The Triad

The Triad are the nature deities of the world. Religious tradition holds that there was an ancient rivalry between the Triad and the Taleron, dating back at least as far as the Taleron began seeking mortal worshippers. The two clans of deities now coexist in relative peace, thanks to a truce which they reached in centuries past. Under the terms of the truce, one of the Triad became a member of the Taleron, and vice versa. There are thus four gods that are or have been accounted members of the Triad—as well as countless nature spirits that inhabit specific woods, rivers and other areas.

Some worshippers revere a specific member of the Triad over the others, while many worship all three—Harvester, Huntress and Hound—more or less equally. A few staunch traditionalists continue to worship the Ancient Triad of Huntress, Hound and Holly-queen. Most settlements also have their own peculiar superstitions and rituals about their local nature spirits.

All members of the Triad are Neutral, as are most of the lesser spirits, although some particular ones can be of other alignments. Virtually all druids, but very few clerics, are found in their service. Rangers also draw their divine connections from the Triad, even those who do not consciously choose to serve them by name.

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Gods of the Triad

Harvester

Domains: Animal, Earth, Plant, Water
Favoured weapon: Scythe or sickle

Keywords: farming, fertility, labour, livestock, plants
Sacred places: Fields and granaries

Once called Reisad of the Taleron, the Harvester came to the Triad as part of the truce, bringing cultivation and the wilderness into an uneasy balance. He is the master of all cultivated plants, as well as those that grow wild but have some use. He is also revered by many as the overall patron of agriculture, including raising livestock (but see the Huntress). Societies that do not raise crops usually revere him as the provider of wild plants good for food and other uses, though if they are more traditional, they may favour the Holly-queen in this role. Sometimes, he is even worshipped as a god of general fertility and bounty, especially that obtained through hard labour (including childbirth).

Druids that serve the Harvester typically dwell in agricultural communities and busy themselves with aiding farmers; they tend to travel less than other druids, primarily to go to rural fairs or to aid in regions of drought. He sponsors very few rangers.

The Harvester is commonly depicted as an adult male, carrying a sickle and wearing a cloth or hat on his head.

Holly-queen

The Holly-queen is now known as Mairene, goddess of wilds and woodlands, one of the Taleron.

Hound

Domains: Animal, ?
Favoured weapon: Natural weapon or unarmed strike

Keywords: animals, instinct, survival, wild
Sacred places: Animal dens

The wildest and most bestial of the Triad, the Hound is the patron of all wild beasts. He is regarded as both the companion and the adversary of the Huntress—the hunting dog at her side and the beast that she seeks. He is also seen, to a lesser extent, as an adversary of the Harvester, the wild beast ravaging the farms; and rarely, he is revered in a tamer aspect as the patron of herding dogs and other working animals.

Tooth, claw and horn are the Hound’s weapons, and those who revere him favour weapons reminiscent of these—almost exclusively mêlée weapons. The ranger tradition that favours fighting with two weapons derives from a sect devoted to the Hound, although many rangers today simply learn the style from a mentor, without necessarily holding the Hound in special reverence. Those druids, rangers, barbarians and others who do venerate the Hound typically live very simply, hunting only to survive and shunning civilisation. A few, though, live as animal handlers and herders.

Depictions of the Hound vary; most resemble some sort of large dog, but more outlandish beasts are not uncommon.

Huntress

Domains: Animal, Strength, Travel
Favoured weapon: Longbow or shortbow

Keywords: cunning, hunting, pursuit, self-sufficiency, traps
Sacred places: Lakes

The Huntress is the goddess of hunting and gathering, the patron deity of living off the land. Many who worship her lead nomadic lifestyles; even those who live in civilised lands will go wandering for a few weeks each year if they can possibly manage it.

In the teachings of the Huntress, cooperation and predation are two sides of the same thing. The deer that feeds and clothes the hunter is cooperating with him no less than the dog that hunts by his side, only in a different way. She is therefore usually called the patron of working with animals and raising livestock (though the Harvester also fills this role for some worshippers, and the Hound is the god of the animals themselves).

With the Holly-queen now accounted one of the Taleron, the Huntress is considered by some to be the goddess of the wilderness itself, even a primordial earth goddess in some cultures. However, this is not a common view—certainly not in Celadia.