Pantheon: Azuth

The High One, Patron of Mages, Lord of Spells

Azuth, the Lord of Spells, is the god of wizards and mages and to a much lesser degree, all spellcasters. Azuth is Brigantia's husband, friend, and advisor. She took on his aspect of Arcana when he was killed by Gruumsh. He took the domain back when she raised him back to life, but shares it with his divine wife. Some of his time in death changed him, however, and much of his aspect took on the unpredictability of chaos.

Clerical details

Domains: Arcana, Chaos, Knowledge

Weapon: Quarterstaff

Worshipers, Clergy & Temples

Azuthan clergy tend to be folk who love magic for its own sake. They do not exult in power, for that is the tendency of those who enjoy what magic can allow them to do to others, but in in elegance, complexities of dweomer, and deft use of spells.

The church of Azuth is widely viewed as archaic in their tradition, pedantic in their debates, and oblivious to the real-world problems within the Realms. They often possess a moral neutrality that garnered an unfavorable opinion by the average layperson.

Vestments

The vestments of the priesthood of Azuth are shimmering gray and usually made of silk, though these are layered with heavier and more sensible materials in the South. The symbol of Azuth is worn on the chest, and the color of the aura on the symbol denotes an individual's rank in the church. Most acolytes, monks, mage apprentices, and adventurers have a yellow aura surrounding the symbol of Azuth. Higher level adventurers and clergy members at large without official position wear symbols with a red aura. When not used to identify rank, the symbol of Azuth has a blue aura. In the South, usually only the forefinger of Azuth's symbol is shown ablaze.

In the field, clergy of Azuth wear sensible clothing, predominantly in shades of gray. They wear the symbol of their faith over their hearts, either stitched onto a tunic or robes or inlaid in metal armor.

Hierarchy

The clergy of Azuth are collectively known as the Magistrati and included wizards, monks, and clerics within their ranks. They prefer to maintain their temples within large cities, align themselves with the powerful Mage Schools and act as a sort of magical administration, to facilitate communication between spellcasters. Azuthian temples are sometimes asked to adjudicate in disputes between mage schools when traditional governmental laws or administration would not be appropriate.

Among the highest order of Azuth's followers are a group of arcane paragons known as the Favored. These heralds of magical development further the goals of magic by formulating new arcana, a process viewed as the apex of magical science among the faithful.

Temples

Rituals

The church of Azuth holds a holy revel to mark the ascension of a new Magister and of any mage to the ranks of the Favored. Every twilight the faithful of Azuth pray silently to the High One for guidance in all their doings that day and the next. Azuthan priests otherwise avoid a lot of ceremony, but in temples and abbeys of the Lord of Spells, all three major meals of the day are accompanied by readings from the writings of great mages on the ethics of magic use, speculations as to what magic can be made to do in the future, and various philosophies of magic.

When a being is confirmed as a priest of Azuth, she or he must undergo the Transforming, a ritual in which the novice spends a tenday in thrall to an involuntary, ongoing shape change cast on him or her by a Master. In this ceremony, the novice must see life through the eyes of a bewildering variety of shapes forced upon him or her in succession by the magic. No shape the novice is placed in is unable to survive in the environment in which this ritual takes place, but the experience is typically humbling. The ritual is typically held in a walled, secluded temple garden that is temporarily off limits to all others, but which normally serves as a place for contemplation. The spell used in this ritual is a church secret, and it has been used by some Masters on foes in the defense of temples and abbeys under attack.

Azuthan clergy and laity alike also celebrate occasional Wild Nights, in which they dance in the midst of unleashed wild magic just to feel its power nad effects. (Other wizards and priests stand by to rescue anyone who runs into harm.)

Festivals

The clergy organizes annual Mage Fairs, and at those Mage Fairs they try to settle feuds, curb overly destructive or deceitful magic, and sponsor spellweaving contests. They also give out scrolls of the winning spells from previous years and small, useful magical items as prizes in these contests. These are often held in conjunction with local chapters of Mage Schools, and often the Mage Fairs are used to help identify those with particular talents at magic, and Azuthian temples have been known to either sponsor new students to a Mage School or take on new acolytes of their own from these Fairs.

Orders

The Azuthian church has seen the formation of two sects:

• the Loomwardens: A stern sect of the church of Azuth that was distrusting of sorcerers and the more chaotic nature of Azuth's power. They often look for spellcasters who are using the gift of magic for personal, selfish purposes, rather than to the benefit of all.
• Spellsavants: This tolerant order of mages urged for cooperation between all practitioners of the arcane and idealized the cumulative efforts of humanity as a whole to push the boundaries of magical knowledge.

Dogma

Reason is the best way to approach magic, and magic can be examined and reduced to its component parts through study and meditation. Maintain calm and use caution in your spellcasting and magic use to avoid making mistakes that even magic cannot undo. Use the art wisely, and always be mindful of when it is best not to use magic. Teach the wielding of magic and dispense learning throughout Azgaarnoth that the use and knowledge of magic may spread. Live and teach the idea that with magical power comes grave responsibility. Learn every new spell you discover and make a copy for the temple library. Do not hoard your knowledge, and encourage creativity in magic in all ways and at all times. Always be vigilant for the ever-creeping chance that spell-madness can create.