Labelas Enoreth

(a.k.a. The Lifegiver, Lord of the Continuum, The One-Eyed God, The Philosopher, The Sage at Sunset)

Even though Elves live far longer than most other humanoids, they show few physical signs of aging until they become very old. By the time an elf’s hair turns to silver and wrinkles appear around the eyes, the elf has lived for centuries and probably has only a few decades remaining. For this longevity and long-lasting vitality, they thank and revere Labelas Enoreth.
Labelas appears as an elderly elf with silver hair, still-active eyes that once were bright blue but now are clouded and gray, fine wrinkles around the eyes and mouth, and a right hand slightly impaired by the effects of age. If anything, these symptoms of mortality make the god even more handsome and stately in the eyes of his followers than he was in his youth.
Elves tend to give Labelas little regard until they experience Remembrance. Like Corellon Larethian and Hanali Celanil, Labelas makes few demands on his followers. A few minutes each day spent thanking him for his gift of long life and good health, and occasionally placing a fresh flower in one of his shrines, is generally all that’s expected. When an elf develops unusual ailments in old age and appears headed for decrepitude, other elves might wonder if these are the repercussions for not paying Labelas his due.
Most settlements have only one or two priests of Labelas. These individuals are elves well past their prime but who have not yet begun to withdraw into themselves. Their duties involve guiding elves who have recently experienced Remembrance, and are thus beginning the journey into introversion in the waning days of one’s mortal life. The priests also preside over funeral celebrations, since Labelas is also honored for his role in seeing that elves experience beneficial reincarnations.

Worship

Shrines and temples to Labelas Enoreth are mostly made of or decorated with ephemeral things. Patterns and images made with colored sand, cut flowers, precariously stacked stones, and images made from thin paper are all commonly found there. These places of veneration are usually located in desolate, high places where the ever-changing sky and the setting sun can be seen and contemplated. Along with the setting sun, images of clouds are a major motif for followers of Labelas, who often tattoo such designs on their bodies or embroider them on their robes to signify the ephemeral nature of the physical world.
Labelas Enoreth is the custodian of time, monitoring its passing and making sure that the warp and weft of history isn’t torn asunder by powerful maniacs and errant demigods. He is also the eternal witness, watching the souls of the elves as they dance from incarnation to incarnation, each mortal lifetime representing a role an actor would take in a play. From his cosmic perspective, Labelas looks on each elven life as a story to be written, nudging wayward souls toward incarnations that he deems suitable for their overall development, and thus weaving the life of each elven soul into a tapestry that spans the ages. In acknowledgment of this gift, priests and devotees of Labelas often weave modest tapestries of their own and donate them to shines in his honor.
Despite Labelas’s influence in the Seldarine, elves can become psychologically immersed in their mortal incarnations, forgetting about the tick of time and the eventual end of their physical forms. Even Labelas’s appearance, with his obvious signs of aging, isn’t enough to dissuade some elves from growing attached to their youthful features, long life, and worldly treasures. But all such naive behavior is brought to heel when the Remembrance occurs, and an elf’s inward examination begins as one journeys toward death and a new beginning. Priests of Labelas smile with compassion when these wide-eyed elves show up at their temples, suddenly full of contrition and offerings for Labelas, still shaken from the vision of their Remembrance and the gravity of its meaning.
To enhance an elf’s Remembrance, the priests of Labelas use a special mirror made of polished black onyx. Small versions of these can be seen at many shrines dedicated to the Seldarine, as a reminder to the passing faithful of the importance of Remembrance. The priests advise those in their care to look into the mirror in order to deepen the trance of Remembrance. In the black void of the mirror, they see the faces of their former selves and scenes from their past lives — a glimpse into the grand tapestry of the each soul’s existence as Labelas begins to weave yet another incarnation.

Divine Domains

Time, history, philosophy, knowledge

Divine Classification

Intermediate Deity

Realm

Arvandor