Selûne, goddess of the moon (seh-LOON-eh)
Selûne, also known as Our Lady of Silver, the Moonmaiden, and the Night White Lady, and She Who Guides, is the goddess of the moon. She holds the portfolios of the moon, stars, navigation, navigators, wanderers, questers, seekers, and non-evil lycanthropes. Hers is the moon's mysterious power, the heavenly force that governs the world's tides and a mother's reproductive cycles, causes lycanthropes to shift form, drawing one to the brink of madness, and back again. Her nature, appearance, and mood all change in turn with the phases of the moon. She is also known as Sehanine Moonbow by the elves. Most humanoids in Emmel believe the moon to be the goddess herself watching over the world and the lights that trail behind it to be her tears, from both joy and sorrow.
She is also ever changing, ageing but ageless. If watched over time, her appearance seems to grow to full radiance or to age and fade away, in keeping with the waxing or waning of the moon. Such changes only affect her external appearance and did not reflect any change in might, at least to mortal eyes.
In any form or state, whenever she is in darkness, her avatar continually emanates a faint blue-white glow like moonlight.
Nevertheless, at all times, Selûne is caring and accepting of most beings, and forgiving of most of her followers' faults. She is both ageless and ancient. She is quietly mystical and, as a being of chaos, well used to change. She has a serene and peaceful nature and is slow to anger; she won't fight if she can help it, but nor does she hold back if she must. She is fiercely protective when confronted by evil. The one constant is her eternal conflict with Shar.
She is generous and freely bestows gifts and blessings on mortals. She also makes few demands of her followers. When beseeched by her clergy, she always responds.
Appearance
In both her avatars and her 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 fell to her knees. Another is an ethereal young girl of slender frame, dark eyes, and dark hair, wearing diaphanous robes colored white or resembling dappled moonlight, which trails her "moondust" or "moon motes". A third is a matronly middle-aged woman, plump yet fair and aging gracefully, with gray-streaked dark hair, this one sometimes lives among mortals. A simple depiction of the goddess is of a woman's face on the disc of the moon.She is also ever changing, ageing but ageless. If watched over time, her appearance seems to grow to full radiance or to age and fade away, in keeping with the waxing or waning of the moon. Such changes only affect her external appearance and did not reflect any change in might, at least to mortal eyes.
In any form or state, whenever she is in darkness, her avatar continually emanates a faint blue-white glow like moonlight.
Personality
Let all on whom my light falls be welcome if they desire to be so. As the silver moon waxes and wanes, so too does all life. Trust in my radiance, and know that all love alive under my light shall know my blessing. Turn to the moon, and I will be your true guide.Again like the cycles of the moon, Selûne has many and changing moods and natures. Her faithful, coming from many walks of life, view her in countless different ways, and she reflects this. 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 make her versatile. Nevertheless, she is viewed as a calm power.
Nevertheless, at all times, Selûne is caring and accepting of most beings, and forgiving of most of her followers' faults. She is both ageless and ancient. She is quietly mystical and, as a being of chaos, well used to change. She has a serene and peaceful nature and is slow to anger; she won't fight if she can help it, but nor does she hold back if she must. She is fiercely protective when confronted by evil. The one constant is her eternal conflict with Shar.
She is generous and freely bestows gifts and blessings on mortals. She also makes few demands of her followers. When beseeched by her clergy, she always responds.
Artifacts
In battle, Selûne sometimes wields a moon blade, in fact a lasting form of the moon blade spell. However, her favored weapon is the Rod of Four Moons (also called the Wand of Four Moons), a four-flanged heavy mace of potent magical power Selûne's scale mail is comprised of opalescent, circular scales that glow faintly with silver light; she dons it only in battle, but might lend it to beings on a quest for her, without losing any of its protection herself.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Her holy symbol is a bright pair of eyes of a darkly beautiful woman, encircled by seven silver stars.
In particular, she is commonly worshiped by human women. They look to her for guidance, courage, and strength, while couples hope she will bless them with children when the time is right. The church's ideology of female empowerment makes her popular with alewives, laundresses, seamstresses, and servants.
Meanwhile, the church's philosophy of self-reliance and finding one's path make her popular with all kinds of mavericks, eccentrics, and outsiders, such as adventurers and outcasts. She is also popular among Tieflings as they believe some tiefling followers of her claim to have received visions of her in their own image, describing her as the "pale horned goddess of the moon".
Even those not dedicated to Selûne will pay their respects to her. For example, a band of adventurers on a night-time raid might make an offering to her for guidance. Most goodly folk pay homage to Selûne during the full moon, and even evil thieves will try to placate her.
Moonstones are believed to be sacred to Selûne by her followers. Some folk believe silver to be Selûne's hardened tears.
Worshipers
Main article: Church of Selûne Selûne and her teachings of compassion and guidance are appealing to all folk who live their lives by the moonlit night sky, and hence her faithful are a very diverse group. She is followed by those who are lost and those who are questing. Sailors and navigators, who travel by the stars, often pray to the Night White Lady to protect them from Umberlee, the Queen of the Depths. Others who labor by night at honest work pray to her for similar reasons. Some seek her out for protection in the dark or from the dark forces of Shar. Lycanthropes, whether those of good heart, neutrality, or a few who relish their condition, honor the Moonmaiden as the mistress of their nature. Astrologers, diviners, fortune-tellers, mystics, and those just curious about the future acknowledge her as a ruler of fate. Female spellcasters rever her, particularly those born during a full moon or who have an interest in divination, and a few dedicate themselves to her. She is also worshiped by illusionists, some sages, and good thieves.In particular, she is commonly worshiped by human women. They look to her for guidance, courage, and strength, while couples hope she will bless them with children when the time is right. The church's ideology of female empowerment makes her popular with alewives, laundresses, seamstresses, and servants.
Meanwhile, the church's philosophy of self-reliance and finding one's path make her popular with all kinds of mavericks, eccentrics, and outsiders, such as adventurers and outcasts. She is also popular among Tieflings as they believe some tiefling followers of her claim to have received visions of her in their own image, describing her as the "pale horned goddess of the moon".
Even those not dedicated to Selûne will pay their respects to her. For example, a band of adventurers on a night-time raid might make an offering to her for guidance. Most goodly folk pay homage to Selûne during the full moon, and even evil thieves will try to placate her.
Superstitions
According to some superstitions, one who mocks Selûne while aboard a ship will never complete their voyage. Sailors of the Southern Seas take this very seriously. Furthermore, many of those sailors see the whole Southern Sea as sacred to the goddess. Another legend holds that couples who come to the Crescent Cliffs along the southern coast of Arveia on the first night of Selûne's first day and exchange their vows will suffer no strife in their marriage.Moonstones are believed to be sacred to Selûne by her followers. Some folk believe silver to be Selûne's hardened tears.
Divine Classification
Greater Deity
Church/Cult
Children
Pronouns
She/They
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