Selûne

Goddess of The Moon

(a.k.a. Bright Nydra (in the Farsea Marshes, Elah (among the Bedine of Anauroch), Lucha, (in the Shining Lands, as part of the faith of the Adama))

Selûne is the goddess of the moon, but for a lot of Faerûn, she's the goddess they pray to when none of the other good gods suffices. She's the one anyone might seek out for guidance and protection - even those in service to other gods.
Hers is the moon's mysterious power, the heavenly force that governs the world's tides and a mother's reproductive cycles, cause lycanthropes to shift form, and draw one to the brink of madness, and back again. She has also been associated with guiding herders to good pastures. Her nature, appearance, and mood all change in turn with the phases of the moon. Her name is shared by the moon of Toril, Selûne; it is unknown if the moon was named for the goddess or the goddess for the moon. Regardless, most Faerûnian humans believe the moon to be the goddess herself watching over the world and the lights that trailed behind it to be her tears, from both joy and sorrow.
In both her avatars and in religious artwork, Selûne appears in many forms, like the phases of the moon. One is a dusky-skinned human woman with long limbs; perfect and exquisite beauty; wide, radiant, lime-green eyes; and long, ivory-hued hair that fall to her knees. Another is an ethereal young girl of slender frame, dark eyes, and dark hair, wearing diaphanous robes coloured white or resembling dappled moonlight, which trails her "moondust" or "moon motes". A third is a matronly middle-aged woman, plump yet fair and ageing gracefully, with grey-streaked dark hair. A simple depiction of the goddess is a woman's face on the disc of the moon.

Worshippers

Her faithful, coming from many walks of life, viewed her in countless different ways, and she reflected this.

Divine Domains

The Moon, Stars, Navigation, Navigators, Wanderers, Questers, Seekers, and non-evil Lycanthropes

Mental characteristics

Personal history

By all accounts, Selûne and her sister Shar were created out of the primordial forces soon after Ao created the universe. Thus, besides Ao himself, they were the first gods - mighty but polar opposites. They created the planets and several gods, including Chauntea. It was at her request that Selûne fought her sister and managed to bring living flame from the Elemental plane of Fire and used it to ignite the sun, giving heat enough for life to appear.

Social

Contacts & Relations

As a general rule, Selûne opposes any evil deity. She wants to give her worshippers the chance to navigate the world and find their happiness. For a while, when her power waned, she sought out the protection of Sune, and the two are still friends. She's also closely associated with Lathander, Tymora, and Mystra. Eilistraee and Lliira, meanwhile, share her love of frolicking under the moon. Other allies include Sehanine Moonbow, an elven goddess of the moon; fellow gods of travelers and mariners Shaundakul and Valkur; and the goddesses of nature Chauntea and Eldath.
There is one goddess, in particular, that is and will always be an enemy of Selûne: Shar. Literally since the dawn of time have the two sisters been in more or less open conflict and that won't stop soon. In a way, the darkness the cover the moon every month is a representation of Shar attacking her sister, and every month Selûne is slain and then reborn.
Other great foes are the trickster Mask; Umberlee, for the fates of ships at sea; and the rotting god Moander.

Mortals

In very recent history, Selûne lent her aid to, amongst other things, freeing the dragonborn during the Spellplague, probaböy saving the race.

Mannerisms

Sometimes she is enthusiastic, vivacious, joyous, and majestic, given to action and dance. At other times, she is subdued, motherly, and almost poetic or tranquil and embracing. Then she is remote and weighed down by sadness at defeats and tragedies, even those that happened long, long ago. Finally, she can be aggressive and fierce, but cold, and with little mercy for her enemies. These shifting personalities made her versatile, but she's mostly considered one of the calming deities.

Divine Classification

Greater Deity

Church/Cult

Church of Selune

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Our Lady of Silver
the Moonmaiden
the Night White Lady
She Who Guides

Current Residence

Gates of the Moon