Examining Lathander - God of the New Age by Calin Rosepitaal
[This book examines the ever growing popularity of the God Lathander since the end of the Blink as well as the traditions and practises of the worshippers.]
... Lathanderites seek to build anew, encourage the rebirth of barren areas and more productive growth in cultivated lands, drive out evil, and either restore civilization to heights it once had or lead it to new dizzying heights of harmony, cooperation, and pursuit of a unified congregation across all nations under the service to Lathander. To do this, they battle heretics and undead to nurture civilization; they plant seeds and new seedlings, they encourage and aid adventurers, travellers, traders, and pilgrims as the harbingers of culture; and they recover lost relics, pieces of literature, and works of art. Lathanderites study, restore, and attempt to duplicate, emulate, or expand upon these recovered items and works when possible.
Churches and shrines to Lathander provide aid to travellers and communities in their area as long as such aid is returned in good faith. Priests of Lathander try tirelessly to encourage those of good alignments to the more dedicated worship of the Morninglord.
Lathanderites are expected to make regular offerings of ideas, inventions, coins, discovered artefacts, or food to Lathanderian temples and shrines. As may be surmised, most ceremonies of Lathander are held at dawn. Actions taken and contracts agreed to at dawn are considered blessed by the god. Marriages held at Lathanderian temples or shrines at dawn are considered especially blessed and so dawn is when the church most often holds such services, even if they are inconvenient for visiting guests. Funerals consist of a solemn, candlelit ceremony called the The Last Dusk. This ceremony is followed by a wake that lasts until dawn prayers. Funerals are not held for those who are to be raised.
The most important ceremonies of worship are the daily prayers to Lathander at dawn, often held outdoors or where the dawn can be seen. This ritual is followed in importance by the twilight devotions. Some churches and shrines also add to these two daily ceremonies an optional prayer and song to Lathander at highsun. To these daily devotions are added special prayers said when offerings are presented at the altar and when priests call on Lathander for guidance or aid.
These ceremonies are all joyful, but dignified, and usually involve prayer, song, and ritual drinking of well water touched by the dawn. On special occasions, on Midsummer morning, and on the mornings of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, priests of Lathander perform the Song of Dawn, praising Lathander with a blend of vocal harmonies and counter-harmonies of beautiful complexity...
Comments