The Faith of Belenus In many other worlds, Belenus is just one member of a wide pantheon of deities worshipped by Celtic tribes. In the Land of Mists, Belenus has become a central deity in the religions of two otherwise unrelated cultures, one in Tepest, the other in the Shadowlands. Unfortunately, both branches of the Belenus faith have developed a troubling, common element: intolerance.
Belenus is a sun god, like Ra, and the master of fire. His followers claim that Belenus bestows the life-giving light and heat of the sun on those who please him and witholds it from those who earn his wrath, cursing them with icy cold and darkness. Solar eclipses are seen as dire omens.
In Tepest, Belenus worship exists as a rustic folk religion, and his clerics also venerates other patron deities from his pantheon. The faithful here often mingle their legends of Belenus and other deities with time-honored tales of shadow fey, ravenous goblins and fiendish hags and witches. For generations, tepestani clerics were content to watch over their small congregations, but this changed in the wake of the Grand Conjunction. Believing that the domains of G'Henna and Markovia had been destroyed by the fey, a village priest of Viktal, a man named Wyan, organized an inquisition to fight back against the fey. Fifteen years later, the inquisition continues and has sadly gained a reputation for being overzealous. The clerics execute any "fey" they can catch and many include calibans, elves, half-elves and sorcerers.
In the domain Nidala, Belenus worship takes a markedly different turn. Here, a powerful organized religion honors Belenus, their one true god, in a huge and glorious cathedral. In the matriarchal society of the Shadowlands, only woman can join the priesthood, and they must all make vows of chastity. Men can serve the church, but only as guardians or enforcers. Worship of any other religion is ruthlessly persecuted - as are countless other transgressions. The priestesses of Belenus gratefully obey the edicts of their nation's great protector, the holy warrior Elena Faith-hold.
Belenus is also worshipped by Forfarian druids fighting off the blight of Forlorn.
Bolstered by the influx of believers in Forfarmax, the old gods of Forfar are occasionally venerated by Forfarians at large. Druids serve as clerics of the Forfarian gods Belenus and Daghda at times, but outside of the druidic society there are less than a dozen clerics of the old gods.
Worship Domains: Tepest, Shadowlands, Forlorn
Symbol: Celtic-style golden sunburst
Alignment: NG
Cleric Alignment: NG, LN, TN
Domains: Fire, Good, Sun, Scrutiny*
Favoured Weapon: Sickle
Portfolio: Fire, Light, Sun
* The Scrutiny domain is also available to clerics of Belenus on the condition that they be members of the Tepestani Inquisition.
Further details regarding the Tepestani or Forfarian pantheons, as well as their particular beliefs, are available on these threads:
The Tepestani PantheonThe Forfarian PantheonSource: Ravenloft Player's Handbook, Ravenloft Gazetteer V, Ravenloft Gazetteer I