Wood Elven Faith 101

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

A missive has been prepared and is readable all over the city of Cerulin, perhaps to give the mali'ame a little more insight in their own way of life.

 

Deities

The Wood Elven Pantheon is comprised of two. The Horned Man and Green Lady. The god of death and goddess of life respectfully. The Aspects uphold the balance of nature so crucial to the Wood Elven way of life.

 

Cernunnos

 

The horned man, best known as the god of the hunt, and the other pillar of nature's balance. Many mali'ame choose the life of a warrior, and Cernunnos is a name they often invoke when praying that their shots aim true, be it prey, or armed enemy.

 

Mali'ame often see the horned man as the harbinger of death, but not as a sinister shadow lurker aiming or grim reaper. Infact, death is seen as a natural and necessary part of nature's balance, and Cernunnos it's facilitator. Animal prey must die so the wood elves can eat, and enemies must perish so the mali'ame may live in peace, even the sick and dying of the forest elves own people must eventually pass on to make way for the young. Death always has purpose and Cernunnos is the one who maintains this.

 

 

Devotees of Cernunnos often adorn themselves with the horns of a stag somewhere on their garbs, as evidently seen in the horned helmets of Cerulin's Sons of Cernunnos. The horns signify a wood elf as a hunter, a bringer of death with purpose, and an agent of the horned man's will.

 

 

Cerridwen

 

Known as the 'green lady', Cerridwen is one of the two aspects whom uphold the balance of nature. To the mali'ame, she is seen as a goddess of life. Prayers are often made with Cerridwen's name on wood elven lips, for the plentiful growth of crops, or that the trees they live in grow tall and strong.

 

Cerridwen is seen as the goddess of life, in contrast to Cernunno’s death. Her touch is all around us. You can feel it in the rustling of the tree canopy, the grass below, or the buzzing of bees in the spring air. Her creations allow us to live, eat, and survive. The Green Lady keeps life plentiful in our city, for when Cernunnos facilitates the death of the old and weak, Cerridwen replaces it with the new and budding, renewing the cycle.

 

 

Devotees of Cerridwen hold all life in as high a regard as their own, be it plant, animal or descendant. More than anyone else the Green lady's followers understand that every living thing has its place and reason for existing, which makes it essential to the natural balance.

 

 

 

The unthinkable acts

The Wood Elves are a tolerant people, but there are certain acts that they cannot abide by under any circumstances.

 

Meaningless Killing -

 

While murder is a taboo act in most cultures, the mali’ame see purposeless killing as not only a moral wrong, but a fundamental slap in the face to the natural balance of things. Death must always serve a purpose, and when the one’s reason for killing strays away from the Aspect’s balance, he himself becomes a threat to said balance.

 

Wastefulness -

 

When our fields grow thick with bountiful crops, that is Cerridwen’s blessing. When our aim is true and we manage to hunt ourselves meat for the winter, that is Cernunnos’ gift. To take these gifts for granted, or worse, to waste them, is an affront to the aspect’s balance. There are few greater ways to insult the ‘ame other than leaving animal carcasses are left around, meat uneaten and hide un-used, or to see excess crops tossed aside, left to rot.
 

Altering Nature -

We are the way we are because this is how the aspects intended us to be. To play god with natural beings is horrific in the eyes of the ‘ame. The best example of this would be alchemical experiments such as Chimeras, where animals are twisted and bent into something unrecognizable. One must never tamper with or change the Aspect’s creations.

Edited October 9, 2015 by 小叮噹

[Ioannis 1480]

Ioannis reads it and feels proud for being a Son of Cernunnos.

[Pinsir99 526]

"Eh... Cerrunos isn't realleh death persay..."

[Birdwhisperer 1174]

Elorna writes to Art: "Cernunnos does not represent death, he embodies the chaotic (and sometimes more violent) side of nature. Cerridwen grows and provides the bounties of nature, while Cernunnos keeps that growth in check through the Hunt. Thus, the two together maintain balance."

 

She also sends him a copy of a short book, Intro to the Aspects.

[Swgrclan 2682]

"You cannot have one without the other -- to believe in one Aspect is to believe in imbalance. Do the descendants of Malin, who valued a Druidic Court of his own, seek to dismember the fundamental points in which the faith of nature is comprised of?" Inquires the Shadow Druid upon reading the missive to it's end.

He then realizes he read the missive incorrectly, and nods sheepishly in light of his mistake. The Druid seems to have bad eyesight.

[hellfiazz 879]

"Votar agh Freygoth am hozh'r den Zernunnuz agh Keridwin" says Buubztik, promoting his own deities as ever.

[~ Fiend ~ 611]

Isabella's just proud of Art for saying woodies and druids go together.

Life is good. She goes to give Art a pat on the back.

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

 

Isabella's just proud of Art for saying woodies and druids go together.

Life is good. She goes to give Art a pat on the back.

 

Art didn't -technically- say that but he pretends thats what he meant because he has a need for sisterly approval.

[Samoblivion 532]

Kaelin reads the pamphlet and strokes the wooden antler pendant at his neck, many remembering of these words well from his upbringing amongst Mali'ame hunters.

[OhDeerLord 673]

Dwyn chuckles softly at the common misconception about Cerunnos, but otherwise he smiles proudly, leaning against his staff and dipping his own head- donned with branches shaped to resemble antlers. "It's good to see others of my kin paying respect to the aspects. I did so for many years even before I walked the path of druidism. If there are those that would like to know more about the aspects, I'll try my best to teach."

[Orlanden 33]

After reading the missive, Orlanden sports a long, bright smile. He looks up through the canopy to the blue sky above and seems entranced as he watches the smeared white clouds float upon the wind. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, then lets it go, exhaling what negativity might remain from the world he's lived in for over a millennium. Turning back to the board on which the missive was pinned, he notices many others around and decides to take one with him back to his tree to show his brother, Brave.

 

As he folds it and places it in his satchel, he thinks to himself, "Times are changing. Finally." 

[Elad™ 560]

Moved to the Archive. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.