Ashera, the Matron of Light

Terror of the Unknown Lands

Ashera is known as the Goddess of Astral Grace and is the seventhborn of the Drakanii Pantheon.
She is considered the goddess of travel, the Astral powers, and the skies.
Long ago, when the Draconic Lords received their charge, to ready the world for the coming darkness, Ashera had a vision for the future. She believed it best to govern the world through strict discipline, actively preparing the world for their inevitable fate at the cost of their freedom. However, when her brethren decreed that freedom was an essential aspect of life, she felt betrayed. Angered by their decision, she left the material plane behind and sought to leave her mark from afar, her rage still lingering to this day.

Appearance

Very few depictions are known to exist of Ashera, none of which are said to truly capture your elegance and grandeur. She's described as having scales of silver and pale rose gold. Her wings stand out amongst her siblings as being made of feathers, ranging from light gray to the purest white. Astral light dances across her entire body, her eyes a piercing violet with a visage that radiates command and arcane splendor.
With only select few individuals having ever gazed upon a couatl, modern depictions of her form are incredibly rare. Most are content to simply re-imagine the few ancient carvings and written descriptions that still exists, many fearing anything less would anger the lost goddess. Some clad her in dark silk and a dress of feathers made from her own kin while few depict her as a high elven sorceress, beautiful and almighty.

Personality

Much of the information about Ashera is born solely from rumors based off the ancient tales of her departure. The first aspect that people tend to latch on to is her desire to see lesser beings enslaved in service of divinity. Believing herself and the Draconic Lords to be the ultimate authority, all others are nothing but servants meant only to obey the will of their masters. As such, she's made out to be a tyrannical being which many are pleased to have been forgotten to time.
However, while she's thought to be ruthless and cruel to those beneath her, she remains respectful of those who stand at her side. While certainly unhappy about the decision made by her siblings, she's nonetheless never appeared to challenge them openly. Just as she commands the obedience of others, so too is she forced to obey when powers equal to her own defy her wishes. Others instead claim that it's simply a matter of her siblings holding more supreme power than her, leaving her unable to defy her own superiors.
Even though she's never sought to strike at her brethren for the actions that made her a hateful being, that's not to say Ashera left the world behind entirely. Her rage is said to have made manifest in the form of the constant turmoil within the Astral Sea, as well as conjuring the arcane storms that occasionally terrorize certain planes of the world tree. While most linger on her hateful ways, there are those who claim her actions as merely doing what's necessary to protect her home. However, these people are often shunned for supporting a tyrant, believing it madness to condone someone set on enslaving mortalkind.

Abilities

Despite the claims that Ashera's a being of order, she's said to be a master at manipulating chaotic energies to her will. Many storms of arcane rage are said to be her doing, all of which are often born of pure chaos. Such constructs include the very nature of the Astral Sea, the Stormwall which hinders seafaring travel, and the arcane anomalies that sometimes plague planes rich in mana. As a general rule, if travel is made difficult due to arcane storms, it's all thanks to the might of Ashera.
As the mother of couatls, she's said to be a mistress of the skies, soaring swiftly across the heavens with little regard for her own storms. Her desire to subjugate lesser beings also makes her a powerful sorceress of the mind, able to take command of those who dare to defy her will. A modern interpretation of her powers make her out to possess a powerful staff, one which can transform into an arcane spear with the power of astral lightning to strike down her enemies.

Worship

When she abandoned her siblings in ages past, it's said that she left for another land across the seas. As such, it's become incredibly rare to come across a couatl, most having been spotted on other planes. This lack of presence on the known world has left her with very few followers, only the most enlightened of scholars privy to her existence at all. As such, those that do follow her are often individuals of great power and knowledge, forming cults to their astral mistress which aren't known to treat their members with any level of respect.
The leaders of such cults are often very charismatic and powerful sorcerers, seeking to govern those they consider inferior and change the world in service of their goddess. Meanwhile, the common members are rarely privy to any knowledge about Ashera, only ever being given vague stories and manipulated to follow the will of their masters. These cults often seek to disrupt the faith of others, making all other deities out to be false gods with a dark plan for mortalkind while Ashera's path is the only true vision of the future.

Commandments

• Trust in the Astral Weave, its grace eternal and in service of all life.
• Seek to rid the world of the unholy darkness infesting its shadows.
• Honor those who guide the masses towards a brighter future.

Notable Relations

Allegiances

• Ashnard - Out of all the Drakanii, Ashera is believed to hold the strongest ties to Ashnard, respecting his devotion to the safety of the World Tree, Material Plane, and all life who beseech the divine.
• Zell - Ashera holds a modicum of respect towards Zell for his devotion to the divine hierarchy and kinship with the storms, leading to stories of a partnership of both guardianship and retribution.
• Alarriel - Not said to have many close ties to the rest of Divinity, Ashera holds a fondness for Alarriel's kinship with the Astral Sea, her loyalty, and her devotion to her charge and martial prowess.

Oppositions

• Lyon - Those with the knowledge of Ashera and her past speak of a rivalry between herself and Lyon, their powers said to overlap in places and once contesting for the position of supreme deity.
• Garon - Myths speak of the original degrees of Divine Law, of how Ashera and Garon had opposing views and how her fate was sealed due to the boundaries he wove together.
• Mateus - Although hostility towards the Void is a given across divinity, Ashera is said to stand as the blade against Mateus, ever-seeking to annihilate any and all semblance of its blasphemy.

Divinity

Goddess of Astral Grace

Title(s)

Forgotten Mistress of Light
Serpent of the Astral Sea
Queen of Arcane Catastrophe

Moral Compass

Oath & Temptation

Symbol

Silver serpent coiled around a lightning bolt

Phrase

In the astral light we trust

Reputation

Honored

Presence

Exclusive

Plane

Astral Sea

Realm

The Throne of Calamity