Gilead

Intermediate Deity

Symbol: A bow and quiver

Colors: Brown and Green

Alignment: Neutral Good

Celestial Symbol: The Constellation 'Great Bowman'

Home Plane: The Cradle of Nature

Portfolio: Hunters, Rangers, and Animals

Domains: Animals, Community, Good, Plant

Cleric Alignment: NG, CG, and LG

Favored Weapon: Gaea's Song (longbow)

Other Names: The Master of Beasts, Lord of Rangers, The Hunter (Myrddion), The Beast King, The Fisher King, The Great Rider (The Vast), Gilead of the Bow

The son of Daeus and Althea and brother to Eluna, Gilead is known as the Hunter and the Prince of Beasts. He promotes a respect for the natural glories of Gaea and encourages a responsible outlook and use of the gifts that are given to mortals by the gods. He encourages patience and temperance and guards against the power of nature being abused or ravaged by those who would use it to do harm. His dedication to the destruction of those who would undo the delicate balance of nature earned him the title of The Hunter. Gilead is the great god of the forests, the high hunt and the lord of all rangers. He is most often depicted riding his great steed, Mahal, and thundering through the planes with a great host in search of theabominations unleashed by the fallen gods and demons of the Void. Gilead loves the world dearly and many individuals from farmers to the mightiest of rangers and trackers of the wild revere him. He is the harmony of the predator and the prey, the strength of the raging sea and the master of the hunt.

Dogma

The Lord of Rangers is best known for protecting those who dwell in the wood and the wild and the people of the forests as well as the plains. Gilead teaches the responsible use of nature and he teaches the good that is in nature and espouses the protection of innocents from unconfined forms of nature. Known also as The Hunter, he understands that animals and the bounty of the wood must sometimes be used to sustain the mortal world. Thus he teaches that such things are always to be seen as the gift of the wild and not something to be exploited or taken at will.

Clergy and Temples

Gilead's clergy is seen as a necessary counter to the ravages and activities of depraved clergies like Caracoroth's. Also, he concerns himself with the well being of settlements an civilized beings more than Dana, who is often seen as a goddess who must be appeased and treaded carefully with. Gilead's clergy are well known and welcome in frontier and fringe settlements where they often serve as the last line of defense against an untamed wild. Gilead maintains a very loose clergy with no defined structure or set of leadership. His clerics receive their spells in the morning or the evening and observe both of these time periods with moments of prayer and reflection. Meditation and introspection is important as well as solitary exploration and the spending of time in the woodlands. Gilead's clergy wanders through small communities, encouraging them to live in harmony with nature and protecting them from their own ignorance. When called upon, they protect the wild lands with great fervor, but likewise are understanding that nature is a tool to be used, albeit it must be used responsibly.

Clerical Vestments

Gileads' servants reflect the wilderness in which they reside. Often dressed as woodsmen or hunters, they tend towards greens, browns, and simple clothing both practical and suited to the area where they work and serve Gilead. Many are skilled in the use of the bow.

Avatars

Gilead has many forms as befitting such a mighty lord of the living earth and nature. He sometimes enjoys appearing as The White Stag, which is often a symbol of fate and destiny and is used to lead travelers to safety or to the next stage of their journey. His most common depiction is that of a green and brown clad hunter, wielding a great and powerful bow and astride a fierce white and golden horse. This is the guise of The Hunter who leads his hunting hosts. His hosts consist of powerful celestials and outsiders of various origins who ride with him and thunder across the planes in pursuit of evil to drive away. Gilead is also sometimes depicted as a great lion-headed monarch of the wood and wild and instead of a great white horse, he runs along side two great paragons and legendary animals in the form of twin golden lions.