Church of Chauntea

The Church of Chauntea was the primary religious organization of the followers of the deity Chauntea, the Great Mother. It was present almost everywhere in Faerûn, due to its prevalence in agrarian life.

"The Earthmother is everything, and her health is our health. She feeds us, clothes us, waters us, and shelters us. No god is greater than her, though many are noisier. No god is more forgiving, more nurturing, or more essential. Truly, Chauntea is All."

- Creed of the Church

Dogma
"Growing and reaping are part of the eternal cycle and the most natural part of life..."

- Dogma of Chauntea

Beliefs
Faithfuls believed that Chauntea was as old as the world itself. They saw her as one that gave life to natural creatures and plants, and that gifted humanoid races with the secrets of agriculture.

Land owners and farmers hit with unproductive harvests visited her clerics for divine suggestions. If at any time plague or drought struck the crops, farmers looked to the goddess, since they hoped she would save the harvest due to her love of nature.

It was believed that money donated to a temple of the church would return to the giver tenfold.

Attitudes
Practitioners of the Chauntean faith cared about the fertility of the earth, the growing and reaping of plants, and the eternal cycle of life. They often shared food with strangers and people in need, freely sharing the bounty of the land.

Considering destruction and leveling without rebuilding as a disgrace, the faithful avoided using fire and planted a seed of a small plant at least once per tenday. They made to always till their wastes back into agricultural soil, in order to support new life.

Members of the clergy were quiet and patient, emulating the qualities they saw in their goddess. They were known for their wisdom, and for their willingness to help with agricultural work, taking a hands-on approach especially when farmers were ill of injured. This caused them to receive great respect and admiration from their peers.

While the faith revolved around a doctrine made of values and taboos, there were as many interpretations as there were practitioners. Knowing that their goddess was everywhere and could see everything, the majority of Nurturers led a good and honest life. A few however saw nothing wrong with lying or stealing in order to acquire good land&mdash;they reasoned that treasures don't feed anyone or keep them warm, and that lying was merely countering human foolishness with more of the same.

Activities
"Let no day pass in which you have not helped a living thing flourish..."

- Dogma of Chauntea

Research
Priests of the faith had a mission to learn as much as possible about plants,including topics such as horticulture, plant types and diseases, and general folk knowledge regarding flora. Some Nurturers would also study monsters, while others would focus on details of the natural order of things such as erosion, water currents or wind patterns.

Teaching
Members of the clergy shared their knowledge with clergymen and laypeople alike. They encouraged civilized folks to enrich the land using methods such as replanting, composting, and irrigation. In addition to planting, priests instructed their flock on the identification of plants, and of disease impacting the flora and fauna.

Due to the clergy's teachings, most common folks felt a closeness to "natural cycles"&mdash;thanks to this, there were no religious nor social stigma regarding women's monthly bleeding.

Agriculture
On their travels members of the church planted trees, removed weeds hampering crops, prepared the land to receive crops, and used spells to drive away predators. They burned diseased plants as well as the corpse of plague-ridden animals in order to prevent contamination, and were always watching such blazes extremely carefully.

Chauntean agriculture included practices such as diverting waterways and draining wetlands to help plant more harvestable crops.

Defense
In some places such as Felshroun, members of the clergy would accompany patrols in order to defend the inhabitants against trouble.

Seed banks
The faithful of Chauntea were encouraged to donate any extra seed their plants yielded to temples, so the seeds could be redistributed to those in need.

Raising orphans
It was usual for orphans to be raised by priests and laypeople in their temples. The clergy of Chauntea was often tasked with such charges, as it was seen as a "neutral" faith by other clergies and could use the extra pair of hands to help with labor-intensive agricultural activities.

Organization
"Our fields are fruitful and our bodies hale. Courage unites us today under a single pennant, and our hearts are filled with the love of the Earthmother."

- Extract from the coronation speech of Cymrych Hugh, 201 DR



Clergy
People of all races joined the church, and a vast majority of them were females. They were united in their profound love for the land, the balance of nature, and the beauty of plants. Most were gardeners or farmers by trade, an well-versed in the ways of herbalism and agriculture. Clerics usually tended to the faithful in civilized areas, such as towns and cities, while druids handled more rural areas. In some places, priestesses of Chauntea were also mistaken for witches by the local community.

Due to their affinity with the Earth domain, Earth genasi were common amongst the clergy. They were either clerics or laypeople, and often tasked with guarding duties.

Some truenamers joined the clergy as well, interested by the creation and cosmological structure of the Realms.

In the Uthgardt tribes, a clergy of female shamans served Chauntea, which was considered the patron of women.

Internal allegiances
While cordial, relations between clerics and druids were sometimes difficult: druids considered themselves the "true clerics of Chauntea", and saw city clerics as upstarts; while clerics viewed druids as a thing of the past, still useful in wild lands but destined to be replaced by a more professional and organized clergy.

Monks always allied themselves to the leader of a temple or druidic circle, whereas mystics and shamans were fiercely independent, reporting to their goddess directly.

The Chauntean faith was highly individualistic, and as such recognized no central authority. Hierarchy was based on wisdom and length of service, favoring the individuals with a higher understanding of nature and its cycles.

Titles

 * Titles (in ascending order of rank)
 * Close One &bull; Watchful Brother / Sister of the Earth &bull; Trueseed &bull; Harvestmaster / Harvestmistress &bull; High Harvestmaster / High Harvestmistress &bull; Onum

In addition, rural clerics referred to themselves as "Pastorals", whereas some older sects focused on the wilderness called themselves the "True Shapers".

Orders
The clergy of Chauntea was known to have no affiliated military of knightly orders.


 * The Sisters of the House: an all-female order of priestesses who tended to the Harvest House in Amn.


 * The Bountiful Lady of the Vast Circle: a small druidic circle active near Ravens Bluff and Dragon Falls.

Rituals
"See to the fertility of the earth, but let the human womb see to its own..."

- Dogma of Chauntea

Prayers
As much as possible, members of the church strived to pray on freshly tilled ground, in a farmland, or in a garden. Wells and watering places were also considered acceptable praying locations.


 * Practitioners began their day by whispered thanks to Chauntea for continuously supporting life.
 * At the end of the day, Chaunteans prayed to the setting sun. They believed it was the medium used by their goddess to send her powers. It was also at this moment that clerics and druids prayed for spells.
 * Prayers were also offered whenever something was planted, or when worshipers were moved by the beauty of surrounding nature.
 * When soldiers left for battle, it was common for their beloved to offer prayers to several deities. Amongst those, Chauntea was commonly prayed to wish for auspicious healing and protection against diseases and festering wounds.

Ceremonies
Ceremonies which took place outside were lit by sun or moonlight. Other ceremonies could be held in temples or shrines, in the house of the priests themselves, or even in barns or haylofts. Chaunteans believed that spending their wedding night in a freshly tilled field guaranteed a fertile marriage.

In Wa, Chauntean ceremonies involved small groups of people sitting around trees or bushes for about an hour, and singing softly about the abundance of nature. Such ceremonies were extremely peaceful, and white doves circled above the practitioners.

Holidays

 * Greengrass was a hedonistic fertility festival, during which lots of food and drinks were consumed.
 * The High Prayers of the Harvest were solemn celebrations of Chauntea's bounty, held at the time a community harvested its crops. While the date wasn't strictly defined, it usually happened around Highharvestide.

During or around religious holidays, priests of Chauntea would often organize agricultural fairs.

Religious Services
The clergy of Chauntea presided over numerous marriage ceremonies. They also often acted as midwives for humanoids and animals alike.

Bases
"Protect trees and plants, and save their seeds so that what is destroyed can de replaced..."

- Dogma of Chauntea

Large temples often doubled as granaries, and places of worship as seed-storage&mdash;ensuring the prosperity of the nearby communities. While a couple very large temples existed, most were of a modest size. Some temples also maintained impressive gardens.

Despite the existence of temples and shrines, it was common for services to be provided in open fields or druid groves.

Temples

 * Goldenfields, also known as the "Granary of the North", was a gigantic walled abbey hosting thousands of faithful. It was located near Waterdeep.
 * The Abbey of the Golden Sheaf, in Mistledale.
 * The House of Bountiful Harvest in Ravens Bluff
 * The Golden Bowl of the Goddess in Iriaebor.
 * Many large temples shared a similar name, the "Bounty of the Goddess". Notably, such temples could be found in Archenbridge and Voonlar.
 * Similarly many temples were called "Harvest Houses" or "Harvest Hall", such as the ones in Daggerford, Elturel, Wheloon or Amn. The latter was known for its ornate gardens maintained by an all-female sisterhood.
 * Another common name, used for small temples, was "House of Plenty". Such temples could be found in Shadowdale and Maskyr's Eye.
 * In the city of Hlintar, the local temple to the Earthmother offers a "silent vault" service&mdash;a rudimentary banking system allowing customers to rent strongchests in a vault guarded against thievery by magic and monsters.
 * In the city of Emrys, the Church of All Souls hosts several sanctuaries, including one dedicated to the Earthmother.
 * The Bright Sheaf was a walled garden temple located in the city of Arthyn.
 * The House of Sun and Earth was a temple dedicated to the worship of both Chauntea and Lathander in the town of Woody Glen.
 * The clergy maintained a large temple in Easting, where the Earthmother was the primary deity.
 * An unnamed temple to Chauntea, managed by druids, could be found in the Misty Forest.

Known Shrines & Other Places of Worship

 * Nameless shrines were built by farmers in many countryside villages, including Julkoun and Mirabar, as well as in bigger cities such as Arabel.
 * In the city of Chavyondat, the hin community emigrated from Luiren maintained a shrine to Chauntea and Sheela Peryroyl.
 * The Glade of Life, located at the source of the Unicorn Run, was considered sacred by the worshipers of Chauntea. They believed that every natural races had left the womb of their goddess and appeared on Toril in this location. The glade was also sacred to the followers of Shiallia, Mielikki, Eldath and Lurue.
 * The Shrine of Axes in Parnast was dedicated to four different deities, including the Earthmother.
 * In the Underdark city of Ravens Deep, a sanctified obelisk could be found which was dedicated to the Earthmother and other major deities.
 * The Uthgardt tribes didn't build shrines to the Earthmother, but venerated her on any of the mounds.

Ceremonial Garb
High ranking priests usually wore white or sun-colored robes, with trimmings of deep forest green. They used smooth, natural-looking staves&mdash;which were sometimes enchanted with purifying or growth-enhancing spells.

Dress and Armor
Adventuring chaunteans usually wore simple clothes, such as undecorated robes, cloaks, or tunics and trousers. They favored earthly tones such as green and brown, except for mystics who sometimes relied on more colorful fabrics such as bright greens and yellows. High ranking druids wore a belt laced with golden threads, or similarly precious decorations.

Holy Symbols

 * Belled Branches were holy symbols created by the druids of Chauntea and Silvanus. They took the form of a silver tree branch strung with tiny golden bells, hanging from a simple chain. Those implements were inspired by an older druidic practice of focusing magic through tree branches encrusted with mistletoe and holly, and some were known to increase the potency of divine magic.

Weapons

 * The Sword of Cymrych Hugh, a magical sword blessed to defeat Kazgaroth, the Beast of the Moonshae Isles.
 * The Rose Scythes of Chauntea were sturdy scythes carved with the images of wheat sheaves, and whose blades were engraved with the image of a single rose. They could be used as walking sticks, farming tools, and could also provide help to divine spellcasters&mdash;empowering their spells and protecting healed allies against their foes.

Relics

 * The Portal of Plenty: also known as "Chauntea's Blessing", this portal was built in a shrine located in Archendale. It connected to a different world where the Earthmother was also revered, and allowed the faithful of both worlds to trade agrarian goods and knowledge.
 * The Glarathra: a holy book in the form of a large bronze flower, whose image adorned numerous tapestries and mosaics created by followers of the faith.
 * Earthmother's Weapons: a holy book created by a druid of the Moonshae Isles, and used by a Malarite druid during the mid-to-late 14 century DR.
 * The Torque of the Goddess were silver bands worn around the neck by worshipers of the Earthmother, which granted several benefits such as a protection against Lycanthropy.

Others

 * Moonwells were considered sacred by the Earthmother and her druids, and she could use them to observe the world.
 * Chauntean priestesses sometimes used mrathaera to dye, flavor, or scent their lips.

Chauntean Magic

 * Clerics, mystics and shamans following Chauntea were immune to poisonous plants and mushrooms.
 * Although clerics could access most elemental spheres normally, they were barred from using fire spells.

The following spells were specific to the Chauntean faith:
 * Favor of the goddess: a spell that increased the yield of picked fruits and vegetables.
 * Phantom plow: a spell that helped till the earth.
 * Plant lance: a spell that converted living plants into animated spears that flew at a target
 * Conjure nature elemental: a spell that summoned a nature elemental that removed all traces of civilization in the area of effect.
 * Sanctify sacred site: a spell that could restore a holy site that had been defiled.

Outlawed worship in Wa
Due to bloody events that took place during the, worship of Chauntea was outlawed in the island nation of Wa, and punishable by death. The faith was still practiced, although in secrecy.

Church of Silvanus
Some amongst the Church of Silvanus mocked the lessons provided by the clergy of Chauntea, viewing agriculture as an affront to nature and a precursor of overpopulation. Over time, a lot of the oldest Chauntean druids became Silvanites as they felt their original faith would cause great damage to the natural balance. Nevertheless members of both churches have always been allied, sharing a common mindset, love of nature, and common goals.

Church of Lathander
The churches of Chauntea and Lathander were close, as practitioners of both faith were expected to plant seeds and seedlings and care for them.

History
"Nurture, tend, and plant wherever possible..."

- Dogma of Chauntea


 * The church of Chauntea was one of the main spiritual powers dominating the region of Athalantar during the 2 to 4 Century DR.


 * During the mid-to-late 14 Century DR, the church of Chauntea was officially declared a Church Royal of Cormyr. During that time period, members of the church were amongst the few petitioners asking the Crown of Cormyr to open the prison-city of Wheloon in order to allow innocents to be freed.

Listening to Chauntea
It was said that Nurturers could feel their goddess speaking to them through the sole of their feet when walking barefoot, or when they lied down and pressed their hands and face on the ground. It was also said that they could feel her displeasure when she was angry, even through the sole of their shoes.

Polygamous families
Among the Turmishan worshipers of Chauntea, it was common for families to consist of four inter-married people&mdash;usually two males and two females.

Notable Members

 * Samayan, a young Chosen of Chauntea active during the 15 century DR.
 * Tanalasta Obarskyr, a crown princess of Cormyr, adopted the worship of Chauntea moments before her death.
 * Hudson Greycloak, the archdruid of the Bountiful Lady of the Vast Circle.
 * Jacob Shumway, the Harvestmaster of Ravens Bluff.
 * Granna Luthanna, the shaman of an Uthgardt tribe.
 * Cymrych Hugh, the greatest hero in the known history of the Ffolk, whose eponymous magical sword was blessed by the Earthmother herself.
 * Alicia Kendrick, the High Queen of the Moonshae Isles who was granted the powers of an avatar of the Earthmother during the Year of the Sword, 1365 DR.
 * Bokika Hokio, a daimyo of Wa, was demoted for worshiping Chauntea and harboring her clergy during the 14 century DR.
 * Enther Uramar, a senior priestess tending to settling farmers of the Hordelands near Kourmira.
 * Chouko, an elder priestess maintaining a shrine in the Shou district of Westgate, was rumored to be one of the original heroes who gave birth to the Nine Golden Swords.