Gods of Mulhorand
Anhur
General of the Gods, Champion of Physical Prowess, Supreme Marshall of All Armies, the Falcoln of War
Aliases: Ramathant (Thay), Ramman, Rumathep, Ramatep (Unther)
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Portfolio: War, conflict, physical prowess, thunder, rain, storms
Domains: Chaos, Good, Strength, Storm, War
Worshipers: Druids, fighters, monks, rangers, soldiers, warriors
Allies: Bast, Nephthys
Foes: Set, Sekolah, Assuran
Symbol: Hawk-headed falcion bound with a cord
Favored Weapon: "Warhawk" (falchion)
Anhur embodies both the raw fury and the strategic generalship of war. He is a fierce god, but one not quick to pass judgement on others. Unlike other war deities, Anhur is a force for good and fights only against evil. He is slow to anger, for his wisdom is legendary, but his wrath is unescapable once earned. Anhur never lets his guard down and is constantly on the alert. He never stops moving, and his eyes never stop scanning the horizon. Unlike much of the rest of the Mulhorandi pantheon, Anhur appreciates the humor of mortals and does not necessarily find their presence tiresome. He has a hearty laugh and an ever-present smile when not engaged in combat. A shadow of guilt haunts the eyes of the General of the Gods, as he will never forgive himself for earlier failures to defend Mulhorand, particularly against the Red Wizards.
Anhur and Horus-Re do not get along well. Horus-Re is the god of eternity and perpetual order, while Anhur is an aggressive advocate of change and conflict. Prior to the Fall of the Gods and during the Time of Troubles, Anhur's church was on the defensive from a campaign of political attacks from the clergy of Horus-Re, but it has since recouped much of its losses, in large part due to the recent aggressive actions of the God of War.
Anhur's portfolio overlaps with Isis somewhat in the domain of weather. Anhur is seen as the controller of weather in Unther in his alias as Ramman, whereas Isis is the predominant mistress of the weather in Mulhorand, though warriors and fighting sailors in Mulhorand most often ask Anhur for favorable winds and the absence of ill weather before a battle. Anhur's domain is seen to focus more on storms, lightning, and thunder in either country, while Isis is responsible for all types of weather.
Anhur and Nephthys cooperate together since their outlooks are similar and they both see the forces of Thay as their main foes. Anhur and Bast have an off-again, on-again that swings from deep love to indifference and involves frequent spats and occasional fits of pique, but both of them would always help each other when it comes to matters of importance.
When the ancient Untheric deity Assuran, known to westerners as Hoar, killed his ancient rival, Ramman, at the end of the Godswar in revenge for his centuries-old banishment, Anhur moved boldly to take Ramman's portfolio under his Untheric name Ramathant (long linked with Ramman anyway), solidifying his status as a lesser power. Assuran was once again driven from Unther, this time vowing revenge against Anhur.
Anhur also distinguished himself during the Time of Troubles battling the avatar of Sekolah, the great white shark deity of the sahuagin, who prowled the Alamber Sea. Since their battle, however, sahuagin attacks against the coastline population centers of Mulhorand and Unther have increased dramatically in revenge.
Anhur is served by divine minions and can assume the form of a lion.
Avatars
Anhur always appears as a four-armed Mulhorandi warrior with blood-red skin, dark hair and a short, tightly braided beard. He wears a tri-plumed headdress and a kalasiris made of scale or lamellar mail. He holds a mighty lance in his right arms. His dark eyes are alert and dance with the anticipation of his opponents' next moves. He initiatates combat only against those of evil alignment, but answers any attack upon himself or his followers with great rage and determination.
Other Manifestations
When an agent of a hostile nation, cult or other group crosses into Mulhorand, Anhur may manifest as a lion on the horizon. The great cat patiently observes, but does not move or follow. If approached, it seems to magically recede so that it is always on the horizon. For particularly dangerous intruders, Anhur may manifest as a dark cloud that unleashes the occasional lightning bolt. In this form, Anhur's manifestation remains overhead for as long as the interlopers remain in Mulhorand.
When a follower of Anhur is acting in accordance with the god's wishes but is encountering resistance from others, particularly priests of other faiths, Anhur may manifest as an ominous roll of thunder. If this is not sufficient, he may hurl a bolt of lightning from the heavens. The lightning strike hits his own follower but causes no damage except to leave scorch marks on the ground.
In times of battle, Anhur sometimes manifests to armies of his followers as a ghostly, upright lance that serves as a standard and a rallying point. During a forced march, Anhur may manifest to an army of his followers as a steady rumble of thunder that quickens their pace and lightens their fatigue.
Anhur also shows his presence, favor, or disapproval through the actions of einheriar, lions, falcons, warhorses and dogs, hunting cats, battle elephants and camels, and war chariots that seem to guide themselves or suddenly throw a wheel.
The Church
In the days before the Orcgate Wars, at the height of Mulhorand's power, the god Anhur was one of the most respected in Mulhorand. He had a cult that was second only to Re's in size. After the death of Re, Anhur retained his title of general of the gods, but he gradually fell from favor. Horus-Re is the god of eternity and perpetual order, while Anhur is an aggressive advocate of change and conflict; the two gods do not get along well. Priests of Horus-Re have blamed Anhur and his priesthood for many of the losses suffered by the Mulhorand. (The priests of Horus-Re have then hired Chessentan mercenaries to replace the "untrustworthy" armies, as most Mulhorandi soldiers worship Anhur.)
Today, the cult of Anhur is small but extremely vigorous. Priests of Anhur have converted many of the Chessentan mercenaries to his worship, and the priesthood is growing. The biterness between the priests of Anhur and Horus-Re has created more than its share of conflict, and there is much court intrigue between these two factions, though the priests of Anhur are not yet powerful enough to openly challenge Horus-Re's servants.
Anhur's temples are constucted as impregnable citadels. Often they resemble the great castles of western Faerun with steep roofs pitched to prevent aerial attacks from landing on them or effectively dive-bombing. Their walls are made of stone, and the most ancient sites of worship have weathered to a deep ruddy brown in hue. Each temple contains an extensive armory and huge dungeons stocked with nonperishable supplies.
All priests of Anhur are addressed in public as "Lord Priest" or "Lord High Priest." Within their ranks, priests of Anhur use such titles as Bloodletter, Warmaker, Honor Brother or Sister, Swordarm, Lionclaw, Defender, and Commander, but church hierarcies and titles vary widely from temple to temple. The clergy of Anhur is nearly equally divided between clerics and crusaders.
Dogma
Priests of Anhur are obliged to defend the territory of Mulhorand out to its historic boundaries. They are to smite the enemies of the realm and keep its people, highborn or slave, safe from evil. They are to obey leaders and behave with honor, conducting themselves as representatives of their fierce protector god. Since the Time of Troubles, the clergy of Anhur has had added to its responsibilities the countering of the weather magic of the Red Wizards of Thay, particularly in Unther.
Novices of the church are charged as follows: "Protect Mulhorand, for she is your mother. Fall upon her enemies as you would any who had done ill to your own mother. Show bravery and valor in combat, and protect your brothers and sisters in arms. Follow the wise advice of your commander as you would that of your parents, but take not actions that serve an ill cause. If your commander asks that you do ill, refuse; your actions will be vindicated by a council of at least three of your peers. Protect the people of Mulhorand and the property of the church of Anhur, for it is your home you defend with the fury of a lioness defending her cubs. Beware the whiles of Set, for his spies are everywhere, and his actions turn brother against sister and parent against child; his taint poisons the waters of the land of your heart."
Day-to-Day Activities
Priests of Anhur spend their morning hours practicing their martial skills. Afternoons are spent drilling Mulhorand's legions. Evenings are spent repairing weapons and armor or studying war strategies.
Anhur expects his clergy to develop and execute unorthodox and daring plans to regain Mulhorand's former glory. Much of his clergy's time is spent pursuing fantastic plans and countering the machinations of the priests of Horus-Re. For example, prior to the Time of Troubles, the clergy of Anhur secretly constructed a large fleet in Sultim to assault the Thayan base on the Aldor (an island off the coast). Much of this fleet was wrecked in the great storms that shook the Alamber, and most of the remaining ships sank defending Mulhorand's shores from the armies of the sahuagin. Nonetheless, the clergy of Anhur considered the exercise a success since they had defended Mulhorand's borders from an invader as was their duty.
Holy Days and Important Ceremonies
The month of Tarsakh is referred to in Mulhorand as the Time of Storms, and Anhur is said to walk the borders of Mulhorand during this time seeking out interlopers to drive off. The clergy of Anhur celebrates this time by engaging in a month-long tournament of nonlethal combats. The winner of the combat is known as the Chosen of Anhur for the following year. This month-long tournament concludes on Greengrass with a festival known as the Sharpening of the Sword. On the rare occasions when Mulhorand has gone to war, major campaigns typically begin on or soon after this date.
The Remembrance Ritual is celebrated on Higharvestide. This somber festival is a day self-reflection and a time to remember fallen comrades. It concludes on a joyous note with a littany of martial hymns thanking Anhur for military successes in the past year.
Finally, the clergy of Anhur have numerous (practically biweekly) holy days commemorating one major battle or another. Though these commerative celebrations are largely ignored outside the clergy, the citadels of Anhur are sights good-spirited revelry during these festivals, and they sponser many competitive sporting events on such days.
Major Centers of Worship
The center of Anhur's worship is Sultim, though he has temples across Mulhorand, Unther (in his aspect as Ramman), and in Chessenta, where his worship is growing in popularity. The Blood fortress in Sultim, his most prominent temple, is a massive, granite castle marked by its seven obelisk towers of a deep red hue. Most of its internal walls are covered with elaborate frescoes depicting ancient battles and strategic maps of cities in neighboring lands. Its halls are lined with ancient weapons, armor, and imposing statues, some of which are animated stone guardians.
Affiliated Orders
The Guardians of Skuld is an order of guardians from the priesthoods of Anhur, Osiris, and Isis whose existance has been formalized since the Time of Troubles and whose leadership has reverted back to the temple of Anhur from the clergy of Horus-Re. The Order of the Watchful Lion is a fellowship made up primarily of crusaders (but counts some clerics as members as well) that serves as the front line in the defense of Mulhorand. Members often take extended leaves to adventure beyond Mulhorand's borders and report back on developments in neighboring countries. The clergy of Anhur also includes hundreds of informal fraternities roughly corresponding to companies of troops in Mulhorand's armies.
Priestly Vestments
The clergy of Anhur dress in kalasiris (white, tight-fitting, linen skirts stretching from the waist to the knees), sandals laced to the knee, and a practical headdress. They typically wear a utilitarian pectoral collar that serves as a lower coif and brestplate and armlets and bracers that collectively serve as the equivalent of a vambrace.
Priests of Anhur shave their heads bald, and paint three blue circles on their forehead indicating that they are a priest. They dye their skin a reddish tint and often tattoo the image of fierce monsters they have slain on their chests. High-ranking priests wear bejeweled gold pectoral collars shaped in the image of a lion and the skin of a great cat or other predator draped over their shoulders. The relative affluence of a priest's vestments loosely indicates his relative wealth, power, and prestige. The standard holy symbol of priests of the faith is a miniature lance.
Adventuring Garb
When girding for battle, priests of Anhur very practically and deck themselves out in the most appropriate form of armor available. Although the armor typical of western Faerun is available in Mulhorand, most warriors, including the clergy of Anhur, choose some variety of scale mail or lamellar mail. The latter armor consists of small, overlapping plates of metal sewn together or stitched to a backing of leather or cloth and is equivalent to chain mail in protection.
Bast
The Festhall Madam, the Lustful Mistress, Feline of Felicity, Succubus of Sensation, the Tawny Temptress, the Dancing Lady, Foe of Set, Mother of Cats
Aliases: Bastet, Felidae, Sharess, Zandilar the Dancer
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Portfolio: Hedonism, excessive lust, sensual fulfillment, festhalls, cats, pleasure seekers
Domains: Chaos, Charm, Good, Travel, Trickery
Worshipers: Bards, hedonists, sensualists
Allies: Anhur, Helani Celanil, Lliira, Milil, Nobanion, Selune, Sune
Foes: Set, Shar, Loviatar
Symbol: Feminine lips (Sharess) or a cat's head wearing delicate golden hoop earings (Bast)
Favored Weapon: A great cat's paw (claw bracer)
Sharess is the more commonly recognized name of the deity originally known as Bast. When the Mulhorandi deities emigrated to Faerun, Bast accompanied them. At that point she was known mainly as Anhur's Lieutenant in the eternal struggle against Set and as the patroness of cat, revered for their ability to keep rats from the precious grain of the Mulhorandi people and their eternal vigilance against the serpents and scorpions of Set. At the height of the second empires of Mulhorand and Unther, numerous beast cults gained popularity for a time. During this time, the Mulan and Turami people began to venerate Felidae, a goddess of felines, sensual pleasures, and nomads revered to the barbarians of the north and west, and in a very short time the more powerful Bast subsumed Felidae's portfolio and position into her own. However, the taste of foreign ways and foreign places tantalized Bast and like many felines, she was struck with wanderlust. When Ao allowed Mask to expand his geographic sphere of influence to include the thieves of the Old Empires (since they had no native deity who served that function and an innate prejudice against such), he required that the Faerunian pantheon accept a Mulhorandi power into their geographic sphere of influence in exchange.
Bast immediately set out to explore Faerun. She maintained a few followers in the Mulhorandi sphere, however, and continued to answer their prayers (if sporadically), so her name and powers were never lost to the people of the Old Empires. She soon became known as the Patroness of Festhalls as she wandered throughout the rest of the Realms. Numerous short-lived cults were created in the wake of her passing, but most quickly vanished when the goddess lost interest in her current flock and moved on to new pleasures. The veneration of cats in Cormyr and Mulhorand is the main remaining legacy of these ancient, wild revels. The connection of Bast of the Old Empires and Sharess of western Faerun is supported by the tendency for most images of the goddess to be depicted stroking a resplendent black cat.
Some time later, Bast acquired the portfolio and aspect of an elven demipower worshiped by the elves of the Yuirwood. Zandilar the Dancer was an elven goddess of love whose portfolio, unlike that of the more romance- and beauty-oriented Hanali Celanil, was directed toward passionate, physical love which burned hot and quickly but eventually died out. Zandilar was a joyful and tragic demipower who is said to have used her feminine wiles to gain vital information from deities of other pantheons and to persuade human chieftains and kings to leave the Yuir in peace. When the Yuir elves began to falter in a series of battles with drow armies, Zandilar attempted to seduce the dark elven deity Vhaeraun either to gain information or to elicit his assistance in battling the forces of Lolth. However, the dark elven lord betrayed Zandilar and imprisoned her avatar, and her self-sacrifice went for naught. Vhaeraun intended to seize Zandilar's divine essence for himself, but failed when Bast distracted him long enough for the elven demipower to escape. In gratitude and out of necessity, the severely weakened Zandilar voluntarily merged her essence with that of Bast. A reinvigorated Bast/Zandilar was then strong enough to help the Yuir elves drive off the drow forces for a time. As a result of this union, Bast became more focused on the pursuit of pleasure and acquired the nickname "the Dancing Lady."
Some time after the fall of Myth Drannor, Bast began to experiment with the darker side of pleasure and fell under the influence of Shar, Mistress of the Night. Known as the Maidens of the Forbidden Fruit, the two goddesses were strongly linked in the liturgy of the church of Shar until Bast was simply seen as an aspect of Shar known as Sharess. The ranks of the Lustful Mistress's clergy slowly dwindled throughout the Realms as the nightbringers spoke of her being a precursor to the despair and loss that all beings will eventually embrace. Those who encountered the goddess of pleasure during this time found her beauty slowly fading and the joy of life leaving her eyes.
Sharess was never fully absorbed by Shar, however, and during the Time of Troubles she was released by the dark link by Sune. Sharess had assumed the form of the favorite concubine of the Pasha of Calimport as her avatar and was engaged in a wild life of decadence within that ruler's harem when the avatar of Shar arrived to slay Sharess once and for all, as she had already done to Ibrandul. However, before Shar could destroy Sharess and seize her portfolio, the avatar of Sune arrived with a chalice filled of the sacred waters of Evergold and doused Sharess in its liquid essence. Sharess immediately gained her faded beauty and rebelled against the Dark Dancer's bitter influence.
In the wake of the Godswar, Sharess has removed herself from the Realms to Arvandor where she joins Sune and the elven goddess Hanali Celanil in frolicking in and around the pool of Evergold. Some tales claim Sharess is the younger, more decadent sister of Sune, although this is not strictly true. Sharess puts even Sune and Lliira to shame with her excesses.
Sharess fiercely clings to her newfound independence and remains infatuated with the pursuit of pleasure of all forms despite the council of Sune and the dark entreaties of Shar. Her revitalized clergy is spreading through the festhalls of the Realms, regaling worshipers with (wholly unsubstantiated) of Sharess's bawdy exploits in league with her friends Milil and Lliira and with other Faerunian deities. Sharess is aware of the fine - dark - line of her portfolio and that of Loviatar and jealously guards her domain from the Maiden of Pain. She is morbidly fascinated with Ilmater and frequently attempts to seduce him - so far without success. Sharess and Nobanion get along well because of their mutual feline natures, but Sharess cannot resist teasing him occasionally (and thus getting him irked at her) because she likes to fray the edges of his straight-laced nature to see what will happen. Bast and Anhur have an off-again, on-again relationship that swings from deep love to indifference and involves frequent spats and occasional fits of pique (especially on Bast's part), but both of them would always help each other when it comes to matters of importance. Sharess maintains an active hatred for Set and his activities as the core of her nature and can always be relied on to oppose him and aid those who fight to root out his influence.
Sharess only rarely appears in avatar form in the Realms, but when she does it is often as the Dancing Lady at Godswalk Keep in the Barony of Great Oak in the Border Kingdoms. Her clergy claim she appears to taunt Garagos and Jergal who contested for her affections long ago and whose avatars also appear in a confluence known as the Meeting of the Three. She is also said to be working in some fashion again in her alias as Zandilar the Dancer in the Yuirwood.
Sharess is a strange and radiant demipower whose beauty is rivaled only by Sune among the Faerunian pantheon, but whose aura is tinged with faded promise. Her voice is said to be a throaty purr and to give the listener the feeling of being brushed by the softest fur or velvet when she speaks. She is a fickle, flighty deity, who prevents anyone from getting too close to her true spirit. She has the willful independence and pleasure-seeking nature common to felines and is constantly preening and grooming to maintain her appearance. She is often depicted as a voluptuous human female with the head of a cat. Sharess enjoys toying with beautiful mortals - male and female - and she cannot resist casually flirting with anyone she encounters. However, when her ardor cools and her passion is sated, Sharess is easily distracted and quick to move on to new pleasures. She dislikes snakes intensely.
Bast is served by divine minions that can assume the form of a lion, a leopard, or a small wild cat (a feral domestic cat).
Avatars
Bast favors two forms when she manifests in the Realms. As the Lady of the Golden Heart, she appears as a voluptuous, bronze-skinned human female with long wavy raven hair and the slitted green eyes of a cat. She dresses in provocative clothing ranging from that of a tawdry tart to that of a pampered concubine. This is also the form she appears in Mulhorand, though she wears Mulhorandi garb. As the Feline Huntress, she appears as a huge tawny house cat with razor-sharp claws, wickedly gleaming emerald eyes, and a sensuous aspect. Sharess has not, to anyone's knowledge, assumed the form of Zandilar the Dancer for centuries. When she does, she appears as a beautiful and seductive blue-skinned elven woman who wears layered gauzy outfits.
Other Manifestations
Bast's favorite manifestation is that of an unseen caress whose contact brings uncontrolled shuddering rapture and intensifies all pleasurable sensation. Sharess is also known to manifest as a pair of disembodied, floating female lips (as big across as a human's head) whose touch bestows a kiss of Sharess.
Sharess also shows her favor through the presence of cats, dopplegangers in pleasing shapes, dryads (or satyrs), good and neutral sirines, elven cats, tressyms, and a few (very rare) nonevil alu-fiends who act in accordance to her philosophy of life. She often lingers for days as a perfumed scent that creates and excessive indulgence effect in any who breathe its essence. She enjoys sumptuous jewelry, gourmet foods, and things of beauty and may grant a boon to anyone who sacrifices such things to her.
The Church
Bast is worshiped in large urban areas. She is revered by male and female professional escorts who take pride in their professions, the decadent rich, and those who only seek endless pleasure in life. In Mulhorand, she is also revered by those who combat Set and rewards those who work long and hard against him with occasional nights of wild pleasure to inspire them to further efforts. Bast's faith is still very young and its ceremonies very loose and fluid, with long worship services that resemble nothing so much as extended feasts and revels, heavy on the pleasures of the flesh and light on the teachings of the spirit.
The few temples of Bast are typically located in large cities, but small shrines to the goddess of pleasure may be found in almost every festhall in the Realms. Her temples are typically constructed to resemble elaborate festhalls, with graceful, fluting pillars, octagonal domes, great halls to resemble forest glades, secluded nooks, bathing areas in natural mineral springs, great banquet halls, and richly scented massage parlors. Most are guarded by staunch fighters and even exotic sentient monsters who are sworn to protect all revelers who partake in the name of Bast.
Both males and females may be found in the ranks of the clergy of Bast, but charismatic and beautifully female humans comprise the great majority of them.
Alignment restrictions for Bast's clergy are weak and a gentle slide toward evil is still often tolerated. Those priests who remain evil and seem unwilling or unable to drift back toward neutrality in their behavior are secretly entreated by agents of Shar to shift their worship to the Dark Maiden while maintaining their position within the clergy of Bast. The Feline of Felicity seems unwilling or unable to prevent such defections at this time, rare though they may be.
Dogma
Bast's priests are expected to live their lives in the decadent sensual fulfillment of themselves and others. Pleasure is to be sought out at every opportunity and life is to be lived as one endless revel. Initiates to the faith are taught that: "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 explore, so try the new as well as savoring the old."
Day-to-Day Activities
Many priests and priestesses of Bast run pleasure houses in large cities or directly serve decadent rulers. These pleasure houses cater to all the senses and include fantastic feasts, heavenly baths and massages, unique experiences, such as flight, and every other pleasure imaginable. Wealthy festhalls usually employ one or two mid-level priests, and some wander the countryside, with Bast's blessing, seeking new pleasing sensations to add to their repertoire.
Holy Days and Important Ceremonies
The clergy of Bast celebrate more festivals than possibly any other faith in the Realms. They are known collectively as the Endless Revel of Life. The daily rising and setting of the sun, the yearly passage of the seasons, the appearance of a full moon, or nearly any other event is cause for a celebration and wild revel to which the general populace is always invited. Each such festival has several outlandish titles and new festivals are added all the time as old ones are forgotten. Without comparison, however, Midsummer's Eve is the time of greatest rejoicing among Bast's faithful and an occasion for the most extreme pursuits of boundless pleasure.
Affiliated Orders
Bast is served by no military or knightly orders. Most professional escorts in major cities join formal or informal guilds led by her clergy, however. Bast is served by a secretive sisterhood of female werecats known as the Eyes of Evening who also pay tribute to Selune. The aims and goals of this mysterious fellowship are unknown, though they are rumored to hunt cultists of Shar and Loviatar during nights of the full moon.
A number of adventuring bands who work against Set and his agents, including the Desert Fire and the Daggers of Truth, count Bast as a patroness and also receive support from other Mulhorandi faiths, including those of Anhur and Horus-Re.
Priestly Vestments
The priests and priestesses of Bast who remain in Mulhorand favor tight-fitting kalasiris (tight-fitting white linen knee-length skirts) and ornate pectoral collars draped suggestively over the chest or breasts. The holy symbol of Bast is a cat's head wearing golden hoop earrings.
Adventuring Garb
When adventuring, the clergy of Bast endeavor to preserve the gifts of the goddess as best as they can and hence typically wear the best armor they can afford. There is no point to living life without pleasure, however, so they always decorate such armor as provacatively as possible.
Geb
Lord of Earth, King of the Riches Under the Earth, Father Under the Skies and Sands
Aliases: Gebthant (Thay), Gebakotep (Unther)
Alignment: Neutral
Portfolio: The earth, miners, mines, mineral resources
Domains: Cavern, Craft, Earth, Protection
Worshipers: Elemental archons (earth), fighters, miners and smiths
Allies: Isis, Osiris, Nephythys, Flandal Steelskin, Moradin
Foes: None
Symbol: A mountain
Favored Weapon: "Stonemantle" (quarterstaff)
Geb, god of the earth, is one of the oldest deities of Mulhorand. Following their creation by Ra, Shu and Tefnut produced numerous offspring. The first of these was Geb, who became the earth. Geb was so enraptured by his sister, Nut (the sky), that they instantly embraced. After they had produced four children of their own (Isis, Set, Osiris, and Nephthys), Ra instructed Shu to break up the embrace of Geb and Nut. When the Mulhorandi pantheon left for Abeir-Toril, Ra commanded Geb to send a manifestation and for Nut to remain behind with Shu and Tefnut in order to further separate the prolific pair.
Geb was once a curious and quick-tempered god, but he has mellowed since his birth and now takes a more even-tempered, safe, and cautious approach to life. He speaks with a deep bass voice and emphasizes his words by striking the ground with the base of his staff, creating minor tremors with each stroke. He is jovial and appreciates humor both subtle and broad. He rarely engages in emotional displays, although his eyes burn hotter when he discovers a precious gem or rich vein of ore or when he is angry.
Geb is served by divine minions that can assume the form of a cave bear.
Avatars
Geb appears as a huge, regal Mulhorandi man of defined but craggy physique. He has dark brown skin, smoldering, dull red eyes, and a short, tightly braided beard the color of his skin. He wears a kalasiris in flowing earth tones, a golden Mulhorandi crown, and beaten gold bracers around his upper arms.
Other Manifestations
Geb often manifests as cracks forming in walls when his faithful risk mining into an unsafe section of earth. When pleased with a follower, he may manifest in the form of gems found at opportune moments. When displeased, Geb may manifest as an earthquake; its magnitude indicating the source of his displeasure. Oftentimes, Geb manifests in the form of earth elemental sightings when he wishes to lead his clergy or faithful to a particular spot of earth. He may manifest as a dead canary when miners are about to uncover a pocket of lethal gas or as a giant brown rat fleeing a mine immediately prior to a collapse. All gemstones and metal ores are sacred to him, but he is especially fond of gold, silver, and electrum, the naturally occurring alloy of the two. He sometimes shows his favor, presence, or disapproval by the actions or appearances of xorn, rust monsters, stone golems (of greater or lesser sort), bears, cave bears, moles, badgers, and odd-looking dwarves who appear to be Mulhorandi.
The Church
The priesthood is largely hereditary, and almost all of Geb's clerics are members of the house of Gebthaunt, composed of human descendants of divine incarnations of Geb. A few dwarves and gnomes worship Geb, and, since the Time of Troubles, a handful of gold dwarves have been admitted to his clergy.
Geb's worship reached the height of its apex at the height of the First Empire, when he was considered an intermediate power, but Geb's priesthood never involved in politics and hence were slowly marginalized by other priesthoods. Today Geb is treated with condescending respect, both by the members of the Mulhorandi pantheon and by the people of Mulhorand. "Yes," the priests of Horus-Re say, "Geb is a powerful deity and his wrath is frightening. But he is old, and it is probably for the best that he does not involve himself very much in the affairs of the Mulhorandi."
Temples to Geb are always constructed underground, preferably in large, natural caverns greatly expanded by miners. Such sites exhibit great natural beauty (or deliberate imitations thereof) and include many of the cave formations found in living caverns, such as stalactites, stalagmites, columns, draperies, flowstones, and gypsum flowers, as well as underground pools, springs, and streams.
All priests are to be addressed as "Lord Priest" or "Lord High Priest," but haughty priests of other faiths often drop the honorific "Lord." Within their ranks, priests of Geb use titles such as Miner, Majer, Deepdigger, Earthclaw, and Earthheart, but titles vary from temple to temple.
Dogma
Priests of Geb are friends of the earth. They have much in common with dwarves in that they love deep caverns and the splendors of mighty mountain ranges. Geb's clergy are commanded to seek out new veins of ore and gems, to fund and construct new mines that reveal Geb's beautiful creations, and to assist miners at the safe recovery of minerals and gems from the depths of the earth.
Novices of the church are charges as follows: "Know the earth. Explore its beauties and reveal its hidden secrets, but do so in such a way as to highlight their fundamental mysteries, not merely to exploit their monetary value. Protect those who work in the earth with respect and punish those who ravish it of its treasures without regard. Become one with the earth, and you will know Geb, who abides in it. Geb will lead you to inner peace through steadfast knowledge and will lend you the strength of the living rock to defend and protect in your time of need."
Day-to-Day Activities
The clergy of Geb spend their days side by side with miners digging tunnels, with prospectors panning for gold, and with blacksmiths forging weapons and armor. At least once per year, priests much search out a new vein of ore or precious stones or lose their priestly abilities until they do so. Senior priests often go to the cities and seek funding from the clergy of Nephthys to excavate new mines and quarries.
Holy Days and Important Ceremonies
Each evening, a priest of Geb must locate one precious stone or mineral and bury it in the dirt while speaking evening prayers. The following morning, the priest must excavate the gem and offer it up to Geb while repeating morning prayers. These twin ceremonies, known collectively as the Hidden Gift and the Bountiful Joy, celebrate Geb's bequest to the world and discovery of the earth's precious secrets.
The first of Mirtul, a month known to those who visit Mulhorand's mountains as the Time of Melting, is celebrated in a festival known as the Unwrapping. Mountains streams fill with the runoff of alpine snow around this time, often exposing new caves and veins to mine. The last day of Nightal, known as the Day of Drawing Down, is a solemn ceremony marking the death of those died in the depths of the earth and mountains during the year. The entrance of at least one abandoned mine shaft is collapsed each year to commemorate the occasion.
Major Centers of Worship
Geb is worshiped mostly by miners, who set up crude shrines to him. His image adorns the openings of mine shafts. Each mountain range within the geographic sphere of influence of the Mulhorandi pantheon includes at least one major temple to Geb.
During the Time of Troubles, Geb regained some of his activist nature, and he led an army of his most faithful followers to construct a secret temple known as the Golden Forge in the depths of the volcano on the island known as the Ship of the Gods. The clergy of this temple spend most of their waking hours struggling to prevent the volcano from exploding as it has been threatening to do so since before the Fall of the Gods. Only their diligent efforts have prevented the coast of Unther from Shussel to Messemprar from being buried in 10 feet of volcanic ash, although this fact is known only to a handful of outsiders.
Affiliated Orders
While the church of Geb sponsors no military or knightly orders, most adventuring priests of Geb are members of the Fellowship of the Mithral Mountain. The members of the society are united in their search for a near-mythical mountain laden with countless veins of mithral. The Brotherhood of the Pick is a society whose membership includes most miners in Mulhorand, and serves as a union of sorts for negotiations with the nobles of the land.
Priestly Vestments
The clergy of Geb garb themselves in simple blacksmith's aprons over a kalasiris and iron-shod boots. They typically sport plain, burnished steel pectorals inlaid with gems and precious stones and bracers and armlets of gold, silver, or electrum.
Priests of Geb shave their heads bald, but male priests grow small beards on their chins that are kept tightly braided. They paint three blue circles on their foreheads indicating they are priests and tint their skin deep brown. The relative use of the metal used and gems inlaid in a priest's ceremonial garb indicates his or her relative affluence. The standard holy symbol of the faith is a miniature pick.
Adventuring Garb
When adventuring, priests of Geb dress practically for the mission and the danger they anticipate. They usually wear some form of metal armor, typically of heavier construction than is normal for Mulhorand.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:19, Fri 14 Aug 2009.