Ephertain

God of Knowledge, historians literature, bribery and bias
Elder than the other gods save for J'ogk, Ephertain is usually depicted in murals as a wizened old man sitting and writing on a scroll. He is considered to be the one who sees everything and records. However in his recording he writes as he sees fit, as do his followers. Many a noble has been written poorly of until the coffers of the church were enriched, after which new insights from on high do come to pass and the noble is written of in a better light.

Manifestations

The god of Knowledge normally contacts his followers in one of two ways although accounts of other means are not unheard of. When the message is to be a subtle one, then the god may send a slight breeze touched with the smell of old parchment. This breeze may actually push against another wind so that the followers may recognize Ephertain's presence. When a stronger message is to be conveyed then the god will cause a book or parchment to fall open to certain pages. More often than not this is one of the three holy texts of Ephertain (see below) although Ephertain will some times use other tomes for his purposes. Because of this many of the temples of Ephertain have bars on their shelves so that an accident will not be construed as a sign from the god.

Symbol

Normally cast from either a stout wood such as Oak or from a more expensive metal such as Old Gold or Bronze-Gold the symbol of Ephertain represents Ephertain's unique perspective on time and history. Some have also likened it to scrolls of old that is often equated with the historic god. Others have joked out of earshot of the followers of the god of Knowledge, that their symbols actually start as gold but because they are constantly caressing the golden surface it darkens over time.

Greeting

Make you be written into history.

Priestly attire

Priestly: The normal Ephertain Priest wears a long flowing robe normally of brown or a deep gold. A black tassel is normally draped around the neck with varying color knots being placed on the ends of each tassel to designate the status of the priest. A single silver knot designates a normal priest; two is for advanced priests in the order. A church leader normally wears a single golden knot while a priest who resides over many different churches in an area wears two golden knots. The leader of the order normally wears a golden threaded tassel.

Daily: Priests of Ephertain are often found wearing clothing that follows the latest custom. They often prominently display their church's symbol on a necklace or bracelet. Also each priest carries 3 small books on their person at all time. Each book is a holy book of Ephertain and denotes a period of the history of the church. While the books are separate, they are only found out of the set when they have either been lost or stolen.

Organization of the Church of Ephertain

The church of Ephertain is lead by a council of 10 bishops. Every 3 years a new head of the church is ordained from the council of bishops. The former one returns to his or her seat on the council of bishops. When one of the bishops passes away a meeting is held with the remaining members of the council and a Karn (see below) from a church is selected to replace the former bishop.

Every bishop presides over certain areas of Ki'Larn. A bishop may be female or male and from any race, although no effort has ever been made to keep things equal among the races. Most bishops normally do not travel but send out messengers and servants to do their bidding.

Under each bishop there is the leader of each church, the Karn. As with the bishops, Karns can either be male or female and can normally be of any races, although they normally are of the race that is most populous to the area the church is located in.

Under each Karn are numerous priests. These priests normally answer directly to their Karn and are when away from the church are often found on a mission for his or her Karn. As with all the other levels of the church this level has a smattering of both males and females from the various races of the land. Priests of Ephertain do not have to answer directly to a Karn, however those who wish to gain power, prestige and training eventually attach themselves to a Karn.

Priestly activities

The head of the council of bishops often resides as a chairperson over the council. The leader of the council infrequently holds any ceremonies except for Ephertain's major holidays at which time he or she gives a special blessing and personally pens a story of a deserving worshiper. On non-holy days he or she normally acts as a court historian or as an ambassador.

Unlike the leader of the council, bishops do hold ceremonies at the church they normally preside in. They also act as an editor and proofreader for all of the histories written down by the Karns and regular priests. Additionally they assist the leader of the council in any duties he or she may assign. Normally they rule on matters of dispute between two Karns and incorporate the new dictates of the council of 10.

Karns and priests are really the workers in the entire structure of the church of Ephertain. Karns are responsible for the upkeep of the church normally using funds collected from their congregation to do so. Because of the flux of congregations and coinage it is not uncommon to find both Karns and priests to be employed by the local populace. Often local priests of Ephertain can be found in the market place writing down bills of sale as well as debts for merchants. Additionally priests also normally pursue the personal histories of nobles or merchants who can spare the coinage. Added to this are duties that bishops pass down personally such as message delivery or research.

Holy Days

The church of Ephertain has numerous holidays. Normally these holidays are linked to the calendar. At the end of every month the priests of Ephertain hold the "Holy day of Closing". Normally on this day any histories are brought up to date and any ledgers the priests are working on are checked for errors and requests for payment are sent out.
The "Closing Days" which are held at the end of Larn and Wolik are special occasions when the head of the council of 10 holds ceremonies in a major town. These holy days are actually 3-day events that involves gift giving between the faithful, numerous feasts, and public readings of history.

Temple Descriptions

A typical temple of Ephertain might be mistaken for a library. Normally the building is built around a large room with shelves and shelves of books. Bars bind each of the racks so that no books can fall out of place and give a false sign of the god. Normally the library is open to the public for a small fee. Also the average temple has small quill rooms where faithful can have their histories written down, their ledgers checked and numerous other duties performed. And finally there is a small chapel. This chapel is usually smaller than the library since many of the faithful believe that the library is actually where Ephertain resides.

There are several major temples in Ki'Larn. In Halus there is actually two temples. One in the outer section which is more available to commoners and one in the inner city which normally charge high fees but has an extensive collection of books. There are also temples to Ephertain in Ellatros, Palangrien and Arrosis. Shrines to the god of Knowledge are uncommon since a proper temple to Ephertain is thought to have an extensive library.

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month 8