Hlathanna
Hlathanna is the goddess of nature, spring, motherhood, and birth. She is known for being kind, giving, and loving children and mothers. She is fiercely loyal and can also be vengeful to those who spite her. She created the dryads and gave the druids their magic (the first race to be endowed with magic, as the fae races came later). She is revered by all surface races but is particularly revered by druidic peoples, aescels, dryads, satyrs, and centaurs. Her festival is the Spring Festival. The month Hladith is named after her.
Her Temples
The temples of Hlathanna are known for their light gray stone building materials. They are also known for having steeples or domes protruding from their main roofs and featuring a small number of aesthetic pillars. They also commonly feature a skylight or translucent dome to provide light to a small atrium inside the temple.
Temple of Hlathanna
Temple of Hlathanna
Temple of Hlathanna
Temple of Hlathanna
This is an AI Generated Image.
Worship
Worship of Hlathanna is prevalent among druids, druidic peoples, and in Gleann Rois. Many satyrs, dryads, centaurs, and humans in southern Croulia also worship Hlathanna. She is generally respected or feared among forest-based communities.
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Even among individuals who are not devotees to the god Solstefar, many people will go to the temple of Solstefar for the naming ritual. Worshippers of Hlathanna may even go to both a naming ritual of Hlathanna and the naming ritual of Solstefar.
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Temples to Hlathanna feature many small apse rooms for worshippers to privately pray. They may also bring food items to leave on an altar or offering table as an act of worship. These food items are left until sunset on the altar or offering table and then are given to the temple to support those living there. Worshippered may also purchase incense or sweet-smelling wood to burn at the main altar, but this is typically only done for rituals, large life events, or acts of contrition to the goddess. The interior of the temple will feature numerous plants and flowers throughout. Temples and monasteries also have large gardens cared for by laborers who grow flowers and trees for aesthetics, as well as plants to feed those living there. Worshippers will purchase seeds to plant in the gardens as an act of worship.
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At home, devotees will worship Hlathanna by praying each evening or night to an icon of the goddess. For their birthday, they will burn incense or sweet-smelling wood with a sweet roll or cake and recite a prayer to the goddess.
Sacred
Hlathanna holds certain objects and rituals as sacred to her, and devotees of Hlathanna, therefore, hold these things sacred as well.
1. Motherhood: It is considered the sacred duty of female druids and other female devotees of Hlathanna to try to become a mother to at least one child. As long as she has at least one child, the mandate of motherhood is considered fulfilled, she does not need to seek to have more children, unless she so desires. Those who are infertile or who are unable to find a husband are not considered as disobeying this mandate, as long as they have made a reasonable effort to either get pregnant or find a husband. They may perform an infertility ritual if they so desire to alleviate guilt or if their reasonable effort is called into question.
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2. Marital Abundance and Stability: Followers of Hlathanna believe that spouses should be sexually intimate regularly. Sexual intimacy in marriage, according to Hlathanna promotes fertility as well as the emotional intimacy needed for a stable environment for children to thrive. Couples are furthermore supposed to provide a stable environment for their children to grow, through means such as providing financially, practicing fidelity, defending or moving them away from danger, etc.
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3. Druidic Magic: All druids fall under the purview of the goddess. Druidc magic is considered a gift from the goddess, and therefore all druids must worship the goddess and utilize their magic as a way of appreciating her gift. Interacting with nature and cultivating one's ability to magically interact with, control, and create viable crossbreeds of plants is regarded highly as an act of appreciation to the goddess.
Blasphemy
Hlathanna holds certain practices as blasphemous to her, and devotees of Hlathanna, therefore, hold these things as blasphemous as well.
1. Abortion/Filicide: Because motherhood is sacred to the goddess the act of killing one's own children is the most abhorrent thing one can do. Exceptions are made for self-defense, but otherwise, the act is considered blasphemy of the highest order. Those, both men and women, who commit abortion/filicide, regardless of what the law says, must go to the priestess/priest of Hlathanna for absolution, otherwise, the goddess will cast thorns in their hearts, that they will be filled with a stabbing pain throughout the afterlife. The ritual of contrition for abortion/filicide involves shaving one's head and all their hair. They must then wear a veil and abstain from celebrations or celebratory food for a year. They must also care for a rabbit, dove, or another cute small animal from its birth for at least a month (plus an additional day for each year of the age of their child). Following that month, they must kill that animal upon the main altar, have the priest/priestess mark their face with the animal's blood, and then cook and eat the animal. The end of the animal's life should line up with the end of the year. Following that act of sacrifice, the perpetrator must remain in silence for three days, unwashed, with the blood on their face, not saying a word. After the three days, they will say a prayer, the priest/priestess will wash their face, and they are cleansed and absolved. Hlathanna requires perpetrators to go through the ritual of forgiveness, whether or not they are her followers, but for those who are her followers, one or both of their arms might be stripped from them in the afterlife in addition to the thorns. Because of this, many consider it an act of cruelty for governments to prevent the condemned from seeking rituals of absolution for committing filicide. However, for those who are going to be put to death, the process is sped up by priests/priestesses to end before their execution. Priests/priestesses may deny the ritual to anyone if they believe the perpetrator lacks the necessary contrition. Some governmental efforts have been made to convince women and followers of Hlathanna that abortion is not killing their child but merely preventing a pregnancy from occurring, as long as the quickening has not been felt. However, this notion is widely disregarded by the Hlathanna's clergy as a whole and any priest or priestess that preaches to that effect will be stripped of their position and powers and cast out as a blasphemer as a result.
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2. Refusing to Become a Mother: If a female devotee of Hlathanna refuses to become a mother, this is also considered an act of blasphemy against the goddess. Refusing to be a mother can take multiple forms, such as purposefully destroying one's ability to have children, refusing to have unprotected sex with one's husband or refusing to have sex with him at all, or abstaining from or actively sabotaging efforts to find a husband. Women are not expected to have children out of wedlock if they cannot find a husband, though women who already have children are not subjected to the scrutiny of finding a husband. Women are also not expected to accept a marriage offer from any man who offers or even the first good marriage offer. Women do not have to immediately start looking for a husband when they come of age and can choose to forego courtship or only engage in casual relationships for a certain period of their youth as they try to launch or stabilize their educational, economic, legal, familial, or personal situations. However, if they deem that she is forgoing multiple ideal marriage offers over an extended period of time, such that she is no longer young and has her peak fertility years dwindling, she may be brought up on charges of "refusing to become a mother." These charges can also be brought up against women who seem to be sabotaging efforts to find a spouse, such as defacing their appearance, routinely cheating on or harming romantic partners, refusing to learn skills that would make them a reasonable choice of wife, putting on a front of an unpleasant demeanor around prospective partners, etc. A woman, however, cannot be brought up on charges if these are her natural appearances or inclinations, or even if she is doing these things for a different reason, such as defacing herself to protect herself from rape from a nearby army or cheating in an effort to secure a more illustrious husband, etc. Because of the subjective nature of the reasons behind why a woman might do these things, a high priestess must be the one to adjudicate whether or not a woman is guilty of "refusing to become a mother." A woman may be brought up on charges based on the complaints of at least three persons (or come of her own volition). Then she is given a summons by the High Priestess. Refusal to adhere to the summons is considered an admission of guilt. The priestess may curse her with a blight on her plants or on her plant-based clothing as a result, causing them to wither and fall apart. If she does come to the summons, she is first granted a private audience with the high priestess to either admit her defiance or to instead explain her actions. If the priestess is not fully satisfied with her reasons or doubts their legitimacy, she may initiate an inquiry to the goddess. This involves the inquired being put into an atrium of sacred vines kept in the temple (these vines were initially given by the goddess and then passed down throughout the decades to detect truth or deceit). The vines will then encircle her, keeping her suspended mid-air. The woman will repeat the mantra, seven times: I am striving to become a mother, according to the goddess's dictates. If she is telling the truth, her words will cause the vines to blossom. If she is lying, any buds will retract. The woman is then removed from the atrium, and either says the plants are wrong or right. If she says they are wrong, the process is repeated the next day, up to three times. If the plants contradict the woman's claims every time, she is deemed as lying to the goddess, and given a blight on her plants or clothes. Otherwise, the woman's claims are determined to be truthful, and she is released from her charges and cannot be brought up again for a period of seven years. If she admits her fault, then she must cut her hair to the ears and say a prayer asking for forgiveness. She is then given a period of three years to amend her ways, whether or not she confirms that she will adhere to that admonition. If she has not amended her ways after a period of three years, she must shave her head, wear a veil, and not attend celebrations or eat celebratory food for a period of three months. At the end of those three months, she must remain in silence for a week while she works as a laborer at the temple. At the end of her silence, she must say a prayer at the altar before the high priestess, asking the goddess to absolve her of her duty to become a mother. After she says the prayer, she is no longer obliged to strive to become a mother. If the woman refuses to go along with the priestess's instructions at any point, the priestess may banish her or give her a blight on her plants or clothes, or even a blight on her food if she refuses to accept her banishment. If a woman has destroyed her fertility or has prolonged it to the point that she is no longer reasonably able to have children when she is first brought up (or comes of her own volition), she can explain herself to the high priestess. If the priestess deems that she is sufficiently remorseful, she is only required to cut her hair to her ears and remain silent for a week while she works as a laborer at the temple. If the high priestess deems that she is not sufficiently remorseful, she must shave her head, wear a veil, and not attend celebrations or eat celebratory food for a period of three months. That is followed by a week of silence and labor at the temple, followed by a prayer asking the goddess to absolve her of her duty to strive to become a mother. Female followers of Hlathanna who do not adhere to their duty to strive to be a mother, or who refuse or avoid completing the rituals to be absolution or forgiveness will have their dominant arm taken from them in the afterlife. It is to be noted that women who are not devotees of Hlathanna are not under the same obligations. However, if a woman denounces her devotion to the goddess in an effort to forego these charges or obligations, the goddess will take both of her arms in the afterlife.
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3. Failing to live up to the Natural Order: Devotees of Hlathanna believe in following the "Natural Order." The natural order involves living in a way that nature intended. This involves, but is not limited to, parents caring for, protecting, providing for, and raising children, who in turn grow and do the same. It also involves breeding with those capable of having children with them.* Failing to live up to the natural order is considered blasphemous. This could involve but is not limited to preventing one's children from growing up into fertile adults; parents failing to live up to their responsibilities to care for and protect their children; people placing animals, plants, or other things above the well-being of their own children or species; having sexual relations involving incest, pedophilia, bestiality, or necrophilia; trying to create infertile children by combining species that cannot propagate fertile children; trying to poison, maim, or kill oneself, etc. Those seen as failing to live up to the "Natural Order" can receive a variety of punishments or length of punishment depending on what the high priest/priestess deems the level of severity is. The perpetrator may also be placed in the atrium of sacred plants to determine their guilt or severity of guilt.
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*Races that are incapable of producing children together cannot marry. However, if the woman already has children and is unmarried, she may live with and have sexual relations with those of a race with whom she cannot produce children as a means to gain or build financial or emotional stability for the children she is raising. However, she may still not marry that individual under the goddess's law. The same is true for same-sex relations.**
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**While the clergy of Hlathanna strongly discourage marital infidelity, due to the marital disharmony it promotes, the Brainseach Sect allows husbands to take on multiple wives. In this sect, wives who are not visited weekly by their husbands for intimacy or labor are allowed to have an unmarried female companion or a female companion from the husband's other wives. This is so their companion can help them attend to their everyday duties and raise their children the way a husband would, stabilizing their children financially/emotionally. These wives are allowed to be sexually intimate with their female companions, as long as they do not forego the Rite of Pollination during the Spring Festival. While these women can switch out their female companions because of disharmony between the women, they do not condone casual liaisons between women, especially multiple women, as that does not foster financial/emotional stability. In addition to the Brainseach Sect, individual witch covens devoted to the goddess might opt for other family and sexual relationship formations. Different regions may hold different views on these practices, ranging from those who see it as a good and viable alternative for women who wish to live differently but still have and raise children according to the goddess's laws; to those who see it as a lesser practice, though still viable as long as the children have a stable life; and those who strongly discourage alternative witch coven lifestyles as an inherently unstable lifestyle for children.
Rituals
Hlathanna has four major sacred rituals that all devotees must perform: The Naming, Grounds Consecration, Marriage, and Return to the Earth.
1. The Naming: Within a year of when a child is born, the parents must travel to the temple of Hlathanna to have their child's name etched into the goddess's memory. When the parents bring the child to the temple, they stand on the temple grounds, right outside the door of the temple. The priest/priestess directs them to carve their child's name into one of the trees that stands at the door to the temple. Once the parents carve the name into the tree, the tree absorbs the carving into itself, and the carving disappears. The branches of the tree then open the door to the temple, and the priest/priestess directs the parents to bring their child inside. The parents then enter the temple and the priest/priestess directs them to the altar. They give their child to the priest/priestess who holds the baby above the altar. The vines around the altar then spell out the child's name, and the cleric lowers the child onto the vines. Flowers then bloom around the child, and the priest/priestess marks the child's forehead with holy water. The cleric then declares that the child's name has been etched into the goddess's memory and blesses them to grow in her abundance. The priest then returns the child to the parent.
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2. Grounds Consecration: Whenever a person buys/inherits or otherwise comes into ownership of a plot of land with space for growing plants/grass/trees/foliage, they must ask a priest/priestess to consecrate their land. The priest/priestess walks the borders of the land, whacking the border with a sagebrush as they walk. The owner must follow them as they walk. This process can take a significant amount of time, even multiple days depending on the size of the land, and any walkers can take breaks or camp for the night, as long as they maintain a continuous walk around the border. When the walk is finished, the priest/priestess waves a plant filled with pollen, shaking the pollen out. The priest/priestess then blesses the land to flourish under the goddess's fertility and abundance.
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3. Marriage: For the marriage ritual, the bride and groom meet at the temple grounds, and are instructed by a priest/priestess to pack some of the dirt into a ceremonial pot. They are then directed by the priest/priestess into the temple and brought before the altar to kneel, with a pledge carrying the pot for them. The priest/priestess recites to them the goddess's requirements for marriage: that the husband provides a place for their children to grow and flourish; that they render regular intercourse and sexual pleasure to each other to facilitate marital harmony and procreation; that they bring children into the world, according to the goddess's mandate; and that they both work to protect and support their children and provide them a harmonious and stable home in which to flourish. The couple then agrees to live by these principles. The priest/priestess then asks the husband to place the pot of dirt on the altar. The husband does so. The priest/priestess then has the couple stand at the altar, and some attending pledges/apprentices/priests/priestesses give the woman a flower of the Pósadh flower and the man the Pósadh stamen. The officiating priest/priestess instructs the couple to blend the pistil and stamen. The man and woman bring the pistil and stamen together. The officiating priest/priestess then directs the woman to plant the flower into the pot. Once the flower is planted, the flower takes root and then bears a small Pósadh fruit. The officiating priest/priestess tells them to bear witness to the fruit of their creation. The couple kneels and pledge plucks the fruit and has the man and then the woman take a bite of the fruit. The pledge then takes the fruit to the officiator, who squeezes the fruit to pulp in his/her hand. He/she comes around the altar and marks the couple's forehead with an ancient magic rune that means grow/flourish. He/she instructs them to keep the goddess's laws and instructions etched in their minds and hearts as they grow together. The couple reaffirms their commitment and the priest/priestess pronounces them husband and wife. The seeds in the pulp then sprout, turning into crowns for both husband and wife. The vines continue growing down their arms, entangling their arms together. The officiator has them arise and announces them as husband and wife to the audience.
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It is to be noted that the vines will not die until the couple consumates their marriage. At that point, the vine will quickly break apart and wither as it puts all remaining energy into little buds that turn into many smaller, seedless pósadh fruits. It is customary for the couple to eat some themselves, and then serve the tiny fruits to as many wedding guests as possible, as long as the guest is married. While not technically forbidden, it is customary to not give unmarried guests the fruit, as it is said that their first taste of the fruit should be on their wedding day.
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4. Return to Earth: When a devotee dies, it is customary for a priest/priestess to come to officiate the funeral. The priest/priestess speaks of the tragedy of the loss of life but says that death is part of the natural order since before mortals came to be. He/she says that without death, there would be no life, as life comes from death. He/she asks to continue that cycle as the body is laid to rest. Traditionally, the body is then buried, and the priest/priestess plants some seeds on the grave. However, because of the prevalence of catacombs and cremation, the ceremony can be amended. If the body is put in a catacomb, a pledge can bring a ceremonial pot of dirt to the catacomb, and the dirt is shoveled in front of the cavity where the body is interned. The seeds are then planted in that dirt. If it is a cremation, the ashes are buried, and the seeds are buried on top. The seeds then sprout into a cluster of lilies. The priest/priestess then repeats that life comes from death, and now they begin their new life there as they journey to the land of the dead. The loved ones are invited to take a flower as a parting gift from the deceased and bid their final farewell as the deceased begins their journey and their new life.
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Hlathanna, like the other deities, has many different ceremonies and rituals other than their four major rituals. Here is the fertility ritual in addition to the other rituals. The fertility ritual is only mandatory for priestesses who have been struggling with infertility for at least seven years. However, other women can request the ritual to get help with infertility, alleviate guilt, or to prove their innocence if called into question.
5. Infertility Ritual: A week before the middle of a woman's cycle, she comes to the temple, where the high priestess says a prayer over her and hands her a cups of water. The woman is then ushered into the atrium alone, where she must recite a prayer three times next to by the sacred tree. After that, she drinks the cup of water and recites the prayer three more time. The buds will either bloom, if she is fertile, or they will contract. The flowers or buds contracted buds will also turn a color. Depending on the color, the priestess will make a certain herbal drink for the next day. If the flower/bud is white, the priestess will give her water the next day. If the buds flowered, the woman will be taken to a nearby room, where she will engage in intercourse with her husband or a male partner. The next three days, she will repeat the process, with the priestess giving her a drink based on the color of the flowers. She will then remain at home and drink the drink everyday and say the same three prayers until she has completed a week past her cycle. If she is not pregnant, she will return to the temple to repeat the process. If the buds retract, the woman must return to the temple and repeat the process each day the buds retract. The priestess will make her a drink depending on the color of the buds. Either way, if a woman has completed three cycle lengths without getting pregnant or having the flowers bloom, the high priestess will retire to alcove for three hours of silence to say prayers for the woman while the women waits. If the high priestess feels inclined, she may offer the woman the sacred fruit of the sacred tree for her to eat in place of the water for the ritual, or that one of the priests takes her husbands place in the room for intercourse during a repetition of the ritual. She might also suggest going to a different climate region to complete the infertility ritual there, or some other adivce. Most of of the time, the high priestess will not give any advice on the matter. If the high priestess does not give any advice, she will say a prayer over the woman absolving her of any responsibilities to become a mother. If the high priestess does give the woman the advice, the woman is free to accept or reject the advice. If the advice is rejected, the high priestess performs the same prayer absolving the woman of her responsibility to be a mother. If she accepts the advice, the ritual is repeated for an additional three cycles with the implementation of the advice.
Spring (Equinox) Festival
The Spring Festival is dedicated to the goddess Hlathanna. It starts Manday, the 9th of the month Hladith, which occurs around our version of March 20 or 21. It lasts three days (like every festival), though festivities sometimes last all week long, especially in areas populated by devotees of the goddess Hlathanna. Traditionally, farmers will plow their fields prior to the festival and begin planting following the festival, though this is also dependent on the region.
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The Spring Festival is generally considered the most romantic festival of the year, and many people will marry during the festival. Married couples are expected to copulate at least once during the week of the festival to encourage the plants to reproduce, and to ensure the fertility of their crops and trees.
The local barony/county will typically make a public spectacle of the required copulation, having the local baron/count and baronness/countess copulate on a bed on a stage, with only a curtain for privacy. Usually only certain groups will be allowed to observe the curtained bed at this time as witnesses, however some baronies/counties will allow any person of legal age to come watch the curtained bed when the act takes place. Other baronies/counties only have the baron/count and baroness/countess preform a public kiss and then retire to their castle together to be undisturbed for an hour to privately conjugate without making a spectacle. The king/queen of each country will also preform the ceremony, but only do the public kiss version. It is said that if the nobility do not copulate with their spouses during this week, it will bring a bad crop to all the land that falls under their jurisdiction. The ceremony is to ensure the public that any crop failures will not be the fault of the nobility. Some regions are less serious about these superstitions, however the nobility kissing and/or copulation ceremonies are still performed for the sake of tradition.
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Children have a more toned down version of the festival, the adults instead focusing on the need for couples to kiss just as flowers need to kiss. Children will often follow couples pressing two flower heads together. The couple is supposed to kiss in response. This teaches the children the spirit of the holiday, as well as remind the couples of their responsibility to copulate to ensure the fertility of the crops and trees. Parents will also take the children and show them the borders of their farms, in order to ensure boundaries between properties are remembered from generation to generation.
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It is to be noted that the required copulation is stipulated only for married couples. However, some unmarried couples also copulate in the spirit of the holiday.
Clergy
Hlathanna has ten to twenty priestesses, for every priest. The priestesses will all be married to a priest or male temple laborer at the temple where they serve. Because of this, priests will often be married to multiple priestesses. If the priest/laborer that a priestess is married to dies, she has the choice to marry another priest/laborer at either their temple/monastery or another temple/monastery or marry a local man who becomes a worker at the temple. If she already has children, she also has the option to remain as a single priestess after widowhood. Priestesses/Priests may not divorce unless their husband/wife either leaves or is thrown out of his priesthood/temple service. Her temples or monasteries will only have between 1 to 8 priests (at least 1, but no more than eight at any given temple/monastery), who are all married to some level of priestesses. A man cannot become a priest unless he marries at least 1 priestess (this includes pledges). If he loses all his priestess wives (either through death or leaving the temple), he must retire as a former priest, unless he can find another priestess (including pledges) to marry. Former priests can live off of temple funds, and can live on temple/monastery grounds but may not perform rituals, hold leadership roles, or live in the main temple/monastery buildings. Former priests are not counted in the 1 minimum/8 maximum priest count.
Priests and Priestesses both have equal ability to perform rituals, and different temples may have different preferences as to who performs what role or serves what person. The only exception is that priestesses must provide private counsel to women, who are alone, and priests provide private counsel to men who are alone. This is for reasons of propriety/privacy. For this reason, houses of Hlathanna for single mothers are also run exclusively by priestesses and female grounds laborers. Some guardians may be stationed outside the facility, but they cannot enter unless requested to do so for reasons of a security breech or belligerent resident.
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Both men and women can serve as grounds laborers. Male/female grounds laborers cannot be alone with a priestess/priest unless they are married to them. Laborers (except hirelings) must go through a yearly ritual to consecrate their efforts to the temple/monastery. They do not have to be married to a priest/priestess of Hlathanna, but any female laborers must be married/have a child by the time they hit thirty, or they are kicked out. If a priestess or female laborer has been married for seven years without having a child, they must visit the archpriest/priestess of their region, and go through an infertility ritual. If they do not have a child within three years of the infertility ritual, they are considered infertile. They are not removed from their position as priestess or laborer and they are not forcibly divorced, but they cannot get remarried unless they are able to get pregnant. If they get remarried without getting pregnant first they are then removed from their position as priestess/laborer.
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There are five levels of priests/priestesses: pledge, apprentice, priest/priestess, high priest/priestess, archpriest/priestess. Each temple will have one to five high priests/priestesses, depending on the size with a possible additional two to three high priestesses if there is a charity house. Men will automatically be bestowed the title of high priest if they are married to a high priestess, and she is his only wife. It is to be noted that archpriests in a meritorial are exceedingly rare. Most archpriests are bestowed their title by being married to an archpriestess without having additional wives. This practice is done to facilitate marital harmony, with high/archpriests receiving all the same powers and authority as their wives, except in rare instances where the archpriest/priestess bestowing the title has received inspiration to do otherwise.
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Any woman can become a pledge if she is approved by one of the local high priestesses. Men must serve as a hireling for three years before they can be approved as a pledge by the high priest/priestess. Only a third of the priests/priestesses come from clerical families. Most children of clerical families return to their local community. If a child of a clerical family does get accepted as a pledge, they must become a pledge at a different temple. They may return to their parents' temple when they gain the status of priest/priestess if they so desire and their parents' temple accepts their transfer.
For grounds laborers, there are eight levels: hireling, sworn laborer, temple/general steward, grounds director, apprentice guardian, guardian, and guardian captain. Only men can be guardians. Guardians are armed and are under solemn pledge to defend the sanctity of Hlathanna's temple and priests/priestesses with their lives. It is not uncommon for guardians to be married to priestesses. Hirelings are day laborers who are not sworn to the goddess, except as a weekly prayer to keep her grounds sacred. They tend to plants and facilities on the outer temple grounds. They are under no lifelong obligation to serve at the temple. If a hireling has served at the temple for a period of at least three years, they may become a sworn laborer or apprentice guardian. In order to become an apprentice guardian, they must exhibit a certain level of proficiency in fighting or physical prowess. Sworn laborers/apprentice guardians must wait at least seven years before they can become stewards or full-fledged guardians. There are no orders of monks within Hlathanna's clergy.
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Pledges, sworn laborers, and apprentice guardians receive a quarter portion of natural nature magic (a full portion being the normal amount of magic a druid would have at full capacity). Apprentices, stewards, and guardians receive a half portion of magic. Priests/priestesses, directors, and captains receive a full portion of magic. High priests/priestesses receive a double portion of magic, and archpriests/priestesses receive a triple portion of magic. This is in addition to whatever amount of magic they would have otherwise.
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In addition to the portion of magic, priests/priestesses, high priests/priestesses, and archpriests/priestesses gain the ability to curse plants or plant-based clothing with a blight that rots them. This happens over the course of a month to all their plants/clothing in the cursed's purview. High priests/priestesses and archpriests/priestesses can also curse plant-based food to rot. This can last anywhere from a period of three days to a full year and happens to any food that passes through the cursed's lips. Priests/priestesses, high priests/priestesses, archpriests/priestesses, guardians, and guardian captains also gain the ability of bendy limbs. This ability allows them to give at will any or all of their bones a rubbery consistency (for up to ten minutes), allowing their bones to bend or squeeze into a tight space. It also gives them resistance to falling or impact damage.
Sacred Atrium
Inside temples/monasteries to Hlathanna, there is a small atrium with a sacred tree and vines growing. Only women are allowed in the atrium, and only then at the direction of the high priestess.
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The sacred vines are a set of vines passed down from the goddess, and they can only be bred by getting a clipping of sacred vines at another temple to Hlathanna. The sacred vines will bloom when someone speaks the truth, or retract if someone is lying. The vines are used to determine if someone is lying or speaking the truth about whether or not they are blaspheming the goddess, or trying to partake of her rituals without adhering to her laws and instructions concerning the matter. Priestesses are restricted from using the plants to solve government or community concerns.
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The sacred tree is a tree passed down from the goddess, and it can only be bred by getting a seed from a sacred tree at another temple to Hlathanna. The tree can sense fertility and will bloom when a fertile woman is present. It will bear fruit if a fertile woman is consistently present. Its fruit can bring about ovulation in women struggling to ovulate (though it does not guarantee the birth of a healthy child). It requires daily consumption over a prolonged period of time (three full cycles), and therefore, the fruit is given out sparingly, with normal herbal remedies being the preferred method for helping to relieve infertility. The fruit is typically only given out to priestesses or when a high priestess receives divine confirmation in her prayers that someone should receive it.
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The sacred tree takes seven years to grow big enough to bear fruit. A temple/monastery cannot be dedicated for use without the tree being able to bear fruit. If the tree gets destroyed through sabotage, the temple cannot perform any rituals until another tree is grown.
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Because of the inherent abilities of the goddess's sacred tree and vines, many people have tried to obtain the vines/fruit to use for their own purposes. However, vines/fruits whither to nothing if they are removed from the sacred atrium without being carried within a twenty-foot vicinity of an arch priestess. Many people have also tried to sneak into the atrium to utilize the plants on their own. However, the plants' abilities do not manifest without a priestess in the room. Government organizations or thugs have also tried to force priestesses to get utility from the room, however, the vines and trees will attack a perpetrator if a priestess is being threatened. If a priestess does give someone access to the plants without the high priestess's say so, that priestess is excommunicated.
Charity House for Woman and Children
The clergy for Hlathanna have over three hundred charity houses across the known world of Materna. These charity houses are set up near temples or monasteries and are based on the area's needs as well as the local temple's ability to provide sufficient resources and staff for the charity house. Charity houses all have different names and are named after a prominent priest/priestess from that region, the family name that donated the money for the initial construction, or the region in which they are founded. If a charity house is named after a region, and a prominent priest/priestess dies in that region, the priests/priestesses may vote to have the charity house renamed in their honor.
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Charity houses are open for any woman or woman with children (any male child must be pre-pubescent or younger; unaccompanied children are directed to orphanages). They may come and live there for up to a year, with no questions asked, except for a magic test to ensure the child(ren) is related to the woman in question. If the charity house receives more women/children than they can manage, long-term residents may be turned out earlier than a year to give way to newer residents. Charity houses give residents room and board free of charge for the entirety of their stay.
The charity house is meant to house women and children who are either fleeing abusive situations or who are kicked out of their residences and need a place to stay while they get back on their feet. Because of this, attendants will not confirm the residence of any particular woman/child without the woman's permission, even for legal officials. For the Head Tax Count, the attendants will offer the women and children masks if they wish to hide their identity while being counted. Altruist governments have forcibly entered the premises when they were certain the charity houses have been harboring fugitives, much to the outcry of Hlathanna's clergy and other devotees of Hlathanna. They say that it breaks the sacred trust implied with the charity house that allows women to become or stay mothers, despite financial or dangerous circumstances. Charity houses do, on occasion, turn out women under criminal conviction, however, this is not done without ample evidence (and even this is dependent on the type of crime) or witnessing suspicious behavior from the woman. Even in these cases, they do not turn in the woman, but only dismiss her from the premises, the only exceptions being if the woman attacks someone at the house or adjoining temple/monastery.
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Because charities desire to protect women who might be running away from abuse or who are under financially unstable circumstances, the charities have programs to alleviate those situations. Charities typically have a lawyer or legal worker of some kind that will help the women file necessary paperwork for restraining orders, battery/assault charges, custody disputes, theft/fraud charges, wrongful eviction suits, etc. They also will supply women with tickets/funds to leave the city/county if necessary. Charity programs also provide counseling from priestesses for those experiencing trauma, distress, or struggles with caring for children. They usually have some sort of career counseling to help women who are struggling to find work or to provide limited vocational training. Charity houses also have stockpiles of clothing, grooming items, baby items and toys, and other supplies to give to the women to meet their needs.
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When possible charity houses will have individual rooms for women to stay in with their children. This is to ameliorate petty theft among residences and prevent crying babies from keeping other residences up at night. Water closets and washrooms are usually shared between multiple residences. Charity houses will also have two to four bunk rooms for women without children. For these women, large lockers or closets are supplied to store belongings safely. Women can be shifted between bunk rooms on the priestess's orders to facilitate harmony and to help with women who have drastically different sleeping schedules. Charity houses will also have an overflow bunk room meant to help with the transition of women who have come for help but they do not have space for yet. The overflow rooms also house women who might only need to stay a few days as they relocate elsewhere. Women in overflow rooms are only supplied with a smaller locker. Charity houses will also have one or two holding bunk rooms for women who are actively disharmonious with other residents, who are drunk or intoxicated, or who have peculiar mental or emotional episodes.
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Charity houses expect the women there to say daily prayers to the goddess for providing them with food and shelter. Charity houses also expect the women to meet with one of the priestesses every week to discuss her current needs and goals. Whenever possible, women are expected to help prepare the group meals, participate in laundry duty, or clean the residences/grounds. However, the charity house will also have priestesses/attendants on staff to ensure these necessities are met. Charity houses will also have the women organize babysitting cohorts, so the women can watch each other children while they work.
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Charity houses also offer services available for residents and non-residents. They supply baby care items and pregnancy clothing to both residents and impoverished women. They offer lactation services for women struggling to nurse their babies and have a list of reputable dairy farmers to order milk for those who do not produce enough. Non-residents must pay for the milk themselves, but the dairy farmers on the list will make deliveries straight to the women's doors or to a nearby delivery location. Milk service recommendations are made based on the race of the baby to optimize nutrition. Non-residents can request assistance "baby-proofing" their residences, so it is safe (or certain areas sectioned off are safe) for children to crawl around. They also provide free childcare courses to help new mothers learn how to care for their children.