Mayhafist

Goddess of forbidden lore, arcane knowledge, and sorcery
She is depicted as a wise old woman that grants the knowledge of spells. She stopped granting spells for several years, but recently started again. It is believed that she had a child and was raising it, therefore she didn't have the time to put new spells into the weave. She has recently returned, and is again granting new spells to magic users. Many believe that the child died. Others believe that the child is being raised on another plane of existence. She is the keeper of many of the ways of magic, and it is often thought when a mage has an insight that Mayhafist has touched him/her.

Manifestations

Mayhafist communicates with her followers by a touch. She is never seen, but it is believed that when a follower has an insight he/she has been touched by Mayhafist. In this way, she is able to communicate her wishes to her followers. She also grants spells to those she feels are deserving.

Symbol

Worn by priests/priestesses on their garments, it is sewn into the gowns in golden colored thread. The followers of Mayhafist often wear a black disk with the golden symbol on a necklace.

Greeting

Priestly attire

Priestly: Robes of maroon with the golden symbol of Mayhafist displayed in the three spots of power. These three spots are believed to increase a mages power when the symbol is worn there. The three spots are on the underside of each wrist, and over the heart.

Daily: The Priests/priestesses will normally wear robes with the symbol of Mayhafist only displayed in the middle of the chest. It is not necessary for them to wear these robes when they are not working. When they are not wearing the robes, they dress in the fashion of the day, with the symbol of Mayhafist on a necklace.

Organization of the Church of Mayhafist

The church of Mayhafist is led by the Dulgram. The Dulgram is a single person of any race, or sex. The Dulgram is selected from the high priests only when the previous one has passed. The Dulgram is selected on several criteria: their breadth of knowledge, their longevity, and, often, years of service to the church. There is yet to be a human Dulgram.

The Dulgram is in charge of deciding where to put new churches, and also is involved with relations with other churches. He/she normally has a council of advisors that he/she trusts. These positions aren't official, but are very prestigious. There are no criteria to picking the counsel, it is based completely on the feelings of the Dulgram.

Each church is responsible for promoting priests/ priestesses to higher levels. The promotions are often based on how much the individual has contributed to the church. Humans have progressed as far as high priest/priestess. Each church tries to have no more than 5 high priests/priestesses.

The high priests are in charge of assigning work to the rest of the priests/priestesses. They decide which books need to be copied, and also make the plans for Holy Day celebrations. They are also in direct communication with the Dulgram. There is no need for messengers to convey messages for there is a communication glass in each church, and the Dulgram has one.

Priestly activities

The priests guard and preserve the books of the land. These are books containing some form of arcane knowledge. Most books are available for anyone of any race to come and look at. The humans have the most limited access to books. The other races are reluctant to let humans know of some advancements that they know of, because of their fear of the humans' zeal. In the elder race's eyes, humans' short lives make them attack life with a bee-like mentality. This eagerness scares many of the races, and they try to keep some things from them, for fear of the human race using this knowledge against them.

Most of the books that are kept from human eyes are kept in a library in the heart of the elven kingdom, and kept a very close secret. Copies of the books are also kept in the homeland of the other races, save the human race. There are no human priests/priestesses allowed to work in these libraries. There is also no record of the existence of these libraries in any of the other libraries.

Holy Days

Timay-reta - Timay-reta the day that Mayhafist returned, and is celebrated by all magic users. It falls on the 15th day of Wolik. This day is filled with celebration, dancing, music, and magic.

Meditation - This is celebrated twice a year. It is a day to be spent in meditation. It is celebrated on the 10th day of Trimin, and Chethol.

Birth of the Child - When Mayhafist left, and was no longer granting spells, many believed it was because of the birth of a son. While Mayhafist was gone, this day was a day of mourning, for this was the day that Mayhafist left her followers. Since her return, this has become a day of celebration. It falls on the 20th day of Borlas.

Temple Descriptions

The largest temples of Mayhafist are in large cities. The temples contain many of the more common books of arcane knowledge, and the spell books of the most powerful mages. There are several very large temples placed throughout the land that contain the rarest books. Small towns, and villages have small temples to Mayhafist with only books that are often referenced.

The temples themselves are built of stone, and normally two stories. There is one large room at the end of the entrance hall that is the altar to Mayhafist. The rest of the building is devoted to the books contained therein, housing, and reading rooms. There are often many reading areas throughout the shelves lined with ancient tomes. The temple is lighted with stones enchanted with continual light, as fire is a very dangerous thing to the books.

The altar is in a very large room, with the symbol of Mayhafist displayed on a large window. This window is pointed so that it gets the most sunlight possible. It is not only a symbol of the worshipper's devotion, but also a main source of lighting for the hall. This room opens up onto the second story of the building, and the window rises to nearly the height of the temple itself. This provides lighting for both stories. On either side of the altar room are spiraling staircases leading to the second floor.

The second floor is taken up with mostly books, and reading rooms. Also, the second floor is where the priests/priestesses rooms are located. Their rooms are simply furnished. They are provided with a bed, chair, table, and a lamp. They are, however, allowed to decorate their rooms however they please.