al-Kalim
by Aleksei Andrievski(Suleiman al-Kalim)
Demipower of Arcadia, LN/Initiate, L
PORTFOLIO: Dream of the Desert Garden, scholarship, tolerance
ALIASES: Kalman (Sind)
DOMAIN: Arcadia/Buxenus/Paradise
DATE OF ASCENSION: 970 AC
SPONSOR: Protius
ALLIES: Farath (Protius), 'Udnan (Odin)
FOES: al-Fakish (Alphaks), Quranah (Ranivorus), Rushtam (Rathanos),
Thanath (Thanatos)
SYMBOL: Silhouette of a palm tree in a desert with a moon rising
behind.
WAL: Any
The Church
CLERGY: Priests, dervishes (see GAZ2), paladins
CAL: LG, LN, NG, N
WEAPONS: Standard, plus scimitar
ARMOUR: Standard
MAJOR SPHERES: All, Combat, Creation, Divination, Healing, Law,
Protection, Time, War, Wards
MINOR SPHERES: Animal, Elemental (all except fire), Plant,
Weather
GRANTED POWERS: Turn Undead, Create Food and Water 1/day
BONUS PROFS: Bureaucracy
DOGMA: al-Kalim's most important goal is to transform the Alasiyan
desert into a lush forest; his Ylari followers are working towards
that end. al-Kalim approves of both warriors and scholars, and his
priests strive to master both professions. The faithful are
required to follow several guiding principles: reverencing the
Immortals, reverencing one's fellow man, reverencing wisdom and
scholarship, pilgrimage, the dream of justice and honour, and the
dream of the garden in the desert. These principles are listed at
length in the Nahmeh, the holy book written by al-Kalim describing
his quest for Immortality.
DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES: Priests of al-Kalim have different
activities depending on where they are located. In Ylaruam, they of
course act as the guiding force for the people, providing education
and military leadership. They lead the faithful in daily prayers
and act in many government functions. However, priests are not
subject to any additional requirements beyond what is required of
lay followers. Standard priests can be either Prayer Leaders (those
who guide the faithful) or Itinerants (adventuring priests who
spread the faith). There are also Dervishes, hermits who live alone
in the desert to observe the natural world and learn from it.
Followers of al-Kalim in Ylaruam are divided into two factions. The
Preceptors are more open to outside ideas and interaction with
foreigners. The Kin faction is more conservative and hostile to
outsiders, and considers city-dwellers inferior to desert
nomads.
IMPORTANT CEREMONIES/HOLY DAYS: There are few holy days, the only
one being the 24th of Jumada'l Awwal (Yarthmont), which is the Day
of Ascension (marking al-Kalim's ascension to the rank of
Immortal). On the other hand, there are several ceremonies and
rituals, as prescribed in the guiding principles; the most
important are daily prayer at sunrise and sunset and a fast from
sunrise to sunset on days of the full moon.
MAJOR CENTRES OF WORSHIP: Ylaruam is the most important worshipper
base for al-Kalim, since all Ylari people follow his teachings.
With the help of Itinerants, his faith has spread to other lands
such as Ierendi and Saragón on the Savage Coast. In Sind, al-Kalim
has a small following as Kalman, patron of vegetation and Asanda
river.
AFFILIATED ORDERS: The Military Orders of the Eternal Way are open
to all True Believers. The Orders act as defenders of Ylaruam and
the Eternal Truth. These include Order of the Pike (for heavy
infantry), Order of the Arrow (for mounted archers), Order of the
Spell (for mounted skirmisher mages), Order of the Mace (for war
priests), and Order of the Lance (consisting of the finest members
of the other orders). Khinjar al-Sahraa, the Desert Dagger, is a
secret society of religious assassins who slay those who commit
blasphemy against al-Kalim's name. The members are LN and LE
warriors and thieves, with a few more radical priests, but no mages
(the Desert Dagger hates mages and slays them on sight). The
society is secret and nominally illegal, but is quietly supported
by the Kin faction.
PRIESTLY VESTMENTS: For the most part, priests of al-Kalim do not
dress differently from other faithful, with the exception of
displaying their holy symbols somewhere on their person.
ADVENTURING GARB: Likewise, adventuring priests tend to dress in a
practical manner, but display their symbols, even in areas where is
might be dangerous to do so.
Special Spells
Detect Water (1st-level)
Poetic Inspiration (2nd-level)
Truthtelling (3rd-level)
Know Destiny (3rd-level)
All of the above spells are described in GAZ2. In addition,
dervishes receive their own special selection of spells, which
includes both priest and druid spells, as well as some new ones.