Sharindlar

Sharindlar Lady of Life and Mercy, the Shining Dancer Intermediate Dwarven Deity

Symbol: Flame ring rising from a steel needle Home Plane: Dwarfhome Alignment: Chaotic good Portfolio: Healing, mercy, romantic love, fertility, dancing, courtship, the moon Worshipers: Bards, dancers, dwarves, healers, lovers Cleric Alignments: CG, CN, NG Domains: Chaos, Charm, Dwarf, Good, Healing, Moon Favored Weapon: "Fleetbite" (whip)

When a dwarf falls sick or is struck down in combat, he often utters prayers to Sharindlar (sha-rihn-dlar), the dwarven deity of healing and mercy. Dwarves make no secret of their veneration of this benevolent goddess who protects the dwarven people through the kindness and the restorative touches of her clergy. What most dwarves are loath to admit to their taller companions, however, is that Sharindlar represents a side of dwarven life rarely observed by outsiders. When dwarves abandon their taciturn moods for an evening of dance, or when a hardened warrior softens to accept the vows of marriage to his childhood love, Sharindlar is invoked as a deity of gaiety, romance, and dance. Clerics of the Shining Dancer are known as thalornor ("those who are merciful"). They spend most of their time ministering to the needs of the sick or frail in dwarven communities, providing words of encouragement with a gentle bedside manner. When not engaged at the bedside, clerics of Sharindlar work to instruct youth on proper dwarven courting rituals, even going so far as to play matchmaker between two "compatible" youths. Of late Sharindlar's command of fertility has expanded the thalornors' influence over animal husbandry and developing new strains of crops. Concerned as they are with births, both from a medical and metaphorical perspective, most thalornor treat the Thunder Blessing with even more reverence than their brethren, often bending over backward to encourage thunder twins to join the clergy. Temples most often are large halls with ample space provided for dancing and celebration and plenty of intimate guest rooms for visiting revelers. Clerics of Sharindlar pray for spells in the morning. Holy ceremonies, most often practiced when the moon begins to wax, at Greengrass, Midsummer Night, and whenever the moon is full, commonly involve secret congregations in hidden caverns. At such gatherings, supplicants dance around a natural pool, chanting to the Lady of Mercy while casting items of gold into a sanctified cauldron. Participants draw a small amount of blood from their forearms, allowing it to seep into the cauldron, the contents of which are heated until molten and cast into the central pool. Thalornor frequently multiclass as bards.

History/Relationships: Over the millennia, Sharindlar has worked to establish good relations with her entire pantheon, including strained friendships with even Laduguer, Deep Duerra, and Abbathor. On many occasions, the Lady of Life and Mercy acts as intermediary between Moradin and those he has cast away when some calamity forces usually opposed dwarves to act in consort. In general, however, Sharindlar finds politics stuffy and boring, and prefers to speculate on the romantic futures of both mortals and the divine. She shares great kinship with Shiallia, whom many believe to be her daughter through a dalliance with a fey god.

Dogma: Be merciful in speech and deed. Temper anger and hostility with constructive and charitable endeavor. The children of Moradin must live in safety to propagate. Embrace the gift of life with ebullience and grace. Maintain and encourage the traditional rites of courtship and marriage. Sharindlar restores the fertile seed of dwarven life, while Berronar protects the fruit.