Pyria Valeptor

Pyria Valeptor is a god in the Noon-Sun Court, progenitor of most of the other divinities within that pantheon, and creator of the Elves of Wisteria. She is Mother of All and Flame of Empires, a primordial deity through whose benevolence the Atarlie Empire attributes its success. Her children (and her children's children) make up the bulk of the pantheon worshiped by the Atarlie elves. She is ancient even by comparison to the other members of the court and is the only member of the court who enjoys more-or-less universal reverence among both Elves as a whole and Atarlie specifically. To the Carcolie, she is known better by the epithet "She of Suns".

When playing Dungeons and Dragons: clerics of this Neutral Good dieity gain access to the domains of Community, Protection, Sun, and Weather. Her symbol and sacred animal are a small songbird native to the Atarlie Empire known as the Atarlie Chickadee.

History

Pyria is said to have sprung from Vita at the beginning of time as a manifestation of light and love. In some time before the most recent Vergence, she created the first elves along with her sons Rophalin Imperitor and Lysanthir Lugolor to watch over them, and later directly created Feno Illerel and Immarra Hyacinth. She periodically intervenes between the other gods of her pantheon, restoring their machinations to positions of relative balance, or chastising Shalaevar Shamaris for his plots.

Unlike the other members of the Noon-Sun Court, Pyria Valeptor has never been known to frequent Wisteria and was not present for the Springtime of the Gods.

Relationships

Pyria is unique among the gods of the Noon-Sun Court in that she commands the fealty and motherly reverence of each. She alone freely speaks with and against Shalaevar Shamaris, and their past encounters have shown that, at least for now, she has the upper hand between them. Even Hycis Uriris can enjoy the love of the mother of mothers - and face her wrath when her plans run afoul of the elves.

Pyria is a jovial and welcoming goddess, a matron of plenty and of boons to mothers. She is always hospitable to visitors to her domain such as San Sylvester.

Appearance

Pyria appears as an unnaturally tall elf with black hair studded with stars, whose eyes glow with a golden light. She is usually shown as dressed in a fine, simple gown of white.

Realm

Pyria is part of the elvish divine family, and so has a portion of the realm of The Cradle of the Wise, a bastion in the plane of the Elysium, which she claims as her personal realm and maintains through divine fiat. Properly, she is native to Vita, and is one of the few even among gods who can traverse the Fires of Creation with impunity.

Providence

Pyria sends songbirds as omens to her followers, or intercedes in their dreams.

Servants

Pyria is served by - and said to have created - the Azatas who inhabit the Cradle of the Wise. From time to time she will send them perforce as her messengers or a heavenly host.

Unique Servants

Kesefeon

An enormous Atarlie Chickadee whose voice is a choir, this unique celestial creature is Pyria Valeptor's divine herald.

Church

Pyria is a keystone of the spiritual life of the Atarlie Empire, with the only observance that's nearly as common being those of her son, Rophalin Imperitor, the first emperor. Shrines of her icons or idols are common throughout the empire and she is honoured in the God-Closets of Atarlie homes. The occasions for her worship are frequent, but in the daily lives of the average citizen of the empire they are less liturgical ceremony and more customary gestures, outside of festivals.

Worshippers

Known to all Atarlie, her ceremonies are observed by all. In particular, new and expecting mothers, and the long-suffering mothers of large families, tend to seek her aid most directly. All Atarlie citizens, even non-Elves, are expected to make at least token observance of her. Fortunately, her direct theology is not exclusive.

Clergy

Formal clergy of the Mother of All wear robes of pure white. Many, in addition to their sacred duties in maintaining her holy sites and leading ceremonies, are midwives and experts in the medicine of pregnancy. Many are also clerics, druids, and monks in service to Pyria's mission to keep the elven light alive.

She is known to always have at least one oracle tied to her mysteries, in order to keep the light of her influence alive on Ahren and further stymie the ambitions of Shalaevar Shamaris. The Pyrean Oracle is a state position in the court of the current Emperor of the Elves, and is seen as both the primate of Pyria's clergy specifically as well as the clergy of the Empire more broadly, whomever they most directly serve.

Temples & Shrines

Ubiquitous throughout the empire, temples and shrines to Pyria Valeptor are universal, be they full-blown temples of stone with large public fora, small and wooden community chapels, or even private household or wayside shrines with little more than a sacred icon of the goddess. Unlike many of the other gods in the Pantheon, her temples serve no auxiliary, secular service, and are dedicated entirely to her worshipful contemplation. This does not contradict the obstetric role of many of her clergy as the Atarlie custom is for home births.

Holy Texts

Pyria Valeptor did not leave the elves behind with a record of sacred teachings or scriptures. In a sense, the observance of Atarlie customs and order in their entirity is a tribute to her. The Collected Writings of the Oracles is held as a sacred document and comprises, at this stage, scores of volumes at its full extent. Copies are maintained at most temples in settlements of the size "small city" or larger, transported at great expense from the more central temples with retinues of gods. Such works are only ever exclusively manuscript and are often accompanied with sacred paintings and bound between fine silk boards. An individual volume or set of volumes containing the writings of just one Pyrean Oracle can fetch a high price; full collections are exclusively the province of high-ranking aristocrats or temples themselves.

It is said that those of the wrong mindset can be blasted mad in pursuing the Collected Writings, and more than one of the church-recognized oracles became 'an' oracle (though never the Pyrean Oracle) from having done so.

Church History

The history of the church of Pyria is the history of the empire itself; it is the oldest cult within the Empire and has never been out of influence.

Holidays

Ceremonies to celebrate new births always invoke Pyria Valeptor, and there is a practice of baptism common among her more devout that is said to cause her to look more favourably on the baptized youth. Community services of worship are held for her on the days of full moons. Families, especially those that have been unlucky in pregnancy, have been known to leave her offerings following occasions of conception.

Favoured Animals

Atarlie Chickadees, said to be her second creation, are sacred to Pyria Valeptor, and her temples often raise them and release them en masse.