Avantil

Avantil (pronounced AH-van-till) is the god of writing, knowledge and study. Maintaining a neutral stance on the nature of knowledge - the concept that all information cannot be evil or good in and of itself - he encourages all of his followers to always aspire for knowledge in all spheres.

## Dogma

Avantil and his followers wish to bring knowledge and education to all sapient creatures. This means that actions such as teaching others are viewed as virtuous and held to the highest standard within the church. Likewise, deceit and lies are condemned within the church, not because of any inherent moral qualms but that doing so obstructs the truth and leads to ignorance. There are many interpretations on what knowledge is restricted however, with traditionalists agreeing that research into soulcraft, necromancy and other generally unsavoury fields are condemnable while extremists postulate that all knowledge is worthy of being pursued and that there is nothing inherently evil about any field.

## Appearance

Avantil appears as a bald man, with endlessly moving glowing tattoos of the highest scripts that have existed throughout the ages. His symbols are the book and quill. He is overseer of all written works and studies. He is honoured through writings offered to him, written in ancient illustrious scripts. Scribes, authors, etc, worship him. Avantil is obsessive and pompous, wishing to show his intelligence. He constantly orbits Kaeta. He is also tempestuous. Royal tutors often tell their students that repeated grammatical and spelling errors will bring Avantil's anger upon them, though this is merely a rumour.

## Providence

Avantil's followers believe that moments of mental clarity (the eureka moment) are signs of the god's grace while forgetfulness indicates Avantil's anger.

## Church of Avantil

Avantil is worshipped in areas that place a great emphasis on knowledge and education. Generally speaking, areas of high literacy rate tend to have a higher population of worshippers. Naturally this means that the majority of Avantil's worshippers are located within the Empire, particularly within the nation of Vendimark. While all members of the clergy, regardless of the god they worship, are literate and aim to educate the population, none are more zealous in this cause than Avantil's followers. Avantilians travel far and wide, settling in illiterate areas for long periods of time to educate the population.

### Worshippers

Those who worship Avantil are usually those within more intellectual fields. Researchers, scientists and engineers often look toward Avantil as their lives revolve on how much knowledge they uncover. Because of the nature of Avantil's domain, many worshippers also happen to be wizards and magi whose study of the arcane naturally falls under his jurisdiction. He is also an object of veneration for those aspiring to become literate or learn new skills.

### Clergy

The clergy of the Church of Avantil are mostly ordinary priests without any martial training or fighting capabilities. However, some clerics do exist who mainly operate within war-torn or otherwise dangerous regions, using their divine powers to aid others so they may live another day to learn more. There are extremely few, if any paladins in the service of Avantil as his domain has little to do with the lifestyle of a paladin.

Avantil's church is unusually organised as each branch operating within different regions and cities typically have extensive contacts and ways to communicate with one another. This is largely due to the fact that the nature of Avantil's domain naturally attracts more organised people which includes spellcasters who are willing to use their magic to aid with infrastructure. Furthermore, those in Avantil's favour, being granted divine powers, prefer to utilise specialise in divination services rather than the standard healing magic. This has led to an abundance of divination spellcasters who can use their magic to assist with long distance communication.

Everyday clergy belonging to Avantil's church are usually teachers who have dedicated their lives to teaching others basic skills and knowledge such as literacy. Avantilians often specialise in a field of knowledge which they seek to pass onto others. While one priest may be well versed in geography, another may know much more about international politics while a third may also have an occupation of a doctor, teaching others about humanoid anatomy and diseases. Regardless of the nature of their knowledge, all Avantilian priests seek to pass it on to others. Many priests believe that educating the downtrodden and poor is far more important than educating the nobility who would be able to afford a good education anyway. However, there are some who do not think that there is anything wrong about charging for their services and prefer to education children of nobles and merchants who have a lot more to pay than peasants and workers.

### Temples and Shrines

Temples dedicated to Avantil are usually understated and practical. These places are constructed almost like a library with rows upon rows of bookshelves and lots of storage room for manuscripts and scrolls. These holy sites serve as a safe haven for all to come and learn as anybody are free to take texts they desire and donate ones that they have already read. These sites are usually constructed within cities and are led by the most senior cleric who is given the title of principle. Wood and other flammable materials are never used for Avantil's temples as they substantially increase the risk that the information contained within may be destroyed. Stone is often the preferred material.

### Favoured Animals

Gods are often associated with certain animals, either because they possess a quality that the god favors, or because the god's faithful feel a special kinship to it. Avantil's favoured animals include eagles and ravens.