# Laleeri >[!infobox]+ >#### Laleeri >![[Placeholder.png|text|324]] >#### Deity > >##### Details >| | >| :---------------- | :------ | >|**Evangelical**|Yes (Limited) >| **Areas of Concern** |Community<br>Family<br>Labor<br>Trickery| >| **Worshippers** |Halflings | >|**Demonym**|Trinitarian, Laleerian| >| **Sigil** |Three pointed star with three equilateral dots| >| **Sacred Colors** |Blue and White | > >##### Statistics > >| | >| :---------------- | :------ | >|**Alignment**|Neutral Good >|**Domains**|Community, Good, Healing >|**Subdomains**|?? >| **Favored Weapon** |Quarterstaff| > Laleeri is a divine exemplar and prophet, representative of values of motherland, loyalty, and the halfling diaspora. She is worshipped by those halflings who have left the undersanctuary to live in the settlements of the trundlers, but still wish to remain connected to their people. She is not divine in-and-of-herself, but was divinely inspired to lead her people to the surface to provide for those struggling to provide for themselves. Laleerians still venerate the trinity of [[Alwen]], [[Warre]], and [[Siriven]] as a trinity, the Father, Son and Sage. They do not favor one aspect over the others, or assign any significance to caste differences. All halflings are one community, and all families are part of a greater family. ## Dogma Laleeri teaches that all halflings are of one caste, and all are equal in the eyes of the trinity, and in the eyes of the trundlers. It is the duty of each halfling to provide for themselves and their family, but also to provide for their communities above and below. While this can certainly be done with simple hard work and austerity, the reality is that the trundlers are bullies by nature, and the smallfolk must be willing to use all the tools at their disposal to ensure the wellbeing of their kin. Whether earned by labor, trickery or larceny, a gold piece buys the same amount of grain, and those fighting to survive cannot eat moral rectitude. While they will not scruple to resort to theft or trickery to earn coin, Laleerian faith is strictly opposed to violence. It is both unwise and unconscionable for smallfolk to try and make a living by forcibly taking from others. She will also not countenance theft or deception against other halflings, regardless of any cultural or religious divide. Those who have forsaken their home are still members of their community. Laleerianism is an evangelical faith in that it is specifically seeks to bring halflings into the fold. Those who have forsaken their communities should be reminded of their duty to their people, and warned against the false hope of acceptance that might be offered by tallfolk. Those who are dedicated to some of the more violent aspects of Siriven's worship should be made to see that violence is ultimately counter-productive in their shared struggle for survival. ## History ### In The Beginning... In the days before recorded history, the gods ruled over the world of Temnia. Powerful and aloof, the gods incessantly fought and schemed against each other, pitting their mortal armies in bloody conflicts that cost countless lives. Every mortal race had been swept up in the divine struggle save one: the _miekol_. The peaceful miekol folk had escaped the notice of the gods and the mighty mortal races those gods commanded. They lived pastoral lives in the unseen corners of the ancient world.  The god of three faces and three names smiled upon the meikol, and gave them the blessings of his wisdom and shelter of his might. The god of three faces named three meikol as exemplars of virtue, and entrusted them to bring his wisdom to the meikol:[[ Alwen the Kind]], [[Warre the Brave]] and [[Siriven the Wise]]. Generations passed, and the meikol lived peaceful and prosperous lives under the guidance of the god of three faces, and his chosen kings. But as the age of the divine passed, so to did the meikols' time under the aegis of the god of three faces. He left them with his blessings and his promise: So long as the meikol watched out for eachother, then he would watch out for them as well, they would have a place alongside him in the divine realm. So it was that the fate of the meikol was divided in two. One life lived as mortals, and another promised life beyond. ### The Fall of the Great Kingdoms For a time, the lineages of Alwen, Warre and Siriven ruled over a halfling civilization that thrived. Generations knew the peace and plenty that the god of three faces had promised them. But discord eventually arose, and the three houses grew jealous of each other. Where once there was harmony there was now rivalry, and the halfling kings began to struggle for dominance. The fall of the great kingdoms truly began when King Mundy of Warrenul and Princess Felia of Sirivenda conspired to murder Queen Grayse of Alerwen. Mundy and Felia had called for a summit of the three kingdoms to end the War of the Dawnstar, ostensibly due to the illness and decline of King Sender of Sirivenda. Felia convinced Mundy to ambush and slay Grayse under a flag of truce so that they might rule the three kingdoms together. The plan succeeded, but neither Felia nor Mundy would reign long. A litany of vengeance, betrayals, schisms and coups followed, plunging the three kingdoms into a downward spiral from which it would never recover. The cruel and barbaric gods of other races did not teach love to their creations. They taught prejudice and brutality. They taught conquest and destruction. When the cooperation of the halfling kingdoms failed, the brutish races wasted little time in ravaging the halfling nations, forcing the people to flee their homeland. The great sages warned of a dire retribution that would befall the treacherous rulers of the great kingdoms and the barbaric invaders who would steal the land bestowed upon the halflings by the god of three faces. They led a grand exodus to find a new homeland, and urged all halflings to follow them. They scattered in a thousand directions, fleeing the coming cataclysm. And so it was that the sun fell from the sky atop what remained of the halfling kingdoms. The mountains crumbled, and the earth divided. The winds tore down every structure and the seas washed away all traces of the halflings homeland. The [[Great Cataclysm]] destroyed everyone and everything that stood before. ### The Halfling People Divided In the wake of this upheaval, many feared that their people were doomed to extinction. Had the god of three faces abandoned them, or would they still be allowed to live by his side in the afterlife? They did not have the strength of arms to claim a new home from the larger races, and even if they did, was that not the very barbarism that consigned their previous home to annihilation? The great sage [[Teeon]] suggested that the halflings make themselves a new home in the caverns beneath the [[Warrenal Mountains]], but many were skeptical that such a radical transformation was possible. The great sage [[Calavash]] had suggested venturing further into the deep below to find a more suitable home. Others sages, including [[Mokensa]], suggested dispersing and trying to live lives as nomads upon the surface, cutting ties to those too stubborn to accept the hand that fate had dealt them. ### The Prophet Laleeri Laleeri's family had chosen to follow the Sage Mokensa to the surface. Laleeri was born during the 30 years into the Mokensa tribe's existance, and learned her mother's trade of weaving. Nomadic life was difficult, with the tribe falling prey to monsters, victimized by bandits, and suffering the misfortunes that commonly afflict travelers. They would sometimes be welcomed by the tallfolk in towns, but these respites often ended with them being shunned and mistreated, then blamed for some local misfortune and chased away. The tribe dwindled to nothing, and eventually Laleeri ended up on her own at the age of 20. She found work for a kind-hearted but stern human matron. During this time she met [[Calder]], a Hunter of [[Siriven]]. From him she learned of Teeon's undersanctuary, their tribe's triumphs and their struggles. Laleeri and Calder worked together for some time to provide supplies for the Teeon's undersanctuary. They grew close, and Laleerli considered leaving her surface home for Calder. But it was not to be. Calder, too bold for his own good, was caught harvesting the blessings of Siriven, and captured. Laleeri had tried to aid Calder in his escape, but while she did free him from capture, he died of his wounds shortly thereafter. She made her way back to the undersanctuary, dedicating herself to Calder's mission of aiding the undersanctuary. In her time there, she told people of her experiences on the surface. As she did, discontentment began to grow among the halflings. There was a better life to be had upon the surface, and those who lived that life could aid those who chose to remain. This resonated with many, but greatly upset those who believed in Teeon's vision. Laleeri was cast out of the undersanctuary for sewing discord, but she did not leave alone. Over the generations, many have grown disillusioned with the toil of the undersanctuary, or with the life dictated to them by their caste, or simply found themselves unable to fit in with their peers. Many of these adopted the example of Laleeri and came to the surface to create new lives for themselves, but still wanted to remain connected to their people. ## The Church of the Smallfolk Laleeri's church is referred to as the "Church of the Smallfolk." It is a community-focused church whose priests exhort the values of cunning, history, community and charity. They offer guidance and wisdom to those who seek it, as well as aid and sanctuary to the smallfolk in dire straights. The church is distrustful of tallfolk, and considered a bit secretive. It's uncommon to hear a halfling discuss religion outside the home, much less with trundlers around. ### Temples Churches of Laleeri are simple buildings, with few exterior sigils, statues or other embellishments commonly seen in temples. They are built to a scale that would be decidedly uncomfortable to tallfolk, and often built behind walls or fences to disguise their scale and rounded architecture from the surrounding buildings. ## Teachings Laleeri's core tenants are that all halflings are equal in the eyes of the trinity, and in the eyes of the trundlers. Halflings must watch out for each other, and remain in solidarity as a community. They must position themselves as an unassuming an non-threatening element of tallfolk society. A halfling should do whatever they can to extract as much material aid they can from the tallfolk without compromising their place in their society, endangering their community, or alerting the tallfolk to the business of the halfling community. ### Holy Texts The holy text of Laleerian faith is *The Great Journey*, a collection of traditional halfling teachings that preface the journey of Laleeri and her followers from the clutches of savage giants into tenuous safety of tallfolk settlements and civilizations. ### Afterlife Laleeri teaches that the god of three faces still watches over the Halfling people, and may even grant his blessings to those who heed the wisdom of his teachings. Those who are part of the halfling community in life will remain so in the Divine Lands. Those who strike out on their own, forsake their people, or worst of all bring violence to the halflings will find themselves stuck in the world of the living as a spirit. Unrepentant spirits are likely to come undone or fall prey to feinds that subsist on the free-floating souls of dead spirits. ### Signs of Faith Laleeri worshippers, like most halflings, tend to walk about without shoes, preferring to allow their feet to touch the bare ground. Those that must wear anything on their feet will wear sandals, or other shoes that leave their toes exposed. They also commonly wear cylindrical caps with no brim, a reminder of the ceiling that hangs over the people of the undersanctuary. ### Taboo Worshipers of Laleeri abhor violence, and will shun those who commit it. Sometimes for a ritual day for minor violations, but for months at a time for more sever transgressions. Violence against members of the community is shocking, but violence against outsiders is a betrayal of the community at large. It's an invitation for reprisals that folk of their stature and numbers cannot afford. This taboo does not apply outside the bounds of a settlement, for obvious reasons... nor does it apply to creatures that could not be rightly considered "civilized." Laleeri worshippers typically disdain displays of wealth. Such displays suggest to selfishness to those within the community, and draws envy and suspicion from those outside the community. ## Worshippers The faithful of Laleeri rarely speak of their beliefs to outsiders. Religion is one of those divisive topics that's better left to the privacy of one's own heart, rather than shouted from the rooftops. As much as they strive to be a part of the larger community, both they and the trundlers know that halflings are not. The less that's said about their differences, the better. Laleeri worshippers think of themselves as community-focused and adaptable. The world changes, but their loyalty to their kith and kin does not. They can endure whatever hardships they must, because they know that by doing so, their people can endure. ## Other Worshipers and Faiths ### Halflings of the Undersanctuary Those within the undersanctuary are disdainful of Laleeri and those who worship her. In addition to the blasphemy of worshipping someone who is not divine, her message is one of abrogated responsibility and abandoned duties. The idea that one can live in comfort on the surface while still being part of the real halfling community is insulting. ### Other Halflings The halflings who have chosen to live on the surface have largely abandoned the idea of a halfling nation of their own, and resigned themselves to becoming part of the community they live in now. Trying to cling to a doomed culture is a waste of time, and will only delay or prevent their acceptance into the world at large. They see Laleerians as the orthodoxy of a dying culture. ### Non-Halflings Outsiders see Laleeri as a generally pro-social folk-religion of the halflings. The values of community, charity and peace are well regarded in civilized societies, but its community focus typically generates an estrangement between followers of Laleerli and the larger communities in which the halflings live.