Morninglord

The Morninglord is one of two deities believed to watch over the land of Barovia, the other being Mother Night.

The Morninglord is said to be the god of Dawn, Renewal, Life, Day, Healing, Spring, and many other concepts associated with the sun and positive energy; the most notable place of worship of the Morninglord being the Abbey of St Markovia. It appears that most Barovians nominally worship the Morninglord, and that his counterpart Mother Night is more of a folk bugaboo than a functional part of a pantheon.

However, the Morninglord himself doesn’t appear truly present in Barovia, either. Compared with the interactive and undeniable pantheons of the Forgotten Realms, as the Vistani and other travellers tell, the Morninglord seems to be more of an abstraction, and could be argued not to exist at all except for a sparse few clerics who seem to be awarded divine magic by their benefactor.

The god Helm appeared to inform Sigismund that Lathander had given up on Barovia as a lost cause, however Strahd von Zarovich would later reveal that this was him playing tricks on Sigismund. Shortly afterwards the Morninglord bestowed his holy powers on Narid Ashplantt, proving that if he had given up on Barovia that he has now returned to fight the fight alongside the party. Father Lucien advised that it had been a long time since anyone had been anointed with the Morninglord's powers.

It is not lost on the Outlanders that the name Morninglord is sometimes synonymous with the Realms god Lathander. It is true that the professed portfolios of these Gods overlap in many places, however Barovia’s Morninglord has a more expansive responsibility. Additionally, personality traits attributed to the two figures are very different, with the Morninglord being characterized as grim and resolute even in his hopefulness, while Lathander is often portrayed as childlike, enthusiastic, vain, and given to excessive indulgences.

Church of the Morninglord
The Church of the Morninglord is the the predominant religion in Barovia and has a number of holy sites and relics spread across the land.

Father Lucien and Father Donevitch both advised the party that the Morninglord is one and the same as the god known as Lathander in other realms.

Sergei von Zarovich was a priest of the Morninglord at Castle Ravenloft, and had been a follower of the Morninglord before he arrived in Barovia.

The symbol of the Church of the Morninglord is the Sun.