Church of Valkur

The church of Valkur was the collective of individuals that venerated Valkur, the Northlander hero-god of tempests and war, and former patron deity of sailors and the sea. While it was one of the smaller denominations in Faerûn, the faith was notably influential among coastal settlements in the Realms.

"The thrill of exploration is sweeter than wine or rum. There is always risk, but without risk life is empty. Life is to be lived and damn the consequences."

- Excerpt from the Valkuryte dogma.

Organization
The church of Valkur was not exceptionally organized, and individual priests typically only gathered when aboard the same ship or when their vessels were docked. Despite this, each Valkuryte temple maintained a strict hierarchy among its own clergy. Still they hardly recognized the stature of priests in others congregations.

Titles
Valkuryte clergy in Faerûn maintained different titles for its members depending on the region in which they lived. On the Sword Coast, titles of the Valkuryte faith were as follows (in ascending order): swab, Gob, Seaman, Sailor, Boatswain, Third Mate, Second Mate, First Mate, Captain, Commodore, and Admiral. Regardless of title, the head priest of each temple was referred to as High Captain.

Activities
Quite often, priests of Valkur captained their own ships, leading voyages across the breadth of the Sword Coast or even the Sea of Fallen Stars. Others served as officers aboard other vessels, took jobs as privateers, or occasionally turned to a life of piracy. Yet other Valkuryte priests oversaw shipyards or directed operations within mercantile fleets.

Collectively, influential or wealthy Valkuryte clergy sponsored trading expeditions to far off lands. These voyages were considered extremely risky with the potential for great reward, and thus were ideal pursuits for any follower of Valkur.

While their ships were docked and they remained on land, Valkuryte priests often lent their support to unfortunate or stranded sailors.

Rituals
Followers of Valkur observed performed about a dozen different ceremonies of their faith. Most of these involved the ritual of setting sail from dock, arriving at a new port, or other regular events of note made during a sea voyage. They also performed the appropriate rites when new ships were granted a name, in preparation for their maiden voyage.

Valkur's priests prayed for their spells at dawn when the first breeze cut through the morning air.

Celebrations
The church of Valkur celebrated a single holiday marked on the Calendar of Harptos. Held on the day when winter turned to spring, the Shattering marked the beginning of sailing season in waters around the North for the year. It was celebrated with maiden voyages of newly-built ships and the unfurling of new sails for experienced vessels.

Regions
As of the late 15 century DR, worship of Valkur appeared wholly concentrated within the Moonshae Isles. While he was revered by the local Northlanders for centuries, by that time he had attained the distinction of regional hero-god amongst the people of the Moonshaes.

The Lands of Intrigue were however once considered the center of the Valkuryte faith. The Captain of the Waves previously held significant worship throughout the realms of Aglarond, Altumbel, Impiltur,  and the Wizards' Reach.

Temples
Valkuryte temples were established within port cities, often built right upon the docks facing the sea. The were constructed to resemble sea-faring ships, with central columns of ironwood that resembled a mast, and open-air architecture that allowed coastal winds to pass through as it would through sails. Their underground chambers were arranged in the same manner as a ship's hull, holding cargo necessary for any voyage across the seas.

Notable temples included:
 * Sailor's Last Request, a simple Valkuryte chapel found in Waterdeep.
 * Schooner of the Seas, a floating temple that has sailed to at least four continents around Toril, including Zakhara and Maztica.
 * Storm Horn, the Valkuryte temple of Murann.
 * Temple of Endless Waves and Winds, a temple built atop a colossal zaratan that sailed the southern Sea of Fallen Stars.

Other unnamed temples could be found in Tulmene and within Dolphin's Leap in Velen,

Equipment, Spells, & Relics
Valkuryte ceremonial garb included flowing white and blue robes that flared up at the smallest gust of wind. They wore cutlasses at their side and carried with them a small vial of sea water, which they utilized as a holy symbol.

While at sea they dressed as any other sailor, so their attire would not distract from their duties. Whenever they had to adventure upon land, they preferred simple, practical garb – with one exception: Valkuryte priests that could afford such extravagance often commissioned custom chainmail armor that could be doffed in moments with a simple clasp. This greatly lessened any possibility they could be weight down if required to go to sea.

Notable Valkuryte spells included sea legs, weathertell, cure scurvy, swim, home port, still waves, ship shield, and favor of Valkur.

Dogma
Valkuryte clergy never felt so alive as when they proved themselves against nature while at sea. They relished standing upon the deck of ship and feeling it rock upon the waves of the sea.

Attitudes
Followers of Valkur believed their god to be a rising power that stood against the influence of the Gods of Fury. This sentiment was shared by many Faerûnians of coastal cities and nations.

Water genasi that venerated Valkur were warmly welcomed by skippers across the realms and were held in some reverence by most sailors.

Beliefs
All Valkurytes believed that taking risks and pushing the boundaries of possibility was the best means by which they could better humankind. They considered their shipmates the people they most held dear, and to whom they owed their loyalty. Second to them was the vessel upon which they sailed the seas. After mate and ship, they offered devotion to Valkur himself, for protecting all that took to the seas. Valkur would not remove them from danger, but arm them with the drive to find solutions to life on their own.

One order of the faith subscribed to the belief Valkur was more the god of exploration and discovery, rather than the patron and protector of sailors at sea.

Orders
The Marines of the Seven Seas was an armed navy dedicated to ridding the Sea of Fallen Stars and Sea of Swords of maritime monsters such as kraken, dragon turtles, and morkoths.

The Sailors of the Heavenly Seas was a flotilla of spelljammers that left Realmspace and rarely returned to their one-time home on Toril.

Classes
Specialty priests of Valkur were known as wavetamers. They were largely responsible for spreading the Captain of the Wave's faith across the Realms.

Relationships
In regions where the worship of Umberlee was prominent, devotees of Valkur kept their worship secret.

For some time, Valkur was considered among the patron deities venerated by the Harpers.

History
The Valkuryte faith grew significantly larger during the early Era of Upheaval, but by the era of the Second Sundering had undergone a significant transition. By the late 15 century DR had became closely—if not exclusively—associated with the Northlanders of the Moonshaes and nearby frigid north.

Notable Valkurytes

 * The Storm Maiden, the mighty warrior blessed by Valkur who led a tragic campaign against the king of Norland.
 * Vox Dorrg, the king of Ruathym who ruled from the Hall of Black Waves.
 * Yves Carrack, the priest of Valkur who administered his faith in the basement of Dolphin's Leap tower.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Storm King's Thunder
 * Storm King's Thunder