The Trinitarian Church
A splinter faction of the Kaevarian Church, the Trinitarians believe in a triune god over all things--that, in essence, Kaevar manifests in three forms (Sor, Dara, and Leriya), each with their own distinct name, each with their own distinct domains, and each working simultaneously in concert and opposition with one another.
The theology of the Trinitarians is something of a strange one, and scholars have never been able to pin precisely where in the theological discussions the "splintering" occurred; Trinitarians have been around as long--some say longer--than the Kaevarian Church itself, and their origins are lost to time. Tritinarian doctrine, however, has been remarkably consistent and constant across the eight (or more) millennia of its existence.
In essence, Trinitarian doctrine holds that all divine power (Kaevar, for example) is actually manifested in three beings: Sor, the Father; Dara, the Mother; and Leriya, the Lover. All three are said to have existed since the dawn of time, and that all of creation is born of Sor and Dara, under the careful care of Leriya. None are "good" or "evil" in the traditional sense; all three are carefully balanced against one another. Sor rules during the day (hence his association with the Sun), Dara across the night (the Moons), but Leriya is constant, ensuring that day begets the night, and night yields to day. Each sees their own place rise and fall, each has a check on the other two, and each works with another to provide both benefit and price to the beings below.
Unlike most of the other relgions on Azgaarnoth, most Trinitarian temples have one of each of the Triune clergy present: one Sorian, one Daran, and one Leriyan cleric. Rarely do Trinitarians foster or care for a congregation without the other two, though Trinitarian adventurers are often found "alone" (even when in a group).
Clerical Details
Clerics of the Trinitarians are some of the most versatile in Azgaarnoth, as all three provide their clerics a unique ability--that of changing domains over time. "Sor sees no difference between Light, Sun, and Fire, for all are His aspects, and all serve His purposes," the Sorian clergy teach, and the Daran and Leriyan have similar sayings. Some Trinitarian clergy have moved through a half-dozen or more domains in their lifetimes, driven by divine guidance or their inner search for a true definition of themselves.
What is less common, but still (somewhat) reasonable is that Trintiarians may also change which of the Triune Gods they worship; because all things are in balance, the Trinitarians believe that some must move through various phases of their worship just as living beings move through various phases of their life: from Leriya (youth, desire) to Sor (their peak of influence and "light" upon the world) to Dara (as one's life ebbs and approaches the comfort of the night), for example.
Game Notes
When a cleric devoted to one of the Triune Gods levels up, they have the opportunity to change domains if they wish. Doing so means forgoing the benefits and features of their old domain, but also gaining the benefits of features of the new domain, as if they had been that domain from the beginning. Any domain spells from the old domain are lost; new domain spells may be immediately acquired and used. In game terms, the player must do nothing more than pray to their Triune God and spend a long rest in quiet meditation and contemplation. Once changed, however, the new domain remains until their next level-up. If the player wishes to change deities, this requires more in-game work; the character must journey to a Trinitarian temple and spend a week in deep commune with the clergy there, during which time the player is unable to access any domain features whatsoever. During that time, the cleric undergoes several rituals to end their time as an agent of the old, and several more to mark their time beginning as an agent of the new. At the end of that week, the player may select a new domain appropriate to the new Triune God, taking on the new domain features of that domain as mentioned above.
Theology
It is said that Sor, Dara, and Leriya have always existed.
At some point, the Three Who Are One felt the urge to create, so Sor created the heavens and the sun and the stars and the great cosmos. Upon seeing his creation, Dara created reached into the cosmos and spun together the planets and moons, and set them to orbit Sor's creation. Sor, seeing what Dara had created was good, breathed upon the planets, setting air around them, and Dara, at the same time, opened her hands and bestowed upon them the gift of water.
Now Leriya, who until this point had not seen the point of this creation, began to see the beauty inherent in the creation, and reached in to the planets, and breathed life across them, creating the plants and creatures upon it, and setting into motion the seasons and the cycles of life. She set the oceans to respond to the paths of the moons, and set certain creatures to roam during the days and others during the night. Knowing that cycles were crucial to the sustained beauty of the creation, however, she set some to prey upon others, bringing some into life through birth, and sending those at the end of their cycle back into darkness and into Dara's keeping.
When Sor viewed the cycles that Leriya had set into motion, he set rules upon the cycles, creating the orbits of the stars and planets and moons, and demanded these cycles follow a known order. Dara quietly went behind his back and added elements of chaos into the mix, however, ensuring that no cycle would be so rigid as to be infinite. Leriya, it is said, created the Eldar to aid her in caring for the creation, drawing a mix of Sor's light and Dara's shadow, adding in her own reverence for life.
But order and chaos often stand at opposites, and Sor and Dara quarreled. Leriya, caught in the middle, momentarily went insane, wreaking vast storms upon the creation. When she had seen what she had done, Leriya grieved, and immediately set about healing the creation of her madness, even as she still wrestles with reconciling Sor and Dara's quarrels. Some say it was in her remorse over her damage to the creation that Leriya created the mortal races, others say that it was in her madness, but all Trinitarians know it was Leriya's hand that created the mortal races, not the Eldar's. (Some will venture to say it was her hand operating through the Eldar, but this is a minority view among Trinitarians.)
Strangely enough, although the worship of Kaevar is quite low among the Hordes, worship of the Triune God is quite strong, leading some to wonder if Trinitarian doctrine came with the Hordes themselves. However, nothing about Sor, Dara, or Leriya is particularly "Hordish", and most depictions of the three are human or elvish (or both).
Distribution
Trinitarian worship is startingly consistant across Azgaarnoth--roughly 20% of any population in any of the nations of Azgaarnoth worship the Trinity, regardless of race or nationality, with slightly higher numbers among the smaller villages and towns and slightly lower numbers in the major cities.
Hierarchy
Although not formalized, within any Trinitarian temple all three clergy can be found: Sor's priests are generally the organizers, lead of formal worship services, and provide much of the record-keeping. Leriya's priests usually focus their attention on tending to crops and the congregation itself, and Dara's priests handle funary rites and keeping watch for any new danger to threaten the congregation. Within any given Trinitarian temple, clergy freely intermix and pass responsibilities to each other as the need demands, and rifts among the clergy are rare. Each has, however, their own rituals and hierarchy among themselves, practiced exclusively among themselves (though hardly a secret). If crisis strikes, generally Sor's priests are assumed to be in command of the temple's efforts, although at times one of Dara's or Leriya's will step in if too few of Sor's are available.
Sor
The Father; the Sun; Lord of Order
Clerical details
Domains: Air, Arcana, Fire, Forge, Light, Order, Protection, Unity, War, Time
Weapon: Hammer
Worshipers, Clergy & Temples
As Sor is the Father, the Sun, He is often portrayed as the most powerful of the Triune Gods. He inspires worship in those who see the strength and power in the Sun in all its forms, both beneficial and destructive. Worshippers include barbarians, rangers, paladins, druids, and elves. They believe in enjoying the warmth and the benefits offered, but are wary of it all the same.
Sorian clergy preach that Sor is not a vengeful god, but that His wrath--visited upon those who seek to violate the order of the universe and nature--is one to be feared and avoided. Sor does not shy from a fight, and his followers have much in the way of divine martial might to bestow upon His foes should it be necessary.
Vestments
Clerics of Sor tend to favor bright white and yellow, with strong imagery of the sun front and center. Often this is a robe of white, offset with gold thread, with a sun motif emblazoned on the chest and/or back.
Hierarchy
Sor's priests are not as firmly entrenched in hierarchy as, say, Pelor's, since Trinitarian clergy can move between the Trinity as their heart calls, but among Sor's clergy, a quasi-military rank system makes clear where each priest ranks among themselves.
Temples
Rituals
Festivals
Orders
Dogma
Dara
The Mother; Home; the Moons; Lady of Chaos
Clerical details
Domains: Water, Earth, Twilight, Shadow, Dark, Hearth, Grave, Peace, Chaos, Moon
Weapon: Quarterstaff
Worshipers, Clergy & Temples
Vestments
Hierarchy
Temples
Rituals
Festivals
Orders
Dogma
Leriya
The Lover; Birth; Nature
Clerical details
Domains: Desire, Life, Fertility, Healing, Nature, Hunt, Luck, Madness, Ocean, Tempest
Weapon: Dagger