religious background

as you have witnessed the last two to three years, but also through knowledge, encounters with sages and loremasters around the realms and tomes of somewhat forgotten truths:

Cyric
– the Dark Sun, the Prince of Lies

Portfolio: murder, lies, intrigue, deception, illusion
Worshipers: former worshipers of Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul, power hungry (young) humans
Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Illusion, Trickery
Worshiper alignments: CN, NE, CE

Delights in spinning webs of deception that lead both mortals and deities to their ruin and pit friends and lovers against each other. He has no allies, although from time to time he pretends to work with various deities in order to ensure their eventual downfall. He particularly hates Mystra and her former lover , Kelemvor. He exacted a small measure of vengeance against them by engineering the rift that forever sundered their mortal bond of love. However, Cyric now views Bane as the greatest threat to his power, and the brewing war between these two lords of evil may eventually consume Faerun in a great holocaust.

1358: mortal Cyric was elevated to divine status by Ao at conclusion of the Time of Troubles. As was Midnight (Mystra). Upon his ascension, Cyric claimed the portfolios of Bane, Myrkul and Bhaal, largely subsuming their churches into his faith as well. The Dark Sun then slew Leira, Lady of the Mists, with the aid of Mask in the form of the sword Godsbane.
1368: Cyric created the Cyrinishad, a tome of great power that proclaimed him the One True Daity. Cyrinishad caused the reader to believe that Cyric was the most important being in the universe. He unwisely read his own book, a mistake that cost him his sanity and led to the loss of Myrkul’s former portfolio to Kelemvor, a mortal with whom Cyric had once adventured and the portfolio of tyranny to Xvim.. Moreover, Oghma and Mask conspired to create another tome entitled The True Life of Cyric, and with it the Dark Sun’s plot was foiled – although not before the destruction of Zhentil Keep. However, caught in the web of his own plots, Mask read the Cyrinishad as well, enabling Cyric to steal the portfolio of intrigue from him, along with some of the divine power of the Master of All Thieves.
1369: Cyric was accused of innocence by reason of insanity, thereby failing in his divine duty to spread strife and discord. Cyric’s chosen, a former Calishite merchant named Malik, arranged for his patron to read The True Life of Cyric and thus regain his sanity. A tribunal of greater deities then found the Dark Sun guilty of his crimes but allowed him to keep his divine status.

Dogma: Death to all who oppose Cyric. Bow down before his supreme power, and yield to him the blood of those that do not believe in his supremacy. Fear and obey those in authority, but slay those that are weak, of good persuasion, or false prophets. Battle against all clergy of other faiths, for they are false prophets and forces who oppose the One True Way. Bring death to those that oppose Cyric’s church or make peace, order, and laws, for only Cyric is the true authority and all other authority must be subverted. Break not into open rebellion, for marching armies move the false deities to action. Fell one foe at a time and keep all folk afraid, uneasy, and in constant strife. Any method or means is justified if it brings about the desired end.

Clerics: pledge to spread strife and work murder everywhere to make folk fear and believe in Cyric. They support rulers with a taste for cruelty and empire-building but indulge in intrigue in every land. They avoid plunging realms into widespread war, which would pay honor only to Tempus, the ‘war deity’. At least, this is the ideal Cyrisists pay lip service to. In truth, Cyrisists spend most of their time scheming against one another, each striving to strengthen his or her personal power in an endless struggle of cabal against cabal. To make matters worse, during his madness Cyric spoke often to his faithful clergy, but not with one voice. As they all fear him, and each believes what he says is the One True Way, his words set Cyrisist temples at cross purposes. His clerics are at one another’s throats as often as they are promoting the defeat of other religions.
All cyrisist sites have in common a bloody sacrificial altar and a great hall where the local high cleric can rant to the assembled worshippers at irregular intervals.

When not disguising themselves to move in secret among the general populace, clerics of Cyric dress in black or dark purple robes trimmed with silver bracers or bracelets (usually stamped with the skull-and-sunburst symbol of Cyric) to symbolize the church’s enslavement to Cyric. Some clerics paint the symbol of their deity on their cheeks or foreheads on high holy days. Although the Prince has ceased doing so overtly, schisms within the faith have by no means healed, and the chaotic nature of his followers makes it unlikely they ever will. Clerics of Cyric dominate most factions, although powerful sorcerers, wizards, barbarians, fighters, rangers, and blackguards play important roles as well.

Mystra
- Lady of Mysteries, Mother of All Magic

Portfolio: magic, spells, the Weave
Worshipers: elves, half-elfs, incantatrixes, mystic wanderers, sorcerers, wizards
Domains: arcana, good, illusion, knowledge, rune, spell
worshiper alignments: LG, NG, CG, LN, LE


Is the third deity to hold the position of Lady of Mysteries since the rise of Netheril. The first was Mystryl, who died saving the weave from the arrogance of the Netherese archwizard Karsus. The second Lady of Mysteries was the first to create the Chosen of Mystra, including Elminster, Khelben, and the Seven Sisters. She died at the hand of Helm during the Time of Troubles while trying to return to the planes. At the end of the Avatar Crisis, a mortal wizard named Midnight assumed the name of her predecessor upon ascension to divinity. Like Cyric and Kelemvor, it took the new Mystra some time to grow into her role as a deity. For a decade she battled her old enemy Cyric on many occasion and for a time, withheld the use of magic from deities and mortals alike. However, since then she seems to have learned her role as guardian of the Balance and impartial arbiter of the Weave.

Although she still hates Cyric with a passion and views the return of Bane with burgeoning hatred, Mystra’s chief antagonist is Shar. Shar secretly created the Shadow Weave long ago in response to Selune’s creation of Mystryl and the Weave. Mystra sees Shar’s actions as a direct threat to her own portfolio and a grave danger to the integrity of the Weave, and her ties with Selune are strong and growing. It is Mystra’s aim to eventually subsume the Shadow Weave into her own portfolio, even if that means sacrificing her last remaining vestiges of humanity and inherent goodness and absorbing more of the darkness that is Shar.

Dogma: Love magic for itself. Do not treat it just as a weapon to reshape the world to your will. True wisdom is knowing when not to use magic. Strive to use magic less as your powers develop, for often the threat or promise of its use outstrips its actual performance. Magic is Art, the Gift of the Lady, and those who wield it are privileged in the extreme. Conduct yourself humbly, not proudly, while being mindful of this. Use the Art deftly and efficiently, not carelessly and recklessly. Seek always to learn and create new magic.

Clergy: Mystran clergy work hard to preserve all magical lore so that magic can flourish in the future regardless of what befalls the thinking races of Faerun or the power of the planes. They maintain secret libraries, private safe holds, well-guarded research labs, and small, hidden stashes. Mystrans also search out beings skilled in spell use and keep watch on the power and behavior of individuals likely to become magic-wielders of importance. The clergy actively seek out sources of old magic, often from tombs, dangerous ruins – even liches. They consider it more crucial to know the precise location of artifacts and items of magical power than to possess them. All wielders of magic and seekers of arcane lore are welcome in the service of Mystra.