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16 Whitemoon, 2E 222
When we went to Kingfisher Port some days ago, Lucinda asked a question. "Who is Neris?"
It's a more complicated question than you might expect. Neris, the Spirit of the Lakes. A goddess, in the minds of some. A fiction to others.
There are a number of such possible-entities, far more than I could begin to list. Avani, the Sky Dancer, who guides the wind with her steps. Giordan the Harvester, who tends the world's farms, and who in some traditions takes the harvest of human life when it meets its end. Palleas, the Torch-Bearer, source of all the world's fire, and said by some to be our sun itself. Stallan, the embodiment of all metals. And that's only the start of the list.
But perhaps they do not exist at all. Though they can be successfully invoked in ritual, a manifestation of the entity in question has never been recorded. The Black-Quills usually reject these invocations as unnecessary; the only time we truly need to call upon any otherworldly being, it's the fae courts.
But ritual is a fascinating thing. It is the use of our ephemera: anima, presence; and dynamis, will. We cannot simply will something into or out of being, but my working hypothesis is that these invocations help some people to focus their energies better. A witch may call upon Giordan for a bountiful harvest, and because of either his belief or the ritual focus, he may well be rewarded.
From time to time, you may see shrines to one of these beings along the road, at a port, on farmland, and so on. Belief has spread, in a limited way; many outside our circles will call upon them as well. If they find comfort in it, I'll not stop them.
While the Black-Quill tradition holds that these entities are not necessary and likely do not exist, we are also motivated by simple pragmatism. If you believe invoking them will help your rituals be more effective, you will probably be correct. If you do not, then it will not. In this, you will have to find your own way, but I will support you regardless.
