Enlil
From Enlil
| The following information comes from Laucian Naïlo. |
| While perhaps not as well read on some subjects as Solomon, Laucian has spent a lifetime learning and meditating, and his insights do not stop at matters spiritual. |
Enlil is the neutral-good deity of travel, magic, and air.
Contents |
[edit] The Church and its Followers
While Enlil has followers of all stripes, he is particularly popular amongst sailors, traders, and other travelers. Among the adventuring set, this means Enlil largely attracts those who have the means to travel, and those who are without a home. For those who choose to dedicate their life to the Church of Enlil, there are many paths. Some study in seminary to become clerics, and it is indeed clerics who make up most of the church. However, the church also keeps in its employ druids, mages, and fighters who execute Enlil's will, and sometimes rise in the ranks of the church's leadership.
Followers of Enlil tend to wear a pendant or clasp with a specific symbol to denote their faith. For clerics, this acts as their holy symbol, but it is also a way for Enlil's followers to identify each other and for travelers to recognize a friendly face. The other identifying feature of Enlil's followers is the quarterstaff. It is the weapon of choice for Enlil's clerics, and doubles as a walking stick. Clerics of Enlil are also known to recieve travelling spells more frequently than clerics of other faiths.
Since followers of Enlil tend to be the wandering kind, temples often take the form of outposts rather than opulent temples. These are often stopovers and halfway houses, although more organized temples are known to exist in places like Jarrowby and Serriyam. The Church of Enlil differs from chaotic churches in that it is not fundementally decentralized. There is a saying within the church, that "Although they both buzz, one should not confuse the hive of bees for a swarm of flies."
[edit] Church Structure
Clerics and other followers of Enlil believe journeying to be of utmost importance to understanding the world, and believe first-hand experience — not solely abstract knowledge — to be invaluable to decision-making. As such, all but the most infirm clerics rarely stay in a given place for long. The upper echelons of the church organization is made up of a council of 11 older clerics. Of these, two are elected for two-year posts at major temples of their choosing, to oversee matters that require continuity and to act as the heads of the church, as clerics on journey are often not easily accessable.
The two elected heads of church have slightly different functions, but they both function as the head of the church, with any conflicts being resolved by the full council. Tradition disallows consecutive terms as head of church, and should a council-member find herself unable to journey as is expected of a cleric of Enlil, she is expected to step down from the council, usually taking a job as a Head of Temple or Preceptor for an important temple.
The rest of the council members keep in close contact, and often act as envoys to governments and other churches. Others take a scholarly bent, traveling about to learn about various things of interest to the church. The council retains some number of followers reporting directly to themselves, to act as their eyes and ears. These followers are generally selected for their experience in dangerous situations, often times affecting changes or otherwise doing the work of the council in situations where involving the church beuracracy is for whatever reason undesirable. The other groups that reports to the council are the heads of temples and the journeymen general, looking to establish temples and coordinate milatary operations. The heads of temples handle schooling new followers as well as taking command of regional issues. The journeymen take responsibility for issues in regions distant from any temple, as well as issues which are not specific to a given region. Most of the military operations of the church occur through its journeymen, or when in proximity to an established temple, through cooperation between temple heads and journeymen.
[edit] Church Ranks
The abridged list of church ranks are as follows, in roughly decending order:
Leadership:
- Head of Church
- High Council Member
- Head of Temple, reporting to the High Council
- Journeyman General, reporting to the High Council
Military and missionary:
- Council's Eye, reporting to the High Council Members
- Master Journeyman, reporting to a Journeyman General
- Journeyman, reporting to a Master Journeyman
- Council's Staff, first class, reporting to a Master Journeyman: a largely military and non-clerical post
- Journeyman Acolyte, reporting to a Journeyman
- Council's Staff, second class, reporting to a Journeyman: a largely military and non-clerical post
- Temple Acolyte, reporting to a Temple Master: an all-purpose group of followers serving a specific temple
Beauracratic:
- Temple Master, reporting to a Head of Temple: a largely clerical group, these followers are in charge of some aspect of the running of a temple, such as individual regional concerns and the operation of the postal service
- Preceptor, reporting to a Head of Temple, often working with Temple Masters: a group made up entirely of clerics, these are the teachers in charge of the seminaries
- Docent, reporting to a Preceptor: many followers from all parts of the church take on the role of Docent at one time or another to instruct and guide those in the church's employ
- Temple Attendant, reporting to a Temple Master: a group made up of clerics and acolytes, as well as seminary students
[edit] Planar Crusaders
The Planar Crusaders appear to have primarily been in the service of Enlil. Very little is known about their sect, and it is unclear as to where they fit in the church's hierarchy, if they did at all.
[edit] Postal Service
The mobility of the entire church necessitated the creation of a vast postal network amoungst the Church of Enlil, aided by the ability of some clerics of Enlil to fly through the air. This postal network is open to any willing to pay a donation, which has ingraciated it to many people and nations, and has caused others to mistrust the church.
[edit] Notable Temples
The party is aware of temples in the following places:
- Jarrowby. This temple has an accompanying seminary with a very well known library of religious texts.
- Serriyam
- Bulgercross, which is better known for its druidic followers of Enlil, and their groves
[edit] Notable Followers
- Aaron, currently under contract to the church, reporting to Livia
- Beatrix, informally working for the church
- Laucian, Journeyman Acolyte, reporting to Livia
- Liesl, Council's Staff, second class, reporting to Livia
- Livia, Journeyman
- Lucius
- Nameless Paladin
[edit] Lillian Ritual
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| The following information comes from Laucian Naïlo. |
| Excerpt from a pamphlet Laucian put together while working at the temple, for distribution to local authorities who would be working with the church in military matters. |
[edit] Death and Burial
Followers of Enlil do not follow a strict form of ceremony for dealing with the bodies of the dead. Followers of Enlil are said to have wandering souls which obviate the need for specific preparation of the body in order for the soul to move on to the afterlife. For general purposes, Lillian death ritual involves either the burying of bodies, often along or roadways, or else cremation on a pyre. In either case, the body is usually disposed of with very little of its belongings, usually only a simple burial shroud.
For the most part, however, it is entirely acceptable for the dead to be dealt with according to local custom. The acceptance and experience of different cultures is an import part of travels, and it is said that this enriches the wandering soul.
[edit] Death and Military service
For those of us in the church who may end up doing battle, although one may deal most harshly with evil men while they live, you should be mindful of the treatment of the body. Some say that this is because it is our place to deal with evil acts in this world, but once a man has passed, it is for the gods to deal with him. Others within the church suggest that this is to avoid transgressing local custom, and when custom dictates, this rule can be contravened. Regardless the reasoning, we should avoid violating the bodies of the dead without very good reason.
[edit] Enroch
| The following information comes from Liesl Thistledown. |
| Liesl's inquisitive mind and earnest approach to situations makes her an excellent observer. |
Enroch is a rival deity to Enlil — while also presiding over the realm of magic, he is evil and his followers have repeatedly come into conflict with Enlil's. Their cult was obscure even in its heyday, although its efforts to control The Shores appear to currently be affecting the course of the adventure.
[edit] The Shores
At least some followers of Enlil appear to end up on the Shores after their deaths. The Shores do not seem to attract many elves and may include followers of other faiths.
