Deities and Priesthoods

 

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Forêt, the Goddess of Life

What the goddess looks like.

Long flowing brown hair frame her soft face and radient smile. Forest green eyes echo her wisdom and sadness, and contrast with her fair complexion. Long legs, shapely torso, and thin arms form her loosely covered body.

What the goddess likes and dislikes.

For life to exist, all life must be in balance. She hates anything that upsets the balance and anything that lives through unnatural means such as demons and undead. She hates Hu and his followers because of their stance on undead and their attempts to turn the whole world into an undying wasteland. She is indifferent with most of the other dieties, though attempts to help Viedre whenever possible because she feels the lack of water in the land is an hardship on life that needs to be corrected.

How the goddess prefers to be worshiped.

Foret prefers to be worshipped through festivals, deeds, and other productive means. Her festivals tend to be of a reproductive nature though her priesthood is forbidden from indulging in the acts of the flesh. She does not allow any type of sacrifice.

How the goddess rewards followers.

Followers are rewarded in many ways. A better harvest, good luck, and are given guidence through signs and other superstitions.

How the goddess punishes followers .

Followers that deserve punishment are those that willing destroy the land and take excessive life. For those, the worst punishment is to not be allowed into her forest kingdom. They are doomed an eternal torment in Hell as traitors. Hu especially likes to torment those that once served the druid goddess. Fallen druids have been known to be swallowed up by the land itself, as well as other unpleasant means of death.

How the goddess punishes athiests.

Athiests are ignored unless they actively try to upset the balance.

How the goddess punishes followers of other gods.

Constant battles are waged between her druid priesthood and worshippers and Hu's followers. Undead and demons are also under constant attack. The priesthoods of the other dieties are either ignored or become temporary allies. She is constantly helping the underdog and may switch sides if the tides turn.

What actions might prompt the goddess to interfere in mortal affairs.

Major acts of defiling the land, portals created to bring more undead and demons to the land, or other unnatural acts will prompt her to send her druids and followers to attempt to stop it.

How the goddess's temple operates.

Major areas of plantlife symbolizes her temples. These may be groves of trees, cactus, or other plant life. Rare is anything that could be considered a forest, but there are some impressive areas of vegetation. There are also rumors of pocket dimentions that are linked to The Desert Realm which are full of lakes, rivers, and forests. If these truely exist, they wouldn't be much more than a square mile in size.

The origins of the goddess.

The ancient gods gave the world to Foret. She is its mother and protector.

How to contact or petition the goddess.

Typically, one must perform a ritual of planting a sapling to contact her. It is rare that she will respond directly, though it's likely that she will provide signs for the accute person to follow.

The tempermant of the goddess.

She is even tempered and patient. Those that don't hurt the balance of the cycle do not have anything to fear from her, though her rath is severe to those that do.

The chaos/law aspect of the goddess.

She is absolutely neutral. Both order and chaos are part of the cycle. Her mood changes as things shift. If things are too chaotic, she imposes order and vice versa. In many aspects she is lawful, however, as she imposes the laws of nature.

The good/neutral/evil aspects of the goddess.

She is absolutely neutral to the point of even switching sides when things start to shift in the other direction. That being said, Foret is viewed by most people as a "good" Goddess because she embodies the nature of life, and she battles against the forces of corruption and destruction.

Extra Information

The servants of the temple of Foret are the Druids, (even though this particular group of them dwell in the city). The temple of Foret is a tiered structure, and somewhat like a zoo. Each tier hold different animals from all over the Desert Realm. It is the job of the followers of Foret to care for these animals.

The Druids of Foret often spend time wandering outside the city in a 50 to 100 mile radius around Forwell. They search for wounded animals or creatures needing aid. If they cannot render aid to them immediately, then they bring them back to the temple where they are cared for. Additionally, animals that have been wounded in the arena, and are no longer of use to Viktor, are often taken in by the Temple of Foret. Viktor gains a little good will from the Temple of Foret by allowing this, although sometimes the temple is forced to purchase the animals. It is a tentative and weak alliance. The Temple of Foret frowns greatly upon the use of animals in the arena, and though they can sometimes rescue those animals, most of them are slain. The Temple of Foret holds great ire for Viktor because of this. Yet at the same time they appreciate being able to rescue at least some of the animals, therefore they do not act aggressively against Ivanhelm directly so as not to lose what little benefit they can gain from rescuing the animals.

Followers of Foret (parishioners and Druids alike) despise the arena and are forbidden by temple law from entering Ivanhelm unless it is for the purpose of rescuing animals. The painful and deadly games played there are horrible to them. They consider Ivanhelm to be a great blasphemy.

In the Order of Foret in Forwell, Priests and Priestesses are selected for their passion and kindness to other life. Typically newcomers serve as acolytes for many years before they are allowed to become Druids. During this time they are taught animal husbandry and care. They are shown healing arts for animals (and humans). And there are many secrets in the Temple of Foret in Forwell that are not shown to acolytes, therefore the Druids (Priests) must trust an acolyte fully before admitting them into the final circle of life.

As one of the rules for becoming a Druid of Foret in Forwell, an acolyte selected for the process of becoming a Druid must spend a year alone in the wilderness. During this time they commune with the life of Vola and spend time learning the ways of the desert as never before. All the lore they were previously taught must be used to implement their survival. When they return, they undergo a secret ritual in the Temple, allowing them to become a full fledged Druid and to dedicate their life to the Goddess Foret.


 

 

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