Of Jephre
When the elven folk walked the land alone and sang songs of power amongst
the trees and stars, Jephre the Singer walked with them. Jephre gave
heed to the nature of the forests and delighted in the gurgling streams
and brooks. It was Jephre who taught the birds to sing their songs
of the seasons and He that taught the streams the tinkling ethereal
tune. The very trees are said to have moved close to hear him sing
on the warm summer nights of those elder days. It was in this time
that the first great ballads of the elves were made, crafted from
the songs that Jephre taught to the sylvan youth who frolicked to
his lively tunes and ballads of nature and the unspoiled forest.
In truth, He is worshipped as god of song and forest.
In Valenwood, Jephre is considered one of the Major Sylvan gods with
temples and altars in the deep woodland places. Elven tradition holds
that children with a gift for song have been blessed by Jephre himself.
Legend has it he blessed the Wood Elves with a natural affinity for
nature and particularly the forest. Most Wood Elven Rangers worship
Jephre.
It was his great eagerness for natural beauty that led him to the
Isle of Sumurset. He taught the great sea birds to sing and molded
the crash of wave against beach into a song of whispers and power
It is said by the high elves that Jephre hears and sees all within
distance of water, whether it be beach, brook, stream or fall. It
is further said that the very birds keep watch for Jephre, in repayment
for the songs he taught them. It is fruther said he blessed the high
elves with a beauty to match the beauty of their island home.
The dark elves have a legend that Jephre walked the earth before
the first day, and in the light of the stars weaved a song so beautiful
that the very stars moved to its sway. Some of the stars to this
very day still wink and blink in memory of the song of night and
darkness. Due to his influence most if not all Elven Bards pay homage
to Jephre.
The natural order of things is the basis for Jephre's temples in
Valenwood and the Sumurset Isle. The one thing Jephre will not tolerate
is the harmful manipulation of the natural order of things.
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