Tekina
"You do not need strength. It does not take strength to wait for things to get better. But you must never, never, never give up."Tekina
Tekina is the goddess of hope and loyalty. Initially, although on some level she understood her worth as a child of Evendur, she had very little faith in her own strength. She and Lekatash shared a profound bond that rapidly blossomed into a deathless love, and through their many adventures, over time he helped her to believe in her own abilities and come out of her shell. They had a child, whom they named Jeka, but she was taken away in the night by slavers, whom they were never able to catch. Tekina intensely relapsed into her previous state of mind after this, questioning her worth if she could not even protect her own child. She and Lekatash went through a long period of mourning even as they searched for their daughter, during which they slowly learned to forgive themselves, and Lekatash finally helped Tekina to see that what had happened was not her fault.
Many years after they found their now-adult daughter, Tekina and Lekatash had still not had any other children, unable to imagine having to go through such a great loss again. One day, Tekina was tricked into traveling a significant distance to meet her friend Celeyra, who was not there when she arrived, and who denied having asked Tekina to meet her there. After this Tekina found that Lekatash was gone, and she spent many, many years searching for him, frequently enlisting Celeyra's help, though also spending significant portions of time on her own. In this time she made many friends among the mundane races of the world, seeing many births and deaths. Though it pained her ever to pause her search, she helped many people along the way, knowing it was what Lekatash would want. She was especially gentle with young children, teaching them to be the best of themselves and never to give up on their family. She aged noticeably in the years she sought Lekatash, and so did he, but when they reunited, for the short amount of time they were together before ascending to the Outer Planes, they were miraculously young again. Tekina is typically depicted as a dark-skinned woman with short black hair streaked with white, and red irises, wearing a black dress and a traveler’s cloak.
Relationships
Tekina's husband was Lekatash, and her children Gisei and Kallistos. Tekina's best friend was Celeyra.
Followers
Clerics and temples of Tekina are found all over Talazic, as her memory persists in a number of places where she helped people in her years-long search for Lekatash. The core teachings among her followers are of patience, endurance, and fidelity.
Aspects
Hero of Vidred: It is said that in the Age of the Meydra, in what is now eastern Adjuskimavo, the valley of Vidred, populated by several hundred hill dwarves, faced destruction at the hands of early ancestors of firenewts. So the story says, upon hearing the few children in the community crying, Tekina drew up molten gold from the superheated earth and formed around herself a legendary suit of armor which protected her in battle against hundreds of firenewts, all of which died upon her sickle.
Divine Domains
Hope, loyalty, adventurers, widows and all who have lost family members
Comments