| PHYTON (the Woodshaper), Lesser Power, male, CG Attributes: Beauty, Nature, farming Domains: Chaos, Good, Harvest, Plant, Sun, Water Symbol: Scimitar crossing an oak tree Typical Worshippers: Farmers, shepherds, druids Raiment: Simple robes of brown or green, except in autumn. Then robes of yellow, orange and red are worn in ceremony, each marking a higher level of rank in the clergy. Preferred Weapon: Scimitar Holy Days: Equinoxes and solstices |
Phyton (FIE-tahn) is a tall, slendar, youthful-looking Power who can take the form of any forest creature. Once like most nature Powers, he now represents man's dominion over nature, and this puts him at odds with those who would protect a forest from the actions of mankind, just as his dominon over beauty angers Wee Jas. He clears forests to make room for crops, cuts tracks through mountains to make roads, and dams rivers to form fishing ponds. His symbol, a scimitar in front of an oak tree, hearkens back to his old purpose.
Nothing in nature is so beautiful as what man can make of it. A field of crops, a garden of herbs, and a swamp drained to form fertile soil are all marvels of nature as much as the forest and mountains. Natural animals that can be domesticated should be, but those that are dangerous to man or his works should be slain.
Clerics of Phyton act as protectors for farming settlements and look for ways to make use of nearby land. Each normaly chooses a region to watch over, typically a circle of one day's walk in diameter. They might use their powers to redirect a river to suit a town's needs, or to cull a forest of its uglier plants to leave a more pleasant locale. Some clerics wander th eunsettled parts of the world, looking for destructive creatures to kill, abandoned sites of old civilizations, or wild places that might be useful to mankind.