem’s master or ex-werewolves with strange-coloured eyes or those with magical injuries or healers who really do just work with natural remedies? i think that’s a really interesting dimension to add to the mage templar conflict and reflects the way definitions can often be broadened when it comes to real world prejudices if it suits someone’s purposes

i’d really like to see this one make a return :D it’s so cool. the Implications of it all

[archivestarlyht]

vivi’s first language is aquan, common is her second. she was taught to read and write fluently in both languages.

fox is also fluent in orcish in addition to thieves cant. orcish script gives him a little bit of trouble because he doesn’t read it often, but he can read in that language. i still have to decide how he came about learning it, but it was probably work related.

elvish kind of subsumed common as lex’s primary spoken language due to his circumstances, though it’s obviously spoken in the feywild. he learned sylvan to converse with a dryad he met when he was young. she did teach him how to read in that language but he isn’t really confident in his ability to translate.

sol’s first language is drowic, then undercommon and drow sign were taught at home. he learned surface common at melee-magthere, kind of painfully. reading does cause him problems generally, but surface common particularly considering it’s not his native language, and he’s dyslexic. generally avoidant about reading things unless he has to.

[lusifernocturne]

City of Atolla

The City of Atolla is a city-state located on the Eastern coast of Lothian.

Size: City with around 24,000 within the walls and surrounding farmland. 

Attitude toward Travelers: Fairly welcoming. 

Attitude toward Players: Neutral/a little nerves 

Architectural Style: Tudor 

Visual features and quirks: Lots of sea glass and pretty smooth stones, dirt roads despite being a city, a large cave system, massive coral reef nearby, and the ocean quickly gets super deep. 

Prominent buildings: Council building, meeting house/city hall, 3 guildhalls, 1 large temple to multiple gods, 1 large temple to the god of the sea, a druid's grove in the nearby forest, and a public arena(with a strict no kill policy for fights) 

Majority Race (or melting pot): Melting pot, but has a high concentration of draconic races(kolbolds, half dragons, dragonborns, and even dragons) and outer races(Tieflings, Aasimar, Genasi, ect.). Low number of humans. 

Common language(s): Common, Aquan, and Draconic are most common. Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, Sylvan, and the other elemental languages are fairly common.

Economy Major trade in the city? Yes. 

Major exports: Elemental Crystal / Ore(water and lightning), fish, sea based gemstones, spices, local flora, and lumber. 

Major imports: Adamantine, Furs, Inks, granite, dyes, incense, exotic meats, and supplies for farming, fishing, and mining. 

Overall wealth: Fairly high

Taxation: Normally fair, but if the city is majorly damaged by a storm it can get kinda high until everything is fixed. 

Leader(s): The Council of Atolla

Police/Guards and Crime: Decent amount of guards and they mainly deal with petty crimes(thieving and vandalism). But there are still murders and such on occasion. The biggest problem is the gnolls that attack the outlying farms. 

Crime rate: Between Medium and Low 

Can they be bribed? No really, it'd be a very hard thing to do. 

How organized are they? How well-trained? How strict are they? Fairly well organized, pretty well trained, and semi strict.

Primary god(s): Mostly worship Abelus Saloninus but also worship The Phoenix Queen, The Raven Queen, Mask, and Pan.

Culture Unique traditions? Pray before ship travel. If a crew is going on a long voyage they hold a gathering at the harbor to set off the crew with food and well wishes. 

Important holidays?

They participate in the Festival of Pan from the 1st- 7th of First Seed. The Day of Tricks on the 31st of Harvestmere. Festival of the Ancestors in Wintermarch form the 20th to th 22nd.

The only fully unique event is The Festival of Atolla during the last week of Highsun(aka the last 9 days, from the 22nd to the 30th) to celebrate their independence from the Cloud Empire.

Factions

Guardians of the Vaults 

A major merchant's guild with plenty of members but few bases/guildhalls. It's main focus is to help new merchants set up and help one another grow through trade and tips. 

Allies: Shiphaulers 

Rivals: None

Shiphaulers 

Otherwise known as the sailor's guild, it is a decent sized group made up of those who spend much time on the seas. 

Allies: Guardians of the Vaults

Rivals:  Hallowed Berserkers

Hallowed Berserkers

 A small mercenary guild with a guildhall outside of the city. They don't often allow new members and are thought to worship Eve but no one is sure. What is known, however, is that they have attacked many ships. 

Allies: None known 

Rivals: Shiphaulers and Memories of the Sea 

Memories of the Sea 

A group that worships Life and Death. They make sure the families of sailors are informed of the lost or disappearances at sea, as well as make sure those loses are honored and if possible makes sure the person is laid to rest. 

Allies: Guardians of the Vaults, The Fallingstar guild, and Guardians of the Vaults(who frequently make donations to make burial possible) 

Rivals: Hallowed Berserkers 

Inns and Taverns

The Lazy Bowl tavern and inn(located in the shopping district on the higher area)

The Grim Kraken(a tavern and inn right by the docks)

The Port's Hole(A tavern, inn, and brothel all in one, located on the far western side of the city)

[trashcankitty12]

I would love some touches on Salvador? Like hobbies and marriage and parenthood to Morgan. He is cool.

Salvador Sylvane:

(This is going to be long, so it's under a read more.)

Eldest of the Sylvane Siblings (By 2 Years)

His magic, like Griffin's comes from the energy of the world around him. Not like the elements or the animals, but the actual living auras around in the world they're on. However, Salvador is more into defense and healing magic, where Griffin was more the fighter.

(It's how it always was. Growing up as a dark realmer during the time of the Ancestral Witches' rule of Obsidian and the Councils massive hold on the Magical Dimension, it was hard.)

(He and everyone with dark magic were treated as less than, as corrupt or evil before even truly being understood.)

(So Salvador did what his mother did, try to assimilate. Be hidden and quiet. Don't make too much fuss. You don't want to make yourself a target. That makes things worse.)

(Griffin on the other hand, was like her father, and would openly defy and question the authorities. He's had to bail her out a few times before they ever joined the Coven. In fact, he joined the Coven to try and help her by, in his mind, finally being the supportive and protective brother she needed. And then he was called to bring her in and... Well that didn't quite go as planned.)

During his time with the Coven and the Company of Light, he became an excellent medic and healer. He also strengthened his potion-making abilities. Which also could be considered bomb-making in certain contexts...

He's a romantic at heart, always willing to play matchmaker. His primary victim is usually his sister, but he has helped others branch out. (Like with Saladin and the new library head in Magix City. Or the rekindling of Hagen and Faragonda's romance. Griselda and Zarathustra. And currently, he's working on Griffin again, and his new buddy and the new RF flight instructor: Spencer Novak.)

Salvador is almost as adept as Griffin when it comes to plotting and scheming, however he doesn't shy away from the flashy and loud methods like she tends to. Stealth isn't his favorite thing.

He's also the first one to scream out when something is a suicide mission. A good voice of reason... Usually. (Things get a little murky if family is involved however. Salvador is extremely protective.)

Not much of an astronomer like Griffin, or as into chess. Salvador is a bit more physical when it comes to his hobbies.

In the Coven:

He became friends with Valtor. Or at least, they were friendly. Salvador managed to keep Valtor out of trouble (to a degree) and Valtor found someone to assist in making trouble.

Valtor also is the one who taught Salvador to sword fight and helped him develop his more aggressive spells.

Salvador, in return, helped keep Valtor a fully-stocked potions pharmacy. (For his 'training sessions' with the Ancestresses. He did not envy his friend.)

Salvador also had a romantic interest in the Coven, Aro, a wizard with a penchant for causing absolute mayhem by hexing/cursing those around him with bad luck and misfortune. (This obviously didn't end on a good note when Salvador left with Griffin.)

In the Company:

Typically worked in the Med Bay and Infirmary with Ofelia and a few others.

Met and fell hard for Palladium, a woodland elf with attitude and a fascination with the dark realms.

Palladium taught him a few of the elven runes/spells, and Salvador helped him learn to tap into aspects of dark magic.

He tried to learn to pilot the crafts so he could be of more assistance, but it was quickly decided he shouldn't be a pilot. They had plenty anyway.

Salvador also quickly fell in love with his niece, making sure to spoil her when Griffin wasn't paying attention. (And promising to keep Griffin safe for the young girl.)

(Which isn't easy when his sister seems to have a death wish and a need for self-sacrifice.)

Palladium:

Palladium is his soulmate. The man who knows what Salvador has done, what Salvador is capable of, and still absolutely loves him.

(And also doesn't blame him for his poor choice in joining the Coven. Palla was well aware of the difficulties the dark-realmers had and why so many felt they had no choice but to turn to the Ancestral Witches. He understood.)

Of course, Palladium's family wasn't as thrilled. As an elf, he has a rather large family, as he's the middle of around 15 siblings. Some were happy for the couple, some were upset that Palladium fell for an outsider instead of another elf, some just didn't care so long as Salvador could endure a bit of elven hazing.

When Palladium was pregnant, he did everything he could to mitigate the discomfort and issues Palladium had. Thankfully, Morgan was rather peaceful... Though Palladium elven empathy was at an all-time high.

The two of them using convergence is powerful; pure dark energy and runic magic, it creates some interesting combinations of things. (Typically an overload to those around them, making friends and foes alike have issues keeping up with the fight as their magic drains faster. Sometimes it's an explosion that causes confusion and minor burns. And even more rarely, a vine trap will ensnare enemies. All depends on the runes used beforehand.)

During his final transformation, Salvador wasn't allowed to physically with Palladium due to the spiritual aspect (and the cultural one of Palladium having to be on his own in his own realm). It drove him crazy, which in turn meant he drove his sister and his daughter crazy.

(But when Palladium came back, he was so happy and did his best to come up with the best Welcoming Party he could muster.)

Morgan:

Finding out about Morgan was one of his happiest moments. He and Palladium came up with the name before finding out what they were having, deciding to wait until birth.

Her little pointed ears and little fingers and feet just melted him. And her eyes. Her Eyes. She had the elven pouty eyes!

Morgan, like Salvador, grew with a penchant for mischief. Always into something, typically their garden or books or paperwork or other things she shouldn't be into.

He could never stay upset with her though, often laughing off her antics. (Unless they got her hurt or into serious trouble. Morgan learned quickly what she could and couldn't get away with.)

Proud Papa. He'd take Morgan to RF and show her around whenever he could get away with it. Let her meet the dragons and other creatures in the stables. Allow some of the safer students to ride her on the levibikes. Let her 'help' with classes that involved magic.

(Palladium also took Morgan with him to Alfea at times. Showing her the greenhouse and his potions room. The Magical Reality Chamber.)

Family hikes are something the three often enjoy together, and Morgan thrives being in natural environments. (Her magic coming from both Elven and Energy based origins.)

Salvador often makes the dreaded "Dad Jokes", Morgan threatens to kill him at times because of how lame they are.

Salvador is also the one who, while not directly intimidating those interested in dating Morgan, will also openly remind those dates that he was once a magical terrorist and has no problems with holding back his morals.

(Morgan often reminds her father that she can very well take care of herself. And if need be, she has a cousin with the Dragon Fire who will happily roast anyone for her. Salvador still prefers his methods of making the poor date his potions tester.)

Of course, he breathes a sigh of relief when Morgan get serious with Helia. The boy, no, man, is soft-spoken and kindhearted, but not shy about doing what's needed and has always been there for Morgan. So, perfect.

(He is now in the stage where he's just waiting for Helia and Morgan to announce their engagement. It's not happened yet, but he won't be surprised when it does. He can just feel the love they share.)

This is about all I could think of in the moment. Sorry it took so long to answer!

[fernrisulfr]

Nations of the World

This is in a highly incomplete state, but I’m going to post it just for fun. Below is a list of other nations in my dnd homebrew world, other than the continent of Anoria. These originally started just to give the rest of the world some life and background lore, before going WILDLY out of control. 

Drakkon Tyranny -

Government Type:  Theocratic Dictatorship

Leader: Tyraxxus (Ancient Blue Dragon)

Capital City: Chromatia

Hemisphere: North

Notes:

▪Theocracy devoted to Tiamat

▪ Leadership is an Ancient Blue Dragon claiming to be one of her 5 mates.

▪ Tried to Conquer the World in the name of Tiamat. Failed.

▪ Highly structured class society with Blue Dragonborn at the top. Metallic Dragonborn used as slaves. Mammals used as Slaves. Reptilian species can be lower-class citizens.

▪ Desert Nation surrounded by Mountains on all sides.

Var'Desh -

Government Type: Monarchy

Leader: Var'Drenn

Capital City: Var'Duul

Hemisphere: South

Notes:

▪ Primary Export is Salt

▪ Land is a Salt Waste with high winds

▪ School for Alchemy (Water purification)

▪ Mostly Human & Elf. Tan or dark skin. Wear ponchos.

▪ Surname before Given Name with a ' in between (Eg. Var'Drenn. Var is the Surname. Drenn is the Given Name.)

5 Nations -

Government Type: Elective Monarchy

Leader: High King/High Queen

Capital City:

Hemisphere: North

Notes:

▪ Leadership decided by a five person battle to the death by the heirs of the royal families of the nation's five provinces, upon the death of the previous monarch.

▪ Five Provinces consist of:

▪ Sylvan Isles - All Elves. Worship Sea Monsters. Celtic Inspired. Attempting to regain lost culture. Capital named Filogia.

▪ Losyke - Tundra and mountains. Very cold. Every Adult is ceremonially bonded to an Animal Companion. Capital named Mohr.

Holy Empire -

Government Type: Theocracy

Leader:

Capital City:

Hemisphere: North

Notes:

Veldtimere -

Government Type: Martial Dictatorship

Leader: Warchief

Capital City: Bastillionne

Hemisphere: North

Notes:

▪ Militaristic Nation of Hobgoblins

▪ Contains Hobgoblins, Goblins, and Bugbears as primary citizens

▪ Slavery

▪ Gladiatorial Arena

Abore/Hellbore -

Government Type: Oligarchy/Constitutional Dictatorship

Leader: High Council/High Inquisitor

Capital City: Dunehwal/Doomwall

Hemisphere: South

Notes:

▪ Originally a Penal Colony of the Holy Empire

▪ Infested with Devils after a particular deal was struck

A mixture of thick forests and hell scorched wasteland

[msb-lair]

Dragon: Paradisi - Fae XYX Male

Purchased For: 20,000 treasure Hatched On: 2022-12-31 ID: 83211855

Parentage: Beat/Angel Flight: Light

Primary: Obsidian Tiger Secondary: Grapefruit Shimmer Tertiary: Obsidian Crackle Eyes: Unusual

Comments: Was just thinking I wanted another butterfae most of a week ago, and spotted a For Sale post on Tumblr about New Year’s Eve hatchlings that included this lovely male.

Apparel:

Accent: Gravedigger

Green Olive Wreath

Diaphanous Sylvan Headpiece

Sassy Sailor’s Scarf

Aquamarine Flourish Tail Clasp

Fiendish Emerald Taildecor

Familiar: Sundial Gem Guardian

Progeny Testing: 

N/A

Broods: 

[thecreaturecodex]

Cheeroonear

"MythicMay: Cheeroonear" © deviantArt user ShadeofShinon, accessed at her art gallery here

[I am putting a bit of faith into the cheeroonear being an authentic Australian aboriginal monster. The only primary source I can find for it is W. Ramsey Smith's Myths and Legends of the Australian Aboriginals, which does not attribute its stories to particular groups of people. So it might be a creation of the author, or it might be legit. In that book, it's said that an unprecedented peace among animals and people were interrupted by Cheeroonear's arrival, which inspired my take on them as profligate hunters.]

Cheeroonear CR 6 NE Monstrous Humanoid This giant creature is roughly humanoid, with arms so long they drag on the ground. It has a dog-like face, and a pouch like a pelican’s hangs from its throat.

Cheeroonears are large humanoids with an outsized appetite and an outsized impact on their environments. They do not hate animals, but instead see them solely as tools or resources without caring about their lives, and view smaller humanoids with a similar callousness. They do not draw distinction between animal and human meat, and will eat whichever is easier to come by. Most druids view cheeroonears as a menace, as they disrupt ecosystems by hunting vulnerable species and set fires to smoke out prey.

Most cheeroonears hunt with animals as companions—dogs are just about the only animal they have any fondness for. The dogs are used to flush out and harry prey while the cheeroonear attacks with its incredible reach. If enemies have animal companions or mounts, the cheeroonear attacks them at a higher priority. The throat pouch of a cheeroonear is big enough to allow them to swallow man-sized prey whole, but they rarely do so unless it is unarmed or already unconscious. Cheeroonears value their lives, and are more likely to flee or surrender than they are to fight to the death.

Cheeroonears typically live in mated pairs or small families. They are nomadic hunters, but do supplement their diet with roots, berries and other plant matter—usually harvested in an unsustainable way. They are happy to raid the livestock of other people if that’s more convenient than hunting wild game, but view attacks on their own dogs as a violation to be avenged. Cheeroonears are not by and large religious, but they are superstitious. Many of them hold divination in high regard, and cast lots or consult the stars before making major decisions.

A cheeroonear is about eight feet tall while hunched over in their usual posture, and ten feet when standing straight.

Cheeroonear     CR 6 XP 2,400 NE Large monstrous humanoid Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +9, scent Defense AC 19, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +8 natural) hp 68 (8d10+24) Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 Offense Speed 40 ft. Melee 2 claws +11 (1d6+4), bite +11 (1d8+4 plus grab) or masterwork longspear +12/+7 (2d6+6/x3), bite +6 (1d8+2 plus grab) Ranged javelin +9 (1d6+4) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (20 ft. with longspear) Special Attacks biocide, swallow whole (AC 14, 6 hp, 1d6+6 bludgeoning) Statistics Str 18, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 10 Base Atk +8; CMB +13 (+17 grapple); CMD 25 Feats Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Lunge, Self-Sufficient Skills Climb +11, Handle Animal +8, Heal +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Perception +9, Stealth +3, Survival +13, Swim +11; Racial Modifiers +4 Handle Animal, +4 Knowledge (nature) Languages Common, Sylvan SQ domestic empathy +12 Ecology Environment warm and temperate land Organization solitary, pair or band (3-8) Treasure standard (masterwork Large longspear, 3 Large javelins, other treasure) Special Abilities Biocide (Su) A cheeroonear’s natural weapons are treated as bane weapons against creatures with the animal type. Domestic Empathy (Ex) A cheeroonear gains the wild empathy class ability of a druid of its Hit Dice, except that the cheeroonear can only affect the attitudes of domesticated animals. A cheeroonear gains a +4 racial bonus to this check.

[sylvanply123]

What Type of Plywood is Best For Outdoor Use in India ?

What Types of Exterior Plywood Can Be Used Outdoors?

Here's a breakdown of the most common types of exterior plywood available:

CDX Plywood: This is one of the most affordable and widely available exterior plywood options. Each layer (or ply) is rated with letters– 'C' being a lower quality with knots and imperfections, 'D' being even lower quality, and the 'X' indicating it uses exterior-grade glue. CDX is suitable for general outdoor use where appearance isn't the primary concern.

ACX Plywood: Similar to CDX, but with a higher quality face ply ('A' grade). This makes it a better choice for projects where you want a smoother, more finished surface.

Finding the best plywood for outdoor use involves balancing factors like the project, the necessary level of moisture resistance, aesthetic needs, and your budget. By understanding the types, their differences, and other considerations, you'll be able to select the plywood that's the perfect fit for your outdoor building needs. Contact Sylvan Ply for your next outdoor project.

[rene-hl-trashcan]

4, 14, 17, 21 for sylvan 💟

I assume this is from the MC / OC AU ask game.

4. College AU (What is their major? Or are they the professor? How do they cope with college life? Do they have a scholarship? Will they enjoy crazy college life or will they stick to studying?)

I always think of him as going for a double degree at minimum, majoring in Engineering/Science field—probably Biotech Engineering as his main with Forensic Science at the side (because I made him a necromancer in HL so that lore needs to continue in other AU too). As for his college life, despite the double degree, he would still have a pretty active social life. You could pry the party life away from his cold dead hands, only to fail cuz even in death he refused to not have fun. Sleep is secondary for him, cuz he lives fueled by energy drinks and occasional crashes when he's too exhausted. He is probably the guy who sleeps in class, but when questioned by the professor could answer it with no problem, and probably throws a question that the professor needs 3 business days and a conference with fellow professors to answer. Sylvan doesn't subscribe to the idea of burying his face in books to study. He picks up things fast and prefers to do his revision via application or practice rather than studying from books (legality of the act is not his primary concern since he believes that it's only a crime if he gets caught 😌)

14. Crime Drama AU (What are the roles of your MC in the AU? The detective/cops? If so, what kind of crimes are usually assigned to them? Or are they the criminal? If so, what kind of criminal are they? Is the police corrupt? If so, are your MCs corrupted? Why/why not?)

I have an idea (that I don't have time to write about in this AU) where Sylvia is a police detective and Sylvan is her eccentric forensic scientist genius brother. Like, nobody in the station dared to even mention his name because of the crazy shenanigans he pulled every time they sent a body/evidence to him. They appreciate him for the after-hours department gathering cuz he is genuinely fun to be around, but when he's in work mode, they can't help but be very concerned and terrified. He gets obsessive and manic once he's fixated on a case; and sometimes he comes across as crass and disrespectful to the victim, especially since he doesn't believe in life after death, nor does he believe in souls. He treats every case like a mystery puzzle he needs to solve, and the corpses/evidence as mere clues for him to solve the mystery, nothing more than an empty shell of what was once a person. This attitude doesn't make life pleasant for his colleagues especially when he's usually assigned to brutal homicide cases. Sylvan isn't corrupt but he is definitely not straight-laced either. He doesn't mind connecting and exchanging favours with questionable people if that means he could solve the mystery that was sent to his table. Unlike Sylvia who seeks justice for the victims, Sylvan is simply bored and wants mental stimulation.

17. Soulmate AU - (What are the soulmate rules of the AU? Do they believe in/like the soulmate thing? Will they fight the determined destiny to be with the person they like? Will they resist their soulmate to prove that destiny cannot control their life?)

If it's Soulmate AU, I would be basing the rules based on the lore I created for my original story. TLDR (cuz that file is near 30 pages long and I haven't finished building the world yet) of the rule is that souls can create a committed bond at a spiritual level, and if they meet again in new reincarnation, the soulmate bond will attract them to each other. It is something that happens across the multiverse. That soulmate rule is pretty lax and flexible, so the usual soulmate has marks of their fated partner would be another fun AU for Sylvan to be in too cuz NONE of it matters. None of it matters cuz Sylvan calls bullshit on the whole concept. He has only faith in his skills and abilities and thus denies any idea of a higher power holding any form of control over his life. It's either he's skilled enough to get what he wants or he needs to improve himself to achieve his goals. Ironically, because he doesn't believe in soulmates, his relationships work extremely well (at least on his part) since he never doubts his attraction to the other person. He doesn't care if the other person isn't his fated partner because he has long fallen in love with their quirks, behaviours and physical appearance. The irony of Sylvan in this AU is that he might be the only one unconditionally happy in his relationships simply because he doesn't care about what destiny dictates about his love life. Instead, he only cares about everything he learns about his lover as he falls in love more and more with them the more he gets to know them. If the other person chooses to break up with him because they fear the idea that Sylvan is not their soulmate, Sylvan would move on pretty quick since he finds no attraction for cowards who cower against an unseen (non-existent, to him personally) power without even attempting to put on a fight.

21. Spy/Undercover AU - (What is the organisation they work for? Are they good or bad? What is the purpose they go undercover? What kind of spy/undercover agent are they? How do they conduct their mission? What would they do if they were caught? What will they do if they fall in love with the enemy?)

OMG, Sylvan as a spy working for any form of law enforcement is a recipe for chaos and trouble (and I love it). Imagine him infiltrating into a shady organisation that probably is experimenting on people for the sake of world domination (insert RE's Umbrella Corp, MLQC's the Black Swan and similar organisations here) and he slowly climbed his way to the top of the ranks. Like, this man's moral compass is so utterly skewed that it's not even funny. He is ruled more by his self-satisfaction than the need to uphold justice for the good of mankind, hence there is no such thing as wanting to protect the weak on his part. He would treat the whole mission like a game that he wants to dominate and win, which in a weird twist, might make him the best agent of the organisation. For instance, any other sane, regular agent might need therapy after being made to do awful things for the sake of keeping their covers, but Sylvan wouldn't be remotely affected. Everything he did as an undercover spy, no matter how dirty and awful, is the means to win the game (aka complete the mission assigned to him successfully). As long as he isn't losing, he's a happy spy. As long as he secured the information he needed to convict or destroy the target, he couldn't care less about the things he had to do to achieve that victory. If he happens to fall in love with the enemy, then it's just another game for him and he will do his damn best to seduce and gaslight the enemy to his (not the law, nor the shady organisation, but HIS) side. It's the same if he was caught. It becomes another game that he has to manipulate his way through, probably with his life at stake (which would only excite him more, to be honest).

[thebookofnehemiah]

"The Celebrity." From the Book of Nehemiah, "the Exploration of the Mysteries of the Lions that Lay," 3: 20.

We continue to discuss the mission of the Cupbearer of the King, the Nsh, to spread the word to the skilled workers of Jerusalem about a Grand Opening for the Kingdom of Israel. So far we have passed through walls and entered gates, visited a water treatment or two, not including the whorehouse warehouse, the media, and now we enter the House of God, whom the prophet calls Zabbai, "the Painter."

The term zealousy surfaces. This, the passage defines as Eliashib, "a desire to turn things around, to return to ways that are fruitful." We say this is what we want, but somehow still find ourselves preoccupied with other things. Keen interest and zealousy are different things. Once one's passions are ignited the Torah and the Nehemiah Torah alike say not to stop until the walls are rebuilt, the streets are clean and the bells are ringing:

20 Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

The entrance to the house is discreet from the other repairs we have made so far. The Number is 1003, אק, "the timber." Timber in the lore is "the heart of the matter." Why would mankind want a new Eretz Israel more than it wants to destroy the old one?

"The noun υλη (ule) means basic matter or elementary matter: the stuff something is made from. In the older classics, this noun refers to wood — our noun derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "swel-", meaning both wood in the sense of forest, and wood the material (hence too the English word sill and the familiar Latin word silvas, hence our English adjective sylvan, or pertaining to woods) — but as wood was a primary building material from which people made houses, furniture and even utensils, our word began to be used to denote any basic material.

Wood, of course, was also the primary fuel of people, and as we discuss in our article on πυρ (pur), fire, a society was centered upon and organized around its fire. At night the fire kept wild animals at bay, and kept people warm and provided them with light.

In other words: where the noun δενδρον (dendron) predominantly denotes a living and natural tree, and the noun ξυλον (xulon), mostly a chopped or worked piece of wood, our noun υλη (ule) emphasizes the constructive wood that literally sat at the heart of society, and kept it all together."

Zeal then is a desire to go back to the basics. We are engaged in drama, war, disaster relief, all manmade combined with some factors that demonstrate nature is aggravated by manmade causes. The reason we must invoke the God of Israel with a passion now is to find our way back from the evil we have done and establish a global culture that will refuse to dramatize certain things and upset the order.

The Torah says the inauguration of the Nsh is likely the most important thing it will ever do in the history of mankind. If it does not, it will likely continue raining bombs and missiles on itself, scent the wind with jet fuel to nothing can breathe in it, and fill the oceans and the forests with junk till everything dies.

The Value in Gematria is 5898, ה‎חטח‎, hatach, "have courage."

"The verb חתת (hatat) means to deplete of strength, courage, willpower or any essential support, which results in a collapse of sorts. Nouns חת (hat), חתת (hatat), חתה (hitta), חתחת (hathat) and חתית (hittit) describe the various nuances of debilitating or paralyzing terror or fear. The identical adjective חת (hat) means shattered or dismayed. Noun מחתה (mehitta) means destruction, ruin or terror.

The verb חתה (hata) means to seize or snatch up, usually of fire or coals. Noun מחתה (mahta), meaning fire pan or censer."

The entrance to the future is illustrated by the Torah as a time and place of miracles compared to the one we are living in how. We do not think man can give up his wicked ways and get along with his neighbors, he has many reasons not to do it, none of them are good or realistic.

The Torah says to create a celebrity one that can speak and act in a way that will prevail over the fear we have of our own weak wills. I know he is out there. We will probably always need to know such a person as there will always be corrupt politicians and governments that think the better of acting when they should. It is the job of the Nsh to contradict these behaviors.

[spireflux]

✹ :      PRIVATE & LOW-ACTIVITY RP BLOG FOR    KEYLETH: CR.      portrayed by jay     ( they / he.     26. )           [ tlovm-primary, with comic + c1 influences ]        𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙾𝚁𝚂 𝙳𝙽𝙸.ㅤㅤᵗᵉᵐᵖᵒʳᵃʳʸ ʳᵘˡᵉˢ ᵘⁿᵈᵉʳ ᶜᵘᵗ.ㅤㅤCANON-DIVERGENT & HC BASED.

*ㅤㅤAN EXPLORATION IN:       found-family,     𝑺𝑬𝑳𝑭-𝑳𝑶𝑨𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑮,      are we really the heroes ?,     𝚘𝚞𝚝-𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎;      𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔶 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔠𝔢𝔡 𝔲𝔭𝔬𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲,      moral hypocrite,      &ㅤ you can't save everyone, ㅤbut you sure as hell will try.

⥼ Ⅰ.      crrd tba.    ･    Ⅱ.    prompt tag.    ･    Ⅲ.    inbox count:    12.

･ TRAVELING WITH,   ♡ @deathwarde,   ♡ @fenthiras

⁰¹ * mutuals only for all interaction.   please soft-block me if unfollowing, no hard-feelings.   i'll do the same.   sending in ask memes is the easiest way to interact with me, feel free to send anything from my tag.   my discord is also available on request.   i'll be writing triggers as "tw: trigger here", but be forewarned for typical fantasy violence tropes.   i practice multi-shipping and exclusivity, but on a heavily-plotted and talked-through basis.

⁰² * keyleth of the air ashari.    half-elf druid (circle of the moon).   25 - 47 depending, though i'll default to 25;    neutral good, demi-sexual.    speaks:   common, elvish, sylvan, druidic & primordial.   in bg3, keyleth is a recruitable companion at the druid grove,   but you have to side with the refugees.   keyleth will be at odds with kagha & will help in getting halsin back to restore order.   in dragon age, keyleth is a dalish mage that specializes in shapeshifting & spirit magic, who is her clan's first. ask me for more details depending on the game!   i'm cross-over friendly.

⁰³ * erm. don't be a weirdo 🧍‍♂️ general disclaimers apply.   in my silly little s3 waiting room.   psd + icon is from the lovely leif @/shirelike! icon & divider template is from faegfx!ㅤ i haven't watched c1 and don't really plan to,,, i can't get into it. ㅤbut i'm doing my research! i can also be found @benydikta ... sometimes