Jerok, The Trickster, thief of the gods is also known as the patron of roads and brewing. Jerok's appearance is always that of a male human of small stature, or of a halfling. Those who are followers of Jerok are involved in traveling, stealing, or are brewers.
Jerok is the center of many myths and tales. These invariably involve the God in adventures in search of forgotten treasures, missions to steal artifacts from evil deities etc. He is the quintessential free spirit. He rarely has cares or worries and his plans never extend beyond the next meal or the end of the current adventure. He rarely, if ever, engages in combat with his opponents, being much more inclined to trick them, cheat them, or otherwise get his way through cleverness and even duplicity. It is no sin to tell a lie or cheat in order to get the job done.
Only one day is sacred to Jerok, the 14 ^^th^^ day of Atai Than, which is considered a good day for starting journeys or any other long term undertaking. A great feast is held, lots of beer is dedicated to the god (drunk) and so on.
Priests of Jerok are expected to embody these same traits. They are not the types to work hard for a living or lead mundane lives. It is their part in life to keep things interesting. If life gets boring then they find some way to make it not boring, like stealing some treasure from a dragon, or burning down the local evil temple! This is not to say that they are selfish or randomly destructive. Jerok's causes are usually good ones and his priests are expected to be at worst interested in glory and adventure as a way to pass the time and add a little to their wallets. More often they will choose to adventure in the cause of good.
The priests are also expected to use means other than brute force to overcome obstacles which they find in their way. It is considered much more worthy to trick an enemy into submission for example than to defeat him in combat.
Jerok has only a few actual temples dedicated to his worship. Most of his adherents pay their respect to the god at whichever of his shrines they happen to come across These shrines are invariably small, often unroofed, structures situated at crossroads. A passing worshiper or priest will stop at the shrine, pour the god a libation, and offer up a prayer for safety in their travels and adventures.
The worship of Jerok is not as formal and organized as that of many of the other gods. The priesthood is only loosely organized, with higher level priests taking on followers and training them in the rites of worship as they see fit. One of their main duties being to promote the art of brewing which the god is supposed to have taught to man.
These priests spend most of their time teaching or wandering the roads of the world. They give aid to travelers of good sort who are in need, seek out adventures, lost knowledge, forgotten crypts full of old magic and maintain the god's shrines.
Whenever an area is traveled through which lacks these shrines it is the practice of these priests to construct them. This is a mission which is often undertaken by the more experienced and successful priests who have the funds available and the skills needed to convince local officials and inhabitants of the value of such construction. Each priest hopes to one day reach a level of ability and or wealth where he or she may dedicate one or more such structures. Lower level priests will often dedicate a portion of their income to the maintenance and repair of the existing shrines.
Note that many Vilmian tribes are worshipers of Jerok. They have their own shrines which they carry with them but otherwise worship in much the same way as other priests. Copyright © 2022 Tod G. Harter. All rights reserved. No unauthorized distribution without the express written permission of the copyright holder. This document was prepared using Hairball version 0.5.1 on 2022-02-26 License