Galawain
Galawain (a.k.a. The Seeker God, The Clever Hound, Lord of the Hunt, Father of Monsters, The Changeling)
Galawain is patron of the hunt in all its forms, and he is honored by those whose occupations are concerned with pursuit and discovery. His faithful include frontiersmen, constables, treasure-seekers, explorers, and even scholars, many of whom wear his carved symbol – a dog's head – around their wrist or neck. He is also protector of wild places and untamed wilderness, where the hunt manifests in its purest form as a daily struggle for survival.
Divine Domains
Persuit, discovery, perseverance, the Hunt, assassins, wilderness, predatory beasts
Holy Books & Codes
Book of the Hunt
When my students ask to be taught the way of Galawain, I tell them they have already failed. Does one ask a deer to present itself as dinner? Of course not - one must outwit, outmaneuver, and overpower the deer if one dreams of venison. So it is with the Seeker God - to ask a question is weakness and idle indecision, to seek answers is to understand, and to become one with Galawain. Survival begins with strength from within. But I only strike my students when they ask the second stupid question, for all of us begin young and weak - it is a point fact, and not one of shame, and a central tenant to Galawain's teachings. Perseverance and cleverness are prized by Galawain above brute force - a fact my young pups often forget. It is right and proper that the strong lead the weak, and it is equally proper that the strong be continually tested until the balance changes. Galawain celebrates the strength of the victor and the prowess of the well-fed predator, but above all, the Clever Hound celebrates the transformative nature of strength. Galawain's greatest desire for us is that prey becomes predator, mewling babes grow into strong hunters, and the lost find their own enlightenment. This philosophy is best exemplified by the rites of the anamfatha of Eir Glanfath. When one of the Glanfathan spiritual leaders is old and nearing death, it is customary to enter the woods and confront Galawain's herald. If the Seeker God finds that anamfath's life, deeds, and soul worthy, the reward is a quick death and his soul joins Galawain's pack. If deemed unworthy, the anamfath is killed, his soul forced to find its own way to the next life, and his memory erased from the records of the tribe - survival begins with strength from within, and weak leaders endanger the whole pack. This is Galawain at his purest: even at the end of life, one must struggle for worthiness, for greatness... just as one must struggle every day to feed his pack. The Seeker God is easy to understand if one actively engages in the quest for knowledge, but his secrets are self-occluding to those who merely ask, desiring knowledge without the requisite hunt. My own flesh and blood once asked me, "Will learning to hunt please Galawain?" I told him yes but added, "Galawain would prefer that you hunt to learn.
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