Alintansalin, The God of Travel

The Lord of Travel is a solitary God, a wanderer and woodsman who prefers the company of the wilds and its inhabitants. On rare occasions he comes out of the wilderness to study the ways of the Folk, then returns to his solitary wanderings.

In many ways, Alintansalin is the embodiment of the force of uncontrolled nature. His image in literature and art is always symbolic of the wide open spaces, the seas of land and plants that cut one culture off from another. Travelers invoke his protection, while at the same time hoping to escape his notice.

Allies

Although may Gods consider Alintansalin an acquaintance, few would call him friend. To most, he is simply a vagabond who never seems to pull his own weight in the battles against the darkness.

Vlad-Tagor (Lord of the Night) is one of the few Gods close to the Lord of Travel. The two are known to take up common cause against the Elder Gods, especially in times and places that are inaccessible to other beings. A long history of common conflict seems to take the place of a set of common interests, and the two Gods sometimes spend time in each other's company.

Cults

In both Phi and Lopan there are a number of 'hunters lodges' that claim to worship Alintansalin. In truth, these organizations are simply excuses for men to get together and kill animals, without regard for the use of their prey. The God frowns on their activities, but has not yet seen fit to do anything about them.

Every where in the world, small shrines to Alintansalin can be found at crossroads and way stations. People leave small gifts of fruit, grain, or meat at these places, offerings to the God for a safe journey.

Enemies

The Lord of Travel has a strong dislike of Sember, fostered by a recent attack by one of Sember's servants on a Grove that Alintansalin regarded as sacred. Whether the Far Strider will choose to retaliate for this insult remains to be seen.

Simel and Alintansalin had a falling out some millennia ago, over the Far Strider's unwillingness to lend aid to Simel's temples in the north. The two Gods are careful to avoid each other now. Their Servants are unlikely to aid one another, although they might take up common cause against a great danger.

The Goddesses of the Cycle (Milearas, Stram, and Lorion) have each at various times tried to 'mitigate' the 'uncontrolled power of the wild' that Alintansalin so loves. The Goddesses often support civilized activities like clear-cutting and intensive cultivation, which the Lord of Travel finds to be distasteful. Servants of Alintansalin are likely to engage in verbal battles with the Servants of the Cycle, but such conflicts rarely come to blows.

Servants

Alintansalin is served by his Priests, and a few animals and plants who have willingly allied themselves with his cause. It is rumored that the strange Aldari, a race of intelligent trees, have sworn allegiance to him.

Priests

The Walker of Hidden Ways personally selects, trains, and guides his Priests. He selects only orphans who long to see the world, children who seek a different life and a better path for themselves and others. After an apprenticeship that lasts for a year and a day, the Far Strider reveals his nature to his disciple. If the child so chooses, he may then become a Servant of the Lord. If he chooses not to, he and Alintansalin part ways, never to meet again.

The Priests of Alintansalin act as guides and warders to people who are lost in the wilderness. They are not mercenaries - they expect and accept no reward for their help. Many merchants have offended a Priest by trying to buy his services away from travelers who were in much greater need.

Alintansalin speaks directly with his priests, guiding them to where they will be most useful. It is not uncommon for a Priest to find himself journeying in lands and places far from any civilization, only to meet up with Priests of the Lord of the Night to fight some ancient evil that is about to appear in the world. Most Priest call such journeys "Our Lord's Whimsy" and take them in stride.

Required Skills

All Priests of Alintansalin have Survival and WP (Bow) as Vocational Skills. Most have the Hand to Hand (Trained), and Traveler skills as well, but these are not required.

Servant of Skill

The Servants of Alintansalin gain the following abilities as their Servant of skill goes up in level:

1. Boots, True North, Protection from Disease
2. Far Strider, PE Bonus (+2 PE), PP Bonus (+2 PP)
3. Prayer for Enlightenment, Prayer for Intervention, Gauntlets
4. Prayer for Enlightenment, Cloak, Perception Bonus (+2 Per)
5. Vision of the Wild, PP Bonus (+1 PP), Warded from Arrows
6. Quiver, Protection from Disease, Protection from Horror,
7. Enhanced Attack (Bow), Prayer for Intervention, Prayer for Enlightenment
8. Potency, Prayer for Assistance, Pathfinder
9. Bow, Prayer for Fortification, PE bonus (+1 PE)
10. Protection from Death, Protection from Disease, Potency

Special Gifts

Alintansalin gives his Priests the following special gifts, as they prove worthy of them:

• Boots - these indestructible boots look like battered, cheap footwear of indeterminable origin. When worn by a Priest of Alintansalin, they provide him with perfect footing, so that any terrain is equal to a normal road (.6 travel modifier) for determining his rate of travel.
• Bow - This 6 foot long, black re-curve bow can only be drawn by a Priest of Alintansalin. It has a maximum range of 800 feet, and does 2d10 points of damage per arrow.
• Cloak - A battered, worn looking green and sandy brown cloak that cannot be torn, wetted, or lost is another of Alintansalin's Gifts to his Priests. This cloak perfectly regulates the environment around the Priest, making it so that he is always traveling as if it were a clear, cool day (.6 travel modifier).
• Enhanced Attack (Bow) - A Priest of Alintansalin does an additional dice of damage with any bow that he uses.
• Far Strider - There is not upper limit to the travel modifier that a Priest of Alintansalin can have though his combination of skill, magic, and ability. The only limit is that the Priest must travel alone, and cannot travel on anything other than his own two feet.
• Gauntlets - These green gauntlets complement the Boots, as they always have a sure and firm grip, no matter what natural substance the Priest is trying to climb. With the Boots and the Gauntlets, the priest may pass though mountainous terrain as if it was a smooth, straight road.
• Pathfinder - At this level of ability, the Priest may extend his travel modifier to a group of people numbering no more than one per point of his Servant Potency. The priest may do this for an indefinite period of time, limited only by his desire to be saddled with company.
• Quiver - This small, ugly black and green quiver only holds six arrows. It always holds six arrows that always fit the bow that the Priest uses, no matter how many arrows the Priest pulls from it. The Priest to whom the Quiver was given can is the only person who can use these arrows.
• True North - a priest of Alintansalin always knows what direction is North, no matter what the conditions.
• Vision of the Wild - priests of Alintansalin gain a Perception bonus equal to their Servant Potency when in wilderness areas.