Sarenrae

Sarenrae's followers call her the Dawnflower, the Healing Flame, or the Everlight. In Duthgar, Sarenrae is considered to be the goddess of the sun, harvest, and light, whereas in Torlund and Mer-Rein, she is only associated with the dawn and harvest, while Pelor is lord over the sun and light. Sarenrae and her followers teach that anyone can be redeemed and, if enemies of the faith show true repentance, they should be given a second chance. 
Sarenrae's doctrines preach swift justice delivered by the scimitar's edge for those who show no repentance or those who are too far gone to repent, like the Undead and fiends who glory in slaughter and death. To this end, she expects her faithful to be skilled at swordplay, both as a form of martial art, promoting centering of mind and body, and so that when they do enter battle, their foes do not suffer any longer than necessary. 
Sarenrae shows her approval by sending doves or good harvest and crops. She indicates her disfavor through unexplained sunburns or blindness that can last from minutes for minor transgressions to an entire lifetime for the worst offences.
Sarenrae's favored animals include doves, falcons, and basking lizards.
=== Lore ===
According to the teachings of the religion of the Seen and Unseen gods, Sarenrae is one of the Seen gods whose antithesis unseen god is Venkelvore. The teachings say that Pelor used to be one of her followers, whom she blessed with entrance into her sun palace from where he stole a portion of her power. Conversely, the followers of Pelor say that Sarenrae is Pelor's beloved daughter whom he loved so much that he gifted her the morning dawn. Most people outside of Duthgar don't follow the religion of the Seen and Unseen gods and there are very few followers of Pelor there; thus, this disagreement in beliefs doesn't often come up as an issue. 
=== Realm ===
All but those who follow the teachings of Pharasma believe that Sarenrae lives within the Sun, either alone or with her farher/ascended follower, Pelor, rather than in The godly Plane with the other gods. People say the reason for this is because she wishes to be closer to the mortal plane to watch it at all times for signs of the work of the evil gods. Apparently, within the sun there is a giant golden palace known as the Everlight Palace where mortals would go blind from how radiant it is. The windows of the palace look out directly to the inside of the sun which is just as bright as its outside. The halls of the palace are guarded and attended by humanoid creatures, wreathed in golden fire with majestic white-feathered wings that sprout from their backs, known as Sun Dancers. 
=== Appearance ===
Sarenrae manifests as a beautiful bronze-skinned Sun Dancer with golden hair composed of flowing flame. She emits a holy light which trickles down like liquid luminescence from one hand, while the other holds a scimitar emblazoned with radiant fire. Her holy light provides healing and sustenance, while the scimitar creates gusts of winds that remove disease and fear.
=== Relationships ===
Sarenrae counts all non-evil gods as her companions, and even communicates with evil deities in the hopes of converting them from their dark ways, although certain tradition-bound deities like Torag distrust the Dawnflower and her flock, seeing their willingness to forgive as a weakness. She is also very weary of other gods that are known to be quite underhanded and prone to tricking people. 
While Sarenrae believes in redemption, she understands that certain beings are irredeemable, including her only true enemies, Ravagug, Venkelvore, and Asmodeus. Sarenrae and her followers actively work to thwart these three's plans within the world by aiding those who are suffering famine, restoring and rebuilding the lives of those who have suffered destruction of home and property, or helping those who are trapped by oppressors who abuse their power. 
=== Servants ===
Sarenrae has numerous Sun Dancer servants, who were once followers of Sarenrae on the material plane, now ascended and reforged as these immortal beings. They are said to be fearsome warriors made of pure light that that are incredibly fast, often wielding two blades and wearing no armour, but they are also able to heal people from near death with a single word or touch. They are very similar to Pelor's servants, known as Sun Spears. 
Divine
Bryla has never been properly seen, but when she appears to people, the light she emits is so bright that people only describe her as a ball of light with a voice coming from it. 
Charlabu is the gold-colored hound made of metal that often appears in a canine form. It does also have the ability to be somewhat humanoid in an odd transformer-like way. 
Mystmorning is an intelligent animated blade and possesses great powers, strong enough to grant wishes, apparently.
Sunlord Thalachos is the embodiment of Sarenrae's will within the world and is a four-armed platinum-skinned Sun Dancer accompanied by divine beings which look like doves. 
Mortal
Amal al-Sahba The Dawn, The Dawn of Sarenrae, leads the Church of Sarenrae from Lanryin in Mer-Rein.
=== Temples to Sarenrae ===
The church of Sarenrae is mostly composed of altruistic priests who are also ready to be stern, should it be warranted. The church is known for blessing crops, healing the sick, and reforming criminals and evil doers. They are often consulted to solve feuds and disputes among neighbours and families. Officially, the followers of Sarenrae are all trained and kept ready to fight if the need arises, but in reality, many of them are more focused on the healing and carrying out acts of kindness side of Sarenrae's teaching. 
Kind and caring halflings often worship Sarenrae, tending to the sick and elderly. Sarenrae is also one of the most popular deities worshipped by farmers and people who live off of the land outside of cities. 
Knights of Sarenrae identify themselves by wearing white scarves around their helms and wielding the scimitar. They are willing to offer mercy to those enemies who seek absolution and renounce evil.
=== Temples and shrines ===
Most temples of the Dawnflower are open-air buildings with seating facing east to watch the sun rise, although there are also side buildings which have ceilings. Many have brass or gold mirrors that refocus the sunlight onto the main altar and sometimes prisms to then scatter the light which hits the altar. Priests often travel periodically from their temple to other temples which are nearby. The Droplet of Everlight in Lanryin is a popular site of pilgrimage for followers of the goddess who are able to hear messages from The Dawn of Sarenrae. Church services are held outdoors and are joyous affairs that feature singing, dancing, music, and sword displays.
The Birth of Light and Truth is the principal holy book of Sarenrae. It is customary for every owner of this book to inscribe her own uplifting stories in the last few blank pages so that they can be recounted to others later.
=== Clergy ===
A large portion of Sarenrae's priests are composed of clerics, but within their ranks are also paladins and rangers, as well as a few druids, fighters, and bards. Some priests work as personal retainers or healers for the wealthy, while others survive on assistance from congregational worshippers. A common form of worship by priests is to awaken with the dawn and give thanks and praise to the rising sun. The scimitar is a favoured weapon, its use held in high regard, and it is often decorated with sunburst images in red and gold. In battle, Sarenrae's clerics become dervishes, ready to destroy irredeemable corruption. Formal raiment includes a long white chasuble and tunic with red and gold decorations depicting the sun. Worship leaders often wear a golden crown topped by a red-gold sunburst.
Many of those who train in combat on behalf of Sarenrae seek to find weapons that are endowed with fire in some way or have the ability to cause fire damage. Items like scimitars able to erupt in flame are considered the ideal weapon for a follower of the Dawnflower.
The Dawn Vigil is a small band of Sarenite Clerics who seek to travel to the places of greatest need so that they can lend aide, be that food, healing, or protection from the ravages of war. 
=== Titles ===
Leader of the Faith = Dawn of Sarenrae ; ... The Dawn
High Priest = Dawn Child ...
Head Priest = The Sun's Son ... / The sun's Daughter ...
Priest = Son of the Light ; Son ... / Daughter of the Light ; Daughter ... 
Acolyte = Light Bringer ... 
=== Holidays ===
The main two Sarenrae festivals bookend the growing season, beginning with the The Dance of the Flowers and ending with The Summer Lights Ember. These festivals are each celebrated in different ways throughout Trayst.
In areas were Erastil is also worshiped, the Harvest Feast is often held as the finale of The Summer Lights Ember.
Category:Gods
Category:Seen and Unseen
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Category:Major deities