Swords of the Procession
The Swords of the Procession are a trio of powerful, ascendant Elder Spirits whose essences are tied to the Elder Material God of patience, eternity, cyclicity and plants, Ahm. They are named the Swords of Morningtide, Eventide and Nyxfall. As the ancient being is wholly peaceful, the three Elder Spirits act as his arms & armour, as their names imply.
The three Aspects of Ahm represent the cyclicity of reality in multiple ways: the circle of morning, day & night; the procession of the seasons; youth, adulthood and seniority; learning, mastering & teaching; naiveté, vigilance and acceptance; the rise and fall of trees, mountains and oceans. These purviews are expressed in the worship and duties of their clerics and mortal swords.
They are sometimes called the Knights of the Round Table, to reflect the perfect circularity, and therefore equal importance, of all aspects of life. Portrayals of the Round Table are common in their heraldry, usually simplified as a circle of three equal, wedge-shaped pieces, coloured white/yellow (Morningtide), red (Eventide) and black (Nyxfall).
Like Ahm, the Swords of the Procession are of True Neutral alignment, though they possess their own favoured weapons and domains.Description
- The Sword of Morningtide Image Gallery (External)
- The Sword of Eventide Image Gallery (External)
- The Sword of Nyxfall Image Gallery (External)
The Swords are genderless and generally take the form of a Meranthic or more purely elven humanoid riding a mount of some kind, the species of which changes between cultures and beliefs. Stags (e.g. elk, antelope, moose or reindeer) are most common in portrayals, though more unique images include, among others, Morningtide on a giant dragonfly and Nyxfall on a cait síth or tatzelwurm.
Morningtide generally wears colours of pale blues, beiges and off-whites; Eventide wears colours of brighter, autumnal reds and oranges; Nyxfall wears colours of dark blues, greys and blacks, sometimes speckled with white.Worship
It is common, though not ubiquitous, for worshippers of Ahm to align themselves to one of the Swords in particular. In so doing they take on the purviews of the individual spirit in their worship, including their daily and even seasonal activities.
The Sword of Morningtide
Clergy of Morningtide are often tasked with bringing joy and growth to their communities, for example through music or gardening. They often run schools and daycares. The period beginning from first light at dawn to midday is their holy period, Summer their holy season.The Sword of Eventide
Eventide clergy organize construction or other charitable causes for communities, and are more often militant than the other two, acting to directly defend that which is beloved by Ahm, for example places of pure nature or ancient age. As a church of transition, their holy seasons are both Spring and Autumn, between the Mornings of Summer and the Nights of Winter. Their holy period is midday, until the first glimmer of the Dusk Star.The Sword of Nyxfall
The clergy of Nyxfall are often concerned with the study and passing on of ancient wisdom, of archaeology and theology. They are also tasked with caring-for of the elderly and internment of the deceased. Their holy season is Winter, their daily holy period between the first visibility of the Dusk Star and the Dawn Star.The Ahmunna
As the Swords of the Procession are the direct progeny of Ahm, they are therefore the first and greatest of the Ahmunna. It’s said the First Ahmunna took wives among the First Mortals, and their descendants became the Enari (the white, snow or ghost elves), Eladrin (the wood or red elves) and Drow (the dark elves) respectively. Most churches refer to all elfkind as Ahmunna, though some are not immune to racal partisanship.
The drow refer to Nyxfall as The Owl God.Favoured Weapons
Morningtide's favoured weapon is the shillelagh. Its Relic Weapon is called Sapling of the Worldtree. Eventide's favoured weapon is the battleaxe. Its Relic Weapon is called Redstar. Nyxfall's favoured weapon is the chained kama or kusarigama. Its Relic Weapon is called Nightsreach.
Profile Top: A feminine portrayal of Morningtide from Ancient Nireau. Ahm and his Procession were moderately popular among the heretic Hyperion Cults (illus. Amano Yoshitaka).
Profile Bottom: An ancient Allesander oil painting of Morningtide, Eventide and Nyxfall, from left to right. Above them what is presumed to be Ahm taking what seems to be the form of a golden-faced disc radiating waves of light or perhaps heat.
Banner: A drow cleric of Eventide (illus. Lina Kit), a human cleric of Morningtide (illus. Clyde Caldwell) and an eladrin cleric of Nyxfall (illus. Justin Sweet).
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