Beran the Seven-Souled – God of Birth

Father of Gods

The child of time and possibility, Beran the Seven Souled is a complicated god. All life begins with Beran and he is the patron of birth and beginning. Because all life is sacred to him, he takes no sides and picks no favorites - Beran refuses to take part in the squabbles of the mortals. Because all life is sacred to him, he forbids his clerics from taking life save in the direct defense of others.
Orphans are beloved of Beran, and those who harm them are said to invite the wrath of the lord of all that lives. While he is the patron of the act of birth, that is only one aspect of life and he holds no special place for mothers as life-bringers. This is not because he has a distaste for women, but because he expects fathers to be just as involved in the raising of children.
Beran takes his appellation of the Seven Souled from the seven recognized stages of life - Birth, Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood, Middle Age and the Elder Years. Life begins when a breath first enters a newborn, the LifesBreath, and life ends only when that LifesBreath leaves the dying.
Clerics of Beran are the traditional judges and mediators of the Greenwold, known for their impartiality and diplomacy.

Clergy

The Clergy of Beran are drawn from all men and women of any race or status, though orphans are prefered for the lack of family attachments. Clergy of Beran may not wed or have children, least it remove from them their neutrality.

Divine Domains

Life Domain

Divine Symbols & Sigils

The Colors of Beran are blue and white. His emblem is an upraised left hand, palm forward. The Order of the Cleric is denoted by the symbol in the palm.

Tenets of Faith

*Respect the Cycle - Never prolong a life that is at its end. Never end a life prematurely. Destroy those who do. This tenent does not mean, do not heal, do not treat, do not cure. It means, do not use magic to prolong lifespans, do not engage in necromancy of any kind, do not break the cycle.
*Take no side in conflicts - Life, by its nature, is neutral. Do not take a side in a conflict, but assist both in healing from the scars. Because of this Tenent, most Clerics of Beran travel with a Paladin or Cleric of Ellendaed . *Arbitrate where you can, in favor of peace - Almost all conflict is avoidable. Seek to restore peace and understanding where one may.
*Children are sacred - Those who harm children forgo all protections of the cycle. Destroy them.
*Orphans are to be cared for - If one makes an orphan of a child, one accepts the responsibility of raising it. Because of this Tenent, most orphanages in the Greeenwold are run by or funded by the Temple of Beran