Angharradh

The Triune Goddess, Queen of Arvandor

Seldarine (Elven Powers): Corellon Larethian | Angharradh | Aerdrie Faenya | Deep Sashelas | Erevan Ilesere | Hanali Celanil | Labelas Enoreth | Rillifane Rallathil | Sehanine Moonbow | Solonor Thelandira | Fenmarel Mestarine | Shevarash | Naralis Analor | Avachel | Tethrin Veralde | Kirith Sotheril | Araleth Letheranil | Sarula Iliene | Melira Taralen | Mythrien Sarath | Alathrien Druanna | Mielikki | Lurue

Other: Malkizid

Aliases:	{{{Deity Aliases}}}
Gender:	{{{Deity Gender}}}
Demonym:	{{{Deity Demonym}}}
Power Level:	Major Power
Symbol:	Three interconnecting rings on a downward pointing triangle
Alignment:	Chaotic Good
Portfolio:	Spring, fertility, planting, birth, defense, wisdom
Worshipers:	Community elders, druids, elves, farmers, fighters, midwives, mothers.
Domains:	Chaos, Elf, Good, Knowledge, Plant, Protection, Renewal
Arelith worshippers' alignments:	CG, CN, NG
Aspects:	{{{Deity Aspect1}}}, {{{Deity Aspect2}}}

Arelith Aspect 1	Arelith Aspect 2
Hearth and Home	Nature

Angharradh

Angharradh (ON-gahr-rath) is the face of the power who is both three separate goddesses - Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, and Sehanine Moonbow who are collectively known as the Three - as well as a single goddess - the One - who subsumes their separate aspects. The Triune Goddess presents many different faces, depending upon circumstances. In spring and during harvest time she is a fertility goddess. She watches over the planting of crops, blesses births, and keeps the land green and growing. In wartime, she is a grim warrior deity who wields a red sword and mercilessly slays the enemies of the elves. When wisdom is required, the One and the Three is a source of guidance and council. Among the Fair Folk, Angharradh is worshiped nearly exclusively by moon elves and a handful of half-moon elves.

The other elven subraces worship Angharradh's aspects as separate goddesses, but they rarely give homage to the Union of the Three. Whether Angharradh is truly a combination of the three goddesses or a separate deity in her own right actually lies in the hearts of her individual worshipers.

According to elven mythology, Angharradh was born from the essence of the three greatest goddesses of the Seldarine before the first of the Fair Folk walked the forests of Faerun. The Triune Goddess arose in the aftermath of a great battle between the Seldarine and the anti-Seldarine, a host of evil powers who had invaded Arvandor at the demand of Araushnee (now Lolth), Corellon's traitorous consort. When an arrow launched by Eilistraee at an onrushing ogre god was subtly warped by the magic of the treacherous Araushnee and felled the Protector instead, Aerdrie Faenya struck down the Dark Maiden in revenge. The Seldarine assumed the unconscious daughter of Araushnee and Corellon was to blame for her father's collapse. Sehanine Moonbow's timely escape from Vhaeraun's prison allowed the Goddess of Moonlight to expose Araushnee's crimes and the Masked Lord's complicity, but the Weaver of Destiny defiantly rejected the collective authority of the assembled Seldarine to convene a council to investigate her actions. In response, Aerdrie, Hanali, and Sehanine drew together and merged into a luminous cloud before coalescing in the form of the Triune Goddess.

Angharradh then restored Corellon to health, taking her place by the Protector's side and declaring her intention to prevent treachery from ever entering the heart of a goddess of Arvandor again.

Relationships

As the consort of Corellon and co-ruler of the Seldarine, Angharradh is on excellent terms with the other members of the elven pantheon. The Triune Goddess has a strong, motherly interest in both Eilistraee and Mielikki, and, more so than Corellon, maintains strong ties with the paramount goddesses of other human and demihuman pantheons. Angharradh strongly opposes the destructive efforts of Talos and the Gods of Fury (particularly Malar, for it was the Beastlord who unleashed the Elf-Eater on Evermeet in the Year of the Unstrung Harp (1371 DR)). The Triune Goddess reserves her strongest hatred for Lolth, as the Spider Queen has never ceased her efforts to undermine Corellon or to destroy his progeny, the Fair Folk.

Other allies include Berronar Truesilver, Chauntea, Cyrrollalee, Lurue, Selune, Sharindlar, Sheela Peryroyl, Silvanus, Sune, and Yondalla.

Appearance

As the One and the Three, Angharradh is both three distinct goddesses and a goddess in her own right. While some moon elves assume that the aspect of Sehanine is Angharradh's primary facet - a point of confusion due to the belief by other elven subraces that Sehanine, not Aerdrie or Hanali, is Corellon's consort - in truth all three goddesses are equal and each reflects the duality that is their individual nature and that of the Triune Goddess. As such, Angharradh's nature reflects the personality traits of each of the Three, including the impulsive and whimsical nature of the Winged Mother, the romantic and affectionate nature of the Heart of Gold, and the serene and ephemeral nature of the Daughter of the Night Skies. The fusion of the Three was born of Araushnee's betrayal and the collective threat to Arvandor and the Seldarine. As such, the Triune Goddess exhibits the fierce protectiveness and unbending resolve of the Queen of Arvandor.

The Church

The moon elves view the Three as separate aspects of the One and consider the Triune Goddess to be as powerful and influential as Corellon Larethian; and also believe that she presides, alongside her consort, with equal authority over the Seldarine and the Fair Folk. Sun elves generally do not know what to make of Angharradh. Most consider her to be either a separate goddess or a typical moon elf misinterpretation of Sehanine Moonbow, consort to Corellon Larethian. They generally do not object to the moon elves' veneration of the tripartite deity, however, and even pay her homage themselves on rare occasions. Dark elves, wild elves, sea elves, winged elves, and most half-elves do not worship Angharradh, nor is her nature and existence even debated, as is the case among the Ar-Tel'Quessir.

Angharradh's temples resemble the houses of worship dedicated to the Three, either emphasizing the characteristics of the temples of one of the three goddesses, or blending all three styles of temple equally. The Triune Goddess's temples always display the symbol of the One and the Three as well as the symbols of the individual goddesses.

Hierarchy

Novices of Angharradh are known as Triune Seekers. Full priests of the Triune Goddess are known as Trimorphs. Angharradhan priests use titles as appropriate for the aspect they primarily venerate. Specialty priests are known as either circle singers or totem sisters (druids). Aside from these titles, there is no other specified hierarchy. The clergy of Angharradh includes moon elves (93%), half-moon elves (5%), and elves and half-elves of other subraces (2%). Angharradh's clergy is composed primarily of clerics, crusaders, mystics, and specialty priests of Aerdrie Faenya (15%), Hanali Celanil (35%), and Sehanine Moonbow (40%). The remainder (10%) are totem sisters, a type of druid. The clergy of Angharradh is almost evenly split between male (48%) and female (52%).

Dogma

Through unity and diversity there is strength. Be ever vigilant against She Who Was Banished and work together in defending the lands of the Fair Folk from those who would work evil. Celebrate the One and the Three for their collective purpose and individual expressions of life. Through the melding of widely different skills and interests, creativity, life, and artistry are nurtured and new ideas are discovered.

Day-to-Day Activities

Priests of Angharradh serve the Triune Goddess much like the clergies of Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, and Sehanine Moonbow. Most priests of the Triune Goddess are affiliated with one aspect of the Three, and their activities reflect their association with that particular aspect. A handful of female silver elven priests are practitioners of the ancient secrets of totemic magic. These mysterious elves create small wood or stone charms inscribed with pictorial symbols that can pass special magical abilities on to their owners. Totem-sisters are also considered wise women and sages and are often consulted on important issues. Particularly successful totem sisters are sought out by other tribes and aspiring totemic practitioners for advice and counsel.

They also serve as priests of Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, and Sehanine Moonbow; as well as their single embodiment, Angharradh. Totem-sisters craft beneficial totemic images for their tribe and are considered great sources of wisdom and comfort. They attend births, bless young children, help with planting and harvest, and bless warriors going into battle.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies

Clerics and druids of Angharradh pray for their spells at a time of their choosing, but it should be a time when one of the three goddesses is prayed to. Members of Angharradh's priesthood celebrate the holy days and important ceremonies of one of the Three, depending upon which aspect of the Triune Goddess they particularly venerate. The only holy day celebrated exclusively by those who pray to Angharradh is the Melding of the Three, held quadrennially on Cinnaelos'Cor (the Day of Corellon's Peace), more commonly known in the Calendar of Harptos as Shieldmeet. While this holy day is more generally observed by elves in honor of the Protector, the moon elves celebrate the tripartite aspects of Angharradh and the unification of the Three that have led to centuries of peace in Arvandor and elven realms in Faerun. In addition to singing great hymns to the Triune Goddess, Angharradh's faithful often assemble to invoke great feats of cooperative magic on this day.

Major Centers of Worship

The Hall of Trifold Harmony is a soaring temple of green and white marble in the elven city of Taltempla on the eastern shore of Evermeet. Angharradh's house of worship is located amidst neighboring temples of Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, and Sehanine Moonbow in the temple district of the Green Isle's second-largest city, and the ranks of the Triune Goddess's priesthood are drawn from silver elves who serve in the temples of both the One and the Three. The temple serves as the center of moon elven culture in Taltempla, and the Triumvirate of Angharradh assists the informal ruler of the city, High Mage Gaelira, in ameliorating the infrequent disputes that arise among the temples of the various Seldarine powers venerated in the city.

Affiliated Orders

The Angharradhan church has no knightly orders specifically affiliated with the Triune Goddess. However, some members of orders affiliated with either Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil, or Sehanine Moonbow worship their order's patron as an aspect of Angharradh.

Priestly Vestments

Angharradh's priests wear the ceremonial garb of the clergies of the Three. Some priests wear the garb of one aspect of the Triune Goddess, while other priests incorporate pieces of each fashion into their holy vestments. The holy symbol of the faith is an inverted silver triangle inscribed on both faces with the symbol of the Triune Goddess.

Adventuring Garb

In combat situations, clerics, crusaders, and specialty priests of the One and the Three favor ornate, gleaming suits of elven chain mail or, in rare situations, elven plate mail. Their preferred weapons include long and short bows; long and short swords; and spears, although most are trained in a wide range of weapons. Shields emblazoned with the symbol of the Triune Goddess are common among the faithful, as are heraldic charges per pall (parted in three, as the letter "Y") with the symbol of Sehanine on top, the symbol of Aerdrie in the lower left, and the symbol of Hanali in the lower right as viewed by the shield-bearer. Totem-sisters favor long bows and spears and explicitly use nonmetallic armors.