Pantheon Elfico

[DM Artemis]

Rillifane Rallathil

The Leaflord, the Wild One, the Great Oak, the Many-Branched, the Many-Limbed, Old Man of the Yuirwood

Intermediate Power of Arborea
CG
PORTFOLIO: Woodlands, nature, wild elves, druids
ALIASES: Bear, Eagle, Raven, Wolf, Relkath of the Infinite Branches, Magnar the Bear
DOMAIN NAME: Olympus/Arvandor or Seelie Court
SUPERIOR: Corellon Larethian
ALLIES: Baervan Wildwanderer, Cyrrollalee, Eilistraee, Eldath, Emmantiensien, Mielikki, Sheela Peryroyl, Silvanus, Skerrit, Oberon, Osiris, Titania, Verenestra, the Seldarine, various Animal Lords
FOES: Malar, Moander (dead), Talos, the Queen of Air and Darkness, the drow pantheon (except Eilistraee)
SYMBOL: Oak tree
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Rillifane Rallathil (RILL-ih-fane RALL-uh-thihl) is protector of the woodlands and guardian of the harmony of nature. He is often likened by his priests to a giant ethereal oak tree, so huge that its roots mingle with the roots of every other plant in the Realms, that stands at the heart of Arvandor, the High Forest of Olympus. The great tree draws into itself all the ebb and flow of seasons and lives within the woodlands of the green elves. At the same time, it defends and sustains those lands against disease, predation, and assaults of all kinds. The Leaflord is the patron of the Sy-Tel'Quessil and revered by many voadkyn.
When the Sy-Tel'Quessir settled the Yuirwood, the Seldarine merged with the ancient gods of the Yuir, transforming them into aspects of the various powers of the elven pantheon. Both Magnar the Bear and Relkath of the Infinite Branches, also known as Many-Limbed, Many-Branched, and the Old Man of the Yuirwood, became aspects of the Leaflord. Relkath easily merged with and slowly reinvigorated a primitive facet of the Leaflord's nature that had been slowly overshadowed over the ages by the increasingly tamed way of life of the Fair Folk, even among the Sy-Tel'Quessir. As a result of this subtle change of heart, in the centuries since absorbing Relkath, Rillifane's primordial spirit has returned to the fore to great effect.
Concurrently, the Sy-Tel'Quessir and Cha'Tel'Quessir (half-elves of the Yuirwood) have rediscovered the ways of their most primitive ancestors and reforged their tribal cultures, eschewing the formation of successors to the great green elven civilizations such as Illefarn, Thearnytaar, Eiellur, and Syorpiir. In contrast to the obvious impact of the absorption of Relkath by the Leaflord, Magnar the Bear was almost totally subsumed after being absorbed, and this aspect of Rillifane is little remembered even among Cha-Tel'Quessir. The half-elves of the Yuirwood speak only of Mag-nar's Great Sleep, a centuries-long hibernation from which the Bear has yet to emerge.
Much like Ubtao, Ulutiu, and Uthgar, Rillifane is served by a host of great spirits including the primeval Bear (comingled with Magnar the Bear by the Cha-Tel'Quessir), Eagle, Raven, and Wolf, among others. These aspects of the Leaflord are recognized only by the Sy-Tel'Quessir and a few Cha-Tel'Quessir and not by the other elven or half-elven subraces. Unlike those other powers' worshipers, however, Rillifane's followers do not venerate any one great spirit exclusively, although they may have done so in the distant past. Instead, the Leaflord's faithful call upon one or more spirits associated with their god as appropriate for the situation at hand. Rillifane is on good terms with all the Seldarine, as well as most sylvan and faerie powers. The Leaflord's primary concern is that all creatures have the opportunity to act out their roles in nature without abusing them, a concern Rillifane shares with Corellon Larethian, the great creator and protector of the Fair Folk. Solonor Thelandira and Rillifane work together closely to preserve and protect the natural world, but they do differ fundamentally on the issue of hunting. In the spirit of the alliance that binds the Great Archer and the Leaflord, Solonor does not permit his priests and followers to hunt within the woods where Rillifane's brooding, forbidding presence cautions against this, unless their need is great. While Rillifane permits hunting for food by hungry folk, he detests hunting for sport. Rillifane is closely allied with Emmantiensien the Treant-King and Silvanus the Oak Father.
The trio's conversations are many and seemingly endless to others, as none of the three is given to hasty thought or expression.
Rillifane is always a respected guest at the Seelie Court, and aside from Emmantiensien, he is friendliest with Skerrit the Forester and often romantically linked with Verenestra the Oak Princess.
Rillifane is quiet, reflective, and enduring over eons unchanged.
He is the least flighty of all the Seldarine, the least likely to act on a whim, and often grave and self-absorbed. The Leaflord rarely sends an avatar to the Prime, disliking direct action and preferring that his priests carry out his wishes. Rillifane's avatar appears only when major destruction of a Tel'Quessir (usually Sy-Tel'Quessir) habitat is threatened. The appearance of such an avatar is heralded by sudden gusts of wind shaking leaves from the trees, a sign unmistakable to his priests.
The Church
CLERGY: Clerics, druids, mystics
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: NG, CG, N, CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, D: No, Mys: No
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, D: No, Mys: No
The Seldarine call on agathinon, asuras, and ancient treants as their pre- ferred servants, but Rillifane is also served by aasimar, aasimon, alaghi, amber dragons, atomies, badgers, bariaurs, bears, belabra, bhaergala, bomhardii beetles, buraq, cantobeles, cath shee, centaurs, cooshee, dryads, earth eli. mentals, einheriar, eladrins, elven cats, ethyks, faerie dragons, feystags, too dogs, forest spirits, giant lynxes, giant sundews, grigs, hamadryads, hol-lyphants, hybsils, jaguars, jungle giants, jungle snakes, kholiathra, leopards, leprechauns, lythari, mist dragons, mold men, monkey spiders, moon-horses, nature elementals, norans, sprites, swanmays, mountain lions, nymphs, oreads, owls, pixies, porcupines, pseudodragons, quickwood, ratatosk, reverend ones, seelie faeries, silver dogs, singing trees, skunks, small forest mammals, stag beetles, sunflies, sylphs, talking owls, thornies, thylacines, tigers, unicorns, vampire moss, warden beasts of the forests, werebears, wereboars, weretigers, wild boars, wild stags, wolverines, wolves, and wood giants. He demonstrates his favor through the discovery of amber, emeralds, microline, the sudden changing of colors of a single leaf or an entire tree, the budding and rapid growth of a new tree limb, or the sudden appearance of a forest animal that approaches to be petted without fear. The Leaflord indicates his displeasure by causing the leaves of an entire branch to suddenly fall off in front of the offending individual's feet, creating the sound of twigs repeatedly snapping in a rapid succession, or causing an object such as an acorn to fall out of the sky and strike the offending individual on the head.
All clerics (including multiclassed half-elven clerics), mystics, and specialty priests (including multiclassed half-elven specialty priests) of Rillifane receive religion (elf) and reading/writing (Espruar) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies. Rillifane is venerated by nearly all the Sy-Tel'Quessir, and his priests serve as the spiritual and moral leaders of most green elven tribes and communities.
The Leaflord's church is greatly admired by the other subraces of the Fair Folk for its principled stand in favor of the preeminence of nature, and the faith's priests are widely respected wherever they travel. Nevertheless, the uncompromising stance of some members of Ril-lifane's clergy sometimes leads to conflicts over both tactics and degree with the leaders of the Ar-Tel'Quessir, the Teu-Tel'Quessir, and other churches of the Seldarine. Halflings, particularly tallfellows, gnomes, particularly forest gnomes, centaurs, and hybsils all pay homage to the Leaflord if they live in or on the border of elven woodlands. Dwarves rarely come into contact or conflict with the forest-dwelling followers of Rillifane, and humans tend to view the Leaflord as simply an even more primitive and wild aspect of Silvanus the Oak Father.
Rillifane's temples are actually huge oak trees with platforms built among the branches and vine bridges connecting them to each other and platforms in adjoining trees. Shrines of the Leaflord, always a grand oak tree deep within the depths of a forest but too small to serve as a temple of the Leaflord, are chosen by members of Rillifane's clergy after receiving a dream or vision directing them to particular tree. Such shrines are marked by the priest with a carving of a small canary in the trunk about 2 feet from the ground. With the cutting back of forests and the subsequent growth of trees selected as shrines, it is not unheard of for such symbols to be discovered high above the ground and/or on the edge of a much-shrunken woods. Should a shrine be defiled in any way, the dedicating druid (or nearest worshiper of Rillifane if the druid is dead) instantly knows of the action and is expected to do everything possible to bring about the defiler's death.
Novices of Rillifane are known as Acorns. Full priests of the Leaflord are known as Oakhearts. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Rillifanean priests are Felsul, Silverbark, Laspar, Hiexel, Blueleaf, Phandar, Duskwood, Shadowtop, and Weirwood. High-ranking priests have unique individual titles, and druids have titles reflecting their place in the hierarchy of that branch of the faith as well. Specialty priests are known as druids (or skinwalkers). The clergy of Rillifane includes green elves (52%), moon elves (26%), lythari (8%), gold elves (6%), half-elves of various ancestries (4%), voadkyn (3%), and a handful of other elven races as well (1%). Rillifane's clergy is dominated by specialty priests (75%), including multiclassed half-elven specialty priests, but includes clerics (20%), including multiclassed half-elven clerics, and mystics (5%) as well.
The clergy of Rillifane contains a pretty even number of male (51%) and female (49%) members.
Dogma: The Great Oak draws energy from all the living creatures of the world and nourishes, sustains, and protects them from outside threats. Live in harmony with the natural world, allowing each living being the opportunity to serve out its natural purpose in life. As the Leaflord's countless branches, his faithful are to serve as his mortal agents in the natural world- Defend the great forests from those who would ravage their riches, leaving only destruction in their path. Contest both the quick and the slow death of Rillifane's bounty and hold strong like the great oaks in the face of those who can see only their own immediate needs.
Day-to-Day Activities: The church of the Leaflord generally keeps to itself, extending itself only to help fellow elves and other sylvan beings. The church hierarchy is organized regionally and divided into branches, as each type of priest serves a specific role. The druids who compose the bulk of Rillifane's clergy tend to the health of the forests and those who dwell within, fiercely contesting any attempt to further reduce those forests that remain. Many clerics serve as ambassadors of the faith, working outside the communities of the Sy-Tel'Quessir to educate other races and even other elven subraces how to better dwell in harmony with nature. The few mystics found within the clergy act much as individual druids do, eschewing the formal organization of the circles. In times of war, however, the leaders of each region unite the branches of the faith and the Sy-Tel'Quessir warriors into a single force.
Rillifane's priests are deadly enemies of those who hunt for sport or those who harm trees maliciously or unnecessarily. In particular, all priests of Rillifane have a great hatred for the priests of Malar, since the followers of the Beastlord often make elves the object of their hunts and their ethos is anathema to those who serve the Leaflord. Rillifane's priesthood is charged with rooting out and destroying sentient plants whose nature has been twisted by external forces into a warped perversion of nature. In particular, they seek to destroy hangman trees, obliviax, death's head trees, black willows, serpent vines, and any form of evil treant, including dark trees.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies : Rillifane's faithful gather twice yearly at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes to hold fey dances in large groves of oak trees deep in the heart of great forests. The Budding is a joyful celebration of new life celebrated through dance and song and preceded by an extended period of fasting. A ritual hunt of an ancient and noble hart is undertaken on this day, from which the venison serves to break the fast of the Leaflord's faithful. This ritual honors Rillifane's bounty and reminds his followers of the natural cycle of life that plays out beneath the Leaflord's boughs. The Transformation marks the arrival of autumn and the vibrant hues that bedeck the canopies of the Leaflord around this time. The Sy-Tel'Quessir and elves of other subraces who seek a form of spiritual rebirth or a major change in their lives gather to celebrate Rillifane's eternal promise that the trees will bloom again and that life is a process of continual renewal.
Major Centers of Worship: Moontouch Oak is the name of both a gargantuan oak tree over 300 feet tall and the temple of the Leaflord nestled amidst the forest giant's boughs. Located at the heart of the Tangled Trees region of Cormanthor on the northern hank of the Elvenflow where Moontouch Creek joins the River Duathamper, the temple tree is believed to be the largest living oak in Faerun. Some elven legends claim that the tree is actually the still-living remnants of an avatar of the Leaflord that led several clans of the Sy-Tel'Quessir eastward, away from the devastation of the Crown Wars, many centuries ago. Moontouch Oak has housed approximately two score green elven druids of the Circle of Emerald Leaves in its branches since the early days of the Sy-Tel'Quessir settlement of Arcorar, as the Elven Woods were then known. From -982 DR, with the coming of Venominhandar to the Emerald Vale, until - 206 DR, when the great green wyrm was finally slain, the druids of Moon-touch Oak were sorely besieged, as were their kin, but the temple-tree was never abandoned, despite numerous attacks by the wyrm and its minions. With the death of Venom, as the dragon was known, the Sy-Tel'Quessir set about reclaiming the woodlands, now known as the Tangled Vale, under the direction of the druids of Moontouch Oak. Nine centuries later, when the Army of Darkness ravaged Cormanthyr and eventually destroyed Myth Drannor, the druids of Moontouch Oak again stood firm in the face of the nycaloth-led assault, and the temple tree of Rillifane was never violated. Nine millennia after the conclusion of the Crown Wars, Moontouch Oak stands unbowed. The temple consists of a network of platforms sculpted from the tree's branches and hollows cultivated in the great oak's trunk, all of which are linked by bridges of woven vines.
Hallucinatory terrain spells and the thick leaf coverage mask the religious community's very existence from the outside world, but the influence of the Circle of Emerald Leaves is felt throughout the Tangled Vale and beyond. The aged green elf who leads the Circle is Great Druid of the Tangled Vale Katar Oakstaff, who was a child in the final years of Coronal Eitargrim's reign before Myth Drannor fell.
Affiliated Orders: While rangers are not included in the church hierarchy of Rillifane, many such elven warriors do serve in loose fellowships affiliated with individual druid circles as the militant arm of the faith. Each such band of rangers has its own name, but collectively they are known as the Order of the Oakstaff.
Priestly Vestments: The ceremonial garb of the Leaflord's priests includes a laurel wreath worn on the head and armor fashioned of tree bark. Dark green dyes are rubbed into the armor to show rank within the church, with the darkest hue reserved for the high priests of the faith. Tree bark armor provides protection equivalent to leather armor, but the wearer incurs a -1 penalty for all saving throws against fire. The holy symbol of the faith is an acorn enclosed in amber.
Adventuring Garb: When adventuring, members of Rillifane's clergy favor armor and weapons made from natural materials such as wood and animal parts, including those with magical enhancements.