Lady of the Stars - Ethos and Tenents Options

[Fionamullin]

Ethos -
Lady of the Stars, is the Goddess of Light,
Beauty and Joy. In the words of the current guild
leader: "Those things that make life worth enjoying, not
merely enduring". Until recently, the church in Labyrinthia
directed much of its energy towards destruction of the
Void God, but now that that end has been achieved, they
have had a chance to step back and return the faith to its
earlier roots.
Because followers of the Lady of the Stars must offer their
whole-hearted love and devotion to the Lady, no
individual who draws spiritual power from any other
source or patron may claim membership of the Church of
Elbereth. Any priest of the church who in some way
acquires another spiritual patron must either reject that
patron and their power *utterly*, or else leave the church.
The only exception to this rule is followers of the other
Valar, since the Lady is the representative of that pantheon on Primus.

Tenants -

First: To respect life, and the right of people of good heart
to enjoy that life. Most people, the Church would say,
respect this and live peacefully with their neighbours.
Those who do not, but rather take a delight in cruelty or
the subjugation of others should be dealt with by
whatever means necessary, as by denying the rights of
others to live in peace they have forfeited their own.
It is the duty of those of the faith to actively defend the
rights of the defenceless and as such must be prepared to
risk their own lives in the service of those less able to do
so. Mercenaries, after all, have vitae and the church
contains many priests capable of restoring the fallen.

Second: Malicious creatures of undeath are the antithesis
of life, and as such should be disposed of swiftly. Those
who summon them are torturers of souls and should
likewise be stopped with as much force as is required.

Third: Regarding other evil beings, the present leadership
of the guild would urge members to consider using
diplomacy and reason before violence, and attempt to
dissuade them from following that path and turn to a
better one. If this fails, then the anger of the Church, and
its military wing the Templars of Gilthoniel must be swift
and thorough. Theological disagreements between
members of the church tend to involve the question of
how much of a chance those of evil soul should be given
before the sword is drawn, but agree it is wrong to let the
forces of evil do their works unhindered.

Fourth: Beauty as a concept both metaphysical and literal
is important to the forms of our worship, whether
the beauty of an ideal or the literal beauty of art and
nature. Members of the church are expected to appreciate
art and learning; and whilst not expected to become
artists themselves, though some do, to respect those that
are, and not be wantonly destructive in their actions.
The faith is particularly strong amongst Elves, as the
goddess was first worshipped by these folk. However,
membership is open to those of all races who embrace
their ideals and has included dwarves and even orcs. The
will to follow the Lady can be found in all races that can
see and rejoice in her light.

Notes from the High Priest - Zhara (Fi Mullin)

The heart of the church is in the fortress temple of
Gothiel, a former castle on a high crag in the Heartlands
around which the holy city has grown up, with smaller
shrines in most other settlements of the Empire. Members
of the clergy are requested to try to visit Gothiel at least
once a year in order to maintain their links with the
church hierarchy and ensure that they are not confused
by lack of guidance in matters of scripture.
New PC priests are always recommended to contact the
mercenary guild head for more information and
assistance.