Selena
Selena (seh-LEE-nah) is the goddess the Moon, the Cosmos, and Redemption. Selena is a divine being that was born at the creation of the universe and is one of the original nine deities.
History
Originally, “Selena” was a title taken by one of the leaders of the Ancients, the progenitors of the Atlanteans. The title of Selena was always given to a wise and compassionate hero who showed a strong ability to foster understanding between disparate peoples. The incarnation of Elys that became a deity was an Oracle and Sorceress of celestial heritage as well as a Liberator of Gaia, the Primordial of Earth and Good; she was also the wife to the man holding the seat of Elys and twin sister to the woman holding the seat of Zolena.
In the final days of the Ancients civilization, the woman holding the seat of Zolena was corrupted by Shades, a race of creatures from the Evergloam, a realm of eternal darkness outside time. After her corrupt, the Shades imbued her with their faith, ascending her to divinity, and, with her new power, began wreaking untold destruction upon the universe, her own people, specifically.
While Elys led the fight against Zolena as his people’s valiant champion, Selena and the other leaders: Mylara and Nieyr worked to devise a strategy to end the threat once and for all. The three eventually figured out how the shades made Zolena a deity, mass sacrifice. While Selena, Mylara, and Nieyr tried to bury this solution, viewing it as unacceptable, word got out and the people splintered into three factions: Zolena’s faithful, who finally came out of the shadows to fight for their goddess; Elys’ supporters, who wish to do whatever it takes to end this existential threat; and Selena’s supporters, who refused to surrender their own values in this threat. As time went on, Elys’ supporters became more and more fanatical and, eventually, saw Elys’ ascension through their own sacrifice to be their only option. A full quarter of the Ancient’s population sacrificed themselves to ascend Elys to godhood.
Elys and Zolena battled in the skies of Earth as more and more Ancients sacrificed themselves to grant power to each of them. Hoping to end the cycle of sacrifice and save what is left of her people, Selena pled to Gaia. Gaia, hearing her plea, did something completely unprecedented by any of the gods; she granted a bit of her divinity to Selena, allowing Selena to become a conduit for Gaia’s power on the Material Plane. Through the conduit, Selena became the first mortal herald, and, through invoking Gaia’s power, she, Mylara, and Nieyr were able to overpower Zolena, force her back into the Evergloam, and seal the rift between the Evergloam and the Material Plane. However, the power the used, nearly burned their bodies to husks, leaving the three dying. Elys pled to his fellow gods to save them. Opposing their goodly natures, Surtr and Lamashtu opposed doing anything, and the rest of the gods argued, save Eventa. Eventa acted and ascended the three mortals as gods, much to the outrage of the others, but she declared their ascension finally created a balance in the planes, a balance that had been upset since the ascension of Asmodeus and Lamashtu. Elys’ ascension as a god of Law and Good balanced out Asmodeus as god of Law and Evil; Selena became the main goddess of Chaos and Good, to balance out Lamashtu as Goddess of Chaos and Evil; and Mylara and Nieyr became twin gods of good, to balance out Zolena’s ascension.
Upon Selena’s ascension, Eventa attempted to remove the piece of Gaia’s divinity from Selena, but it had fused with Selena’s soul, requiring Selena to give it willingly. Selena had one condition for giving it up, one that Gaia agreed with: that piece of her soul would be fed to the Wheel of Time so that, when she wills it, that piece of her soul would be reincarnated into a mortal so they may continue the fight against Zolena. Eventa agreed and kept true to her word; the reincarnations of the fragment would eventually come to be known as the Celestial Exarchs: Kolros Marus, Lycaon Kyros, Arthur Pendragon, and Natasha Pendragon.
In the final days of the Ancients civilization, the woman holding the seat of Zolena was corrupted by Shades, a race of creatures from the Evergloam, a realm of eternal darkness outside time. After her corrupt, the Shades imbued her with their faith, ascending her to divinity, and, with her new power, began wreaking untold destruction upon the universe, her own people, specifically.
While Elys led the fight against Zolena as his people’s valiant champion, Selena and the other leaders: Mylara and Nieyr worked to devise a strategy to end the threat once and for all. The three eventually figured out how the shades made Zolena a deity, mass sacrifice. While Selena, Mylara, and Nieyr tried to bury this solution, viewing it as unacceptable, word got out and the people splintered into three factions: Zolena’s faithful, who finally came out of the shadows to fight for their goddess; Elys’ supporters, who wish to do whatever it takes to end this existential threat; and Selena’s supporters, who refused to surrender their own values in this threat. As time went on, Elys’ supporters became more and more fanatical and, eventually, saw Elys’ ascension through their own sacrifice to be their only option. A full quarter of the Ancient’s population sacrificed themselves to ascend Elys to godhood.
Elys and Zolena battled in the skies of Earth as more and more Ancients sacrificed themselves to grant power to each of them. Hoping to end the cycle of sacrifice and save what is left of her people, Selena pled to Gaia. Gaia, hearing her plea, did something completely unprecedented by any of the gods; she granted a bit of her divinity to Selena, allowing Selena to become a conduit for Gaia’s power on the Material Plane. Through the conduit, Selena became the first mortal herald, and, through invoking Gaia’s power, she, Mylara, and Nieyr were able to overpower Zolena, force her back into the Evergloam, and seal the rift between the Evergloam and the Material Plane. However, the power the used, nearly burned their bodies to husks, leaving the three dying. Elys pled to his fellow gods to save them. Opposing their goodly natures, Surtr and Lamashtu opposed doing anything, and the rest of the gods argued, save Eventa. Eventa acted and ascended the three mortals as gods, much to the outrage of the others, but she declared their ascension finally created a balance in the planes, a balance that had been upset since the ascension of Asmodeus and Lamashtu. Elys’ ascension as a god of Law and Good balanced out Asmodeus as god of Law and Evil; Selena became the main goddess of Chaos and Good, to balance out Lamashtu as Goddess of Chaos and Evil; and Mylara and Nieyr became twin gods of good, to balance out Zolena’s ascension.
Upon Selena’s ascension, Eventa attempted to remove the piece of Gaia’s divinity from Selena, but it had fused with Selena’s soul, requiring Selena to give it willingly. Selena had one condition for giving it up, one that Gaia agreed with: that piece of her soul would be fed to the Wheel of Time so that, when she wills it, that piece of her soul would be reincarnated into a mortal so they may continue the fight against Zolena. Eventa agreed and kept true to her word; the reincarnations of the fragment would eventually come to be known as the Celestial Exarchs: Kolros Marus, Lycaon Kyros, Arthur Pendragon, and Natasha Pendragon.
Relationships
Selena is the wife of Elys and the sister of Zolena.
Selena is the Queen of Celestia and co-ruler of the good planes with her husband. Most of the gods of good see her as their queen, with the exception of Elys, Gaia, Mylara, Nieyr, and Vydana who see her as their equal and peer, a view shared by Selena.
She is closest to Adia, Adon, Narrena, Nocticula, and Ydona. With the exception of Nocticula, she ascended all of them from mortality to aid her in ruling Elysium. Nocticula is her personal project, a demon lord who ascended to godhood, but left her demon nature behind, looking toward redemption. Selena fully supports Nocticula's efforts and tries to guide her where she can.
She pities Naheia for her plight and, together with Narrena, try to influence Naheia to let herself be healed and become more a more peaceful and benevolent protector of victims.
Selena tries not to fight Zolena whenever she can, instead trying to guide her toward the side of good, though she knows the futility of her task, she has not given up hope. Lamashtu, however, has drawn the unrelenting wrath of this even-tempered goddess for her treatment of both women, especially her desecration of the ritual of childbirth, and lycanthropes, as well as Lamashtu’s desire to take Narrena and twist her into her own perverse form of beauty.
Selena is the Queen of Celestia and co-ruler of the good planes with her husband. Most of the gods of good see her as their queen, with the exception of Elys, Gaia, Mylara, Nieyr, and Vydana who see her as their equal and peer, a view shared by Selena.
She is closest to Adia, Adon, Narrena, Nocticula, and Ydona. With the exception of Nocticula, she ascended all of them from mortality to aid her in ruling Elysium. Nocticula is her personal project, a demon lord who ascended to godhood, but left her demon nature behind, looking toward redemption. Selena fully supports Nocticula's efforts and tries to guide her where she can.
She pities Naheia for her plight and, together with Narrena, try to influence Naheia to let herself be healed and become more a more peaceful and benevolent protector of victims.
Selena tries not to fight Zolena whenever she can, instead trying to guide her toward the side of good, though she knows the futility of her task, she has not given up hope. Lamashtu, however, has drawn the unrelenting wrath of this even-tempered goddess for her treatment of both women, especially her desecration of the ritual of childbirth, and lycanthropes, as well as Lamashtu’s desire to take Narrena and twist her into her own perverse form of beauty.
Appearance
Selena appears as a human woman with obsidian hair, sapphire-eyes, and pale skin. She usually wears a white dress with a dark blue trim that seems to glisten with starlight.
Church of Selena
Despite Selena not having anything to do with water, a good number of Selena’s followers have seafaring professions as they rely on the moon for the tides and the stars to navigate at night. Additionally, because stargazing one of many methods of predicting the future, she is also a common patron among diviners. Good channelers, especially Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah, also find themselves drawn to Selena’s service due her desire to guide those who have committed sins toward a better path, rather than just smiting the wicked.
Many lycanthropes also feel her call as the moon commands their ability to turn, and faith in Selena helps ease both the transformation and the bestial nature that comes along with it.
Clergy
Selena’s church is less militant than many of her peers, comprising mostly of clerics, bards, mystic theurges, and shadowdancers. All acolytes (all entrants into the church) wear navy blue robes with a white hood. Full priests are encouraged to be more expressive in their attire; most wear nice attire in navy blue and silver jewelry. Selena encourages her clergy to practice music, art, or logic to keep their minds sharp.
Despite the relatively peaceful demeanor of the clergy, Selena boasts a large number of templars, both redeemers and liberators, as prominent members of her church. Her templars are widely regarded as the archetypical white knight: courteous, kind, and will only use force at the utmost end of need, however most are trained as Dusk Knights, warriors adept in masking themselves in shadow and fighting unseen.
Additionally, many druids follow the Moonmother, praying to the stars for guidance and tending to her lycanthropic followers. Most of her druids operate out of groves shared with druids of Elys and Gaia.
The highest-ranking member of Selena’s clergy is Lydia von Woerfel, Archbishop of Molenburg, while Selena’s mortal herald is Natasha Pendragon, Inquistor of the Third Inquisition and the Celestial Exarch.
Temples and Shrines
Selena’s temples are numerous, often existing in wide open areas just outside of settlements. The primary halls of her temples are all open air in order to view the stars. Her temples dedicate themselves to healing the sick and otherwise aiding all who come seeking help. All temples are also good sources of information, as the Seleneans pride themselves as being master spies and information gatherers.
Basic Information
TitlesThe Moonmother
Pantheon
The Elysiar Pantheon
Gender
Feminine
1st Edition Pathfinder Statistics
AlignmentChaotic Good
Symbol
A Full Moon
Home Plane
Elysium
Portfolio
The Cosmos, Creativity, the Moon, the Planets, Redemption, the Stars, the Tides
Domains
Chaos, Darkness, Good, Magic, Travel, Void
Subdomains
Arcane, Azata, Exploration, Moon, Night, Redemption, Revelry, Stars
Worshippers
Bards, diviners, fishermen, good channelers, good and neutral lycanthropes, navigators, redeemed evil-doers, sailors
Worshipper Alignments
CG, CN, NG
Favored Weapon
Scepter of the Moon (heavy mace)
Avatar
Oracle 30
Templar 30
Shadow Adept 10
Gestalt Sorcerer 70
Divine Herald
Thadriel
Mortal Herald
Natasha Pendragon
Chosen
Sehanira Galanodel, Constance McPherson, Andrea-Maria Trastámara Carolingian, Anfisa Sokolova, Tatyana Sokolova, Màiri Stordahl
Children
Comments