Alabastrum, the Alabaster Doe

Alabastrum, the Alabaster Doe, the Pale Lady, the Eternal Calm. One of the Four Divine Beasts of the elven pantheon, together with Vermiculo, Virdant, and Cerulea. She is believed to be the quiet voice of reason among the other, more turbulent, powers. She is the goddess of death and rebirth, watching over the cycle of life, and her teachings revolve around accepting one's eventual demise and embracing it when the time comes. She is also the goddess of knowledge and understanding, acceptance of fate and the things that come without anger or hesitation. The followers of Alabastrum believe in achieving enlightenment through endurance, as all in their lives is the will of their goddess, and pain brings forth understanding.

According to the story of the birth of the Four Beasts, Alabastrum was created last, from the last heartbeat of the Mother of Earth. Although considered to be the least powerful of the Four, Alabastrum plays an important role in the cycle of life and death, as well as being the Divine Beast that interacts with her followers in the most direct ways. While Verminculo, Virdant, and Cerulea may never appear to a follower in all of their hundreds of years of life, elves believe that all will eventually see Alabastrum if they wish to, as she comes to those who accept their mortality and find peace within themselves. She is the guide to the Eternal Beyond that lies beyond the Veil that all souls must pass through, and though her guidance, elves believe they will be spared from wandering around the Veil after they pass. The true, full-fledged followers of Alabastrum are few in number, not only because few worship the Four Divine Beasts in the current times, but also because dedication to a singular Divine Beast is a rarity. Most clans of the Free People worship more than one of the Beasts, typically all four together, treating them as aspects of the great central whole. Some, however, pursue their faith in Alabastrum further, dedicating themselves to finding the inner peace and understanding that she embodies. They call themselves the White Scholars, or Children of Alabaster. Such followers take a vow of non-aggression, refusing to raise a hand against another even when being attacked themselves - for all pain in the world is temporary, and accepting it is the first step to true peace. They dedicate themselves to learning as much as they can and meditate to hone their mind and temper their emotions. Clerics of Alabaster are rarer even than her devout followers, and are united by all having experienced a near-death situation. It is in that moment that they report seeing the visage of their goddess, her light warm and welcoming on their skin. She tells them, "'Tis not your time yet, young one." When they awaken again, they find themselves forever changed, both physically and spiritually. The Touch of the Pale Lady, as they call it, manifests in different ways. Some awaken with their hair bleached to pure white, with a thirst for knowledge or a deep understanding of things they had no way of knowing before. Others find their skin splotched with white or their eyes paled, drawn to travel far away to vanquish some long-forgotten foe. All clerics of Alabastrum believe it is their duty to uphold the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, and seem to have a natural ability to tell when someone 'died before their time'.

Divine Domains

Goddess of death, rebirth, knowledge, tranquility, and understanding.

Divine Symbols & Sigils

A white doe (depicted in figurines made from the core of the Pale Tree or in images).
Deer horns with a white ribbon woven over them.
A tree branch covered in white blooms.
A gathering of deer looking up at the night sky.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Alabastrum is rarely seen in her physical form, instead typically making her presence known through a quiet, soothing voice and a white silhouette at the edge of one's vision. In renditions, she is depicted as a white doe. Some who have had encounters with her in their dying moments describe having seen a blurry image of a white-haired woman wearing long, tattered robes with a sash around her midline.

Divine Classification

Goddess

Religions