Ilmater

Ilmater
Often revered for his good-spirited aspects and lore that paints him as quiet, mild-mannered, and willingness to bear the burden of others, Ilmater has aspects that are equally as important to recognize. As often as Ilmater's followers are with good intention, so do they sew chaos with cries of protection and revolution. A follower of Ilmater is just as likely to strike down a man as a follower of Bane, just for a differing reason.

Personality
Ilmater (Ihl-MAY-ter) offers succor and calming words to those who are in pain, oppressed, or in great need. He is the willing sufferer, the one who takes the place of another to heft the other's burden, to take the other's pain. He is the god of the oppressed and unjustly treated.

Ilmater is quiet, kind, good-spirited, and slow to anger. He appreciates a humorous story and has a rather rustic humor himself. When his avatar appears, he takes assaults upon his person passively and rarely lifts a hand against another. He is not totally nonviolent, though, as many often assume by his doctrine of endurance. When facing cruelties and atrocities his rage can boil up, and then he is a figure of frighteningly righteous wrath. His appearance can frighten the young, but he takes great care to reassure them as he treasures children and all young creatures, taking exceptional offense at those who would abuse or harm them.

Relationships
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Avatar
Ilmater appears as an unseen, watchful presence accompanied by a whimpering or howling sound. In this form he speaks, telekineses items about, and hurls spells.

Alternatively, the Crying God can choose to possess any good-aligned creature who is being tortured without having done anything to earn such treatment under the laws of the realm in which the torture is taking place. When such a manifestation occurs, the tortured being's body glows with a bright white aura, the being is healed and regenerated, all pain is banished, any restraints are broken asunder and torture devices smashed, and the being is set free, vigorous and alert. If Ilmater is angered enough by what has been done (sadistically cruel torturers and accompanying murders are definite triggers for this), he empowers the freed being to cast destructive spells for a turn or so, typically channeling the ability to cast such spells as lightning bolt and fireball.

More commonly he sends white doves, donkeys, daisies, white roses, field mice, and sparrows to show his favor and as a sign to encourage his faithful to persevere.

Followers & Organizations
The followers of Ilmater are often perceived as being intentional sufferers, but in reality, they concentrate a lot of effort on providing proper treatment and healing to those who have been hurt. They put others ahead of themselves, are sharing, and emphasize the spiritual nature of life over the gross material body. Some of the more zealous followers also tend to be the igniters of rebellions that topple cruel, oppressive empires.

Ilmater's priests tend to be the most sensitive and caring of humans. When new to the faith, since they see much suffering, they often weep. Over time, this constant tugging at their heartstrings wears at them, and they then tend toward a cynical view of life in Malero. They are distinguished from other cynics, however, by their inability to ignore or pass by others in need. Even when a cause is hopeless, they must help. Ilmatari are taught to be firm in their principles and fearless, with the result that they earn enormous respect with the general populace, but are often slain by brigands or those who hold different principles than they do. The church of Ilmater is different from many Maleran faiths in that it has many saints.

Few priests of Ilmater are trained soldiers, and fewer still are merchants, but they do outpace all other priesthoods in the size, number, and level of treatment in the many infirmaries and leper sanctuaries they maintain. From their inception into the priesthood, Ilmatari are trained in the recognition and treatment of all known disease, injuries, and conditions; senior priests have had prepared detailed programmed illusions to show beings in various stages of harm. An Ilmatari priest who has been shown these could, for instance, recognize a human infested with rot grubs at a glance.

The process of joining the clergy of Ilmater is simple: A novice enjoys a gentle walk and talk with a senior priest, during which they talk and explore the novice's views of life. They then dine and the novice is (knowingly) given a wine that puts him or her into a gentle trance where various clergy and wizards friendly to the faith can easily employ mind-scrying spells to thoroughly explore the novice's true feelings, loyalties, and aims. If no dedication to evil or precluding religious or secular loyalties are found, the novice is accepted and adorned with the simple robes of Ilmater. (This cautious practice was instituted because so many folk in the past have posed as willing entrants into the Ilmatari just to learn the medicines and knowledge and then stole away with as many medical supplies as they could.)

Organization
All the Adorned are priests, but no titles are commonly used in the clergy except Brother and Sister. For senior clergy, Revered is added to this, and for the heads of temples, abbeys, and monasteries dedicated to the Crying God, Father and Mother are used. So, for example, the head of the Towers of Willful Suffering, the abbey to Ilmater in North Auros, is known as Revered Mother of the House Kholhanna.

The Adorned include clerics, priests, paladins, and monks. Though the monastic orders usually dwell separate from the rest of the church in monasteries and abbeys, some monks also abide in Ilmatari temples to teach other Ilmatari about fields of knowledge they have specialized in or to provide their special form of hand-to-hand protection to the institution to which they are assigned.

The hierarchy of the Adorned usually centers around the leader of the large temple, abbey, or monastery to who the Ilmatari in the region report. Ilmatari are loosely ranked under this Revered Mother or Father, and abbeys and monasteries are usually tied to specific temples, often adding a second informal tier to the hierarchy.

Day-to-Day Activities of the Clergy
Ilmater's priests are found where they are needed, which is usually in the worst possible conditions, ministering to the needs of the oppressed, the deceased, and the poor. Those outside the faith often view this as a strategic positioning of churches in areas which guarantee the persecution of Ilmatari. Priests of Ilmater may also be found among adventuring companies, and—in addition to paladins—are often the ones to go off rescuing this clan of kidnapped halflings or recovering that purloined family heirloom. It is not that they are foolish, but rather that they care for all things to the exclusion of their personal risk.

Ilmatari share what they have with those in need and always take time to counsel those who are upset and give healing and tender care to the injured. They speak for the oppressed, guide the lost, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and gather herbs and make medicines at all times for disasters to come. When war is expected and time permits, priests of Ilmater gather in strength with litters, shovels, tents, splints, bandages by the cartload, and wagons of medicines and healing potions to tend those who will soon suffer.

Priests of Ilmater see life as sacred and suffering as holy, but they do not stand in the way of others' desires or condemn them for their chosen path. For instance, Ilmatari would not stop a sorely injured warrior from rising up half-healed to plunge into battle again, openly seeking death while fighting the foe. Instead, they would freely assist the warrior by healing him enough to be mobile so that he could follow his own death wish in the most honorable manner available to him.

Ilmatari bury the dead, treat the diseased, and give food, drink, and firewood to the poor. They also tour the wealthier cities and settlements of Malero soliciting funds to support the church. Increasingly, since so many folk personally received the benefit of their kindnesses during the Era of Wars, people of all faiths give generously to the church of the Crying God. As the merchant in Ashpond of Westgate put it: "If I pay for one extra potion today, it may be the last one tomorrow—but the one needed then to heal me."

Temples
Temples to Ilmater are almost always very humble in appearance, sometimes unnecessarily so, and hardly ever have any gold adornments, or even silver, and settle instead for ones made of bronze or copper. Most curtains and drapes in the temples are of grey or red color.

Dress
For ceremonial functions, Ilmatari wear a solid gray tunic, tabard, and trousers, or gray robes. They wear skullcaps in gray (most clergy members) or red (senior priests). Novices who have not yet been adorned wear no skullcaps. The symbol of Ilmater is worn as a pin over the heart or on a chain around the neck and serves as a holy symbol. Some of the older members of the faith have a gray teardrop tattooed to one side of their right or left eye.

In the field or on quests, Ilmatari priests dress appropriately for the mission and the weather but usually wear gray tabards decorated with Ilmater's symbol stitched on the chest near the left shoulder over any other clothing or armor they wear. They are never without their holy symbols and a satchel of medicines, bandages, salves, splints, and slings.

Dogma
The Ilmatari are taught to help all who hurt, no matter who they are, and that the truly holy take on the suffering of others. Ilmater tells them that if they suffer in his name, he will be there to support them. They should stick to their cause if it is right, whatever the pain and peril. They are to stand up to all tyrants, resisting in ways both great and small, and to allow no injustice to go by unchallenged. They believe that there is no shame in a meaningful death. Some followers of Ilmater take a negative or darkly humorous view of the world, and the church accepts them as well. "Today is the first day in what's left of your life" fits very snugly into Ilmater's dogma, but most Ilmatari would add, "So live it well."

"Persevere in the face of pain. Heal the sick, the wounded, and the diseased. Comfort the dying, the grief-stricken, and the heartsick. Take on the burdens and the pain of others. Champion the causes of the oppressed and unjustly treated, and give shelter and kind counsel to the lonely, the lost, and the ruined. Pursue the service of Ilmater, and he will provide—leave gross riches and the acquisition of all but medicines to others. Take up the tasks no others dare."

Ceremonies/Holy Days/Prayers/Rituals
There are no calendar-related special holy days or any other festivals observed by the Ilmatari. Instead, the daily rituals of prayer to Ilmater at least six times per day govern each and every day of service.
 * The Turning (R)
 * It is the duty of every priest of Ilmater to try to get dying persons to turn to Ilmater for comfort, receiving the blessing of the Broken God before they expire. As the veneration of Ilmater grows, even in death, his healing power becomes greater.

Major Centers of Worship

 * Example, Example-land

Affiliated Orders

 * The Companions of the Noble Heart
 * The Order of the Golden Cup
 * Warriors of Holy Suffering