The Foundations of Rontra

The foundations of Rontra, where the Rontrans worship, can be found throughout most lands, for her followers are quite numerous. In rural areas, where farming and living off the land are a necessity, there is almost always a Rontran foundation present. Farmers offer prayers there daily, so Rontra might bless their crops. In cities, the foundations of Rontra are far less common. When found, they are most likely concerned with her fertility aspect. Women of all social classes pay homage to the Wellspring of Life, hoping they will be able to “bear fruit,” as the tree of Eliwyn did through Rontra’s grace. Quite often, the churches of Rontra and Morwyn are linked, as they are considered the grandmother and mother of the people, respectively. In Great Church cathedrals, their altars are always found together. The main goal of Rontra’s church is to sustain life and the earth that supports it. Those who kill and maim for no reason, or pillage the earth without cause, are enemies of the Rontran faith. Priests of Rontra view themselves as counselors more than leaders of the people. They provide guidance to the faithful and maintain the health of their flock through wisdom and advice. They lay down their lives if necessary to defend the land and the living things that derive sustenance from it, but they rarely tell people what they should or must do.
Most Rontrans take pleasure in the treasures of the earth, such as gems and precious metals. They often make these into beautiful works to honor their goddess. There are many within the Rontran faith who are expert at such matters, and in mining societies the worship of Rontra is closely tied with worship of Korak, theartisan, who taught mortals to craft such wonders.
The foundations of Rontra are always constructed from stone or brick, derived from the strength of the earth. The Rontrans never raise their buildings more than one story above the ground, and often construct many subterranean levels and chambers. The floor of Rontran foundations is always bare earth. Those entering the temple must remove their footwear out of respect and walk barefoot. Thus, they are always in contact with the Earth Mother. Many faithful Rontrans avoid wearing shoes for this reason.
Rontra has never believed in actively influencing events or telling mortals what to do, even in the time of the div, but since the Compact, she has become even less involved in the daily lives of mortals. Though she is as bound to the sphere as the land itself, she observes mortals from afar. She is pleased with most aspects of what her church has become, although she thinks that more focus should be put on the overall welfare of people throughout the world. She believes her faith has become too focused on farmers and those that work the land. While she appreciates the reluctance of her faithful to instruct others and lead them toward the right path—they are taking a page from her book, after all—she does pressure the most powerful of her followers to assume a more active role promoting peace among all people.
When she can, she sends servants such as the Shepherdess or the Miner into the mortal sphere to right a grievous wrong, stop the wanton destruction of the earth, or (most commonly) subtly influence mortals to do it for themselves.

Tenets of Faith

Peace through Acceptance

“We cannot mourn that we die, for all things die. It would serve us just as well to mourn birth. The fields are planted and grow full, and then they are harvested and made bare. They are planted once more, and again harvested. Do not mourn the cycles of life; do not resist their wonder. When we are at peace with life, then we will be at peace with each other. This is what our Grandmother wants for us.”

– Great Elder Grombir Ironbrand’s “I Have Seen the Glory”
Rontran teachings are not universal; each foundation focuses on the aspect of the faith its sowers consider most important. For example, inside a dwarf hold there might be a foundation that dwells on the beauty of the earth’s treasures, and ministers mostly to miners. In this foundation, there would be no mention of planting crops at all. Conversely, a foundation in the middle of a farming community spends most of its time focusing on the health of the crops, not on the precious metals and stones hidden beneath the earth. As mentioned earlier, foundations in cities usually dwell on fertility. But the treasures of the earth, farming, and fertility are all merely aspects of Rontra’s love for those creatures living on and in the earth. On this, all sowers agree. From this understanding, a core philosophy of the Rontran faith has emerged and can best be understood as “peace through acceptance, sharing, and love.” Rontran teaching focuses on the ramifications of wanting more than is rightfully yours—as with Durgas in the myth, it invariably results in downfall and sorrow.
Rontrans believe we each have our place in the world and we must learn to accept it. Death is inevitable, and the greed and pride that moves some to seek to extend their lives is wrong, and ends badly. We all meet with tragedy in our lives, perhaps the death of a loved one or the theft of something we prize. To rage against these tragedies and try to achieve vengeance against the person responsible, or worse, against the world that makes such tragedies possible, always results in even greater tragedy. Only when all people accept their place and learn to share, to love their neighbors and to be kind and gentle with one another, will we have peace. And peace is what Rontra desires for all.
The Rontran philosophy is a gentle one, accepted by many people for its simplicity and comfort. It is easy for those who live small lives without pretension to riches or glory to see themselves, through this teaching, as fulfilling their place in a very holy order. Beyond these teachings, the Rontrans have some basic commandments that all devotees must follow. To disobey these teachings is a grave sin, and one must seek out a religious leader of the foundations to seek atonement if one does so.
• Do not consort with devils, demons, or other evil creatures that are not of this earth.
• Do not create the undead, or consort with those that do.
• Do not join in physical union with any race not born of the tree of life.
• Do not eat the flesh of any creature not born of the earth; only natural beasts and fowl are appropriate meat for a Rontran.
• Do not sow the land with salt or any other substance that will ruin it for planting.
• Do not waste seed for planting or the seed of your own flesh.
• On the first day of each week, in remembrance that the beasts of the earth came from the same fruits that gave life to the mortal races, eat no meat whatsoever.
• If you have food that you can spare and others are hungry, share.
• If you grow food from the earth, one-tenth of all you grow must be given to those needier than you, unless none are needier.
• If you pull treasures from the earth, two-tenths of all wealth you take from the Earth Mother’s treasures must be given to the needy, unless none are needier than you.

Worship

Rontran Prayers

There are many common prayers used by sowers and worshipers of Rontra, and part of a sower’s training is learning the hundreds, if not thousands, of traditional invocations that have been written over the years. One of the first they learn is the prayer of sowing. This is invoked by farmers during planting seasons to help ensure the strength and fertility of the soil.

The Sowing Prayer

This last stanza of the Sowing Prayer is commonly used by farmers to ask for Rontra’s blessings in their endeavors. Many say it almost absent-mindedly, as a common invocation.

“Great Earth Mother, hear my prayer. With these humble hands I till the soil, Prepare the earth for the seeds of life. “Great Earth Mother, hear my prayer. I place each seed within your embrace And ask that you welcome each into your arms. “Great Earth Mother, hear my prayer. As Eliwyn grew within your life-giving bosom, So, too, I pray that my seeds will grow. “Great Earth Mother, hear my prayer. As I water the earth in due time And tend the crops with loving care, May your blessings be upon the land.”

Priesthood

The Rontran foundations have no centralized hierarchy. Each is independently managed by its senior member, though some foundations in one kingdom or geographic area might form a council. Even without a central authority, each member knows where they stand in the religion. There are three holy orders within the Rontran church: the sowers (clergy), wardens (holy warriors), and gleaners. Sowers have three levels of status: prelates, grand prelates, and elders of the faith. Wardens and gleaners do not have such formal ranks. Sowers run the foundations, and are considered the authorities in any matter concerning the Rontran faith.
A typical foundation hosts at least five prelates and one grand prelate. In fact, a foundation cannot be established without a grand prelate. Larger foundations have three or four wardens in residence. Gleaners are almost never found in foundations, and are instead inhabit shrines found in the remote wilderness.

Sects

Sowers of Rontra

The sowers are the clerics of the Rontran faith. Their name comes from farming, not because they are all farmers, but as a reference to what they do: plant the seed of Rontra’s wisdom and goodness in the hearts and minds of all they meet. Just as a farmer cannot make a seed grow by himself, so are the sowers unable to make this seed of peace take root. It is up to people to nourish their own moral strength. Most sowers reside in foundations, ministering to Rontra’s worshipers. There are those in the order who eschew connection to any establishment, seeing the earth as their ministry. These wandering sowers are usually quite popular, for they heal the sick and the maimed, and always seem to show up just when they’re needed most. Although the Rontran faith has no higher order that that of the sowers, they need not work at a foundation, but most do because it’s the best way to study, and perform Rontra’s works. Many small farming villages across the land benefit from Rontran foundations’ charity. They often build small shrines to the Earth Mother in outlying communities, stationing prelates at these shrines for periods up to five years. Ideally, the prelates train acolytes to take over their ministries once they move on to other duties. Wherever a sower is stationed, whatever his duty, the order sees his function as offering all people, common and high, a helping hand and advice to help them accept their varied places in the world and be at peace. Sowers sometimes speak in what seem like riddles, to avoid telling people what to do.They shun confrontations when dealing with people who are good of heart, but when faced with evil, particularly unnatural and fiendish forces, sowers become implacable foes. 

Prelates

Initiate sowers are named prelates, a title they bear for the first many years of their careers. The Rontrans hold that all prelates are equal. Once admitted into the order, they can go where they believe Rontra wants them—unless commanded directly not to by the grand prelate of the foundation. The foundations have lawful good tendencies, however, and most prelates obey even implied instructions even they’re not strictly required to. A prelate is addressed as “brother” or “sister,” and introduced by full title.

Grand Prelates

The only person in a foundation empowered to command others is its grand prelate. When a foundation loses its grand prelate through death or departure, or when a new foundation is established, all the local prelates gather for a great council to name a new grand prelate. All voices are equal in these councils, called moots, regardless of age or experience. Prelates run the moots in a very orderly fashion, with every attendant getting a chance to debate the matter before them. Thus, moots can take as long as a month before these prelates agree unanimously on the identity of the new grand prelate. Grand prelates are undisputedly in charge of the foundations and, since there is no higher authority, they become the area’s arbiter of religious law. Prelates obey the grand prelate from their foundation, even if they don’t want to. A foundation must have a grand prelate to be considered a foundation—otherwise it is a shrine. If a grand prelate cannot be decided on, the foundation is reduced to a shrine and put under the authority of the nearest foundation with a grand prelate. Grand prelates are addressed as “mothers” or “fathers,” and introduced by full title.

Elders of the Faith

Whether grand prelate or not, eventually a sower becomes so powerful that all recognize him as an elder of the faith, or “great elder.” These venerable leaders have usually performed great quests or other monumental tasks in the service of Rontra. It is considered odd for great elders to continue to serve as grand prelates if they hold the office. Most give up the position. They travel throughout the land. Visiting foundations, they lend their wisdom and aid when required, harrying the foes weaker members of the faith simply cannot approach. A great elder is addressed as “grandmother,” or “grandfather,” and introduced by full title.

Joining the Sowers

To become a prelate, a person must show a gift of understanding Rontra’s teachings. The faith is complex, with thousands of recorded prayers and three different forms of ministry (farming, treasures of the earth, and fertility). A prelate must understand all of these, and be just as prepared to tend to the spiritual needs of dwarven miners as those of young wives hoping to get with child. Training usually takes five years, though wise candidates have been admitted into the clergy in only two years. A prelate might serve in a foundation, wander, or even run a small shrine. Prelates become clerics upon completing their training and must choose a domain associated with Rontra for the Divine Domain class feature, such as Earth or Nature.

Wardens of Rontra

Wardens are protectors of the earth, guarding the world from those who would abuse her gifts, but primarily from those powers that would pollute or pervert the natural order. While sowers protect and guide the mortal races, wardens seek out and end incursions of unnatural forces such as the undead and fiends such as demons and devils. While they take orders from grand prelates or great elders, wardens tend to be inveterate wanderers on a lifelong mission against evil. Wardens defend the earth from the depredations of the unnatural. They consider all life sacred, and strive to protect and nurture Rontra’s children. They must always remember the reason for their struggle against the unnatural is to protect innocent life. Any warden who kills without just cause, or defiles the earth and its treasures, immediately loses her standing and is considered fallen. Wardens must never imagine the ends justify the means—they do not for Rontra, so they do not for her servants. In determining what is “unnatural,” the simple rule to follow is this: If it’s good or was born on the Material Plane, it is not “unnatural.” While wardens do not like orcish brutality, they do not wish to eradicate orcs, as they are part of the natural order. Undead aren’t alive and fiends come from other planes, and thus face the full force of the wardens’ wrath. Wardens do not oppose celestials, because these holy beings do not actively pollute and destroy the natural order. Wardens enjoy the company of any who oppose evil through just means. They are closely tied with Morwynites and other lawful churches, and might ally themselves with other divinely-powered, virtuous individuals from other faiths. They shun the company of those who resort to torture or brutality in the name of what they perceive to be good, or anyone who knowingly commits evil acts. They actively oppose anyone who creates undead, or summons evil beings from other planes.

Joining the Wardens

Rontra sometimes calls people to serve her. When she does, they feel her voice in their bones, and become wardens. Intuition tells wardens their duty to oppose the unnatural forces that inhabit the world, whatever the cost, so many leave behind established trades and lives to heed Rontra’s call. Any warden can name an initiate warden who’s heard the divine summons; this act makes the initiate a paladin.. The induction process and ceremony vary based on the inducting warden and the prospective member’s personality. Many initiates are taken into secluded areas by their sponsors and told tales of Rontra’s splendor for many days, with little to sustain them but conversation’s distractions. Other wardens lead an entire foundation in prayers for the initiate’s mission, for days on end. There are even wardens who were inducted into the order by being buried in dirt up to their necks, for three days and nights. Regardless of the ceremony, the newly created warden becomes master of her own destiny, and may wander the lands freely on her order’s universal quest to destroy the unnatural. Once initiated, a warden has no other office of rank, is addressed as “sir” or “dame,” and is introduced by full title. Wardens require no training to be considered such, though most are wise enough to seek out martial training.

Gleaners of Rontra

The third holy order of the Rontrans has little to do with the foundations, and its members spends their time in small farming communities. Called the gleaners, they take their name from the poorest of the poor. At harvest time, after the reapers cut the wheat and take it be stored, gleaners come in and pick up the small pieces of grain dropped in the process. They live off these scraps; a more wretched people cannot be found in any countryside. Rontra’s order of gleaners are mendicants, living off what they are given by nearby farmers. They settle on the outskirts of rural communities and ponder the nature of Rontra’s teachings, while protecting the land from evil incursions—natural and unnatural alike. The order came into existence on the uncivilized fringes of society long ago, when the greatest threat to farmers were roving bandits who raided them for food. The gleaners were warriors inspired by Rontra, who rose from farm communities and drove off bandits in exchange for food. Eventually, they coalesced into an order and now they are respected, if little heard from, members of the faith. It is not an easy mantle to wear. The gleaners have no property or families, and often live rough, without roofs of their own. Eventually, they become tied to the land they protect. While there are certainly traveling gleaners seeking out rural communities in need of aid, by the end of their careers (should they live long enough), they invariably settle in a single region.

Joining the Gleaners

Anyone who has a love for common people, and is prepared to take up arms to defend them and their lands, might make an appropriate gleaner. Fighters, rangers, barbarians, and monks are all likely to become gleaners, and more than a few rogues have joined as well. It is unheard of for those who require books and other trappings of civilization, like wizards and bards, to become gleaners, as it is a calling that requires poverty. Gleaners do not have titles, and many abandon their names. They are simply called “friend” or “brother” by those they protect. Admission to the order does not require any rite of passage; a person is simply called to serve the order and takes on the mantle of gleaner.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Deities

• Rontra

Divines

• Rontra

Related Myths

• The Fate of Durgas the Unmerciful

Saints

The Rontran Church has one famous saint, Marlessa, who established the foundations and has the ear of Rontra, but generally there are no universal rules for naming saints. After popular acclaim, a well-liked deceased person might be named a saint by the unanimous judgment of a body of prelates. They are normally known only to the local area foundations where they lived and worked. In most cases, saints were sowers or wardens who served the community and Rontra in some extraordinary way. On occasion, a member of the congregation who has made an incredible sacrifice for the church can also be so honored. The title of such a saint is normally her name followed by the phrase “Defender of the Earth” or “Protector of the Land,” based on the deed that resulted in beatification.