The Elvish Doctrine

Comparatively few of the elves worship any gods at all. The elvish forest of Murthrid is the home of the Druidic Order, and Druidism is the most popular religious inclination amongst the elves; they have few clerics or priests, but many druids. Corellan Larethian is nominally the god of the elves, but less elves dedicate themselves to his service, instead devoting themselves to Druidism. There are some priests and even a few paladins of the elf-god, but they are fewe compared to the wide followings of the human deities, though most elves praise him and pray to him for protection and guidance. His priests tend to focus more on the protection of the elvish race and of their homelands as well as the purging of the drow and the protection from evil, unclean creatures, rather than the Druidic focus of nature and balance. There is a stronger base of worship to Corellan Larethian in Lurkmoor than Murthrid, and most elves pay some respect to Corellan Larethian even if he has fewer temples and priests amongst the elves. Priests of Corellan Larethian gain the ability to Turn Undead, and may fight with blade or bow.

An elf who dies upon Morus becomes one with the driving force of Nature, even as does a Druid when they die. Their personality and mind disappear forever, and their lifeforce drives with the power of the earth, the very same motive force that fuels the instincts of animals and grants the Druids their power in the first place. However, elves who grow old enough - while they never die of old age - will eventually experience an event known as the Reckoning, whereupon they will withdraw entirely from the world and go to the elvish forests of Murthrid, there to board one of the legendary white-winged elfships and sail away, never to be seen again. It is said that these elves find their way to Arvandor, the realm of Corellan Larethian, where they dwell in his halls along with the elves of every world who have passed from the mortal realms.

Though it is far less widespread, some elves - particularly the sea elves, but also many elves of Leng - worship Deep Sashelas, the god of the seas. Sashelas is "The Knowledgeable One", who always knows where food or enemies may be found, and was worshipped when the elves were a much younger people, and when they lived primarily on the eastern coasts of Murthrid and upon the isle of Ilyrio. Clerics of Sashelas are rare except amongst the sea elves in present times, and can only advance to 7th level. They gain the ability to speak to animals of the sea and gain the friendship of all but sharks, who are the mortal enemies of Sashelas. In particular, the dolphins are the friends of the servants of Sashelas, and will do whatever possible to help their priests. The priests of Sashelas often conduct ritual shark hunts, and conduct their rituals at high and low tide.

The White-Winged Ships & Valerin

Valerin is a small island off the eastern shore of Murthrid forest, and a site of great significance to the priesthood of Corellan Larethian, who believe that if it is ever lost no elves will be able to travel to their afterlife. They keep small boats that travel to Valerin in the many port towns on the eastern shores of Murthrid, boats which no non-elf may enter. Valerin is a small, peaceful place, with towns that are serene and calm. Most of the elves living there are those who have felt the Reckoning but are not quite ready to depart, or are waiting for the white-winged ships to arrive and bear them away. It is covered in temples to Corellan Larethian, where the priests dwell and give counsel and prepare the voyagers for their final journey. The isle of Valerin is the headquarters for the priesthood of Corellan Larethian.

From Valerin, those elves that have experienced the Reckoning board one of the great white-winged ships and begin their last voyage to the promised land. The white-winged ships come once each year, to the same port-town every time - the town of Savonsaros, which means "Last Haven" in elvish and is thought to be the oldest elvish settlement on Leng. Even the long memory of the elves cannot recall a time before the white-winged ships started coming; for as long as their history has been recorded, white-winged ships have appeared at Savonsaros. The ships arrive empty, with their decks bare when the voyagers board them. Their great white sails flutter constantly as if to some unseen wind, and they are followed by great banks of roiling mist which make the seas treacherous to sail. Despite their apparent emptiness, those with keen eyes and those who meet them on the open sea (when the mist permits any vision) have said that there were sailors aboard, curious figures who man the decks. Some say that the sailors are from Arvandor, and have been commanded not to speak with any elf who has not been touched by the Reckoning. Others say that they are the ghosts of elves who died without reaching Arvandor, and they appear only when the ship is in motion. Those who try to follow the ships are met with defeat; the ships are followed by thick mist wherever they go. The lucky become confused and lost in the mist and are turned around with maybe a brief glimpse of the ships, but some simply vanish, never to be seen again. When the ships next return, they are empty once more.

The Seldarine

The name of the elvish pantheon headed by Corellon Larethian is the Seldarine, elvish for "fellowship of brothers and sisters of the wood". This pantheon is common to the elves of Morus, Faerun, and many other material planes. Some members of Seldarine are worshipped slightly different by elves of Morus as by those on other worlds, and some have more or less prominence in the pantheon.

Corellon Larethian, King of the Seldarine. Represents all things essentially elvish, particularly the pursuit of good works for their own sake. In particular, governs magic, music, arts, crafts, poetry, and warfare. Approves of those who kill orcs or servants of Lolth, and despises those who defile the dead or flee from their foes.

Deep Sashelas, Lord of the Undersea. As noted above, he is the lord of the sea elves and is still worshiped by some elves that dwell on the coasts of Leng and remember the journey their people once made over the ocean.

Sehanine Moonshadow, Lady of Dreams. Goddess of the moon and the mysterious fey nature of elvenkind. She is the keeper of secrets and mysteries, and is cloaked in illusions. Rarely speaks her mind directly, but is one of the most powerful of the Seldarine.

Labelas Enoreth, Lord of the Continuum. Governs the orderly passage of time and proper unfolding of history. As elves are blessed, or cursed, with immortality, his followers believe that they have a duty to learn from the mistakes of the past and guide mortals along the proper path.

Hanali Celanil, the Winsome Rose. Goddess of love and beauty, both amongst elves and in nature. Her followers build wondrous sculptures and tend elaborate gardens.

Rillifane Rallathil, the Many-Branched. God of protection of the woodlands and guardian of the harmony of nature. The woodlands and the natural world are kin to elves, who are descended from the fey and are also creatures of nature and of spirit rather than of the imperishable soul. His priests liken him to a giant ethereal oak tree so huge that its roots mingle with every other plant, which stands in the heart of Arvandor. The great tree draws into itself all the ebb and flow of the season and the lives within the woodlands of the green elves. At the same time it defends and protects those lands against disease, predation and assault of all kinds. Rillifane Rallathil is considered by the Druids to be simply a manifestation of the Animus.

Solonor Thelandira, the Great Archer. He watches over the wilderness and the farmed land, and seeks a way to maintain the balance between them.

Erevan Ilesere, the Trickster. He is the god of tricksters and rogues, and is credited with teaching the elves to make beguiling cloaks and boots to turn away the eyes and ears of their enemies.

Shevarash, god of vengeance and war. Although in Faerun he is but a demipower in opposition to the drown, he has more significance amongst the elves of Morus. He is their war-god, and his increased prominence comes about as a result of the many incursions upon elven lands by mankind and others throughout the centuries. The Feywardens of Murthrid, in particular, are his champions.