Pantheon Elfico

[DM Artemis]

Hanali Celanil

The Heart of Gold, Winsome Rose, Archer of Love, Kiss of Romance, Lady Goldheart

Intermediate Power of Arborea
CG
PORTFOLIO: Love, romance, beauty, fine art and artists
ALIASES: Angharradh
DOMAIN NAME: Olympus/Arvandor
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Eachthighem, Eilistraee, Cyrrollalee, Isis, Lliira, Lurue, Milil, Sharess, Sharindlar, Sheela Peryroyl, Sune, Tymora, Verenestra, the Seldarine
FOES: Bane (dead), Cyric, Eshebala, Moander (dead), Shar, Talona, Talos and the gods of fury (Auril, Malar, and Umberlee), the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee)
SYMBOL: Heart of gold
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Hanali Celanil (HAN-uh-lee SELL-uh-nihl) is the elven goddess of love, romance, and beauty. Lady Goldheart is predominantly depicted as female, although on rare occasions it is said that she has taken male form. Hanali is revered especially by gold elves and moon elves. Her followers also include elven artisans (particularly sculptors), lovers, performers (particularly bards and dancers), and nobles. Lady Goldheart is also widely revered by half-elves born of joyous unions, in honor of the love that brought their parents together. Hanali is closely associated with Evergold, a sacred crystal fountain and pool found within her crystal palace in Arvandor. She keeps watch over her followers by using the placid waters of Evergold as an immense crystal 138 ball, and philters of love created by elves are said to contain drafts of this fountain's waters.
Hanali is both an aspect of Angharradh and one of the three elven goddesses-the other two being Aerdrie Faenya and Sehanine Moonbow - who collectively form the Triune Goddess.
This duality tightly binds Hanali with the two other senior elven goddesses, and the three collectively serve alongside Corellon in leading the Seldarine. Hanali has been romantically involved with nearly every member of the Seldarine, particularly Erevan Ilesere, yet she remains amicable with nearly all of her current and former suitors alike. The only notable exception is Fenmarel Mestarine, although he and Lady Goldheart are still formally allied. The Lone Wolf resents the fact that Hanali spurned him long ago in favor of Erevan Ilesere, and some believe that Hanali's fickleness was what drove Fenmarel into the embrace of Lolth (Araushnee).
Hanali shares the waters of Evergold with the human goddess Sune, as well as the demipower Sharess and several other goddesses of pantheons not worshiped in the Realms. A friendly but intense rivalry exists between Lady Firehair and Lady Goldheart over the innate superiority of human vs. elven beauty. Hanali is close to the human goddess Sharess, particularly in her aspect as Zandilar, as the Dancer was once an elven demigoddess of the Yuir elves whose energy was directed toward passionate, physical love that burns hot and quickly but eventually dies out. While Verenestra (the patron goddess of dryads, nymphs, and sylphs) is rather jealous and snobbishly avoids contact with other goddesses of beauty, love, or romance, Hanali's kind nature and joyous celebration of life have finally won over the Oak Princess, making the two fast friends. Lady Goldheart actively opposes the efforts of those powers who would destroy beauty and love (such as Lolth and Talos) or who nurture bitterness and heartache (such as Shar). Hanali's deep enmity for Eshebala, the Queen of the Foxwomen, is rooted in the latter's exploitation of both beauty and love for her own selfserving, vain, and hedonistic reasons.
Hanali is a being of timeless beauty and benign nature, who always forgives minor transgressions and delights in rewarding her followers with the bliss of unexpected love and affection.
She embodies romance, beauty, love, and joy in elven spirits, her only flaws being her own mild vanity and flighty nature.
Although she rarely appears to her faithful, Hanali delights in seeing the growth of love among elves, and her avatar often acts in secret to protect young lovers.
The Church
CLERGY: Clerics, mystics, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN. : NG, CG, CN
TURN UNDEAD; C: Yes, Mys: No, SP: Yes, at priest level -2
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, Mys: No, SP: No
All clerics (including multiclassed half-elven clerics), mystics, and specialty priests of Hanali receive religion (elf) and reading/ writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies.
Although it is not an absolute requirement, very few clerics of Hanali have a Charisma score below 15. Hanali's church is widely regarded among all elven races, with the notable exception of the drow. Her church is very popular among gold elves, particularly young nobles, and Lady Goldheart is believed to oversee their endless galas, revels, and romances. Among moon elves, Hanali is seen as the most beautiful face of Angharradh in her guise as guardian of romantic love and cherished beauty. While Hanali's cult is small among green and winged elves, they see her as the embodiment of natural beauty found in the forest and atop the mountains. Likewise, while Lady Goldheart's church in aquatic elven communities is small, Hanali is given praise for the beauty of the undersea, with shrines dedicated to her in undersea grottoes and in shallow, crystal-clear seas among coral reefs. Although Hanali is not widely known outside of elven society, there is an intense rivalry between the followers of Lady Goldheart and those of Sune.
Temples of Hanali are bright and beautiful, with fountains and springs throughout and great gardens encircling the central chapel. Most of Lady Goldheart's houses of worship are designed with young lovers in mind, providing endless mazes of shady paths, babbling brooks, quiet pools, leafy bowers, and flowering hedgerows, so as to facilitate amorous trysts and romantic rendezvous. Interior chambers are designed so as to permit the entrance of the sun, moon, and gentle breezes.
Many chambers display beautiful works of art, serving the local community as museums, while others are designed as great concert halls from which strains of music spill out into the surrounding gardens.
Novices of Hanali are known as the Beauteous. Full priests of the Heart of Gold are known as Paramours. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Hanalian priests are Dove, Suitor, Lover, Libertine, Soft Caress, Heart's Desire, and Fiery Ardor.
High-ranking priests have unique individual titles. Specialty priests are known as goldhearts. The clergy of Hanali includes gold elves (30%), moon elves (28%), half-gold elves (17%), half-moon elves (15%), wild elves (7%), half-wild elves (2%), and a handful (1%) of dark elves, sea elves, winged elves, and half-elves of those ancestries. Hanali's clergy includes specialty priests (38%), mystics (32%), and clerics (including multiclassed half-elven clerics) (30%) and is nearly evenly split between females (54%) and males (46%).
Dogma: Life is worth living because of the beauty found in the world and the love that draws twin hearts together. Nurture what is beautiful in life, and let beauty's glow enliven and brighten the lives of those around yu. The greatest joy is the rapture of newfound love and the tide of romance that sweeps over those wrapped in its embrace. Seek out and care fore love wherever it takes root and bring it to its fullest bloom so that all may share in the joy and beauty it creates. Always give shelter and succor to young lovers, for their hearts are the truest guides to life's proper course.
Day-to-Day Activities : Hanali's priests are flighty and somewhat vain, given to dancing and wild celebrations. The hierarchy is loosely organized, and priests are free to join or leave the church as they wish. Paramours preside over marriage and rites of passage ceremonies for young elves, although they are not required to marry, for Hanali's concern is love, not necessarily marriage. Members of Hanali's clergy spend their days cultivating beauty and love in all their myriad forms. Many of Lady Goldheart's priests tend fine gardens, white others amass personal or temple-based collections of gems, crystal sculptures, and other fine works of art. While things of gold and crystal, particularly jewelry and statues, are favored, beautiful art in any form is admired, collected, and displayed. Hanali's priests must always be finely dressed, and displaying one's personal beauty to its best advantage is a requirement of every priest of the Heart of Gold.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : While Hanali's priests are given to frequent impromptu revels, their greatest celebrations are held every month beneath the bright light of the full moon. Such holy days are known as Secrets of the Heart, for romantically involved participants are said to experience the full bloom of their affections on such nights, allowing them to evaluate the strength of their feelings. Likewise, the inner beauty of celebrants visibly manifests as a rosy glow in their cheeks and eyes for days thereafter. Offerings of objects of great beauty are made to Lady Goldheart during such holy festivals, some of which are swept into Arvandor while others are returned to be shared among all of Hanali's followers. It is not uncommon for artists to unveil their latest work at such holy days, nor is it rare for young lovers to either pledge their troth secretly or proclaim it to all assembled, for doing so is said to invite Hanali's favor.
Major Centers of Worship: The Vale of Evereska is located amidst the Shaeradim, a small mountain range on the western edge of Anauroch, due north of the Battle of Bones. (Humans sometimes employ the nomenclature Graycloak Hills for the mountains surrounding Evereska, but that is more properly applied to the next set of hills to the north, also known as the Tomb Hills.) The Vale is a wide alpine valley with an inner ring of knolls surrounding the center of the valley. The three highest hills, known as the Sisters, form a fairly even triangle around the walled city of Evereska. The highest hill of the three, Bellcrest, is the site of Hanali's temple, an enormous structure of white marble and moonstone, surrounded by gardens that bloom year-round with rare flowers and exotic fruit. The Fountainheart of Shimmering Gold is led by the stunningly beautiful moon elf, Hamalitia Everlove, whose beauty has continued to increase over the centuries. The temple has housed countless Evereskan weddings, revels, and dances, and in addition to displaying works of Evereska's greatest artisans, holds many greatest artistic treasures from Ascalhom, Eaerlann, Illefarn, Myth Drannor, and Sharrven.
On a low pedestal at the center of the gardens, accessed through a maze of rose-entwined boxwood, stands a statue of the goddess carved from rare white stone. The sculpture depicts Lady Goldheart with angular, delicate features, exquisite lips curved in a knowing smile, and almond-shaped lips. One longfingered hand rests over her heart, and the other touches a pointed ear, a traditional portrayal of the goddess showing that she is ever receptive to the prayers of lovers. The love of Amnestria (moon elven daughter of Queen Amlaruil Moonflower of Evermeet) and Bron Skorlsun (a human ranger and Harper), combined with the magic of Amnestria's moonblade, created a gate from the base of the garden statue to the island of Evermeet. In the Year of Maidens (1361 DR), however, the gate's mainland terminus was moved to Blackstaff Tower in Waterdeep by Danilo Thann after the Waterdhavian dandy and Arilyn Moonblade, half-elf daughter of Amnestria and Bron, solved a series of murders by the Harper Assassin.
Affiliated Orders: The Chaperones of the Moonlight Tryst are a fellowship of romantically inclined rogues and rangers who discretely safeguard young elven lovers from those who would take advantage of their distraction and/or innocence. Members of this merry band are also called on occasionally to facilitate secret meetings between lovers of rival houses or to aid them in eloping against their family's wishes. Chaperones of the Moonlight Tryst usually work closely with the priests of the local temple of Hanali, as those who serve Lady Goldheart often receive the confidences of those struck by the arrows of the Archer of Love.
Priestly Vestments: Hanali's priesthood pride themselves on the stunning beauty of their clerical vestments. Paramours wear golden robes sprinkled with gold dust, and they wear their hair long and unbound without any covering. Gold rings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and earrings are common adornments. The holy symbol of the faith is either a miniature gold rose or a miniature gold stylized heart. Both forms of Hanali's holy symbol are often worn as a brooch or necklace.
Adventuring Garb: Hanali's priests are drawn to romantic quests like moths to a flame, and thus they take to adventuring more than one might otherwise expect. In dangerous situations, Hanali's followers must strike a balance between beauty and pragmatism. Paramours favor weapons and armor that are a beauty to behold, emphasizing the natural elven grace of their bearer, yet that also guard against any weapon strike or spell that might mar their natural beauty. As such, Hanali's priesthood prefer chainmail (of elven make if available), shields, and weapons unlikely to bring them into melee combat or to disfigure the appearance of an opponent.