temple

Temple Of Sune

The Temple is a large and beautiful structure, crafted of what looks like marble, with rose coloured veins running through it. This rich and important sacred site is a house of graceful grandeur whose splendor towers taper with exquisite smoothness as they reach for the sky. Around these towers soft-hued driftglobes float, and their wandering light also illuminates the interiour chambers of the temple. The temple is said to house chambers of great luxury where beautiful people gather from all across the realms. It serves as a safe neutral ground for anyone to meet and pursue romance together. The temple of beauty is also a favorite destination for tourists of all faiths, but none-Sunites must make handsome and expensive offerings to the Goddess to be allowed entrance.

    Double, ornate doors lead into the large worship room. The walls are mirrored, with many beautiful works of art hanging from the walls. Beautiful vases filled with freshly cut red and white roses are placed through out the room. The carpet is a deep red, and leads down the central isle between the two sets of pews. Each pew is lined with pillowed velvet, matching the colour of the carpet. Gold pillars stand by the main doors, each containing a bowl filled with holy water. At the end of the central isle rests the altar. It is covered in a red and cream silk cloth, and a candelabra rests atop the silk. The white candles and the drift globes from outside giving off a soft glow within the church. Above the altar rests a large holy symbol of Sune. This Symbol gives off a slight red glow, which is due to the spell of Sanctum that protects the church and the holy grounds. This spell prevents all hostile actions from being commited within the sanctuary of Sune's temple and surrounding grounds.
     Against the wall, behind the altar, there is a door, which leads into the private quarters of the temple occupants, as well as the luxurious rooms that many travel long distances to stay within. There is an enchantment over this door, stopping any who do not have a pass from getting through. Even people who stay within the temple do not know exactly what the pass is. They just know that they can get through the door unimpeded.
     Along the right wall of the temple, their are large picture windows, over looking the gardens, as well as another door which leads out to them. Many paths wander through the beautifully kept gardens. Flowers of every make are blooming year round. The most predominant flowers are the red and white roses, and there is a cluster of special blue elven roses as well. Each path leads towards the center of the gardens. All along the paths there are beautiful, life sized statues of lovers in various poses of love and passion. The statues are made of white marble, with veins of red through them, just like the material the temple itself is made from. In the center of the gardens there is a large fountain. The statue in the middle of the fountain is of Sune. She is standing with her arms clasped above her head, the beauty of her naked body is breathtaking. The water in the fountain is clear and clean, and has some minor abilities in healing... Sometimes other abilities as well, if the right situation occurs...
     Just beyond the gardens, there is a large, flat field. This area is used for training. Although Sunites would much rather make love, then war, they are trained well to protect themselves, and to protect beauty. They are trained in both armed and unarmed combat. This field is used to train not only the priests and priestess of Sune, but also her special force of Knights, and a few Paladins as well..

Worshipers: Comely male and female humans, elves and half-elves serve the Lady of Love. Female clergy outnumber male clergy eight to one, but the men are all the more highly valued for their relative rarity. All clergy must possess an alluring or pleasing manner in addition to natural beauty, for high charisma is essential for the Sunite clergy. Ugly, physically imperfect, or marred beings are disparaged or pitied by devout Sunites, and an aquired imperfection that can not be masked or healed by spells or other means of shapeshifting spells the end of a Sunite priests career. Other faiths tend to regard Sunites as flighty, vain and rather superficial, but basically harmless. Sunites have an intense rivalry with the followers of the elven Goddess Hanali Celanil
     The Sunite church's organization is loose and informal, and it's leadership changes with the whims of it's clergy. The most charismatic Sunite clergy are usually the head priests and priestesses. Little is thought of a priest dropping everything and going bounding off into the wild, particularily if the goal is some beautiful object or some beautiful individual, and such behaviour creates little scandal in the church.
     The church is comprised of Clerics, Specialty priests, and mystics. The church also has a small affiliated knightly order fighters, paladins and bards who serve to guard temples and holy sites along with the clergy, and who sometimes pursue quests to do good work in Sune's name to promote her faith. To become one of the Sisters and Brothers of the Ruby Rose, a candidate stands vigil in a church of Sune all night. If the Lady Firehair appears to the candidate in a vision during the night or somehow shows her favour, the candidate is admitted into the order. Members in this order are given to writing essays and songs of courtly love when not engaged in vital business, and often adopt a beautiful individual to adore from afar whether that individual would be flattered by such attentions or not.

Day to Day Activities: Sunites are aesthetes and hedonists, who actively seek out pleasure and beauty in all things. The pursuit of aesthetic enjoyment is their life
      Sunite clergy buy beautiful items of art, sculptures, and handiwork whenever they find it, sponsoring good artists where necessary, and overpaying for such items to drive the prices up, create more demand, and so increase the supply of things of beauty. This is to be done as often as funds afford and subtelty permits, and in disguise if need be.
     Whenever Sunite clergy must perform dirty tasks, the use of disguise is encouraged to protect the body as well as to conceal identity. The devout priest always hires or supports adventurers and others to destroy beings who vandalize beautiful creations.
      All clergy of Sune also strive to create beauty in personal ways, preferably as a creator of static fine art (blown glass ornaments, paintings or tapestries) but as a dancer if one fails at all else. When one gains expertise in crafting things of beauty, she or he is obliged to pass on such learning by training others and turning away no one who shows genuine promise. Any money made through such training should be given to the church to further the growth of beauty and love everywhere.
     Although Sunite clergy can rebuff unwanted advances, they should strive to build friendships and romantic feelings between themselves and others and in general wherever they go so that love may prosper everywhere in the realms. As the lonely are in most need such things, they should be sought out by diligent clergy for friendship. Everyone, no matter how homely or disparate in faith from the path of the Lady, should be assisted by gifts of clothing, hair styling, cosmetics, and lessons in deportment, dancing, and manners so as to make themselves as beautiful as possible.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Greengrass is celebrated by Sunites with a great deal of outdoor frolicking, and Midsummer Night with night-long flirtatious chases through forests and parks, but local priesthoods can set the times of other celebrations to their own pleasure, as long as at least one Grand Revel befalls each month and at least one Feast of Love is celebrated in every ten-day.
     A Grand Revel is a dusk-til-dawn party which outsiders are invited, dancing and minstrelsy dominate, and those of the faith seek to attract converts with fun and the exhibition of a few of a temples beautiful art objects or magical treasures. A Feast of Love is a more intimate, quiet affair, open only to the faithful, who lie on couches and indulge in the gentle sipping of liquers and nibbling at subtly flavoured bitelets and sweet pastries while lone dancers perform. These dancers are interspersed with readings of romantic verse and prose and lays of love sung by skilled mistrels. Such rituals always break up into private gatherings, though bards are always on hand to relate tales of courtly love or mysteries for those who do not feel like socializing more privately.
     Sunites also offer personal prayers to Sune, always while dressed in beautiful ritual garments, standing in a pool or bath, and looking into a mirror lit only by natural light or candles. Those seeking guidance in life, entry into the faith, or atonement indulge in a night-long candle vigil. Sunes sends guidance to them by visions visible in the mirror, often by altering the reflection of the worshiper in some ways.

The information on this site is from the Forgotten Realms Source book Faiths and Avatars. copywritted by TSR and Wizards of the Coast. This page is not being used for any financial gain, only for personaly enjoyment and no infrengement is intended.