Navarre Yesbella

Navarre Yesbella is a goddess in the Noon-Sun Court, the daughter of Feno Ilirel and Immarra Hyacinth. Patron to those in need of liberation and of the welfare of the elves, she is said to be the Goddess of the Godless, whose beneficence touches everyone. As a result, her followers are many among the poor, the imprisoned, the enslaved, as well as those magistrates and officials who would seek to do those persons justice. That said, she is still considered a First Ancestor of Gen Navarre and is the matron of the Legio Navarre. Her Province is the Southern Province, so in some respects she is occasionally considered a matron to the Hearthlands and those from there.

Her symbol is an oblong coin (formerly a common mintage of the empire, though now only seen in antique coins), and cats are her sacred beast. As a chaotic good diety, she grants her followers access to the domains of Community, Liberation, Luck, and Protection. While not warlike herself or given to the practice, those among her followers who can channel a divine proficiency become proficient in the quarterstaff, which she is said to have some skill with herself, and is often depicted using.

History

Toward the end of the Springtime of the Gods, Navarre's mothers Feno Ilirel and Immara Hyacinth created her together when Imarra saw that Merellien Chaebalar's tendencies would need to be balanced lest they create their own injustices. For a time, Nevarre Yesbella continued to live with the mortal elves in the Atarlie Empire even after her uncle's reign ended, ministering to those in need before eventually returning to Elysium, her church having been established to continue her works in her stead while she focused on more divine matters of welfare. For this reason, she is sometimes known as "The Last", since she is held to be the last of the First Ancestors of the Noon-Sun Court to return to Elysium through the Font of the Axis.

Relationships

Navarre is the beloved baby-child of the Elven Divine Family, though she is not technically the youngest. She was raised as the child of Feno Ilirel and Immarra Hyacinth to be the counter-balance to her half-sister, Merellien Chaebalar. Perhaps surprisingly, the two get along famously well, and while they have been known to disagree to the point of vocal debate with one another, they rarely act against each other on purpose. She is also a half-brother to Camus Inakas, though Camus's own isolationism has lead to a rift between the pair of them. Many fables featuring Navarre and Camus focus on the relationship between the common and the learned or on themes of elitism and its perils.

Navarre is said to have "youthful exuberance" and freely speaks - and even acts - against the interests of the less-benevolent members of the court. Even her uncle, Lysanthir Lugalor, can be assured of a cold welcome from Navarre, though the two are at least quite civil with each other.

Appearance

Navarre stands head and shoulders above mortal elves, but otherwise looks much akin to that race. She has chest-length chestnut hair and a kindly smile, that together give her the appearance of a country elf, possibly even of slightly mixed-with-human heritage. She is not commonly without her staff, which has the appearance of an enormous pestle, being wider and rounded on one end than the other.

Realm

Navarre is part of the elvish divine family, and so has a portion of the realm of The Cradle of the Wise, a fortified city in the plane of the Elysium. Her presence there is rarely interrupted and she is the most likely of all the Elven gods to entertain visitors apart from her cousins.

Providence

Any boon to the poor, especially unlooked for, especially when the circumstance was otherwise dire, is often attributed to Navarre's direct intervention. She is the aching voice of guilt in the hearts of her followers that spurs them into action to preserve the welfare of all.

Servants

Azatas serve Navarre in Elysium, and occasionally even travel to Ahren on her orders to deliver messages of importance. She is not known to have a divine herald - the demands upon her attention are too great to be served by any one entity and so must be attended to by the legions themselves.

Church

Many, many elves who are of ordinary or impoverished means turn to Navarre Yesbella for aid, and her ministers work hard to attract aristocrats and merchants into her ranks to help equalize the need. She is a popular matron-ancestor for non-Elves who become citizens of the empire, owing to her general matronage of the underclasses as well as an association with newcomers. Within her province and along the Meridian Road, monks of Navarre Yesbella's temples maintain the peace and order of the roadways, offering protection and lodgings for traders and travellers.

Worshippers

Known to all Atarlie, and patron of the poor and downtrodden, Navarre is second only to Rophalin Imperator in terms of the number of followers in her flock who make regular observances - she often becomes popular in any province if the ruling Gen is seen as overly oppressive or dismissive of the peasantry. Her temples hold services in her honour daily, including a ritualized service of meals in the evening. She is patron to all who feel the heavy boot of oppressiveness, be they oppressed by corrupt ruler, economic circumstance, or the infirmities of fate.

A subcult among her followers, the Hands of Navarre consists largely of thieves who specialize in the redistribution of wealth from centres of concentration into the hands of the many, tithing a percentage of their proceeds to her church and keeping a small portion for themselves along the way.

Clergy

Navarre's clergy wear plain robes in natural colours for the materials from which they are made, by long tradition, eschewing dyes and bleaches as unnecessary expense. Such clergy observe vows of poverty, though the church provides for their needs as readily as for the needs of any who call upon them, and so they want for little. They are known for a practice of begging for alms in exchange for the passing of blessings which is similar in Atarlie cults to the Awakened One, and laypeople often confuse followers of one for the other.

A minority of her clergy are adventuring missionaries, usually clerics, who travel the world to spread her message of co-reliance and social justice.

Temples & Shrines

Despite her broad appeal, the nature of the Noon-Sun Court's relationships to secular Atarlie Gens means that formal temples larger than wayside or household shrines to Navarre are almost exclusively found in the Southern Province, though that is, admittedly, a large area. Her temple precincts are usually open and unfenced, hosting the fora popular among Atarlie temple architecture along with large halls and lodgings to support travelers and her church's practice of dinner service to all-comers. Wayside shrines are ubiquitous in her province and even appear along most of the length of the Meridian Road and range from the usual small housings of an idol to cabins fit for a traveling party to briefly stay in. Most of these shrines are unique in that they are situated near sources of natural or magical running water, fit for both ritual ablutions and to slake the thirst of the traveler.

Non-Southern worshippers of Navarre often do so in secret due to fears of reprisal from their provinces' ruling Gens. Household idols, especially, of Nevarre are often deliberately made to be ambiguous in their design so that they can be passed off as figures of Pyria Valeptor to visitors.

Holy Texts

Navarre's faithful observe study of the Rule of Navarre, and a copy of this pamphlet said to be penned by Navarre herself is maintained at the head charterhouse of the order, the Temple of Navarre in the Imperial City. The text is short and impresses upon the reader to use their wealth and labour for the good of all. It has been compared by theologians to the Rule of San Lukas. Copying the pamphlet as a woodcut print or in manuscript form and distributing it is a common occupation for her clerics.

Church History

Navarre's church has been a fulcrum for political change at multiple times in the history of the Atarlie Empire. It is a rallying point for the masses, and above and beyond that known for both endorsing and condemning senators, prefects, and other officials on the basis of their record with respect to the popular good. These destabilization are often the first step in Atarlie Provincial Wars even if Gen Navarre isn't involved.

Holidays

The fourteenth and twenty-eighth day of each month of the Rophalin Calendar are sacred to the followers of Navarre as days on which the giving of gifts and charity are particularly auspicious. Her birth date is the twelfth of the twelfth, and Navarre Day celebrations are often held on this day, on which it is traditional to distribute gifts.

Favoured Animals

Cats, who can survive in a city or town of any size, are sacred to the followers of Navarre. They are said in particular to be her eyes and ears.