Labelas Enoreth

Labelas Enoreth, Lord of the Continuum, is the elven deity who governs the orderly passage of time and guarded against those who would alter the path of history. At the creation of the Fair Folk, Labelas blessed the elves with long lifespans and decreed that their appearances would not be marked by the passage of time. The Lifegiver cooperates with Sehanine in overseeing the lifespan of elves and their growth away from and beyond mortal realms.

He is a philosopher, a patient teacher, and an instructor who gives wisdom and knowledge to young and old alike. Labelas shows his desires through subtle means and rewards those who please him with rare gems and valuable stones.

Despite his wise and contemplative nature, he is also supremely arrogant and racist toward non-elves. He considers every member of other pantheons to be lesser gods compared to the elvish ones, and even describes Ao as nothing more than an enforcer and judge.

Worshipers, Clergy & Temples

Despite his powerful influence over elven culture he is rarely worshiped by lay-folk, but is acknowledged daily, particularly as elves get older. Because elves do not typically show signs of aging until they reach the twilight of their lives, those elves whose hair turns white and skin starts wrinkling earlier than it should might believe that they have displeased Labelas in some manner.

Clerics of Labelas are usually the venerable members of elven communities who start reflecting on Labelas more and more. They are responsible for record keeping and teaching in elven communities, their prayers particularly involve marking the passage of time and they do not have any holy days, believing that time marches forward uniformly so do not feel the need to repeatedly celebrate historical occasions when their entire job is to teach everyone else about them.

Vestments

Priests of Labelas wear light gray robes of wispy, gossamer construction. When a small light source is viewed through the robes, such vestments shine with the deep reds, purples, and oranges of the sunset.

When adventuring, servants of Labelas eschew heavy armor or sophisticated weaponry. For most priests of the Lifegiver, simple light gray robes (of more durable construction than their ceremonial vestments) and a staff or dagger serve as adequate protection. When available, elven cloaks, elven boots, and other items that allow the wearer to pass unnoticed are employed by members of Labelas's clergy.

Hierarchy

Novices of Labelas are known as Tyros. Full priests of the Lifegiver are known as Time Sentinels. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Labelasan priests are Observer, Recorder, Librarian, Lorist, Scholar, Historian, Sage, and Philosopher. High-ranking priests have unique individual titles but are collectively known as Chronologians.

Temples

Temples of the Lifegiver are monuments unbowed by the passage of time, whether they be built amidst the branches of a venerable forest giant or constructed from weathered stone carved from the slopes of an ancient mountain range. The central chapel of each temple is dominated by a massive golden sundial inlaid in the floor, and windows are placed or limbs trimmed back so as to allow the direct rays of the setting sun to bathe the massive time pieces in colorful hues. Each house of worship has a library of some sort associated with it, and many such temples house some of the greatest collections of elven lore assembled in the Realms.

Rituals

Labelas's priests meet in groves at sunset to pray, meditate, and mark the passing of another day by sharing prayers and knowledge.

The faithful of Labelas do not celebrate individual holy days, for the passage of time is uniform, independent of the events that unfold in each regular interval. Instead, the Lifegiver's followers gather each day in small groves near his temples as the sun sets to mark the passage of another day, a daily ritual known as the Marking of Time. They utter prayers to Labelas and recite all that they have learned in the past day to be recorded by the lorekeepers of Arvandor who serve the One-Eyed God.

It is considered a great honor if a priest of Labelas attends a birth, as it is a sign that the child will live a long and fruitful life. Such visitations always occur at the first sunset after the birth and involve casting a bless spell on the infant as prayers to Labelas are exclaimed to the heavens. A priest of the Lifegiver does not perform such a ceremony unless she or he receives a vision in advance from the god giving such instructions.

Orders

The Order of the Setting Sun is a fellowship of elf and half-elf archeologists, bards, historians, lorekeepers, scholars, sages, and the like who seek to preserve and/or rediscover the relics and knowledge of elven cultures that have passed into history. The Knights Paradoxical are an elite order of warriors, wizards, and priests who seek to preserve the integrity of the time stream and prevent significant alterations to history by chronomancers and their ilk. Members of this ancient order may be found guarding legendary time gates and tracking down copies of time conduit spells (as detailed in the various Arcane Age products) to keep them out of the hands of those who would meddle with history either deliberately or through carelessness.

Dogma

The march of time is inexorable, but the blessings of the Lifegiver enable the children of Corellon to live long and fruitful lives, unmarked by the passage of the years. Record and preserve the lessons of history, and draw lessons from that which has unfolded. In the end, the sun always sets before the next day dawns anew. When you follow Labelas's teachings, time is on your side.

Appearance, Manifestations

Labelas manifests as an androgynous elf with silver-colored hair and a single misty gray eye - the other is covered by an eyepatch. He wears multi-colored robes of blue, gray, green and white. Labelas wields the Timestave, a magical quarterstaff that can age or rejuvenate those who are hit with it, at the discretion of the wielder.

On rare occasions, he appears as a mist that can age or, more commonly, revitalize creatures and objects he envelopes.

The White Stag of Labelas is another of the god's servants who appears whenever elves need guidance, though it has only ever been recorded as appearing on Evermeet.

Relationships & History

Labelas has good relations with the rest of the Seldarine, though he can get impatient with Erevan Ilesere's tricks. He is closely allied with Mystra, both in her previous aspect as Mystryl the human god of time and in her current aspect as the Lady of Mysteries. He also is considered an ally of several gods concerned with knowledge - Deneir, Milil, Oghma and Savras; as well as the dragon god Null, in his aspect of the Guardian of the Lost; the naga deity Shekinester; and the halfling deity Cyrrollalee.

He is opposed to the gods of entropy, decay and those who promote undeath. Clangeddin Silverbeard, the dwarven god of battle, has a long-standing grudge against him.

Labelas is very close to his Chosen, Vartan Hai Sylvar, whom he possessed as his avatar during the Time of Troubles and who briefly served as his proxy before returning to Faerûn.

Related Imagery

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Source: Faiths and Pantheons