Church of Lurue

The Church of Lurue was the primary religious organization dedicated to the worship and service of the goddess Lurue, the Unicorn Queen. Members of the clergy were often referred to as Lady Knights of the Silver Moon.

"Chase the Unicorn until [we can] see the moonlight in her eyes."

- The solemn vow of the Knights of the Unicorn.

Dogma
The creed of Lurue was one of romanticized ideals, life lived to the fullest with zest and flair, and benefience to all no matter how strange or special. Everyone was to be praised for their strengths, comforted regarding their weaknesses, and given gifts on a whim. It was an adventurous doctrine in which quests were taken on dares and even the impossible was attempted for the sheer wonder that the dream just might come true. An existence of laughter and delight was not only worthwhile, but of practical use, for nothing dispersed evil faster than a rapier's wit and unrestrained happiness.

In the faith, the Unicorn was a symbol representing hope, joy, salvation and protection for the forlorn, forsaken and anyone in need, and in pursuing the unicorn, happiness was found.

Attitudes
Save for special circumstances, hunting unicorns for their horns or merely owning alicorn, let alone killing unicorns, was considered a grave offense by the followers of Lurue, to the point they were known to put to death those convicted for the latter crime.

Beliefs
While sightings of any unicorn were considered lucky, an appearance from their Queen was considered a blessed event.

Some worshipers of Lurue venerate moonbows.

Membership
Most of the worshipers of Lurue were not humanoids but intelligent creatures that somehow possessed the ability to speak, such as unicorns and pegasi, their unique abilities often making them seem strange amongst their own kind.

All of Lurue's priests were female, and included the likes of humans, elves, and half-elves. Most unicorns and quite a few pegasi could be considered lay priests of Silverymoon.

Hierarchy
The worship of Lurue was a personal and direct faith and the clergy had no formal hierarchy.

Titles
Junior clergy were referred to as "Sisters of the Moonlit Sky" while senior clergy were "Sisters of the Silver Moon." Any priestess blessed to have ridden a unicorn earned the title of Ladycorn.

Sayings
To "search for" or "chase" the unicorn was a phrase in the Lurue clergy tying back to the founding humanoid members and their experience with Lurue, a concept echoed in the church's dogma.

Classes
A collection of clerics, crusaders, mystics, and specialty priests called silvermaids were devoted to Lurue, and all were capable of riding steeds, whether regular horses or unicorns. Silvermaids and clerics (who were only slightly less common) made up the vast majority of her clergy, although in terms of respect afforeded to each other and responsibilities within the wider body there was little diffrientation between any of these types of followers.

Many clerics and druids of Lurue trained as rangers, and the sorts of paladins who were charitable and good-natured if unorthodox might find a patron in the Unicorn Queen. Healers were also found among her clergy.

As a beast cult deity, Lure had even more unusual devotees, such as whitehorn cultists (who worshiped unicorns themselves) and totemists.

Orders
The Knights of the Unicorn were originally a fad among romantically-minded youths of patriar families in Baldur's Gate, a group of high-born adventurers who wandered the Sword Coast North in search of excitement. The Knights, relatively early into their careers, explored the legendary elven castle El'lahana Raikeil at the heart of the Moonwood, overcoming its puzzles and riddles with whimsy and aplomb while an image of a silver unicorn shadowing them slowly solidified. By the end they found the lost Crown of Joy and Tears they had searched for and took turns placing it on their heads, each finding themselves cavorting with elves and unicorns along the banks of a silver stream, before returning it and leaving in search of new adventures.

Enchanted by the sensibilities of the Knights, an avatar of Lurue manifested along with her Silver Herd outside the castle, who took the Knights on the ride of teir lives throughout the Moonwood. After this encounter the Knights took their legendary name and pledged themselves to Lurue (to some degree taking her as their mascot on a lark). Lurue favored their laughter and had gifted them ever since with wrongs to right and adventures without end. Over time more individiuals came to join the starting members, most of whom worshiped or at least revered Lurue, until going off on their own driven by wanderlust, individual motives and the original, whimsical nature of the Knights.

During an expedition into Shilmista the Knights sighted Lurue's avatar again and gave chase as she led them on a merry ride for one enchanted evening before racing up a shaft of moonlight and vanishing. It was at this point the Knights made their solemn vow and immediately after reorganized. The senior knights created a loose collection of affiliated adventuring bands known as the Order of the Unicorn. The passing of time had seen what had once been adventures taken on for fun mature as the reality of danger, as well as Lurue's tenets, sunk in. With dedication to Lurue reaffirmed, each company wandered Faerûn "chasing the unicorn", righting wrongs and spreading the tale of the chase as they went. Companies of Knights ventured beyond the group's original scope, as far afield as Tethyr, Cormyr, Myth Drannor, and Starmantle, all while retaining their chivalric spirit.

Lurue was among the deities who looked favorably upon the Harpers and granted a divine boon to their agents in the form of the speak with animals spell usable thrice a day.

Beast cults revered Lurue simply as "The Unicorn".

Activities
Priestesses of Lurue spent their days helping visionaries achieve their dreams, providing aid and comfort to those in need and rescuing those in danger. Many were adventurers who traveled Faerun seekng wrongs to right, and balanced fun, self-improvement and gaining new experiences well.

Although most of the clergy was periodically struck with wanderlust and few stuck to a single duty for long, they reliably saw specific, individual tasks through. Even senior priestesses had a great degree of personal independence when compared to those of other deities.

Whitehorn cults with Lurue as their patron worked primarily to safeguard and sequester unicorn glades, but they also helped recently awakened animals adjust. Her beast cults were benign and benevolent groups that typically lived in harmony with nature while praising their noble totems.

Rituals
Most of Lurue's clergy, being animals and furthermore outcasts among their own kind, maintained no written histories and had few if any oral traditions. Priests and druids of Lurue prayed for their spells at midnight, if possible in a moonlit glade or sylvan glen.

Celebrations
Lurue's twin holy days are Midsummer's Eve and the Feast of the Moon. The former was a night-long festival celebration of revelry, antics, and hullabaloo marked by wild rides through the countryside and sky, theatrical skits, humorous oratories, grand group songs, mock duels and romantic declarations. Many unicorns took a mate for life on this night. The latter by contrast was a quiet ceremony marking the onset of winter and served as a time for remembering those who have passed away and now "dance with the unicorns." Many great works of art and epic song are unveiled at this time to quiet applause, particularly in Silverymoon, which celebrated its founding that day.

Regions
Lurue's worship is scattered throughout North Faerûn but she is favored in the High Forest, and her namesake, the city of Silverymoon, is the spiritual heart of her faith. The largest concentration of Lurue's followers was found in Silverymoon, which was named in her honor.

Sites
No temples specifically dedicated to Lurue existed; the goddess chose instead to be worshiped at sacred natural sites and holy groves, in whatever sylvan glades and moonlit glens unicorns deigned to tread. Representative of such holy sites were the banks of the Unicorn Run, the river which winds through the southern reaches of the High Forest. There the unicorns are known to gambol, frolicking examples of woodland nature in its purest form. A few lucky druids venerating Lurue, Eldath, Shiallia, Mielikki, or Silvanus, have had visions urging them to visit the Run's headwaters, known as the Glade of Life. Divine guidance and holy missions are sometimes received by pilgrims, such as replanting a wasteland. Common folk and bards believe that certain deities, including Lurue, personally visit the river in animal guise, and so wise travelers are loath to harm or offend any creature, from slug to stag, that they meet "along the Run."

The folk of Silverymoon believe that several benevolent deities, including Lurue, watch over their city, and almost all of them venerate her as the sacred protector of the city and all they hold dear about it. Silverymoon is built along the banks of the River Rauvin at a site sacred to both Lurue and Mielikki. Anyone who comes close enough to the River is awed by the Moonbridge, a great arch of silvery force that spans the water. It is a powerful, moving sight even to natives, and some claim to see Lurue dancing above its motes when no one else is watching.

Lurue had no specific shrine or glade within the city however; rather, every copse there is considered sacred to her, and according to legend her avatar had been spotted in nearly every coppice. Her priestesses within the city commonly worship in Mielikki's Glade or the Silverglen, but could be found throughout ministering to the less fortunate. Woodlands remain in and around Silverymoon, where sacred groves and glades lie hidden, and it is both easy and pleasing to get lost among the trees of the city. These groves are the few remnants still considered holy ground to the city's sylvan powers.

Other notable sites included:


 * The Helm and Cloak, an inn in Baldur's Gate and established, informal headquarters of the Knights of the Unicorn. The Knights had been patrons of the Helm and Cloak long before those idealistic sons and daughters from patriar families became a real and renowned force of good in the world. A unicorn bust remaining in the common room as a testament to the origins of its former adventurer owners.


 * Phontyr's Unicorn, a famous inn named for the ally, lifelong friend, and possibly love of the long-dead mage Phontyr Wonderspell, that being a glowing, floating unicorn who some say is Lurue. Members of the Cult of the Unicorn boughed the inn to be near the unicorn and typically fell on their knees chanting with adoration when it was seen.


 * The Place of the Unicorn, a grove sacred to Lurue in the hills northeast of Leilon, where Lurue occasionally appears. The Place is only accessible at night, and wizards of the Sword Coast believe that it lies in another dimension, reached only by a moongate. It consists of a bluegrass meadow which surround a stand of trees with brilliant blue leaves. Any who rest there are cured of all diseases, poisons, curses, and madness, and unicorns enjoyed the additional benefit of being healed of physical damage. Those without faith or of wavering beliefs often saw Lurue herself in the trees, and their reaction could reshape their lives.


 * Stone Stand, a traditional Uthgardt ancestor mound used by the Blue Bear tribe. Rings of menhirs surround the heart of the mound, which predate the arrival of the Blue Bear tribe by centuries, and are inscribed with the symbols of various nature deities, including Lurue.

Within the Hullack Forest, immediately north of Stag's Skull Bridge, was a clearing with a shrine to Mielikki. It was shared with worshippers of Lurue, but seldom used. A blue, eerie glow arose under certain conditions, including when the name of either goddess was uttered, or to surround any offering made to them, or to Silvanus or Eldath. Faithful of Lurue and Mielikki often slept through the night in the glade, lying on the bare ground (large, soft patches of moss were present), in hopes of receiving guidance from their goddess through dream-visions, which often meets with reward.

Orders
A group of adventurers pledged their support to Lurue and begun calling themselves the Knights of the Unicorn. Following the Time of Troubles the group split into smaller units collectively referred to as the Order of the Unicorn in order to spread goodness throughout Faerûn.

Dress
Priestesses of Lurue wore simple white robes of cotton, linen or silk woven with threads of pure silver, often to form Lurue's symbol. When expecting combat they protected themselves with relatively light armor, typically gleaming silver chainmail (of elven make when possible). They wielded lances or longswords and shields polished to a mirror shine, and such was the radiance that they rivaled the mythical defenders of Silverymoon's fables in argent luster as well as martial prowess.

The irises of priestesses newly dedicated to Lurue changed to a deep shade of blue or purple and their hair, worn long and free, turned white or silver (although the latter was possibly just dye or bleach).

Related Items
Silver Mail of the Unicorn Queen was a type of +1 elven chainmail bearing the symbol of Lurue on the center of the chest. It protected its wearer like a periapt of proof against poison, allowed the casting of cure light wounds thrice per day, and aided them in interactions with goodly magical beasts, including the likes of unicorns, pegasi, and giant eagles. The non-good who wore the armor were partially depowered, and the only way to return to full strength was to remove it.

The Staff of Shoon and associated Tome of the Unicorn were created by the Shoon qysars through the slaughter of over a dozen unicorns, a fact that still gnawed at the minds of those who held unicorns as sacred. The sentient faithful of Lurue and her superiors (Mielikki and Silvanus), especially unicorns, could sense the corrupted presence of the stolen horns and of the artifact's bearer, and though they might not fully grasp why, they could unerringly locate the wielder within no matter the mundane or magical efforts made to hide. They also wished the wielder great harm to a fanatical degree, having been driven to mad recklessness by the staff's influence.

Magic
As a beast cult deity, Lurue granted her especially devout followers the ability to summon aid in times of need. For humanoid followers this would most likely take the form of the wise counsel of a talking owl. Intelligent beasts meanwhile would receive the assisstance of Lurue and the Silver Herd, the sight of a stampede of angry, ghostly unicorns usually being sufficient to scare most threats away. In times of true crisis however, an animal horde spell might be bestowed upon the beleagured worshippers to call upon not only the herd, but an entire menagerie of intelligent creatures and talking beasts.

Any unciorn who worshiped Lurue was granted a potentially even greater power, the ability to cast one beneficient clerical spell once per day, regardless of its area of influence or power.

Spells
Notable spells of Lurue included:
 * Alicorn lance
 * Dance of the unicorns
 * Favor of Yathaghera
 * Silver tongue and starry eyes

History
Silverymoon was founded on a place sacred to both Lurue and Mielikki since time immemorial, the reasons lost to time. Rather than trade, the site was used only as a place of religious pilgrimage after the fall of Netheril roughly a millennia ago and the resulting tumult. Within a century of a bridge at Silverymoon Ford, one of the few places where the River Rauvin was shallow enough to be forded in summer, being established, Gareth Ammakyl built Moonsilver Inn by the river's holy groves, the first permanent building on Lurue's holy lands. Eventually a cluster of log steadings was built there, forming the community of Moontree. Moontree became Silver Village, and then Silverymoon Town, developing slowly because its residents built in harmony with the forest rather than clearing and burning the land.

Legends claim that Mielikki and Lurue visited the Moonsilver Inn, disguised as a female ranger and her steed. They fell in love with the inn, the town's people and their sensitivity to the land that led them not to plunder but coexist. They were so taken with it all that they blessed the inn and all who would keep such goodness in their hearts. The building later collapsed, but its stones were used in making the city gates and walls, and the promise of safety bestowed by the blessing is thought to remain in effect and over the entire city and its people.

Silverymoon became a city in 637 DR, when its first set of walls was completed and the first of the city’s ruling High Mages, Ecamane Truesilver, was elected. He, his nine apprentices, and successive High Mages have pursued the goal of fostering learning and culture in the city. Through the excitement of artistic endeavor and a feeling of refuge provided by various races harmoniously coexistig, they have sought to make Silverymoon "the Myth Drannor of the North,” a bulwark of civilization in the Savage Frontier.