Campaign Guide Being thus removed from concern of the souls that inhabit the bodies it creates, Esus has been known to reanimate some of its creations to further their work on the physical plane Sometimes this is done by replacing the soul in the once-dead body, but as often as not Esus has been known to restore bodies without souls from the other gods Priests: Those who have devoted their life to Esus are few when compared to the clergy of other deities As most individuals go through their life without much thought as to their physical bodies, few are motivated to focus their life on understanding the mysteries of Esus Those who do, tend towards a more reclusive life, set apart from the everyday hustle These clerics typically mark the passing of days by the number of people who have been born or died within their community As these events tend to radically change the lives of all who are connected to the birth or death, the clerics of Esus are typically more comfortable with adapting to life-altering changes than the average person Priests’ holy symbols are typically made out of clay This is not a requirement, however, and some priests chose to wear holy symbols made from stone or metal Wooden holy symbols are rare as many priests feel that clay, stone, and metal more accurately portray the nature of Esus Worshipers: There are few who pray or make offerings to Esus on a daily basis; however this does not reflect a worshiper’s view of the importance of Esus to creation A priest is often sought out to preside over births and funerals Many also offer up prayers to Esus when building or tearing down a building, starting or dissolving a business, and during birthdays Meliki Titles: The Ethereal Rain, the Lawbringer, Portfolio: agriculture, laws of nature, seasons Typical Worshipers: farmers; rural lawmakers; seers Typical Worshiper Alignment: LN Domains: Animal, Community, Knowledge, Plant, Weather Subdomains: Decay, Growth, Family, Home, Seasons Favored Weapon: Flail Minor Ritual: Mixing soil with a little blood and using the resulting paste to mark ones forehead with an arc 34 Sample Blessing: “The tenets of Aeliode are clearly set Follow them and your path shall be blessed.” Symbol of Meliki The other gods of the Viscian Pantheon play their games of war The have their petty rivalries, their acts of vengeance, and act without reason or purpose Or so it seems to the goddess Meliki While the other gods argued and fought over trivialities when it came to creation, Meliki alone was able to bring order Seasons proceed in a specific order one into another, mortals are born live and then die, the rains in spring come so that the seed may grow and, in turn, produce more seeds There is an order by which the world moves and it is Meliki who brought that order into being Meliki is the goddess of agriculture and the rural hearth She believes that hard work, sacrifice, and following the rules are needed to bring creation to perfection to say nothing about a successful community and harvest She has set the seasons to function with a specific purpose and the sun the right distance away in order to cause creation to flourish If worshipers decide to plant on days other than the prescribed times or in ways other than the proscribed ways she has been known to send a blight upon their crops The goddess does have a flaw; she only seems to be able to see existence in terms of complex and enormous systems of laws She is unable to understand that laws may be elegant, but ultimately detrimental to individuals Her avatar is one of a voluptuous female with dark hair dressed in brown robes Her hands are stained with soil Priests: Priests of Meliki are most comfortable when outside working in the earth Most temples are open air allowing the priests to feel the gaze of their goddess upon them, Most priests of Meliki are closely tied to the affairs of their village and little happens that the priests have not had a say in Worshipers: She is prayed to by those who farm or raise animals and is often the patron goddess of small farming communities She is prayed to by whole villages during the planting and harvesting of the local fields Many prayers are also offered to her for perfect growing weather