Kaeli
"There! Rising now from the trees—look! Look! Is it not sublime?"Kaeli
Kaeli, god of the day, was exceptional in that he was the only Meydra directly given a job by Evendur when he was first created. This job was to pull the sun across the sky each day. Kaeli accepted it with joy, as he detested the idea of ever living in the dark. He travels across the world each day, pulling the sun by a tether, always living in the light. Near the end of the Age of the Meydra an enterprising elf and his comrades plotted to intercept him and attempt to keep the sun from crossing the sky. Their motivations are unknown, but they failed, and Kaeli reciprocated the attack by cursing them to forever live in the darkness. These became the first of a new type of drow, now known as ghost drow, and for many years they were whispered of as an example: though Kaeli’s joy standing in the light was great, it was matched by his wrath when anyone tried to pull him (or indeed anyone else) into the darkness. Kaeli is usually portrayed as a man with gnomish features but more or less of human size and proportions, with sunbursts all over his orange and gold garments.
During the Great Shadow, many clerics and temples of Kaeli were attacked and destroyed. The order was slowly rebuilt in the centuries that followed. Kaeli's name is cursed above all others by most denizens of the Underdark, and they tend to attack those attired in Kaeli's colors on sight.
Relationships
Kaeli's relationship with his wife Synékia has been the subject of much interest, with a famous play depicting how they met and fell in love. The union of night and day gave birth to the four elements: Kishike, Alaya, Dagmar, and Lesh. Kaeli was also friends with many of the Meydra, including Miranelle, Mannaret, and Olanna.
Followers
The core tenets of Kaeli are clarity, exuberance, and transparency. His followers rise at dawn each day to celebrate all light and goodness. Their most important annual feasts are the summer solstice, and the Festival of the Sun—the new years festival that commemorates the end of the Great Shadow. Clerics of Kaeli wear robes of orange and bright yellow and amulets in the shape of sunbursts.
Associated Customs
Early rising: Devotees of Kaeli usually rise at or even before dawn. They generally consider it a shameful thing to miss this moment.
"Two gifts": A common phrase and idea. Generally it goes something like, "We receive two gifts every single day: morning gives clarity, evening gives rest. Thanks be to Kaeli and his lady/Synékia and her lord."
"The sun yet shines": A common response to the query, "How are you?" e.g., "Hey, how have you been?" "Oh, the sun yet shines, and you?"
Aspects
Tel, Radiant Defender: This aspect of the sun god is his most warlike. Whereas he is normally shown with a wide smile, unarmed, when he is depicted as the Radiant Defender, he is shown with sunlight pouring from his eyes, brandishing a shining targe shield and using the Tether of Kaeli as a lasso.
Divine Domains
The sun, day, animal handlers, workers, good humor
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Sunburst
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