Lathander Worship
Divine Origins
Lathander was the central figure in the Dawn Cataclysm, an ill-fated attempt by the Morninglord to reshape the Faerûnian pantheon in his own image. Several deities were killed in the events that followed, including the goddess Murdane, a death for which Helm never forgave Lathander. The Morninglord believed that his efforts went so wrong because of the interference of agents of Shar, and secretly began working on a second attempt at reforming the pantheon.
In 916 DR, Lathander, enraged with the unchanging, tyrannical, undead-centric philosophy of the Cult of the Dragon, sent an avatar to Cormanthyr to personally do battle with Sammaster during a Harper raid. He destroyed Sammaster but was wounded in the battle.
In 1345 DR, Lathander's worshipers, along with those of Selûne, Shar, and Tempus were involved in religious unrest, culminating in the Night of Temple Fires.
At some point between the Time of Troubles and the end of the Spellplague, Lathander disappeared and was replaced by the resurrected Amaunator, presumably confirming the truth of the theory that the two were one and the same. Moreover, the formerly lawful neutral Amaunator had apparently inherited the goodness of Lathander, as he became lawful good.
Lathander, however, returned during the events of Second Sundering in 1486 DR, thanks to the effort of his Chosen and prophet Stedd Whitehorn. However, by the year 1491 DR, Amuauntor and Lathander were once again worshiped as separate beings. It is unknown if they were actually separate beings by this time or if Lathander was simply granting spells to the followers of Amaunator.
Cosmological Views
Three Sun Heresy
Believers in this heresy claimed that Amaunator and Jergal were the aspects of highsun and dusk respectively during the days of Netheril. Later, these positions were fulfilled by Lathander, as the aspect of dawn, and the god of death, as the aspect of dusk. After the Time of Troubles, the Morninglord, according to this heresy, experienced a time of unchallenged authority. A substantial number of believers in this heresy claimed in 1374 DR that the Morninglord was close to transforming into the Yellow God. However, a minority believed that Lathander was about to take over the position as the highsun aspect, essentially handing over the dawn position to another deity, while another minority believed that a completely different god would ascend to take over the position as the highsun aspect. Since 1491 DR and the calamities that occurred in Baldur's Gate, the Underdark, and beyond, some worshipers of the Sun Gods began hearing whispers that someone else has taken Myrkul's place as the aspect of dusk...Tenets of Faith
All of Lathander's clergy respected art, liberty, nature, and culture; promoted betterment of oneself; and strove to bring hope to their followers and others. Many of these followers worked in various creative arts. They were intolerant of evil, especially undead and inaction that caused evil to prosper. Most ceremonies of Lathander were held at dawn and actions and contracts agreed to at sunrise were said to be blessed by him. Funerals, among his followers, were held at dusk, and followed by a wake that lasted until dawn.
Worship
Lathander is a god of beginnings. People commonly offer a prayer to him before undertaking any journey or endeavor. Lathander’s name is invoked to seal alliances and christen new ventures or companies. As a result, the god is very popular among the merchant classes, and the church has benefited accordingly.
The faithful of Lathander embrace the founding of new communities and the growth of civilization, as long as that civilization gives everyone the potential to succeed. They despise the undead, seeing them as both a corruption of the natural order and a disavowal of new beginnings, because undead cling to their old existence rather than moving on.
Priesthood
Novices in the Lathanderian faith were called the Awakened, while clerics were known as Dawnbringers. The full priests took a new name in his service when they were ready to signify that Lathander personally recognized and accepted them. This new name could either be used instead of their old name or simply used only when addressing other Dawnbringers and when in solitary prayer. Other titles included (in ascending order): Dawngreeter, Dawnlord, High Dawnlord, and Dawnmaster, while an elite cleric was referred to as a Morninglord. All followers were required to be of neutral to good alignment
Permeated Organizations
Controlled Territories
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