Church of Waukeen

The Church of Waukeen was a relatively young yet one of the most widespread religious organizations in Faerûn. Grand temples to the Merchant's Friend could be found in many nations, including Cormyr, Erlkazar, as well as in most cities that dealt in mercantile, such as Elversult on the Dragon Coast, Innarlith on the Lake of Steam,

"Waukeen's priests are more interested in large donations than in protecting their worshiper's confidentiality."

- Flattery Wyvernspur

Clergy
All clerics and priests of Waukeen were expected to pay a tithe equal to twenty five percent of their income to the church, however this excluded wages paid by the church to its priests. The heft tythe was applicable to adventuring loot, investments, bounties, rewards, and businessess. The money collected from worshipers to pay for casting of divine spells while in employ of shrines and temples belonged to the the church.

During Waukeen's absence from the Realms, most members of the church devoted their lives to Lliira as Waukeen's godly regent. During that time Waukeenar spells were granted to the proests by Lliira on Waukeen's behalf. Those who remained with the church of Waukeen were often called "coinspinners" by other religions. The name referred to the Church's extrovagant spending of its gold in order to display the goddess's wealth to all observers and worshipers.

Clergy of Waukeen were tasked with traveling the world, staffing busy temples in merchant cities, or aiding traders, merchant firms as moneylenders, allowing the businessess to grow. They were also known to be coverlty aiding fences selling stolen goods. The church's dogma directed Waukeenar clergy to invest into all businesses that had a reasonable chance of not failing, businessess ran by worhipers of Waukeen, or business woners who offered hefty tithe to the church. On some occations, Waukeenar were known to positively manipulate trave via unsavory activities such as rumor-mongering, buy-ups, hired border brigands, etc. However that practice was shunned by officials outide the church and Waukeen's temples took on a public stance of denouncing such practices. Although privatly, Church of Waukeen instructed its priests to proceed with such tasks with extreme caution and subtelty to avoid any connections to the chuch were they ever exposed. Waukeenar temples offred church-secured chambers to wealthy tithe-payers who traveled to other cities with church's presence. Priests were encouraged to grow personal wealth but only through arms-length investments and never by breaking the law.

Ranks
Unlike many other organized religions, Church of Waukeen's hyrarchy was quite loose. Each temple was headed by the High Periest, the Holycoin. The lowest rank in the church were novices – Telchar, who could accend up the hyrarchy ladder after confirmation. These titles included, in ascending order, Coin, Abreeant, Counter, Trabbar, Investor, Halanthi, Lender, Syndo, Manycoins, Grand Trabbar, Spender, Grand Syndar, Overgold, and lastly, the Holycoin.

The speciality priests of the church were known as Goldeyes due to their pupils gaining golden hue glow after being touched by Waukeen. Goldeneyes were considered to be the most sucesesful treasure seekers and were in high demand fof that particular ability.

Dogma
The main teaching of the Waukeenar faith stated that that the merchants' trade was the road to prosperity. The church believed that civilization prospered through mercantilism and affulence of all members of society. Through increased wealth came greater civilization and happines bringing closer the Golden Age – the goal of all Waukeenar. Worhipers and members of the church were strictly forbiden to destroy or damage trade goods. Their duty was not to restrict free trade and quenching rumors or slander, harmful to any mercantile activities. Waukeenar were faith-bound to giving money to beggars and businessess. This act served to spread the glory of Waukeen, promise prostperity to her followers, and placing free coin in everyone's hands. The church's dogma believed that if everyone had more coin, they were less likely to hide the wealth and more likely to spend money, putting coin back into the market.

Vestments
Clergy of the Church of Waukeen were the most lavishly outfitted priests and clerics, even more luxuriously adorned than members of the Church of Sune, Church of Milil, and even Church of Lathander. The priestly vestments they were were gaudy, bright, ornate, decorated with expensive fabrics and silk underclothes. Their jackets had slashed fluted sleeves exposing more color and expensive fabric underneath. Tall boots, pince-nez, and lorgnettes were a common sight among the clergy. Silken sashes were wrapped around their wastes with silk ribbons attached, holding various useful items. Their heads were decorated with golden begemmed miters and crowns depending on standing with the church. Priests wore scarlet cloaks of gemstones and precious metals sewn into its fabric and decorated with numerous wheels, plates, clasps, and flourishes, making the garb quite heavy. Underneath the hefty cape, outfits varied. Tunics, trousers, pantyhose, leggings, or tabards of great quality were common. Clerics' hands were gloved in white and they wielded a golden gem-encrusted rod or a staff, often enchanted.

Holy Days and Rituals
Waukeenar temples, referred to as Houses of All Plenty, were built in a vide variety of architectural styles, some were small open-air shrines, while others were grand cathedrals. All places of worhip of Waukeen shared one similar thrait, they were decorated to impress, with gold, gems, philegree, and ornamentations. All temples were luxuriousely decoreated on the inside and on the outside. A typical altar to the godess found within temples was a simple stone block or wooden table with asingle bowl on it, blessed by Waukeen's clergy. Coins, gems, and other precious trinkets were placed in the bowl as it floated up via divine enchantments. The more precious bowl's contents were – the more heavy and unmovable from the altar it became. These altars were the centerstage of any rituals, spells, and blessings performed by the clergy, after the offerings to the church were placed into the bowl. Nightly prayers were performed in front of such bowls, however when away from the temple, clergy prayed to a stream, a pool, or other bodies of water after tossing a coin into it.

One of the most best known rituals of the church was the bestowal of the Mark of the Lady – an oversized heavy gold coin of Waukeen that was worth 450 gp. These Marks were rewards to the priests or worshipers of the Merchant's Friend who earned distinction and great sucesess in enriching the church or their community via mercantile means. The coin was placed on a sash and gifted to the Favored Ones while attendees and witnessess were given a small golden coin of Waukeen. Marks of the Lady were sometimes stolen from the church or recipients but in every occasion, priests were able to magically track the items, retrieve them from most elaborate hiding places and thieves were slain for sacrilige.


 * Cleaving, the first holy ritual of the church performed first when neophytes join the church, and then each time a priest rose to a higher rank within the church. The rutual called for the priest to enter the temple covered in filth and approaching the altar while dragging their weight in gold. The gold was placed on the altar, the altar bowl was kissed by the faithful and they prayed to the goddess on their knees. This process was beheld by the priests of the church who sang the hymns of thefaith. Then the altar part was complete, stone covers were moved away revealing a warm bath filled with spiced wine. The supplicant submerged into wine as the altar's bown levitated and poured gold transformed into golden-flaked holy water into the bath. As the church continued to sing hymns, the supplicant cleand themselves. When done, the faitful emerged from the bath and was garbed in the new uniform appropriate for the new rank. The grand finale of the ritual was a grand feast.
 * Cold Counting Comfort, a festival elebrated by the faithful of Waukeen on the 15 of Hammer. The festival represented accounting that was generally done during the cold time of the year by local businessess.
 * Great Weave took place on Alturiak 20 and was a celebration of tapestry-weaving done in noble houses and textile factories in winter as well as celebration of cloth merchants' businessess.
 * Highcoin, festival that took plce on Ches 30 was a grand celebration accompaniyed by accolades, fanfares, and feasts that celebrated sucesess and wealth. The festival of Highcoin also was used to collect gifts to be shared during the Spheres festival that followed.
 * Spheres, the next grand festival of parades, music, revelries, and feasting that took place on Tarsakh 10. During the parades, clergy of the church hurled magically-made-harmless glass shperes filled with gold, precious stones, jewelry, and other trinkets into adorng crowd.
 * Sammardach, of Mirtul 12 was named after a rich sponsor from the early days of the Church of Waukeen whose wealth was so grand he purchased a city – Tsabran in Chessenta, gifting all profits and businessess within its wlls to the church.
 * Brightbuckle took place on Kythorn 21 and celebrated coming of good weather with a parade open to all who visited Waukeen's temples whatever deity they followed. The celebration was aimed at inspiring and attracthing new worshipers through illusion magic and inspiration speeches of wealth and sucessess.
 * Somyn took place from Flamerule 3 to Flamerule 5 and celebrated peacemaking, deals, treaties, and recieving envoys from other countries and past enemies, encouraging international trrade and replacing war with trade pacts.
 * Huldark, on Elesias 17, was a feast that celebrated the fruit of the land, good harvest, and had the worshipers of Waukeen plant fruit trees and vegetable plants.
 * Spryndalstar took place on Eleint 7 and celebrated the Art as a valuable tool of profit. During the festival, the clergy sponsored wizards and hired spellcasters to perform awe-inspiring magics for the crowds of faitful.
 * Marthoon of Marpenoth 1 celebrated justice, vigilance, soldiers and city guards who protected wealth and businessess. Soldiers and guards were invited to the temples to feast, celebreate, and recieve gifts of gold from the priests. During the celebration, aged soldiers were sponsored into retirement by the church who gifted them ten times theur weight in gold.
 * Tehennteahan, or the Night of Hammers and Nails, took place on Uktar 10 and was celebrated through a day-long feast that celebrated common worksmen such as crafters, smiths, tradesfolk, aknowledging their work that benefitted all. During the celebration, various inventions were presented to the church and the most impressive ones were bought by the Church of Waukeen for a pice of a roof-full of gold.
 * Orbar, or Candle Feast, was held on Nightal 25. It was a solemn remembrance of the dark side of mercantilism. The clergy prayed for the souls consumed by avarice, individuals driven mad by greed, people killed by thieves. Temples of Waukeen invited all to pray for sould of favorite merchants and lives lost and reminded the folk that the church had magical means of tracking down and punishing anyone who wanted to steal Waukeen's bounty.

Amn
Waukeenar could be found across the merchant's nation of Amn in the Lands of Intrigue. The church had major presence in Athkatla and Keczulla. Athkatla was considered the center of Waukeenar worship with the fortified castle-temple of Goldspires at its helm. The temple of Goldspires remained loyal to Waukeen during the decade she was presumed dead. The temple, more aptly described as a small city, was generously supported by at least seven great merchant noble houses of Amn. The leader of the temple complex was the Holycoin Voice of the Lady, aided by Five Furies – Overgold sisters who were the next in the church's succession line.

Vilhon Reach
The Church of Waukeen was prevalent in the region of the Vilhon Reach among the cities that thrived on trade and spawned prosperous merchant houses. Such cities as Timindar held the biggest populations of Waukeenar.

History
The Church of Waukeen sufered heavy losses, both financially and in loss of faitfull following the Time of Troubles. When the gods walked Faerûn, Waukeen's avatar reportedly never witnessed my the mortal eyes. When the deities were allowed to return to the Planes, Waukeen was still missing. Her clerics did not recieve spells and many of her followers lost faith, joining other churches. In the, a prophet of Lliira announced that the goddess was dead. The prophet carried that message to all temples of Waukeen and invited the clergy to join the Church of Lliira as she was holding the Merchant's Frien'd divint protfolio. Waukeen lost followers to Lliira, Tymora, Lathander, Shaundakul, and even Beshaba during that period of time.

Notable Affiliations
During Waukeen's absence, the church had no knightly orders under its name and eagerly sponsored adventuring companies and mercenary troops who were willing to forgo twenty precent of their income to the church in exchange. Similarly, adventuring troupes and mercenary companies were often hired to guard trade routs and important goods that traveled along them, on land and on sea alike.
 * Iron Throne was rumored to have connections or hidden affiliation with some clergy of the Church of Waukeen, these claims, however, were lacking evidence.

Notable Members of the Church of Waukeen

 * Halleth Garke, a half-elven cleric of Waukeen who was cursed with undeath as a Revenant in Undermountain in the 15 century DR.
 * Iona Waukeenservant, one of the two leaders of a Sembian Company of Night in the 14 century DR.
 * Obaya Uday, a Chultan priestess of Waukeen who sponsored expeditions to Undermountain in the late 15 century DR.
 * Quinn Silverfinger, a halfling cleric who ran the Golden Lodge shrine in Lonelywood of the Ten Towns circa 1281 DR.
 * Tharundar Olehm, the Holycoin Voice of the Lady, who ruled over Goldspires of Amn in the late 14 century DR.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Swords of the Iron Legion &bull; Waterdeep: Dragon Heist &bull; Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
 * Novels
 * Whisper of Waves &bull; Lies of Light &bull; Scream of Stone &bull; The Sapphire Crescent &bull; Obsidian Ridge
 * Tantras &bull; The Wyvern's Spur &bull; The Nether Scroll &bull; The Howling Delve &bull; The Adversary
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn &bull; Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter
 * Card Games
 * AD&D Trading Cards
 * AD&D Trading Cards