Church of Eldath

The Church of Eldath was the clergy dedicated to the pacifist teachings of Eldath, the Goddess of Shining Waters. The church was low in numbers but spread thin across many locations on Faerûn. Some of the places where the church was prevalent included Sword Coast, Amn, Tethyr, Anauroch, and the Vilhon Reach. Few Eldathyn priests lived within big cities; instead, they resided in more rural areas in cottages and forest groves. They often were accompanied by companion animals and traded with potions and medicines.

""Malar directs his believers to destroy the followers of Eldath as a show of faith to him." "Bet that would make Eldath's priests take up a mace or a cudgel." "No, it only makes for fewer worshipers for Eldath.""

- Cerril

Clergy
The Church of Eldath was relatively small in numbers and spread thinly across all the lands that venerated the goddess. The most passionate clergy members, Freewalkers, traveled to preach the deity's teachings, while others found remote sports and bodies of water to spend their time in meditation and contemplation seeking enlightenment. Some priests were known to offer tutelage to individuals in search of peace and enlightenment. Eldath's faithful remained low in numbers due to their deity's dedication to pacifism, as the goddess herself teetered on the edge of becoming a forgotten and obscure power in Faerûn. Eldathyn clergy, just like their deity, was known for their pacifism. A common belief was that the members of the church did not pick up weapons against Malarites who were sworn to slay followers of the Quiet One on sight to venerate their dark deity.

The center of the Church of Eldath was located in the Vilhon Reach. The goddess's main temple was called The Grove by her worshipers, and it was hidden in the druid stronghold of Cedarsproke in the Gulthmere Forest. In the late-14 century DR, the church was led by Shemratha Callingowl, who, not surprisingly, rarely ventures away from the temple.

Members of the church were known to join goodly organizations in the Realms, such as the Harpers or nature-centric, such as the Emerald Enclave. Eldathyn clergy and druids who venerated her often offered their aid to other druidic religions in establishing safe sanctified groves.

Organization
The Church of Eldath consisted of clerics, druids – some of whom were the church's specialty priests, monks, and mystics. All members of the clergy were proficient swimmers. On average, only ten percent of the clergy were druids or Eldathyn specialty priests. They were known as peacemen and peacewomen. As of the late-14 century DR, there existed only one young Eldathyn monastic order. Peacemen and women were considered to be the seniors of the church. Their guidance led the organization, while priests and druids followed the specialty priests' wisdom. Peacemen and peacewomen were most often half-elves, halflings, or sirines.

The five branches of the church had smooth relationships with open communication channels. Conflicts were unheard of, and even more militant clergy wings were respectful or aging clerics and pacifist wings.


 * Eldath's Circle, the group within the Emerald Enclave on the isle of Ilighôn that was focused on marine missions for the Enclave.
 * Disciples of the Yielding Way, also known as the Brothers and Sisters of the Open Palm, a monastic pacifist order dedicated to Eldath.
 * Stillwaters, a sect that grew especially annoyed with clergy getting involved in conflict and warfare, was created, and its clerics called themselves stillwaters. Even more so than the rest of the faith, they dedicated themselves to tranquility. Stillwaters were not well-liked as most thought them to be too peaceful to do any good for anyone.

Hierarchy
The Church of Eldath had a straightforward hierarchy. Each priest was charged with overseeing up to 14 underpriests, all shared quarters, and performed the church's day-to-day activities. The priests reported to assigned senior priests, and senior priests, in turn, reported to grand priests. Each region had one grand priest who oversaw all activities of the Church of Eldath in the realm. These grand priests often were the Exalted, clerics of druids of great experience, age, and accomplishments. The hierarchical position of the Freewalkers, traveling members of the church, was between priests and senior priests. The top positions within the church were filled from among the Exalted when they were entrusted with guardianship over Eldathyn holy fastnesses. Each guardian was given the title of the Keeper of the Fastness. Each grove had one, and together, the Keepers of the Fastness were the church's leaders.

Dogma
"Teaching your followers to shy away from violence to the point of not defending yourself when attacked is suicide in the warlike atmosphere of most countries. Still, many people have grown tired of the constant fighting and bickering between the various nations and city-states. It is from these people that the Goddess of the Shining Waters draws her faithful."

- Adamar Session, bard of Starmantle

Eldathyn teachings taught her worshipers inner peace. Peace could not be taught nor forced upon anyone. Instead, it had to be achieved through introspection and meditation. The dogma taught stillness, and through stillness, it taught peace. Each worshiper of Eldath was instructed to care for and plant greenery wherever they could. The worshipers were to heal, help, and defend but never attack nor punish. The only violence was allowed to defend others, and slaying was strictly forbidden, be it a man or beast. The dogma also dictated the worshiper to help other clergies of Eldath and assist priests of Silvanus and Mielikki. Eldathyn clergy were to protect and shelter defenders of the forest and secluded groves and help those forced out from their forest, lake, pond, or swamp domains. Lastly, all priests of Eldath were to share the bounty of the land and fresh, clean water with others.

Activities
A great number of the priests and druids that served the goddess were vegetarians and often could be found working as herbalists and healers. Adventuring priests often took on mantles of envoys to other churches, negotiators, and guides. A designated group of Eldathyn priests was tasked with messenger duty, traveling from one place of worship to the other. Many priests and druids took to defending secluded and untainted groves and other places of nature. There, Eldathyn clergy healed forest and plant diseases, re-planted destroyed greenery, built irrigation, clean streams, and firebreaks. They often constructed dams to encourage life. When possible, Eldathyn negotiated with foresters to restrict logging to certain areas, improving the self-sustainability of civilized settlements.

The Church of Eldath worked tiredly against mindless and aggressive deforestation, logging, those who would start frost fires, and greedy industries that endangered nature with pollution. The opposition was seldom done in a violent manner as the clergy worked in subtle ways to stop harm to nature.

Eldathyns were also tasked by the church to monitor local wildlife, keep a record of animal species and their numbers, migration, and changes to both local flora and fauna. These reports were passed along to senior priests, who in turn, share them with the clergies of Silvanus and Mielikki, who monitored and maintained ecologies.

When a need for money arose within the church, priests offered their services as herbalists, healers, gardeners, potion makers, and water dowsers through the water divination spell. The clergy also offered lessons in swimming to non-Eldathyns in exchange for food, small gifts, or coin that benefited the church.

Equipment
Eldathyn traveling clergy wore simple robes of green and blue, many of which were rugged from age and use. Stationary priests adorned themselves with water-colored robes decorated with opalescent blue and green gems. The embroidery was reminiscent of waters and waves. Eldath's specialty priests wore more sophisticated layered robes of various shades of blues and greens with sleeves and hems artfully cut, so they resembled ripping water. All clergy of Eldath wore the goddess' holy symbol in the center of their chests. The symbol was decorated with living ferns when possible or they were painted on.

Clerics of Eldath often were armed with enchanted mighty cleaving light maces.

Stillwater priests did not wear any armor nor ever wielded weapons. Instead of protection, they were adorned in flowing robes of greens and blues and light brown cloaks. These priests decorated their heads with garlands as flowers symbolized peace.

Holy Objects

 * Crystrum of Tranquility, a crystal orb of divine magics, sacred to the Eldathyn faith.
 * Eldath's origami peace crane, magic origami items from Ravens Bluff and used by Eldath's faithful.
 * Peace, a powerful enchanted yewwood staff carried by Eldathyns.
 * Tome of the Wyvernwater Circle, a druidic spellbook, gifted to Hullack of the Wyvernwater Circle by the goddess herself.

Holy Days and Rituals
Each member of the Church of Eldath had to travel Faerûn to receive a title and duties within the faith. A priest in training was tasked with visiting at least nine Eldathyn fastnesses, playing in each. Each bath Eldath's clergy took included a prayer. They also uttered prayers while floating in lakes, streams, or under the plummeting waterfalls. Mediation often took place within small forest caves. Forests that were homes to the Quiet One's clergy often had log bridges across streams with small wooden structures in the middle with openings in the floors for water submersion. The clergy used these huts as spots for prayer and meditation.

Clerics of Eldath preyed for their spells in the morning after awakening, and other praying rituals took place in the evening at sunset and at least once after dark. When the clergy was in the solitude of the wilderness, the prayers and meditations were done while fully undressed or as close to being nude as possible.

The only calendar celebration observed by the Church of Eldath was the Greening that took place every Greengrass following the Firstflow festival. The celebration led to the clergy gatherings – a rare occurrence. Apart from the Greening, the clergy only gathered for consecration rituals of new Eldathyn locations. The consecrations required a group performance of the Chant of the Fastness that summoned the avatar of the goddess who in turn turned water in the new open-air temple to the Water of Eldath. The divine waters retained their regenerative magics for the next tenday.

Abilities
The Church of Eldath was among the religious groups that founded the Harpers. The gods offered special gifts to Master Harpers who reverted them. The Quiet One gave the boon of sensing directions and distance of clean, fresh water, she guided them through underground cave systems towards the nearest exit and directed Master towards the closest refuge of Those Who Harp. Eldathyn Master Harpers could detect poisons and impurities in fresh water with the blessing of the goddess, know whether a cavern was dangerous, and allowed them to feel if a Harper refuge was negatively affected by Harpers' many enemies. Each of these abilities could be used once per day.

Peacemen and peacewomen were masters of combat but were sworn against violence. As a result, they were masters of parry.

Magic
Eldathyn clergy were honor-bound to their pacifist dogma. When forced into battle, they used defensive magics to misdirect and manipulate their adversaries into suffering defeat at their own hands and due to their own actions.

Clerics of Eldath had access to several spells, unique to the faith. These spells were wailing wind, touchsickle, greater touchsickle, flame shield, greenwood. mold touch, wheel of bones, control vapor, Water of Eldath, spring mastery, mist of the goddess, and aura against flame

Stillwater priests could affect aggressive creatures with a mere soothing whisper. Enemies stopped attacking, bandits laid down their arms, and listened to stillwater's calming words. Some adversaries could completely abandon conflict after being affected by the ability. The more powerful a cleric was, the longer and more times per day this ability could be used. Relatively early on, stillwaters gained the ability to cast sleep; however, they never allowed their allies to kill or harm sleeping creatures. More advanced priests gained the ability to cast forget once a day. The spell affected the mind of their opponents, making them forget the aggression and leave the conflict.

Peacemen and peacewomen were granted all divine spells of enchantment and charm schools. Early on, these specialty priests gained the ability to cast the hold plant and remove fear spells. With experience, they were granted sleep spell, and silence with further growth. Higher-ranking peacemen priests could water walk at will and breathe water. Finally, the most powerful specialty priests could create Laeral's aqueous column and sanctuary once per day. Additionally, peacemen were not affected by pain touch of Loviatan clergy.

Harper priests were granted blessings of the Eldath's pool, allowing them to create water once per day.

Regions
In Baldur's Gate, Eldath's face was carved into a freshwater fountain on the Windcobble Street. The locals followed the custom of touching the goddess's face when collecting water first thing in the morning. It was believed that Eldath blessed them with peace through the day.

In the Western Heartlands, the Misty Forest was regularly patrolled by the druids and clergy of Eldath, along with the allied worshipers of Silvanus and Mielikki.

The city of Elventree rose from being a meeting spot between humans and elves. Even though it did not have a leader, the law was maintained by both worshipers and clergy of Eldath, and Mielikki.

The region of the Vilhon Reach was historically a region torn by endless conflicts. The church of Eldath made an impression as a powerful contrast to the region's politics. This made the church quite noticeable by other factions, and this unwanted "attention" was referred to by the clergy as "tests of faith." The Vilhon Reach's other prevalent religions included the beastly Cult of Malar, and the worshipers of the Beastlord slew Eldathyns on sight. Apart from the central temple of the Church of Eldath in Cedarsproke, other temple in the region was located in the lizardfolk city of Surkh, and several shrines scattered across Sapra, Hlath, Hlondeth, Ormpetarr, and other less civilized locations,

Among other races that followed the Elbathyn faith were pacifist Ondonti orcs of the Tortured Lands. The orc brach of the Church of Eldath were venerated by their kin for the priests' close connection to the Mother of the Waters.

In the underwater realms of Serôs in the Sea of Fallen Stars, shalarin and merfolk venerated Eldath as Ri'daa'lada, the second biggest church after Trishina's. Clergy of Ri'daa'lada tirelessly swam across Serôs and guarded natural order of sealife, lifecycles, and visiting secluded scattered shrines to the deity.

History
One of the oldest tales about the Eldathyn church was the story of an elven hero Telva. The expert at warfare hero spilled much blood in her life; however, she found enlightenment in the Quiet Goddess and abandoned war and fighting forever. Another legend of old came from the Ondonti orcs. Their tales spoke of the group referred to as "the Founders," who brought 30 young orcs to their homelands and taught them pacifist ways of Eldath. Some scholars connected the Ondonti concept of Tarek-Passar, or the Way of Peace, to the Church of Eldath, leading to a theory that "the Founders" were priests of the Quiet One.

One of the earliest appearances of the Church of Eldath in annals of history happened in the, when a plague ravaged the Vilhon Reach. Eventually, the disease passed. Following that, Eldathyn druids made important improvements to the water supplies of the cities of the Vilhon.

The Opening of the, marked the beginning of the Golden Age of the elven city of Myth Drannor. As the city welcomed members of other races, churches of non-elven deities established a hold in the City of Song. The Church of Eldath arrived with its human clergy, who started venerating the quiet goddess around the forest city's pools, springs, waterfalls, and druid groves.

In the, a huge contingent of refugees flocked to the ancient elven city of Yrlaancel. The city quickly swole in size and was renowned by the Eldathyn faithful to Ondathel, Eldath's City of Peace.

In the, Ecamane Truesilver of Myth Drannor, accompanied by his nine apprentices, arrived to the city of Silverymoon. The High Mage claimed to have been blessed and guided by Eldath, Mielikki, Lurue, Mystra, and Sehanine Moonbow, to create a college of mages in the Gem of the North.

The saw a great gathering of clergy of Eldath, Deneir, Lliira, Mielikki, Milil, Mystra, Oghma, Selûne, and some other deities that venerated all that is good. With guidance and leadership of Elminster Aumar, the churches agreed to work together against gods that spread death, destruction, and discord across Faerûn. This meeting of churches atop the Dancing Place was the birth of Those Who Harp.

In the, the clergy of Eldath from the Temple of the Trembling Flower in Alaghôn managed to imprison Malarite mohrg Borran Klosk in stasis underneath one of the church's crypts. The creature was released from Eldath's trap of magical ice in the by a group of children guided by Malar.

Cyric, the Prince of Lies, built his grotesque throne out of the bones of mortals who died mistakingly believing in their delusions in service of other gods. One such mortal was a druid of Eldath who drowned everyone who happened to come across a hidden pool of water. The druid believed that they unrest the peace and commuted ungodly crimes, only to end up dead and part of Cyric's throne of lies.

In the Hammer of the, a strange plague started spreading through Iriaebor, killing twenty unfortunate souls. The so-called spotted plague, likely caused by tattooed clerics of Talona, mobilized churches of Eldath, Selûne, and Chauntea in order to isolate and squash the disease.

Notable Members of the Church of Eldath

 * Alatoasz Berendim,the Most Exalted Fallskeeper, the High Priest of the Duskwood Dell in Amn in the late-14 century DR..
 * Baniol the Peaceful, a priest who rant the shrine of Eldath in the town of St. Carwell's Vale in the Hamlar Hills.
 * Bron, a fallen paladin of Eldath and the leader of Iriaebor circa 1367 DR.
 * Estele Greymantle, the Lady of Highbank Forest who dedicated herself to nurturing the forest in the late-14 century DR.
 * Green Lady, the Eldathyn druid from the Brynwood forest in the Vast circa 1350s and 1360s DR.
 * Haedyll, a hin priest from Thornwood in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Luaqqa Absalassrin, the matriarch of the Silent Hall, the largest Eldathyn temple in the Western Heartlands, circa 1367 DR.
 * Olondar Rajarn, a cleric of Eldath and the proprietor of Oakfather's Boon in Mosstone circa late-14 century DR.
 * Peldrathan, a priest of Eldath and the namesake of the town of Peldrathan's Pool in Turmish.
 * Salmone Healsmith, an adventuring healer in service of Eldath in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Shemratha Callingowl, the leader of the Church of Eldath who reigned from its headquarters in Cedarsproke in the Vilhon Reach in the late-14 century DR.
 * Zalaznar Crinios, the druid ruler of Cedarsproke circa 1370 DR.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Jewel of Turmish
 * Prince of Lies
 * Card Games
 * AD&D Trading Cards
 * AD&D Trading Cards