The Storyteller, Veleda
Goddess of Stone
While her main portfolio is stone, Veleda is far more well-known for knowledge. Like stone, knowledge is eternal. It stands strong against all hardships. Though, as with stone, time wears the mind down. Passing knowledge to others ensures that it lives on, even if it changes form. Constant vigilance is necessary to keep the mind sharp and never abandon the pursuit to learn more.
Veleda appears to mortals as a wizened dwarf. Her body, however, appears to be completely made of white marble, thus giving her the appearance of a statue. The pallor of her marble exterior gave rise to the common use of white robes to denote the head of a temple.
Clergy
Institutions dedicated to Veleda have an elaborate ranking and hierarchy system. You can tell a monk’s rank by the color of their robes.- Black: Children who are raised in the temples to become monks. At the age of 14, they take a test and become Novice Monks should they pass. Anyone who fails must wait another year before trying again.
- Dim gray: Novice monk. Someone who has been accepted into Veleda’s monastery but has not yet obtained higher ordination.
- Silver: Acolyte. Fully ordained monk.
- Light gray: Proctor. A fully ordained monk who follows the strictest teachings of Veleda. Members of this rank are the oldest monks in a monastery and have been following the religion the longest. They lead ceremonies within the temples and take charge of the younger members.
- White: Spiritual head. Leads the entire temple. There is only one in each temple, with only a handful of Light Gray caste monks beneath them.
Divine Domains
Arcana, Knowledge, Mind
Divine Symbols & Sigils
White-feathered quill, Owl
Tenets of Faith
- There are two great pursuits in life: acquiring knowledge and passing knowledge to others. These processes are cyclical: teaching leads to knowledge, and knowledge leads to teaching. Veleda values knowledge but also favors those who can use it. Ignorance, stupidity, and mental inflexibility are not tolerated by this goddess and she tasks her adherents with correcting such traits where they are found. Dementia and forgetfulness are signs of her displeasure.
- Veleda recognizes not all knowledge is meant to be shared and can sometimes do more harm than good. Thus, while her followers are urged to learn as much as they can, they are also warned to be wary of the information they consume lest it lead to dire consequences. This is why her faith is called the Way of Wisdom: knowledge should not be pursued at any cost, but rather, should be pursued and shared with sense.
Other Information
- While she did not create the dwarves as they are known now, she did create their ancestors. By her design, dwarves gained their inherent knowledge and talent with stonework.
- Kiel supposedly caused the destruction of her first library. She has rebuilt it but has yet to forgive him.
Veleda the Storyteller by Phoenix509
Divine Domains
Arcana, Knowledge, Mind
Divine Classification
God
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Wise One, Storyteller, Sacred Teacher
Children
Gender
♀
Knowledge, teaching, memory, magic, history, writing, storytelling, stone
Holy Symbol
White-feathered quill, Owl
