proper afterlife. Kelemvor's priests teach that those who
revere the gods according to the rites of their religion
have done t,heir proper service and will be offered the
afterlife they seek.
The faithful of Kelemvor provide people with peaceful
transitions into the care of the Lord of the Dead. They
help the dying put their affairs in order, and they offici-
ate at funeral rites for those who can't afford the lavish
ceremonies of their faith. The tenets of Kelemvor's
faithful compel them to forestall or prevent untimely
deaths whenever possible. Different sects and worship-
ers define "untimely" in different ways. One group might
concentrate on stopping the spread of disease, another
on the prevention of murder, and yet another on elimi-
nating the scourge of the undead. In fact, all the faithful
of Kelemvor despise the undead and work to some
degree to eliminate them, for undead of any sort are
seen as an abomination of the natural order. This belief
obviously puts Kelemvor's faithful at odds with necro-
mancers, priests of Myrkul, and others who promote the
creation of the undead, and it also causes conflict from
unexpected sources. For instance, priests of Kelemvor
routinely destroy any writings about the creation of the
undead that they find-an act that offends those who
value knowledge for its own sake, such as the faithful of
Oghma and Deneir. And there also exist undead that ar-
en't evil, such as the baelnorn, which the elves consider
holy. Kelemvor's devotees seek the end of such beings
regardless of that fact.
LATHAN DER
The Morninglord, Inspiration's Dawn, the Rose-and-
Gold God
Lathander is the god of the spring, birth, and renewal, a
deity of conception, vitality, youth, renewal, and self-per-
fection. He is god not of the sun but of the dawn, which
represents the start of a new day filled with potential.
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 rising sun is his symbol, and his colors are the
rose, gold, and violet of the dawn. Lathander's temples
and shrines host a wide range of functions both munic-
ipal and personal. At such places folk get married in
dawn ceremonies, announce the start of civic projects,
SYMBOL OF LATHANDERCHAPTER 1 I WELCOME TO THE REALMSand even give birth when possible, to provide the baby
good fortune.
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 suc-
ceed. 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.LEI RA
The Lady of the Mists, Mistshadow, the Lady of
Deception
Leira has worn many masks, and more than once has
been thought to be dead or to be another deity alto-
gether. Perhaps such a reputation is only natural for the
goddess of illusion and deception. Her faithful agree
that whatever the "truth" might be, their Lady takes
great delight in the confusion sown by her various incar-
nations. Even the faithful of Cyric once taught that their
god killed Leira, but now they espouse the strange idea
that somehow she is his daughter.
Leira isn't viewed as malicious or as a trickster but is
seen as enigmatic, quiet, and retiring. She is credited
with inventing Ruathlek, the language of illusionists and
the spoken tongue of Nimbral.
The faithful of Leira seem to be scarce, although it
is difficult to know this for certain, because those who
favor her rarely make their inclinations known. Leira
is the patron of illusionists and liars. She receives little
regular worship except from illusionists, who pray to the
Mistshadow for potency in their magic, and con artists,
for whom she is a kind of champion. Most people pray to
her when they hope to keep something secret, or placate
her with a prayer before making an important decision
when they fear being deceived. Some folk perform a
swirling motion with a finger behind their backs when
telling a lie as a way of beseeching her for aid.
Her priests wear vestments of white and mist-gray,
and their faces are covered by smooth, featureless
masks. Only in Nimbral do temples to Leira exist, and
shrines dedicated to her found across the continent are
usually disguised as-other kinds of sites, marked with
signs that only the faithful would recognize.SYMBOL OF LEIRA