4 May 2024

And here we finally have the rest of the major gods and goddesses of my D&D pantheon. If you like them, feel free to use them as you wish, though in any public setting credit would be appreciated.

Leilari, the Eternal Rose

Also known as the Beautiful, the Moonlit princess, and She Who Sings, Leilari is the goddess of beauty, and the twin of the Shadowed Princess. No two temples depict her exactly alike; the only consistent traits she has, even within the same nation, are her gender and the flowers in her hair. Stories about her also vary wildly, and with the recent turmoil caused by the Shattered Rose War, a number of more insidious or blatantly false tales about her have spread, and even if they aren’t widely accepted, most have heard a few of them.

Among these include rumors that her beauty was stolen from the Shadowed Princess in the womb, or that she actually did fall from grace during the Great Fiend War thousands of years ago, but has kept that fact hidden from the rest of her divine family. Such theories have generally been debunked, but as anything that fascinates the mind, proof isn’t enough to remove the idea from some people’s heads.

She has power over beauty, diplomacy and dreams. The domains her clergy ascribe to typically focus on Peace, Moon, and Nature domains, though Twilight, Trickery, and Life are also relatively common. There is also a great deal of overlap with the Shadowed Princess’ domains among the Order of the Butterfly, a sect worshiping both goddesses as a set.

Known Heralds:

1) Some sort of magical, sentient flower?

2) Dream Butterfly; kind of like a less powerful version of Pathfinder’s Desna.

3) Some sort of gallant, knightly figure, never seen without his (her?) armor

4) Archfey of some kind?

5) 

Velka, the Shadowed Princess

Also known as the Undying Princess, Heir of Death, the Hidden One, and She Who Mends, Velka is the patron goddess of the lost, the forlorn, and the downtrodden. Perhaps because of that, she is also the deity most closely associated with the undead, especially those who were turned against their will. Perhaps as such, she is generally regarded with some degree of trepidation, particularly among the upper class of society. The Shattered Rose War only heightened those concerns, though rather than dealing with that trepidation by ignoring her worship, many large cities now make showy presentations and donations to her and her faithful, especially during holidays dedicated to her. There is a great deal of debate whether such shows of false generosity actually help or make things worse, but such it is.

She is general depicted as a raven-haired woman with a white porcelain mask covering the left side of her face. Her left hand is withered and skeletal, and she is often depicted as if her left side grew progressively more ghost-like, as if that half of her had already died. (Inspired by description of Hel/Hela in Norse mythology).

In connection to her sphere of influence, her primary domains include Twilight, Death, and Trickery, though almost any domain has been found among her worshippers. There is a great deal of emphasis on the Eternal Rose’s domains, as well, in large part due to the connection forged by the Order of the Butterfly.

Known Heralds:

1) The Forgotten, a deified changeling who is enamored with Velka

2) Alice, the primal vampire, and greatest of the vampire lords.

3) The Beggar, an old man who appears to random people periodically to test them or offer cryptic advice. Curiously fond of the names Haj and Hoid.

4) 

Ariel and Tesla, The Twins

Also known as the Keepers of the Library and They Who Teach, the Twins are the youngest of Life’s and Death’s children. Together, they are the gods of knowledge and magic, but which twin governs which changes frequently. Indeed, it is theorized they freely swap their names between themselves, so a prayer to Tesla, goddess of knowledge, could easily be answered by her brother after he assumes the name.

Unlike their older siblings, their worship is not particularly widespread, generally limited to the grand academies and other institutions of learning. They understandably focus on the Knowledge and Arcana domains, but count many spellcasters among their followers, and most divination wizards often appeal to them as well. Beyond that, perhaps because of their shared status as the youngest of the family, they are heavily involved with the Trickery domain.

Known Heralds:

1) Old dragon currently serving as a headmaster somewhere. Students likely don’t know about either his status as a dragon or his divine status.

2) Prankster of some sort; eternal child? Not quite Peter Pan, but maybe?

3) The Archive, a living, sentient library containing all the knowledge that’s ever been recorded in the world.

4)

25 April 2024

More D&D lore bits, about an event occurring roughly 60 years before present day in-game. And yes, this is 100% based on the Butterfly Knight story I was writing. The city names are hidden, because I found most of them by looking up really place names, and didn’t want to create any unfortunate implications on here. And there is one country I named after a country in Brandon Sanderson’s books, so that is also censored. For a private game, those things don’t matter, but out in public it does a bit more.

The Shattered Rose War

The Shattered Rose War shocked most of the world. There were a great many factors on multiple layers that led up to it, with fiends infiltrating society and goading people closer and closer to bloodshed. A number of pride devils infiltrated the lower ranks of the Eternal Rose, flattering those above them into puffed up self-importance, while a number of demons of wrath and envy incited unrest among the lower class. This created friction in all the human lands.

No one is quite certain what spark first lit the blaze. Some claim a madman in A——-, Marrue, attacked a young noblewoman and scarred her face. Others say the temple to the Rose in A———, Piege, closed their doors to all but the wealthiest of patrons, cutting the common folk off from their worship.

Whatever the case, the flames of war spread quickly, with riots ranging from M———— to N——-, all within a fortnight. The high elves of southern Serni closed their borders, unwilling to let the conflict enter their hallowed halls; the dwarves similarly developed a “wait and see” approach.

The first to respond were the Skybreakers of N———-. They stormed Piege in force, forcibly ending the conflict. Maintaining the peace there took all their manpower, however, and they were unable to extend their reach to D——— or beyond.

Oileanda also calmed down quickly, thanks in large part to the efforts of Saint Aislin, the Butterfly Knight. The first recorded devotee of both the Rose and the Shadowed, she rallied the people to her cause, and showed that the war opposed the will of both goddesses. Once S——- and its surroundings found peace, Saint Aislin recruited a handful of like-minded warriors and set sail for T———. She campaigned throughout the land, recruiting the wood elves of northern Serni along the way, and brought peace to both Marrue and D———, along with founding a new knightly order.

The Order of the Butterfly is still viewed with suspicion in Piege, however. The Skybreakers view them as little more than well-intentioned vigilantes, and the people of Piege are still simmering with unresolved discontent, with new, added distaste for foreign powers. Both D——— and Solstrana are keeping a wary eye on the nation, so that whenever it erupts, the chaos stays contained within its borders.

16 October 2022

When I wrote this, I was too focused on moving Aislin to being a combat-capable knight, like in the picture that inspired the story (by Sandara). I fixated on the idea of Aislin earning her place as champion, somehow, and being awarded with martial prowess or in-depth training or something. When I came back to it on the 23, I could see the problems, so a lot of this is no longer applicable, if not outright non-canon. But it was fun to write, and I’m pretty happy with the idea I came up with for a trial given by a goddess of beauty.

For a minute or so, Aislin just studied the high priestess. “At a time when I believed nothing could be right or good or beautiful anymore, and my life was gray, the Eternal Rose comforted me, and showed me the quiet beauty all around me. I wanted to thank her, and to help others the way she helped me.”

The high priestess nodded. She herself looked around at the priests and priestesses, and at the lavish temple. Perhaps a change was in order. “Perhaps the Rose guided you to us. Would you be willing to take the trial of the rose?”

The other priests and priestesses began to mutter amongst themselves, and several of them smiled maliciously. Aislin ignored them all and asked, “What is this trial?”

“It is a method the Eternal Rose uses to select her champions,” the high priestess explained. “Come. I will show you.”

The high priestess led Aislin deeper into the temple to a moderately large courtyard garden. At the center, a statue of a beautiful woman extended her right hand to offer a rose, while her left hand rested on a sheathed sword. Around the statue, and even creeping up it, the garden was overgrown, and very much at odds with the carefully arranged design of the rest of the temple.

“No one is allowed in this garden except those who are attempting the trial,” the high priestess explained. “If you can take the rose the goddess offers, then you have passed the trial. You may spend as long as you like, but once you try to grab it, that is the end of your trial one way or another. If you take long enough to need them, here is a room here where you can rest and bathe, and food and water will be provided.”

Aislin pondered to herself what she should do. This seemed little more than an attempt to force her to leave, but perhaps she could teach them some of what she knew of beauty before she left. “Very well.”

Two acolytes were assigned to see to her needs, and they begrudgingly took her things and showed her to her room. She thanked them, then went and stepped into the sacred garden.

Inside, it was even more wild and overgrown than she initially thought. Traces of a once-beautiful garden could be seen here and there, and though the untamed feel it had also carried a certain beauty, Aislin mourned the loss of what could be. It struck her that once she left, no one would be allowed to even try to tend the garden.

<-Aislin Previous

Aislin Next->

13 October 2022

In my first post with Aislin, I had skipped over the effect she’d had on the worshippers of the Eternal Rose (goddess of beauty in my D&D setting). that sort of didn’t sit right with me, so I decided to go back and visit it more in-depth. I’ve been pretty fluid with how I handle this story so far, actually; mostly it’s almost a thought exercise on the meaning of beauty and how that interacts with other portions of our lives.

Again, this was inspired by this picture by Sandara on DeviantArt.

Within a week or two, Aislin bid farewell to her friends and family to offer her services and thanks to the Eternal Rose. After all, the butterfly was one of the Rose’s sacred creatures, and who else could have brought beauty back into her life if not the goddess of beauty herself?

However, what Aislin found at the Rose’s temple was not the gentle beauty that had healed her. Rather, it was a garish, opulent thing, demanding the attention of all passers-by. And when Aislin entered, she discovered the priests and priestesses were the same; perfumed peacocks parading about with powdered faces.

Confused, Aislin asked the high priestess, “Is this truly the temple of the Eternal Rose?”

“But of course!” the high priestess replied. “Do you not see the grandeur that surrounds you? To whom else would this temple belong?”

Aislin took another look around the temple. “Certainly, it looks very costly. But what about all this is beautiful?”

Her words echoed throughout the great hall, and for a moment everyone was stunned silent. Then all the priests and priestesses started shouting at once, drowning Aislin in a cavalcade of noise.

In time, the high priestess managed to halt the flood of tirades and asked, “Why have you come here, child?”

“Well,” Aislin said, “originally I’d come to ask about serving the Rose.”

“And what led you to wish to serve the Rose?”

<-Aislin Previous

Aislin Next->

9 October 2022

I am a fairly religious person, and as part of that, I try to follow the law of the Sabbath, in that we don’t work on Sunday if we can avoid it, and try to make sure nothing we do forces other people to work, either. I’ve been trying to figure out how to apply that to writing and I’ve decided I will generally write for a shorter block of time on Sunday, and rather than the action-packed fantasy stories I favor, I will try to focus on something with a more spiritual bent. Not religious, necessarily, but spiritual.

One of the stories in the back of my head I’d been trying to figure out was this concept of a butterfly knight, inspired by this picture by Sandara on DeviantArt (found via YouTube, actually). Butterflies can represent a lot of things, including the cycle of life and death, as well as beauty. So I concluded this butterfly knight might have ties to the idea of “beauty from ashes”, which is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. And thus Aislin was born.

When Aislin (pronounced Ashlynn) lost Matthias, her husband of only two months, she also lost herself. Family and friends offered their condolences; the priests of Father Death offered her what solace they could. Aislin even appreciated it; there was no guarantee she would have made it the next few months without their support.

But nothing really broke through that grayness she felt. Everything seemed meaningless. Rote. Empty. There was a hole where her heart had been, and nothing could help it heal.

One morning in spring, she visited Matthias’ grave, as she often did. This time, however, she felt a presence in the gentle breeze flowing at her back. She turned, and her eyes caught hold of a single, brilliant blue butterfly, floating along as if it hadn’t a care in the world.

Even Aislin couldn’t ever say why that butterfly was so profound to her. But something about the beauty of that moment made her heart overflow, and she laughed aloud for the first time in months. Her grief didn’t disappear, her sorrow for her lost husband hadn’t gone away, but now it was tempered with hope, with a surety even, that things would get better and beauty could rise from the ashes.

At the next opportunity, she traveled into town to thank the Eternal Rose for her gift. For if anyone could bring beauty back into her life after so long in the dark, wouldn’t it be the goddess of beauty herself?

However, what Aislin found at the Rose’s temple was not the gentle beauty that had healed her. Rather, it was a garish, opulent thing that demanded the attention of all who passed by. Many of the priests and priestesses were no different; they dressed in loud colors and hid their faces beneath powders and paints.

Aislin cringed, and her heart ached. To herself, she wondered, “What about this is beautiful?”

For better or worse, her comment was heard by several of the clergy, and a furious debate spread among all the churches of the Eternal Rose. The schism ran the risk of causing more than one war.

Still, that was of little concern to Aislin at the time. She returned home, disappointed, but still determined to move forward. When Old Harper’s crops failed, she shared her food with his family, and invited them to appreciate what they had more abundantly. When little Dory broke her leg, Aislin helped her get around, and when it healed, they rejoiced together at the wonder of being able to walk.

Aislin might have continued like that the rest of her life, quietly promoting peace and quiet in her community, had her town not been raided by a band of brigands. Despite her own lack of skill, she grabbed Matthias’ sword and rushed to defend her home.

The leader of the band was a large man. He easily struck down several of the town militia…

Aislin Next->