Church of Leida
Leida, the Most Harmonious, The Dancing Maiden, is the goddess of Air, and so is revered by Windshipmen and Sailors. A small icon or figure of Leida is present on every vessel and ships, wherever they come from. She is also the goddess of youth and love, and a lot of promises are made by lovers in her name.
Dogma
Spread the teachings of the Joyouse One by example.
Work to promote her among traders, especially trailblazers who seek out new lands and new opportunities.
Ride the wind, and let it take you wherever it blows.
Aid those in need, and trust in the Helping Hand.
Seek out the riches of the world and enjoy them.
Journey to distant horizons. Be the first to see the rising sun, the mountain peaks, the lush valleys. Let your footsteps fall where none have tread.
Cultivate beauty in all that you do, whether you’re casting a spell, strumming a lute, or wielding a blade.
Act with the etiquette and grace befitting nobility, even if you aren’t highborn. Capture elegance in every movement, be first in valor, be unimpeachable in dignity, and let your deeds transcend your words.
Scriptures
The Tome of Enlightenment - Filled with lyrical poetry, moving prose, and beautiful illustrations, the Tome of Enlightenment offers advice and guidance for those seeking to create beauty. One of the most moving of any religious texts, the Tome has inspired countless folk sayings and quotes, often used by those with little faith or connection to Leida.
Worshippers
After falling into obscurity in the wake of the war of the Sisters, the church of Leida has been greatly revitalized. The traveller side of the goddess caused many merchants, particularly caravaneers, to turn to Leida for worship. Although many people have since returned to the church of Arva, others, particularly those infected with wanderlust, have stayed faithful, and the church has continued to grow. Today, the church of Leida attracts many brave adventurers and daring explorers to its ranks, and word of their latest exploits is eagerly awaited in the cities in which they are based.
Clergy
Leida’s church is loosely organized, and its branches are largely independent. There is little in the way of formal hierarchy.
Members of the clergy are expected to live off the land and work as guides and protectors of travelers, caravans, and mining expeditions. Many serve as guides for adventuring companies or as explorers. A very few are Warden.
All seek to visit the scattered shrines of Leida (particularly the great one called Singing Winds Temple, a truly marvel) as frequently as possible and to construct new ones when they acquire sufficient resources.
Ever since Leida added portals to her portfolio, her clerics have been tasked with locating and identifying portals that would be useful for trade and exploration.
Paladins
Several militant orders have been founded in the name of Leida.The Fellowship of the Next Mountain is an order of rangers and clerics who typically work alone, blazing trails in the uncharted wilderness areas.
The Knights of the Shadow Sword are an elite order of fighters and rangers based in Nests of Altan and dedicated to cleansing the land of Darkness and of the evil that haunts it's cities and ruins.
Initially, they have fortifed the ancient South Wind Vale temple as a base of operations and now are sending out scouts to reconnoiter the ruined city beneath and the nearby territory.
The Riders of the Wind are an order of clerics and a few rangers who hire themselves out as a mercenary company to guard caravans heading through uncharted wilderness to distant lands.Monks
The Sisters of Purity have made it their duty to free Valenor from the miasma of Darkness. They have long researched to create spells suitable for eliminating the Taint from people, creatures and territory, so that they can restore to life and joy territories or people now considered "lost".
The Monk of the Eastern Wind is a warrior monk order in the mountains of Sarleris, they mix martial arts with wind magic to make spectacular combat feat.
Clothing and Symbols
Leida’s clerics wear a dark swirling cloak over a garb appropriate for the trail, and favor dark colors and silver in general. Many wear their holy symbol on the back of their gauntlet (usually leather or chain mail).
Rituals
Clerics of Leida pray for their spells in the morning right after the wind shifts from the changing temperature.
Leida’s clergy members have a few simple ceremonies they practice when appropriate. They are to utter a simple prayer every time the wind changes significantly.
Whenever they discover previously uncharted territory (such as an undiscovered valley, lake, or island), they are to create a small throne of rocks marked with Leida’s symbol near the location where they first made the discovery. If capable, they are to create a shrine to Leida using stone shape.
Leida’s clerics commonly multiclass as rangers or windwalkers.
Places of Worship
Leida prefers to be venerated at shrines, most of which are uninhabited and in remote places. Typically, a shrine to Leida is a stone dais built atop a high place, crowned with a stone seat or throne, and accompanied by one or more stone pillars pierced with holes through which the wind whistles.
Many such shrines exist throughout the Gulf of Eternal Winds, some of them over a thousand years old. Leida is not commonly worshiped within cities and he has few formal temples as a result. Because the clergy members love to wander, her few temples constantly have new clerics arrive as others leave.
Holy days
Their holy day is the Windride, which is celebrated on the 15th day of April. On this day, Leida causes all her clerics to assume gaseous form at dawn, and they cannot wind walk on their own, so that they are carried with the wind. They return to normal (and are lowered safely to the ground) at dusk, usually in some place they have never been before.
Relics
---tbdMyths and legends
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| Clerics of Leida | |
|---|---|
| Symbol | A Gust of Wind or A Cloud group |
| Favored weapon | Longswords, Throwing Weapons, Bows & Crossbows |
| Deity Domain | Air Domain
Travel Domain Passion Domain |
| Rituals | |
| Granted Powers | |
| Holy Items |
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