The Hunter-Clerics are the reigning worship system among the drow Eophyrhim of the Paelelon. Focusing on the destructive strength of Coór and the skills bestowed upon them by Arvins, the Eophyrhim worship revolves around hunting and killing of prey by tooth and hand, and revelling in the strength of Coór as the body is killed and the life released. The Hunter-Cleric title is merely a title, the leaders are for the most part prolific hunters and know nothing of clerical magic. Some are capable of evoking the strength of Arvins and the chaotic force of Coór rather than barehanded hunting, but these Cleric-Hunters are few and far between.

Deities. The Eophyrhim Hunter-Clerics focus on one high God and two Gods of the Aviará:

• Coór: The Shadow, the God of Chaos.
• Queprur: Goddess of Death and of the Scythe.
• Arvins: God of the Hunt, the Silent God.

Through the worship of Arvins through the hunt, the Hunter-Clerics feel Coór as they kill their quarry, and upon the catch's surrender of its soul they worship Queprur.  [top]

Priesthood. The Hunter-Clerics were first introduced in 9675 b.S. when a wily hunter named Gaulivan proceeded to kill every cleric in the Paelelon, handing their mantle of Cleric to a trusted Hunter. Thus began the Hunter-Clerics, showing the Eophyrhim that the Hunt, the Destruction and the Death was the most pure way of touching and being touched by Arvins, Queprur and Coór.

Gaulivan the High Hunter-Cleric had already taught several of the hunters the method of Bare-handed hunting. This method of hunting was considered the purest way to worship. It entailed the hunter to strip naked, with no weapon whatsoever. The hunter would then embark into the forest, sight a creature at least as large as itself (deer are the usual hunted prey) and bring it down as an animal would; with nails and teeth. [top]

Temples. There are no true temples of this method of worship, as being among the elements is crucial. Some consider the bare-handed hunt to be the ceremony in worship, as long as one hunt every six months is completed. Some complete the ceremony more often (Young Hunter-Clerics gather in bands and hunt down a single deer for the feeling of bonding through the power Coór bestows upon them at least once a week).

All homes of the Eophyrhim have shrines; composed of a deer skull and various bones of dead creatures. The skull is flanked by two black candles. From the fire of these candles leaves, insects and other burnable items are ignited, to worship Coór through the act of destruction.

Worship. The main focus of worhship is the bare-handed hunt.

The presence of Arvins is felt once the elf falls into hunting mode. Elves who hunt bare-handedly claim that with the first touch of the frightened quarry under their fingers, a power surges through them, the fear of death of the beast mingling with the urge to kill it.

Coór becomes present for the rest of the hunt, a screaming driving voice in the head that demands that the death must be invoked; the destruction of life, of the body, of the destruction of the soul through the release of its death.

Queprur becomes present once the quarry realizes its imminent death. A calm falls over the area around the creature and the elf, an unreal, deathly silence that quiets even the wind and insects. This is the time that the elf ravages the body of the quarry with tooth and nail; consuming the creature and mixing the hunt, the destruction and the kill into one grotesque, bloody ravage of the senses.

The young, most women, and elder elves prefer to worship through quiet meditation and the various rituals and festivals throughout the years.