Lady of Dreams

The Coddler

THE DEITY

Name(s): LADY OF DREAMS, THE CODDLER, THE NIGHT WATCHMAN, THE IMPARTER OF INSPIRATION

Spheres of Influence: The Coddler is the god of restful sleep, dreams and aspirations.

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Spells Returned: At Dusk

Favored Weapon: Halberd

Appearance: The Imparter of Inspiration appears to worshippers as a beautiful woman clad in comfortable, midnight blue and light gray robes. She is often surrounded by a silver mist.

THE CHURCH

Worship: Temples of the Night Watchman exist anywhere. Those in the wilderness are often simple shelters designed to allow weary travelers a safe place to rest. In cities, they are large domed structures where people come to pray and rest. Thygasha is home to the largest and most extravagant temple of The Coddler.

Regular services takes place twice weekly, once at Veshday’s dawn and once at dusk, in brief ceremonies accompanied by quiet but upbeat music. The service tends to be formal and involves little activity on the worshipper’s part. A 5-10 minute sermon from the lead cleric and a solo recitation by one of the younger members is typical.

Special Requirements: On the first Veshday of each month, the faithful of the Church of the Silver Mist is expected to abstain from the eating of meats and fish for the entire day. On the first Veshday of the year, they are also required to abstain from the eating of breads. The faith claims no justification for the practice; it has simply always been a tenet of the faith back to the earliest church and historical records.

Holy Symbol: Crossed hands resting on one’s chest as if sleeping.

Holy Days: Festival of the Cat. In this springtime celebration (the date varies by region, but is traditionally the 9th of Renewal), worshippers consume copious amounts of food and wine. After a good night’s rest, parishioners discuss the direction and goals for the church in the coming year.

Holy Colors: Silver, midnight blue and light gray.

Holy Animal: Dream Weavers respect and care for all felines, and never injure one except in self-defense.

Raiment: As one might expect of the spiritual leaders of the god of restful sleep, clerics of the Church of the Silver Mist tend to choose comfortable material for their robes or tunics. These Dream Weavers wear silver, midnight blue or gray robes decorated with stars and moons. A young artist in Mendarn, by the name of Colden Strelvar, weaves beautiful deep blue, almost black robes with a stunning star field decorating them. High ranking clerics of the Coddler pay hundreds of gold pieces for a Strelvar original. The current waiting list is measured in months.

Advancement: Advancement amongst Dream Weavers is based on acts done to oppose the Temple of Sleepless Nights.

At rank 4, the Soother gains the Skeptic feat as a bonus feat.

A Mist Seer of rank 6 gains a stipend of 250 gp/month.

A Mist Walker gains a rogue for his second follower.

A High Mist Walker may cast plane shift (to reach the Astral Plane or Material Plane only) twice per month as a spell-like ability. (Note: each use of this ability is a one-way trip.) It is said that a great temple of The Coddler exists in the Astral Plane and is tended to by her highest level clerics, although the truth of this is unknown to all below the rank of Mist Walker.

Sacrifices: Each night, clerics of the Coddler pray while thinking about why they deserve restful sleep. If they do not feel they have done anything worthy for their god that day (normally a good deed done in the Coddler’s name), then they must sacrifice a number of silver coins equal to their cleric level.

Friends and Allies:

The House of Solace: “Comfort allows dreams to flourish. Without comfort, dreams will not achieve fullness.”

The Order of the Passionate One: “Passion drives the dreams of men. The more emotions behind a dream, the more powerful it will be.”

The Inevitable Order of Time: “Dreams drive fate. Time can turn dreams into reality.”

Foes and Enemies:

The Temple of Sleepless Nights: “To steal dreams is evil. They seek to pervert dreams in hopes of creating their own world of terror.”

The Order of Agony: “Pain destroys hope, which in turn destroys dreams. They seek to destroy all dreams.”

The Church of the Endless Night: “They pervert the nature of night away from rest and dreams.”

The House of Vice: “By replacing restful sleep with vile pleasures, they pervert all natural goodness.”

Major Temples: Important centers of worship for the Church of the Silver Mist can be found in Lathlanian, Bet Kalamar, Rosaleta, Sobeteta, Kabakosikido, Oloseta, and Gaketa.

Temples dedicated to worship of the Coddler vary in shape, but they all feature the traditional dome, under which the worshippers gather for services. Colorful pennants and flags usually adorn the building. The floor might be tile, stone, or wood, but a light covering of sand always conceals its material.

Cathedrals follow a variation of the typical design, usually a square building underneath the main dome. Four smaller domes cover towers built at the corners of the main building. Additional buildings, even as humble as the groundskeeper’s tool shed, also have domes, although these lesser domes might be decorative additions placed atop the functional roof.

The faith’s seat lies in Thygasha, the source for the magical silver sand. The temple engages in a mortal conflict with its enemy, the Temple of Sleepless Nights. Clerics can gain promotions rapidly in that city, and Thygasha has become a destination for many ambitious clerics. The ancient Keeper of the Mist Rozhan, who is potentially one of the most powerful spellcasters on Tellene, has been the nominal head of the faith for over 20 years, a position he attained based largely on his personal ability. He has been an excellent leader and model for the younger clerics to look up to. Fortunately, he is wise enough to realize his role as a figurehead and allows Mist Walker Kirsan to supervise the faith’s growth and development while Rozhan continues to fight the faith’s enemies.

Sayings: “Life is an illusion that your dreams can change.” - “Have no fear to sleep this night, the Night Watchman is here to ensure morning’s light.” - “Listen to your dreams, they can tell you much.” - “The Coddler will see you in your dreams.”