Church of the Enduring
Those who are oppressed, sick, lame, or poor are likely to be worshipers of Ilmater, and people who have been injured or were otherwise suffering will often call upon him for aid. His faith is popular among the poor in big cities, and with serfs and slaves, as well as merchants, thieves, and a few guards. Although people of any alignment could worship Ilmater, he is largely followed by folk of a lawful and good bent, especially among his own clergy.
Ilmater's clergy include clerics, paladins, and monks. They are organized into the Church of the Enduring, with many affiliated knightly and monastic orders.
Across Midvar, the hardy people of the harsh and war-torn land of Mera particularly venerated Ilmater, as well as his champion, St. Sollars. In King’s Rest, Ilmater is one of the most frequently worshiped gods, especially among the lower classes and slaves.
Attending clerics during a battle are recognized by the coarse furred shirts they wear. It is considered a great wrong to harm these priests as they help ease suffering. Even orcs and goblins hold them in esteem for ministering to their fallen people and not just humans.
Tenets of Faith
Followers of Ilmater are taught to help all who suffer, without regard for who they are or how they suffer. They are to heal and treat the wounded and the sick and give comfort to the dying. They also have to give kind counseling to those grieving or depressed, lonely or lost, and give shelter and alms to those who have lost everything. They do what has to be done when no one else will. Thus a typical follower of Ilmater is generous and sharing, giving all they can to the poor, and they place others before themselves.
To the Ilmatari, life is sacred and suffering is holy. They are to carry the burdens and pains of others, and are taught that the truly holy takes on another's suffering. They are instructed to endure and persevere against hardship and pain, and believe that if they suffer in the name of Ilmater, then he will be there to support them. Although many outsiders see them as willing sufferers or they appear reckless in their quests to do good, they simply care about everyone, often without regard for their own safety. However, they do concentrate more on healing and aid efforts.
Worshipers of Ilmater also believe that all injustices should be challenged and that they should defend and aid the causes of the oppressed and unjustly treated. They are to act for and defend those who can not do so themselves. They are to stand up to every bully and tyrant, and resist them in any way, both small and great. Ilmatari are encouraged to hold to their principles and keep to their causes if they are right and just, no matter the risk and to be fearless about it. Consequently, they believe that a death with meaning is not shameful.
They advocate the spiritualism of life over materialism and the physical body. They leave the pursuit of wealth and luxuries to others, and seek only medicines and alms.
Commandments
- Give all you can to the poor, and place others before yourself.
- Heal the wounded, treat the sick, comfort the dying.
- Protect the weak, defend the innocent, emancipate the oppressed.
- Resist the tyrant, the despot and the persecutor.
- Take the burdens and pains of others as your own in their place.
- Forgive your enemy that repents.
Worship
Clerics of Ilmater prayed for their divine magic once per day, in the morning, following a period of meditation.They ritualistically prayed to their god six times a day or more, every single day.
The clergy observes no annual holy days and celebrates no regular festivities. However, an Adorned can make a Plea of Rest to Ilmater requesting a special dispensation for time off. The Rest is a tenday during which time they are freed from the rules laid out by Ilmater's faith. This is normally called for if the Adorned is emotionally exhausted by their work, but some exploit the time to perform deeds that Ilmater would normally disapprove of. Some church leaders depend on this tradition, using the Rest to send their best fighting or adventuring clergy out to perform deeds they could not normally do, such as covertly bringing down a tyrant instead of making an open confrontation.
Clerics of Ilmater are duty-bound to convince the dying to pray to Ilmater, in a ritual of the highest importance called the Turning. If a dying person turns to Ilmater, praying for his comfort, then they will receive his blessing before they die. However, this does not change their patron deity or alter their destiny in the afterlife. Even in death, it is believed Ilmater's healing powers grow with greater veneration.
A Suffering is a special occasion in which a priest of Ilmater willingly endured some manner of torment. From their First Suffering, an Ilmatari could go through a number of Sufferings in their life-time.
Priests of Ilmater reportedly regularly engaged in self-flagellation, though this is typically a minor ritual. This and other similar rites are never intended to have any serious consequences or injury.
An Ilmatran wedding ceremony emphasized that both partners would support each other through any hardship they might face.
Priesthood
Initiation into the clergy of Ilmater is uncomplicated. A novice expressing an interest in joining goes on a simple walk with a senior priest who, as they talk, explore that individual's views on life. Then they dine, and the novice is given wine that induce a slight trance so that their mind can be examined with magic. This is done with the full knowledge of the novice, and performed by various other clerics or wizards sympathetic to the Ilmatari. They closely examine their loyalties, goals, and true feelings and determine if any deception has occurred, or whether the novice is genuinely suitable for the faith.
This practice was introduced to prevent false applicants from joining simply to learn the church's healing knowledge and steal their medicines, as had happened often in the church's early history. Deceit, a devotion to evil, or loyalties to another faith or to a secular organization or authority disqualifies the applicant.
If found genuine, then the novice is accepted as a full member of the clergy. They are dressed in the simple gray robes and pronounced one of the Adorned.
Ilmater's priests tend to be the most sensitive and caring of humans. When new to the faith, since they see much suffering, they often weep. Over time, this constant tugging at their heartstrings wears at them, and they then tend toward a cynical view of life in Faerun. They are distinguished from other cynics, however, by their inability to ignore or pass by others in need. Even when a cause is hopeless, they must help. Ilmatari are taught to be firm in their principles and fearless, with the result that they earn enormous respect with the general populace, but are often slain by brigands or those who hold different principles than they do. The church of Ilmater is different from many Faerunian faiths in that it has many saints, among them St. Dionysius and St. Sollars the Twice-Martyred (whose symbol is a yellow rose).
Few priests of Ilmater are soldiers, and fewer still are merchants, but they do outstrip all other priesthoods in the size, number, and level of treatment in the many infirmaries and leper sanctuaries they maintain. From their inception into the priesthood, Ilmatari are trained in the recognition and treatment of all known diseases, injuries, and conditions; senior priests have had prepared detailed programmed illusions to show beings in various stages of harm. An Ilmatari priest who has been shown these could, for instance, recognize a human infested with rot grubs at a glance.
