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.

18 December 2022

There’s a lot that’s changed about this story since I first started it. For example, now I’m thinking Aislin did officially join the temple to the Rose in some capacity, rather than just working as a volunteer under a probationary status. Still working out how she brings Cordelia around; it might even be the same. I also want to figure out a better idea of what some of Aislin’s own flaws and concerns are; I’d like the old woman at the end to be able to help her out.

The rabble-rouser guy is going to come into play in the future. I’m definitely going to have fun with this. Though I do want to change what he says here, make it less relatable and more sketch.

In particular, one man stood on a box in one of the more open areas of the slums. He looked disheveled, with ragged clothes and a patchy beard, but there was a ferocious gleam in his eye as he yelled out to the crowd.

“And what have they done for us? What good do their cries of love, or life, or beauty, do to solve our problems?”

Aislin watched for just a moment, and felt the emotions of the crowd shift and sway with every turn of the man’s words. She hurried away, as lead settled in her stomach.

Only a couple blocks beyond that, she finally found the shrined. It was a small, simple thing; a small altar set before the painting of a raven-haired woman, the left half of her face covered by a mask. Indeed, her entire left side seemed to be withered and dead. The altar and the room looked clean and well-cared for.

Aislin bowed her head and offered a silent prayer to the Lady. What had she hoped to accomplish here?

As she turned to leave, however, she found an elderly woman, with wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. “Ah, apologies, child. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“No, it’s quite alright. I was just finishing up, anyway.”

The old woman studied her carefully, and her eyes lingered on the rose pin on Aislin’s lapel. “I must say, we don’t get many of your faith out this direction. What brings you here?”

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4 December 2022

Towards the end of November, I started thinking about this story and about my homebrew D&D setting. This story is loosely set there, with the Eternal Rose being one of the core pantheon. There’s another member of the pantheon that is basically the patron goddess of the lost and the forsaken, and also has ties to death and things, which I feel like fits pretty well with the butterfly theme in and of itself.

While I was thinking, it occurred to me that the adherents of these two goddesses don’t necessarily follow what their goddesses actually desire, and it’d be easy to see how feuds between their believers might form, even if the goddesses themselves are on good terms with each other. Then it occurred to me this might be why Aislin becomes a knight; war breaks out, a mutual crusade of sorts, and she represents the third option, taking the ideas of both and blending them together. And becomes the champion of both, which is where the symbol of the butterfly comes in.

One day, as she came in from working on the garden, Aislin realized something. “Where are all the poor people?”

“Poor people?” Cordelia asked.

“Yes. Don’t they, more than anyone, need that spark of beauty to get them through life’s difficulties?”

Cordelia looked away in shame. “They…Many of the priests here consider them ‘unclean’. I’ve also heard ‘inelegant’ and ‘course’. According to those priests, the poor detract from the beauty of the temple when they visit, and turn them away. Most of the poor in the city have to make do worshipping the Lady of the Lost.”

Aislin suspected Cordelia herself had once been one such priestess. Based on the guilt and shame in her voice and expression, though, that was no longer the case. Aislin didn’t press her on it. “The Lady of the Lost?”

Cordelia nodded. “The twin sister of the Eternal Rose. Some refer to her as the Queen of the Forgotten or the Shadowed Princess, as well, because she’s become the patron goddess of the downtrodden.”

Aislin cocked her head. “And she has a temple in the city? Where is it?”

“Well… more of a shrine then a temple.” Cordelia gave her a concerned look. “You’re not planning on going, are you?”

“Why should I not? They still need help, and offering that help will in turn make the world a more beautiful place. Am I wrong?”

Cordelia reluctantly shook her head and gave her directions. Aislin headed out and began walking to the shrine. 

The closer she got, the worse the streets became. First, it was all the dirt and mud that coated the streets and building walls. Then she noticed broken windows here and there. This was obviously a far more dangerous part of the city compared to the areas she’d been living and working in.

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