Lathander

Lathander, the Morninglord is the Alæsir god of the sun, dawn, birth, creativity, athletics, vitality and renewal. He is worshipped by the Church of Lathander in Kallantium and the monks of the Sun Soul. He favours those who dispel undead and bring new life to the world, and is often called upon to bless birth and fertility-related ceremonies, as well as, in more exceptional circumstances, the resurrection of good individuals.

Worship
Lathander’s dogma is filled with stories of optimism and perseverance. It is important to feel good about an upcoming event or else it will naturally go awry through negative thinking. Lathanderites battle monsters to nurture civilisation, encourage and aid adventurers, travellers, traders, and pilgrims as the harbingers of culture, and they recover lost magical items, pieces of literature, and works of art.

Lathanderites are expected to make regular offerings of ideas, inventions, coins, discovered artefacts, or food to temples and shrines to the Morninglord. Much more valuable offerings such as magical items or quantities of gold are demanded of nonbelievers in return for special services like rescue missions or raising from the dead.

Important Ceremonies
Lathander's holy day is Highsun, the 20th day of the month of Concord. Festivities involving feasting and gift-giving are held throughout the week, beginning with a vigil at dawn on the 20th, and concluding at sunrise on the 27th. In Kallantium, the conclusion of the festival involves a long procession to the Solar Citadel at the top of Apollonia, where offerings are made to the Morninglord, ending only when the sun has fully risen.

Most ceremonies of Lathander were conducted at dawn, and actions and contracts agreed at sunrise were believed to be blessed by him. Funerals are described as the Twilight to symbolise both the end of a life and the beginning of a new one in the afterlife - these ceremonies are conducted at dusk, followed by a wake that lasts until the following sunrise.

Known Followers

 * Church of Lathander - a large, hierarchical religious organisation built around worship of the Morninglord. Their headquarters are in the Solar Citadel in the city-state of Kallantium, off the west coast of Ardor.
 * Cardinal Rassian
 * Father Anselm
 * Symon
 * Order of the Dawn - an order of knights and paladins devoted to the pursuit of chivalry, adventure and justice. They act as the military arm of the Church, who dictate and sponsor their quests.
 * Ser Cedric Goodfellow