Church of Moander

Clergy
Many lonely folk, adrift in the world at large, were drawn to the Darkbringer for the firm direction It gave their life. Servants of Moander were required to endure a ceremony to join the cult that involved the absorption of a seed of Moander. If worthy, the seed gradually grew in the initiate's body until the entire internal structure was replaced with rotting plant matter. A small flowered tendril protruding from the ear and wound through the hair was the only visible indication of the change. At this stage, whenever it wished, Moander could assume complete direct mental and physical control of the recipient. It could also speed up or slow down the rotting process, which allowed for further control of Its servants through fear.

Ranks
Priests of the Darkbringer were referred to as Minions of Moander, with senior clergy taking the title of High Minion and the high priest being called Master Minion. The head of the entire Faerûniun church was the Mouth of Moander, usually a human female priestess. Extremely rarely, a Master Minion would become an Undying Minion upon death, an ooze-like undead creature known as a skuz. Minions were expected to spread rumors of Moander's power, feed its Abomination, and infect new followers with the 'seed of Moander.'

Holy Days and Rituals
Cultists were expected to kill something or gather vegetation on a daily basis in order to spread rot and decay. Most also celebrated Balefire on the first of Hammer by constructing huge bonfires in its name to hold back the cold.

Regions
The oldest pace of Moanderite worship in Faerûn was an underground temple in the city of Yûlash in the Moonsea region that was over 1,000 years old by the 14 century DR. The temple was a sizable hidden complex that predated the city itself.

History
The Moanderite worship's decline began over a thousand years before the 14 century DR, when the forest elves of the City of Song, Myth Drannor clashed with the Darkbringer for the last time. They buried that Temple of Moander under the land what would later become Yûlash and slew the church's clergy. Moander's avatar – the dreaded Abomination of Moander, was imprisoned in the buried temple, held trapped by a curse that could only be lifted by an "nonborn child," something that seemed impossible. The god himself was banished from Toril, and elves of Myth Drannor hoped the worship of the god of decay would wither and die. It was not to be, however, as enough of Moanderites survived the massacre and carried on growing the faith in the lands south of Cormanthor.

As years passed, Cults of Moander attempted to free the god's avatar from under Yûlash to no avail, leaving behind stones carved with the Darkbringer's symbols. The god was remained trapped until the Kythorn 5, the. The Church of Moander found unlikely allies in a sorceress Cassana, her lich ally Zrie Prakis, Moander's ancient enemy Phalse, and the Fire Knives assassins. The dark alliance pooled their resourced to create a living construct, a "nonborn child," each member of the alliance planned on using the construct for their own purpose. The Church of Moander sought to use it to unleash the Abomination of Moander onto the world once more. Against all odds, the construct was lost to the group and gained sentence, becoming the hero known as Alias. Via manipulation and the compulsory magic of her azure bonds, Alias and her companions were lured to the war-torn Yûlash and freed Moander. Eventually, Moander's avatar was destroyed in the battle over Westgate, and many of the Darkbringer's cultists were killed in the battle of the Hill of Fangs outside of the city. Of corse, the cultists of Moander were far from gone.