the goddess of night, secrets, loss, and forgetfulness.
She represents pains hidden but not forgotten, and ven-
geances .carefully nurtured away from the light. She is
said to have the power to make folk forget their pain or
become inured to a loss, and many people in distress
pray to Shar for such a blessing.
Shar is revered by those who must venture into dark
places and so pray to her for protection, such as miners,
as well as by those who have fallen into melancholy and
despair, who wish to forget something, or who have lost
something and wish to recover it. Priests drawn to serve
Shar often nurture their own deep wounds or dark se-
crets, which in their minds makes them best suited to
console those who suffer from a similar ill. Throughout
the world's history, many followers of Shar have done
dark deeds in her name-most notably the shadovar of
Netheril, an entire society dedicated to Shar. The trag-
edies and losses brought about by the fanaticism of her
followers have caused many places to outlaw her wor-
ship and thus driven most of her priests into secrecy, but
such prohibitions only heighten the priests' umbrage at
authorities and make the faithful a focal point for rebel-
lion and revenge against whoever rules.SILVANUSOak Father, the Old Oak, Old Father Tree
Silvanus represents the entirety of nature, deserts as
well as forests, sharks as much as deer. But folk in the
North, who contend with the dangers of forests, moun-
tains, and plains, see Silvanus more as a god of those
places. Silvanus is thought of as a grim and severe
father figure who metes out flood and drought, fire and
ice, and life and death in the wilderness. In legends he
often commands other nature deities, dealing out re-
wards and punishments to them as is fitting.
Nature and its impartial fairness is central to the
dogma of Silvanus's faith. His priests seek to know the
total situation, to view the macrocosm; their viewpoint
isn't confined to one person's or one nation's idea of
what is best. The loss of a farming community to goblin
raids is a tragedy for some, but the event provides an
opportunity for the wilderness to grow up and make
the land fertile again, which in turn provides new chal-
lenges for those who would return to tame it.
The creed of Silvanus dictates that nature's glory must
be preserved not merely because nature is beautiful, but
because wild nature is the true state of the world. Its ex-
panses refresh and revitalize the mortal soul, and give
SYMBOL OF SILVANUSbreath to all the world. Many of his faithful oppose the
expansion of settlements into wild places, and consider
excessive consumption of natural resources to be not
only wasteful but blasphemous.
Silvanus often receives veneration from travelers in
wild lands, explorers, and residents of rural communi-
ties far from the protection of a local lord or a great city.
The oak leaf is Silvanus's symbol, and a grove of oak
trees within a village or on its outskirts is often dedi-
cated as a shrine to him. In rural places where oak trees
don't grow, an oak leaf etched into the bark of another
kind of tree signifies a sacred site.SUNE
Lady Firehair, the Lady of Love, the Princess of Passion
Sune Firehair is a deity of passion and the delights
of the senses. She is the goddess of beauty in all its
forms-not just pleasing sights, but also enchanting
sounds, luxurious tastes and scents, and the exquisite
pleasures of the flesh, from a lover's caress to the brush
of silk on the skin. Her worshipers seek out these plea-
sures in life, not out of mere decadence, but because the
experience of pleasure is the touch of Sune herself.
The followers of Sune have a reputation as hedonists,
and so they are, to a degree. More than that, her priests
foster beauty in the world. They do so by creating art, by
acting as patrons for promising talents, and by investing
in merchants who bring luxuries to far-off places that
have never seen satin or tasted a luscious wine.
Her priests consider loveliness to be one of their
greatest callings, and all are trained in comportment,
fashion, and cosmetics. Indeed, so talented are Sune's
priests in the creation of beautiful appearances that
many take pride in their ability to present themselves as
stunningly attractive examples of either gender.
But beauty is more than skin deep, say the Sunites; it
issues from the core of one's being and shows one's true
face to the world, whether fair or foul. The followers of
Sune are believers in romance, true love winning over
all, and following one's heart to one's true destination.
Fated matches, impossible loves, and ugly ducklings be-
coming swans are all in the purview of Sune.
Temples dedicated to Sune are common in human
lands, and they frequently serve as public baths and
places of relaxation. A temple usually features a mir-
rored and well-lit salon where folks can primp, as well
as see others and be seen. Where a temple doesn't exist,
or in a large city where the nearest temple might be tooSYMBOL OF SUNE