INTRODUCTION
Throughout Cerilia, humans recognize the mysterious god of moon and magic – although different regions call him by different names.   ANUIREANS
Anuireans know the god of moon and magic by his mortal name, Ruornil, but frequently refer to him as the Silver Prince. Although he is honored throughout Anuire, only a small minority venerate him above all of the other gods.

Since the early days of the Anuirean Empire, those most devoted to Ruornil have largely been spread out among the provinces along Anuire’s southern coast. About a century ago, however, a zealous priest, who claimed to have been given a vision, spent the better part of a decade preaching about a “promised land”. He gathered Ruornil’s faithful into Diemed’s three easternmost provinces and, there, they carved a home for themselves out of the untamed land. The people called these lands Medoere, an Old Andu term that translates to “Holy Land”.

The Duke of Diemed granted his good friend, Mourten Enlien, the title of Baron of Braeme. Through a formal ceremony of Investiture, the new Baron became the ruler of the three provinces of Medoere and a direct vassal of the Duke. Under the rule of Mourten Enlien, the three provinces of Medoere were loyal, peaceful, tax-paying subjects of the Duchy of Diemed and, upon his death, regency of Medoere transferred to Dalien Enlien, Mourten's eldest son and his heir.

Dalien was a devout follower of the Orthodox Imperial Temple and, unfortunately, the Haelynite priests in Western Diemed saw the prosperity of Ruornil’s followers as an affront to the social order. Over the course of the next decade, Medoere was subjected to a series of new laws designed to disenfranchise those who worshiped the Silver Prince. The situation came to a head when the Duke sent an army 2000 strong to quell the civil unrest caused by years of suffering religious persecution.

Even as Diemed’s army marched eastward, Ruornil selected Suris Enlien, the newly-ordained 16-year-old daughter of the Baron, to serve as his Chosen. Ruornil granted Suris a vision wherein she saw her father murder his younger brother/Suris' uncle, an ordained priest of the Silver Prince. Suris rushed to confront her father but arrived too late to prevent her vision from coming true. Gripped with a cold fury, Suris killed her father with the very blade that had been used to end her uncle's life.

Upon the death of her father, Suris was granted yet another vision. In it, she saw Diemed's army marching eastward to Medoere. In the vision, she and an army of peasants awaited the approaching Diemean soldiers in Tierean Keep. With no time to mourn the death of her father and uncle, Suris rallied the common folk to her makeshift banner and led them to meet their fate at Tierean Keep.

It is said that, when Diemed’s army set foot into Medoere later that night, the Silver Prince caused a beam of moonlight to smite them and the entire army was destroyed to the last man.

In the wake of this miracle, the land itself chose Suris as its next regent -- her first act was to proclaim Medoere’s independence from Diemed. Under her leadership, the priesthood came together to formally create the Temple of Ruornil’s Celestial Spell and Medoere became the Moon God’s first (and only) theocracy in Anuire.

THE RJUVEN
Druids of Aeric are the only holy men who have any true influence in the day to day affairs of the Highlanders but the Rjuven honor the moon god nonetheless. They venerate him in his capacity as the god of night and see him as a guiding light in the darkness. They know it is he that guards them as they sleep and it is he who is the driving force that fights the encroaching darkness.

When the Rjuven look up at the moon, they sometimes see his face gazing back down at them. Thus, they call him “Lirorn” – which can be roughly translated as “Man [in the] Moon”.

The Rjurik kingdom of Hjorig stands in stark contrast to all others. It is the only realm populated by Rjuven that does not venerate Aeric as its primary patron deity. The kingdom was founded by Rjuven who migrated east from the Rjurik Highlands and ultimately settled in unexplored lands between Brechtur and Vosgaard. They quickly discovered that this new land was closer to the Shadow World than their native homeland and they prayed for Lirorn to stave off evil creatures that came through the veil.

For the past six hundred years, in return for their devotion, the moon god has protected Hjorig from the encroaching darkness.

THE BRECHT
Priests of Ruornil first appeared in Brechtur about two centuries after the Battle of Mount Deismaar, largely concentrated in the forest that elves refer to as the Coulladraight.

As is the case in Anuire, Ruornil is known throughout Brechtur but has little influence on the daily lives of its people. The Brechts – not an overly religious people to begin with – recognize Ruornil as the god of moon and magic but, for the most part (with the notable exceptions of Grevesmuhl and Rheulgard), what honor the Brechts give him is mostly due the fact that he is married to Sera, the goddess of fortune and luck, whom they have accepted as their primary patron deity.

Because priests of Ruornil tend to be active at night and sleep during the day, Brechts generally refer to them as Nachteben (a Brecht term that roughly translates to “The Nocturnals”).

Organized worship of the Silver Prince came to Grevesmuhl during the days of occupation by the Anuirian Empire. The first Governor sent on behalf of the Emperor happened to be one of Anuire’s few devout followers of Ruornil. When the Governor saw that the Shadow World was somehow closer to Grevesmuhl than it was in Anuire, he sent word back home requesting aid. Three priests of Ruornil responded to the Governor’s plea for help and they became dedicated foes of the encroaching Shadow. Locals took note and the Anuirian Nochteben became regarded as heroes. Many were inspired to join the battle against darkness and, as a result, the Nachteben of Grevesmuhl became known as Ruornil’s Silver Guard. The people of Grevesmuhl have worshiped exclusively at Ruornil’s temples ever since.

Outside of Grevesmuhl, for most of their history, the Nachteben had been disorganized, at best. That changed shortly after Rheulgard declared independence from the Anuirean Empire in 5MR. In the days following the Empire’s withdrawal from Brechtur, Rheulgard’s eastern provinces became plagued by a constant stream of attacks by Vos raiders from Molochev. The Nachteben aided in the defense of Rheulgard’s borders. For some unknown reason, the Nachteben’s very presence seemed to startle the barbarians and the raids abruptly ended. It was during this time that the Nachteben of the Coulladraight became a formal organization and Ruornil’s temples became the most influential faith throughout all of Rheulgard’s cantons.

Rheulgard enjoyed several months of peace before the raids started up again. This time, the barbarian attacks seemed even more brutal. Not only were Rheulgard’s villages pillaged, many of its defenders were captured and enslaved – and the Nachteben became the raider’s favorite targets.

With their numbers greatly diminished, the Nachteben sought the aid of the Brecht druids. Followers of the Old Father of the Forest joined in the defense and the combined might of Rheulgard’s defenders became an unbreakable wall that the Vos eventually became tired of throwing themselves at.

The Nachteben does not resent losing its influence in Rheulgard’s eastern provinces to the Druid Circles devoted to the Old Father of the Forests. On the contrary, they were grateful for the Druids' assistance and the two groups have since built a strong alliance based on mutual respect.

Recently, however, a third faith has risen to prominence in Rheulgard. A group of militant priests have been spreading the worship of Avani throughout Rheulgard’s southern provinces and has become the Canton of Unbrau’s temple of choice. The Nachteben and the Druids have yet to react so whether or not Avani’s faith becomes a permanent presence in Rheulgard remains yet to be seen.

KHINASI
The god of moon and magic has only one temple in all of Khinasi but that one temple may be the single most influential temple throughout the Cities of the Sun. Located high in the mountains called the Fingers of Ayan, all Khinasi mages must present themselves at his temple, where they are required to swear five unbreakable oaths of service. For this reason, he is known throughout Khinasi as “Rilni” – a Basarji term that means “one who binds”, often translated simply as “The Binder”.   The High Priest of the Temple of Rilni is Jabil min Rilni, possibly the single most powerful priest devoted to the god of moon and magic. As a child, he came to the Temple of Rilni with a desire to learn .. and he never left.
  Mairada
The Temple of Rilni is small but its influence throughout Khinasi cannot be overstated. Moreover, the current Sultana of Mairada has proven herself to be somewhat incompetent. Because she frequently ignores her duties, many of the government’s ministers have come to rely on the wisdom of the Temple of Rilni’s High Priest. Now, even when the Sultana does give orders, the ministers check with Jabil before carrying out her will, making him Mairada’s unofficial de facto ruler.   VOSGAARD
In the frigid, desolate lands of Vosgaard, the barbarian tribes of Vosgaard call the god of moon and magic Lirovka (meaning, “The Weaver”) – the title once given to the most powerful of Vorynn’s mortal mages. As Vorynn’s successor, Lirovka inspires dread in the Vos — and that fear translates into a deep hatred for wielders of arcane magic.   Because of this hatred, no wizards are known to exist among the Vos. However, on the rare occasion, a tribe will produce a child in whom the power of Vorynn’s bloodline runs strong. Most of these children do not live to adulthood. The few who do survive become powerful Sorcerers who have learned to use their magic as a show of strength – a Sorcerer who doesn’t intimidate their kinsmen doesn’t live long.   For most of its history, not a single priest of Lirovka has existed in Vosgaard. The Vos never imagined that a priest would actually devote themselves to Vorynn’s successor until they encountered the Nachteben while raiding Rheulgard. The barbarians found the notion of clerics dedicated to Lirovka greatly amusing and gleefully captured as many as possible during their raids. Then, as a show of its great prowess, Molochev turned around and sold the Nachteben as slaves to the rest of Vosgaard.   In time, with the aid of Irakhan’s tree-hugging Druids, Rheulgard was able to mount a strong enough defense that more and more, Molochev chose other targets to raid. Eventually, the supply of Lirovka-worshiping priests dried up and when the last of the Nachteben slaves finally died, worship of Lirovka in Vosgaard died with him.   The effect that the Nachteben had on the Vos people, however, was as tremendous as it was subtle. The Nachteben introduced their Vos masters to the idea that prosperity was not only desirable, but that it was achievable through unity. Most Vos laughed at such notions but a small number of progressives found the idea of working together instead of constantly striving to kill each other appealing. Their beliefs were secretly passed down from generation to generation.   Today, unknown to most outsiders, Vos society is divided into two groups. Those who continue to follow the teachings of Belinek and Kriesha, call themselves “Torva” Vos (‘Traditionalists’). They consider those who embrace this new philosophy as weak and call them ‘Nona” Vos (meaning ‘New’ or ‘Upstarts’).   Zoloskaya
In most of Vosgaard, the Nona are a small but growing minority. In the Kingdom of Zoloskaya, however, the majority of the populous are Nona – most of the Torva were killed during the Days of Fire. In Zoloskaya, the Temple of Lirovka has risen to prominence and the kingdom stands as a shining example of Nona success – or, rather, it *would be* if it hadn’t closed its borders to the rest of Vosgaard.   Rovninodensk
And the Kingdom of Rovninodensk is currently wrapping up its most recent civil war. Tsarvo Andrei Tcherninsky emerged as the victor with aid from the Nona faction. Because of their support, the Nona currently have the upper hand in Rovninodensk and a small temple dedicated to Lirovka has recently appeared –it was they who performed the Tsarvo’s ceremony of investiture.   THE HIDDEN KINGDOM
Of all of his followers, those most devoted to Ruornil consist of the families descended from the small handful of Vos who remained loyal to Vorynn throughout the War of Shadow. In the wake of the Battle of Mt. Deismaar, they feared destruction at the hands of their vengeful apostate kin and prayed to Vorynn’s chosen successor for salvation. In response, Ruornil sent his mortal Herald to guide them to safety. They and their descendents have been protected and concealed by mists of enchantment for the past 1500 years.   Timoshev
The location of this kingdom remains a mystery but their presence hasn’t gone entirely unnoticed. One of their outposts has been seen on several occasions in the northernmost region of Vosgaard – although those who have caught a glimpse of it have no idea of its connection to the ancient Vos. No two individuals who claim to have seen it place it in the same location, but they all refer to the city as Timoshev (“City of Ice”) and, over the years, the stories inspired by these sightings have become legendary.