Faunaros
Faunaros is often depicted as a noble rider prepared for the hunt. He is a protector of civilized places and as such is known to roam the wilds near Vitulus' home, protecting the Celestial City from intruders. As Bidari the Warmaster, he is the god of Evocation and serves Abaris as one of the Dukes of Mystery with domain over Evocation spells. As Godwin Goodfellow, he is the patron of cooks, particularly professional cooks in the castles of nobles and protects those who pray to him from preparing bad food. As the Mongrel Lord, he punishes those who mistreat dogs, typically by trapping them in the wilderness and hunting them until they die of exhaustion. Faunaros can be a cruel deity, but his aim is to protect civilized lands from the depredations of Polydorus, his most dire enemy.
| Faunaros |
| God of Hunting |
| Descriptive Info |
| Gender: Male |
| Avatar: Bidari the Warmaster; Godwin Goodfellow; the Mongrel Lord |
| Consort(s): None |
| Allies: Baelthor, God of the Earth (father); Innus, God of Friendship (brother); Phemos, God of Sport; Thalia, Goddess of the Hearth; Virtus, God of Courage (brother); Vitulus, God of the State. |
| Foes: Empusa, Goddess of Poison; Enosigaois, God of Earth; Nelestrix, Goddess of Insects; Pelactere, Goddess of Rage; Picus, God of Avians; Polydorus, God of Wild Beasts; Ruminus, God of Disease. |
| Spiritual Info |
| Rank: Major |
| Nature: Chaotic |
| Ethos: Agathocacological |
| Major Influence: Hunting |
| Minor Influence(s): Cooking, Evocation, and Dogs |
| Spheres: Earth, Luck, Nature, Trickery |
Depictions
Faunaros is typically depicted as a handsome, black-haired nobleman dressed for the hunt astride Courser, the legendary sire of all hunting horses, with Ritali and Relata, his hunting hounds, next to him. Green and browns are significant to Faunaros, and he is usually depicted with a spring of Mistletoe hanging from his saddle. As Bidari the Warmaster, he is usually depicted only with Farseer, his falcon. He wears the ceremonial red robes of the Evoker and, unlike the other Dukes of Mystery, usually is not depicted with his cowl over his head. As Godwin Goodfellow, he is depicted as a portly, smiling man wearing clean white clothing. As the Mongrel Lord, he has the head of a dog and his body is covered in short fur of various colorations. He is often depicted in this aspect as having a broken collar, either hanging from his teeth or on the ground near him.
Faunaros is almost always depicted carrying Tulagan, his boar-spear, but his prize weapon is Suremark, his golden longbow. As Bidari the Warmaster, he is shown holding the Staff of War, with Aereton, his crossbow, at his side. As Godwin Goodfellow, he rarely depicted with a weapon. As the Mongrel Lord, he carries the Punisher, an adamantite-spiked whip given to him by his father, Baelthor, used to punish those who abuse their hounds. Faunaros is usually depicted wearing Galaegis, his mithryl-studded leather armor. As Bidari the Warmaster, he wears only the red robes of the Evoker. As Godwin Goodfellow and the Mongrel Lord, he wears no armor.
Symbols
Ten tends to be a number universally sacred to Faunarans. It is the number of days Faunaros spent tracking Polydorus when they first fought, it is the number of heads the Hydra slain by St. Telemachus the Vengeful had, and it is the maximum number of Apprentices a mentor can have at any one time. The mistletoe is a significant symbol for Faunaros, while those who worship him as Godwin Goodfellow particularly favor the pepper plant. As Bidari, he is usually depicted with a carnation, to symbolize his fealty to Abaris, Goddess of Magic.
Dwelling Place
The forested valley of Tharythan in the tablelands of Ninshagur in Anadimtu. Rarely, Evander may rest in the Lofted Lodge between hunts, hidden deep within his forests.
Servants
St. Androcles the Generous, St. Telemachus the Vengeful, St. Theodoric of the Crimson Cowl, St. Balecan the Hunter.
Doctrine
No information available on the doctrine of Faunaros
Mission
No information available on the mission of Faunaros
Geography
No geographic information available on Faunaros
History of the Church
No historic information available on Faunaros
Organization
No information available on the Organization of the Church of Faunaros
Priesthood
A potential Apprentice to the Order of the Hunter must first prove his experience in the wild, defeating a wild beast by himself or surviving for a time (typically ten days) unaided in the wild. An Apprentice then must apply for a patron within the Order, who will take on the Apprentice’s training and instruction. A patron may take on no more than ten Apprentices, so there is sometime fierce competition for the instruction of particularly popular patrons. After ten months of training under the patron, the Apprentice is asked if he seeks to continue in the service of Faunaros or intends to go on his own. Most Apprentices undergo the training only to hone their skills as a hunter and choose not to enter the priesthood, but those who do choose to join the Order become clerics and attain the rank of Journeyman Hunter.
A cleric of the Order is expected to continue his training on his own, not only as a cleric, but also as a ranger. Most Journeymen Hunters never aspire for more than to serve Faunaros in the wild, defending civilization against the depredations of wild beasts and the servants of Polydorus. Those who are able to cast ranger spells and have equal experience as a cleric may choose to associate with a specific Lodge or community and become a Seated Hunter. Seated Hunters are the right hand of the Order and are constantly given tasks by their superiors which please Faunaros.
A Seated Hunter who has performed his tasks to the satisfaction of his superiors for at least ten years may be asked if he wishes to found his own Lodge. If he agrees, he must then go forth and find a town or region that has no Lodge to Faunaros and construct the Lodge himself. Once the Lodge is complete and blessed by the church fathers, the Seated Hunter can call himself a Master Hunter and begin to accept Seated Hunters at his new Lodge.
Those Master Hunters who have served as such for at least ten years are considered to be members of the Lords of the Hunt, something of an Order within the Order which, as a group, decides any issues facing the Church. The Lords of the Hunt meet once every ten months to determine policy for Faunaros’ small clergy and decide when and where a Great Hunt will be called.
Apprentices who have been released by their patron may instead choose to join the Order of St. Androcles, a semi-religious order dedicated to Faunaros as Godwin Goodfellow, the Master Cook. The Order of St. Androcles tends to be much more organized than the mainstream clergy and accepts laymen into their ranks. Members of the Order of St. Androcles can be found the kitchens of royalty, nobility and even powerful ecclesiasts of other deities and tend to be highly sought after for their cooking skills. Many of the foremost members of the Order of St. Androcles were formerly mainstream priests who decided to retire from priestly life to focus instead on their cooking skills.
Religious Practices
No information available on the religous practices of the Church of Faunaros
Calendar
Worshipers of Faunaros celebrate three main holy days. Hunter’s Day is celebrated on the Winter Solstice, the first day of the year hunters are permitted to hunt female game. The day is spent hunting and that night, a huge feast is held for all the hunters and their families, consuming whatever game was killed that day (with a few domestic animals thrown in when the hunting was bad that day). It is generally believed that however fortunate hunters are on Hunter’s Day will reflect their luck for the rest of the year. It is considered particularly bad form to offend Faunaros on Hunter’s Day. Gramercy Day, which takes place the day before Spring Equinox, signals the end of the season. On Gramercy Day, game saved up from the previous week is eaten during the day while the young Hunters compete in hunting-related competitions for small tokens. Awards are also given in the community to hunters who have successfully downed the most game, as well as a joke “award” given to the hunter who missed the most (the “award,” usually the stuffed rear of a deer, must be hung in a prominent place in his home until the following year). At the end of the day, the hunters give thanks to Faunaros for his bounty.
The most significant holiday to Faunarans is St. Telemachus’ Day, which takes place the first day of the tenth week after the Spring Solstice. The day before, a hunter can choose to go to a Lodge and demand food and drink for the night. The morning of St. Telemachus’ Day, the Master Hunter will select a particularly dangerous beast or creature in the area and tasks the hunters with slaying it. Any hunter who shirks his duty and refuses the hunt is considered Outside the Bow and may not participate in rites (including hunting) until he attends and completes a Beasthunt on St. Telemachus’ Day. Those who do participate honorably in a Beasthunt and deliver the killing blow are honored at a feast the following evening and are thereafter given the right to call themselves “Blooded.”
Customs
Religious ceremonies to Faunaros tend to be highly personalized affairs and only the most significant holidays require the presence of a priest. Adherents are expected to give a prayer to Faunaros before and after a hunt. A portion of meat gained from hunting should be burned as an offering of thanks to Faunaros. If dogs were used in the hunt, they must be fed part of the meat as well, before the hunter sits down to his own meal.
The mistletoe is of prime significance to Faunaros and hunters often carry a sprig of mistletoe when hunting to draw Faunaros’ blessing on their hunt. Faunarans are particularly fond of green and brown clothing, though those who worship him as Godwin Goodfellow usually wear white, while those who worship his aspect as Bridari the Warmaster usually wear the red robes of the evoker. Those few dedicated to the Mongrel Lord wear variegated clothing, often patched in mis-matched colors.
It should be noted that, while proclamations of heresy are extremely rare among Faunarans (the church leaves most details up to the individual worshipers), Crusades against a specific beast or group of beasts are not uncommon. All worshipers are welcome to join in such a Crusade and clerics are generally expected to, should they hear of it.
Taboos
Despite the individualized nature of worship, the followers of Faunaros are enjoined to follow several very specific traditions when hunting. Hunters are tasked to only kill female prey during the winter, so as to not deplete the game population. Furthermore, they must never abuse or mistreat their hunting animals, particularly a hunting dog (there are a multitude of apocryphal stories Faunarans tell of masters who met ill fortune after abusing their hunting dogs). Game should not be wasted…if there is more meat than the hunter and his family can consume, the excess meat must be given away (selling it is acceptable, but if there are no buyers, it must be given to someone). Of course, having the head of a particularly magnificent animal preserved for display is not considered a waste. Game injured by the hunter should not be left to die…the hunter is expected to track the game down and end its life mercifully. Those hunters who fail to find such game often fast for ten days in penance (a common penalty for displeasing Faunaros). Most of the hunting rules apply only to game…rapacious animals and beasts, as representatives of Polydorus, are to be given no quarter or respect.
Needless to say, supporting or assisting a worshiper of Polydorus or, really, doing anything other than relentlessly opposing them is considered a grievous offense, one that may be considered heresy by other Faunarans, depending on the degree of the crime.
