Sarastaa is the god of dawn, light, hope, peace, and rebirth, most commonly called the Lord of the Dawn. He is worshipped mostly by the alalori race of Elwens, who aggressively spread his word. He is of equal power with Dermand, and some myths call them brothers.
Origins: Sarastaa was most likely dreamt into being, as were most of the other gods, and gained power with the First Dawn. His followers, however, claim that he created the world and all the other gods, and that most other races have forgotten this and the debt they owe him. This is a major factor in their seeking conversions among other races.
Major Myths: As mentioned above, most of Sarastaa's followers believe that he created the world, all other gods, and all races, and ordained for them a path of peace. The alalori, the morning dragons, and possibly one or two other races are, supposedly, the only ones who still follow this path. Sarastaa watches, grieving, and will come back to the world in glory when it is ready to accept him.
Sarastaa, according to other myths, specially created the alalori race, by changing those viaquia who asked him to.
Sarastaa alone among the gods never takes an avatar. There are various legends for this, one being that he does not wish his people to be influenced by the face of any one race, since they are all his children. According to another, he could not encompass the ideals he rules into a single form. (The damarothi suggest that his one attempt to take an avatar resulted in the disastrous creation of the damarothi who would like to destroy him, along with every other god, but most do not believe them).
Finally, Sarastaa rarely intervenes physically in the lives of his followers, but does keep a very close watch over them, granting them foretellings of the future and punishing those who stray from the path of peace.
Physical Details: Without an avatar, it is hard to say what Sarastaa "looks like." Most often he is represented as the rising sun, and some alalori believe that every sunrise is his avatar.
Followers feeling Sarastaa's presence usually experience a touch of warmer-than-normal sunlight on the back of their necks, especially just before a foretelling.
Tenets of Worship: Mostly, Sarastaa's tenets of worship relate to his ideals. His followers honor light, and are in horror of darkness and the sunset that heralds it. Rituals often include chants during sunset, to ward off Dermand, and all temples are extremely well-lighted. This sometimes extends to being distrustful of people with dark hair, or nocturnal races.
Fire is sometimes used in Sarastaa's rituals, but only rarely, since his followers also distrust it.
Peace is perhaps the greatest of Sarastaa's ideals. His followers work tirelessly to quell war, and as a result have become somewhat notorious among other races. They have a history of not only persuading politicians to stop wars, but of using their peace auras (if alalori) to influence voting, of opening their own lands to the passage of armies hostile to their kin, and of opposing even wars considered just by many others (such as wars to stop genocidal humans). Sometimes this transcends into a hatred of killing so intense that alalori kill the killers. When Sarastaa's followers go to war, they use bows, which kill from a distance, and thus put them at a distance from their sin.
Conversion of other races is also a major tenet. All other races must come to worship Sarastaa, or he will not come to the world and at last take an avatar. The exception to this is the viaquia, whom the alalori believe beyond redemption, and who must die. Missionaries are often killed by the annoyed other races, but this only encourages the fervor of those who remain.
Symbols are of great importance to followers of Sarastaa. Glass sunbursts are often worn by clerics and lay followers alike, and temples must be built in a certain way, down to the Litany of Sarastaa's greatest tenets carved on the floor and carvings of sunbursts in specified places. Temples are made of golden wood and the stone called firegold wherever it is available. Sarastaa's followers also shun iron and steel, the metals used most often for killing, save those trained as Honor's Keepers, the fighting clerics. (These are pitied more than anything else).
Major Centers of Worship: Sarastaa is one of the most widely-worshipped gods in Arcadia, simply because several entire races are committed to him, but his worship also tends to be concentrated in one of several places. The great dawnlight forests in the south of the Tableland are his, as are the cities outside the Vantel-Realm in Kemiebeyst. There are also strong pockets in Fhevu, and wherever alalori villages are found. Recently, temples of Sarastaa have also been established in most larger land Elwen cities, though the conversions here are minimal.
Individuals in other places may come to worship Sarastaa, but since they often migrate to one of the great centers of worship, they have little affect on the areas of their birth. The number of wandering missionaries is nearly uncountable.
Other Names: Lord of Hope, Lord of Brightness and Breezes, Lord of the Morning, the Sun in the Flame.
Major Symbols: The glass sunburst, the rising sun, a flame (rarely used), a golden tree (rare outside of Kemiebeyst).
Relations with Other Powers: Sarastaa is an implacable foe of Dermand, as already stated, and his followers are ordered to kill Dermand's believers where they find them. He sometimes works with Suulta, since they share similar peaceful policies. Other gods may oppose him on an individual basis, since his missionaries may try to convert their worshippers.
