The Book of the Sun
Describes how Pholtus carves a path in the sky for the sun to follow and thus, how he rules the sun.
Excerpts:
“Light shall penetrate and overcome darkness.”
“The light dawning in the darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.”
“The sun rode too close to the Land, and the land burned. Then Pholtus moved it further out, and the Land grew Cold, and ice covered the land. Then Pholtus moved it to the perfect distance, and set it to roaming around the world.”
“The peoples at the ends of the world complained, they were in darkness much of the year, and the peoples at the middle complained, saying it was always too warm. Pholtus heard their words, but despaired of altering his perfect harmony. Pholtus said “We shall not upset the celestial order which We have established.” Pholtus said “We could disturb terrestrial order.” And so Pholtus set the land to rotating as a top, with the top pointed at an angle, that described a circle in the celestial plain. The poles of the Land sometimes pointed towards the sun, and sometimes away, in a regular movement, so as to establish the seasons.”
The Book of the Moon
Describes how Pholtus carved paths in the sky for the moons, and why he rules the moons
Two Sisters, Luna and Celeste, lived on the Land, and ran through the fields and forests. Pholtus shone the lamp of the sun upon their frolicking, and was much pleased, for they were beautiful. Nerull in his dark realms heard their constant laughter and running, and was vexed. He tempted Luna to one of his caves, took her and killed her, and carved her body into 14 parts. He hid those parts in all the holes of the world.
Celeste ran and ran trying to find her sister. She ran over the whole world, and eventually found the 13 parts. She piled them together, and appealed to Pholtus to help her. Pholtus lifted the sisters and the parts into the sky, and set their courses. Luna runs her course in 28 days, and gets dimmer and dimmer as she loses parts until all are gone, and then brighter and brighter as she finds them again. But she never finds them all, and so starts losing them again.
Celeste runs through the heavens faster than Luna, every 6 days, trying to collect the parts and keep them together, or putting them all on Luna again.
The Book of the Law
Describes the rigid path of righteousness, and explicates the One True Way.
“Every person is born into a social contract from which he will not stray.”
“Declaring the Works of Pholtus, to all who Shall listen is not only a sign of a Devout Person, but is the Mission of Each Individual Person, and thus the Teachings and Precepts of the Church.”
“Every person shall give his all to society. Each citizen contributes according to his god given abilities and shall work within his profession for the bettering of society. Rest and recreation are fundamental to maintaining productivity and therefore shall not be neglected. One shall not overindulge or be lazy.”
“Unnecessary violence, fomenting rebellion, and theft are all examples of crimes which result in the breakdown of the social order and as such shall be forcefully resisted and those perpetrators shall be harshly punished.”
“There is but One True Path, and it is only through Pholtus that you will find it.”
The Book of the Good
Describes good works that are to be done by Pholtus’ followers.
“Every person is an integral part of society that demands responsibilities and sacrifices to the community”.
“Every person owes loyalty first and foremost to Pholtus, our guardian and savior. Next, he owes loyalty to the Pholtan Church for guiding us on our enlightened path. Then he owes loyalty to his community, without which he could not survive. Then he owes loyalty to his family, which provides him with support. Lastly, he owes loyalty to himself for without him, there would be no family, community nor Church. One shall not take actions that would benefit one’s self, family, community or church to the detriment of a higher ranking loyalty. For instance, one shall not take actions that would benefit himself to the detriment of his family, community, Church or Pholtus.”
The Book of the Knowledge
Establishes the Priesthood and describes the knowledge for the chosen ones to follow his Righteous Ways.
“Knowledge is the only Path to Illumination.”
“Truth in the Scriptures is only exceeded by Truth in the Path of Pholtus”
“Your only salvation is through the Church of the One True Path”
The Book of the Deeds
Establishes rules for the clergy, as well as sermons, chants, songs, and details of preaching. Details vestments (white with silver or gold accents to indicate status and rank within the Church), lays out how missionaries should behave, etc.
“There is but One True Path of Divine Truth in Pholtus. The Ultimate and Universal Truth of Pholtus is stated herein, and this Covenant and Statement between the Faithful of Mine Own and the Faith in the Church is the Sealing Manifestation of the Only True Path to Salvation.”
“Every citizen shall do his utmost to maintain order. He shall not take actions that spread chaos, discord or disharmony. He shall act within his means and capabilities to stamp out chaos, discord or disharmony wherever he meets it.”
“Adherence to Laws as established by the chosen representatives of Pholtus is absolute. Deviation from the Law or the spirit of the Law or the intent of the Law shall be viewed as a direct attack on the One True Path as given to us by Pholtus.”
“Keep your being clean and pure in Faith and Doctrine, and Pholtus will keep you in His Light”
Apocryphal and False books
There is one authentic book of Pholtus that is not included in the Book of Blinding Light. It is The Malleus Rancidulum, the Hammer of Ghouls; a manual of combatting the undead: How to identify them, how to dispose of them, locations, techniques, etc. It is said to be lost, as the Church knows of no existing copies. It is mentioned in the book of the law, and excerpts are found in Mordenkainen’s Letters.
There are several books of Pholtus whose provenance is not known, and that are not regarded generally as authentic. These include the Book of the Darkness or the Ebongleam, The Book of Judgement, Moonshadow, and Glimmer, Epitome of the Burning Sun. Several of these books are believed to be lost.