 | The Church of the Seldarine Vell Tel`Seldarinae (The Seldarine), roughly translates to the fellowship of brothers and sisters of the wood and is the elven pantheon of gods that reside on the astral dominion of Arvannaith (Elvish for High Forest ) under the leadership of Corellon Larethian. As implied by it's name, the pantheon holds a wide diversity in interests among it's gods and a desire for cooperation. They act independently of one another, but the elven powers are drawn together by love, curiosity, and friendship to combine their strengths, to accomplish a task, or in the face of outside threats. Corellon Larethian reinforces this freedom of action and compels none of the Seldarine to perform any task. Instead, the gods of the elven pantheon seem to sense when something needs doing, and they simply gather when necessary. Sages link the Seldarine in various romantic relationships. In most representations, the elven pantheon includes more gods than goddesses, but every member of the Seldarine can appear as either male or female. The androgynous nature of the Seldarine reflects the gender equality found in most elven societies. Formal membership in the Seldarine is determined by Corellon, and some cases of informal membership which may include gods belonging to other Pantheons, as in the case of Moranthis of the Dragonwright or Thoth of the Church of Light and Dark. While these gods are not Formal Members they are given the same respect and regard as Formal members. The Seldarine are closely linked with the gods of the Seelie Court and other sylvan deities, and "The People" often include prayers to other faerie powers when worshiping the Seldarine. All faiths that venerate one or more members of the Seldarine practice tolerance for followers of the other elven gods as well as for religions of closely allied nature. The Seelie Court is more or less assumed to include the deities of the sprites, sea sprites, pixies, nixies, atomies, grigs, satyrs, korred, nymphs, brownies, leprechauns, dryads (and hamadryads), unicorns, pegasi, centaurs, swanmays, killmoulis, treants, pseudodragons and faerie dragons, seelic faeries, faerie fiddlers, and gorse faeries. And again, while such powers have close ties to the elves, they are not counted as a formal part of the Seldarine. The gods of the elven pantheon are actively involved in the collective lives of their worshipers, though few intervene directly in events affecting a particular individual or even a small group of elves. Like the the elves, , the Seldarine tend to have very long-range perspectives, and they never intervene directly in the unfolding history of the Realms without a great deal of consideration and discussion. Notable instances of intervention by the Seldarine have resulted in the creation and settlement of A ritha n , the Descent of the Drow, the decision to summon representatives of the elves to the Elven Court of Kael, the founding of Miryth Dragkor under the guiding principles it embodied, The creation of the Moon-Swords, The defence of A ritha n in the Years of the War of the Mists, and the re-surfacing of Atlan`ysse. Elven mythology holds that "The People" were born of the blood which Corellon shed in his battles with Gruumsh and bathed in the tears of Angharradh. Most members of the pantheon have an enmity for or at least a dislike of the goblinkin pantheons; those of the ores, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, kobolds, and urds. Some legends state that the first elves appeared fully formed and shaped in Corellon's image, woven by magic from sunbeams, moonbeams, forests, clouds, seas, and shadows. Myths discussing the natural origins of "The People" are closely tied to the ability of many members of the Seldarine to assume non-elven, natural forms far greater in size than is common for their avatars. For example, Rillifane Rallathil has appeared as a massive oak tree, Deep Sashelas has appeared as a giant, towering (vaguely humaniform) wave of sea water, Aerdrie Faenya has appeared as a white cloud, and Corellon Larethian has appeared as an azure crescent moon or star. One is struck in elven theology by the close relationships between "The People", magic, and the natural world. Most of elven faiths emphasize elven unity with life and nature, and they tend to blend the distinction between elves and their environment, much as the Seldarine are held to be Spirits of Arvannaith. For example, many elves believe they will be reincarnated as animals, plants, faerie folk, or even elves once again. Similarly, elves are creatures of the Weave, tightly bound to and part of the web of magic that envelops the world. The diversity of the elven pantheon reflects the wide range of elven subraces, for each subrace is closely associated with a subset of the Seldarine and each elven power is closely associated with one or more of the subraces. |