Shelyn
Fill your heart, eyes, and mind with the beauty of the world. Without beauty and love, we are nothing. —Melodies of Inner Beauty
The Eternal Rose
Shelyn has watched over the multiverse with a gentle heart and generous eye since the beginnings of sentience, encouraging mortals in peace and love and reveling in even their crudest artistic awakenings. A passionate and creative artist in both matters of the heart and works of beauty, she teaches that true beauty takes many forms, that kindness is its own form of strength, that no force is more powerful than love, and that every person is beautiful in some way. She has experienced enough pain herself to recognize the sting of sacrifice, and has soothed enough broken hearts to know that love and beauty are not easy things. Yet despite the realities of pain and loss, she remains an eternal optimist, helping to mend the deepest pains and turn the coldest hearts toward love and light. No mortal, monster, or deity is immune to her power.
Shelyn represents all aspects of love, whether a parent’s devotion to his child, companionship with a beloved pet, the steady tenderness of an old couple, the chaste adoration of a paladin for a deity, or the passion of new lovers. She prefers relationships based on more than just carnal desire; while she does not oppose such relationships, she hopes that such physical trysts blossom into something deeper. Likewise, she does not consider greed or craving true love, whether directed toward riches or an uninterested person.
Shelyn is always shown as a young woman with eyes of blue or silver (or sometimes one eye of each color) and ankle-length hair adorned with colorful strands. She is usually depicted as a human, though other races often illustrate her as one of their own, from elves to half-orcs. Shelyn always wears tasteful clothing and jewelry that accentuate her beauty without revealing too much of it. Her physical proportions vary depending on the artist and regional standards for beauty: she is strong and sturdy in some depictions, voluptuous in others, and slender in still others. When she chooses to appear to mortals, it’s usually as a brown-haired Taldan woman of average proportions and exceptional beauty, dressed in attractive but comfortable clothing. Her avatar is the embodiment of passion, energy, and devotion, and nearby objects and even the air and light themselves bend toward her as if in ecstasy.
Shelyn is the daughter of an unknown mother and the spirit-wolf Thron, the Prince That Howls. In primordial times, Thron roamed the mountains, forests and skies, singing his feral ode to life, song, and love. From his many unions came two children greater than he: his daughter Shelyn and his son Dou-Bral, who as the only close relatives among the major deities of Golarion shared the divine portfolio of love, beauty, art, and music. Ages ago, the siblings quarreled, and Dou-Bral departed to regions past the edge of the Great Beyond, abandoning his divine interests and responsibilities. When he returned, he was transformed into the dark god Zon-Kuthon, twisted by the things he’d experienced beyond the borders of existence into a dark mirror of his former self. His devotion to beauty had become mastery of mutilation, love had become misery, music had become screams, and the art of creation had become the craft of torture. He mutilated and reshaped his own father into his herald, a thing of pain and horror. When Shelyn reached out to greet her lost brother, he pierced her hand with his black nails, and responded to her tears and pleading with violence. The siblings battled again, and eventually the goddess wrested his glaive from him (thinking it was the source of his corruption). The two declared a truce, a tenuous peace of silence and avoidance. Despite the hurts he has caused, Shelyn believes that her brother still exists within the twisted thing that he has become, and hopes to someday redeem him. Her story of love and devotion despite sorrow inspires mortal friends and lovers to persevere in adverse circumstances, bards to craft epic songs and tragedies, and artists to create works that touch the soul.
Shelyn sometimes contacts her faithful directly, but she prefers to work through reassuring thoughts, reminders of loved ones, or memories of favored music. Songbirds are sacred to her church, their presence being considered good luck. Most of her temples include feeders on the roof or in nearby trees to encourage birds to visit and nest nearby. Especially blessed artists may receive visions of Shelyn’s realm to inspire their works, and bereaved lovers may experience dreams of walks in the realm’s rose gardens with their deceased loves. Shelyn’s displeasure manifests in a number of ways, such as a brief glimpse of a repellent reflection in a mirror, a lover’s quarrel, a bird singing off-key, or wilted roses. She is greatly saddened by those who betray the ones they love, and haunts such folk within her congregation with guilt and the subtle sounds of those they betrayed until they either genuinely ask for forgiveness or abandon her faith entirely.
Shelyn has a close friendship with Bolka, the dwarven goddess of love and beauty, although both recognize that their worshippers have different views of these qualities. She counts many empyreal lords among her friends and allies as well: she shares mutual admiration with Arshea, whose message of freedom as beauty she finds a refreshing contrast to many mortals’ rigid views of physical aesthetics, and she occasionally shares a moonlit dance with Ashava or an intense discussion of musical composition with Seramaydiel. Shelyn is the only deity who has any regular contact with her brother Zon-Kuthon, and it has been ages since he attacked her, though she remains wary that whatever evil force controls him might one day change its mind. She also recognizes the longing in his eyes when he sees her glaive, and suspects that somehow the alien thoughts that emanate from the weapon are the key to freeing her brother from the shadow that consumes him.
The goddess’s broken relationship with Naderi, her former divine servant, remains her second great sorrow. Naderi became a goddess after a pair of her mortal wards chose to kill themselves rather than live apart. In fear and confusion, the neophyte goddess fled from Shelyn and has since adopted a darker worldview. She also has a strained relationship with Urgathoa, not just because of Urgathoa’s spiritual ugliness, but also because of some offense she committed against the goddess of undeath in centuries past. Neither goddess is willing to speak of the friction between them.
In general, the faithful of Shelyn have excellent relations with all of the other good and neutral religions, and even the servants of evil gods find much to love about the goddess and her followers. Like their deities, followers of crusading gods may sometimes dismiss Shelynites as out of touch with reality or hampered by artistic temperament, until they stumble into a Shelynite temple, battle-weary and heartsore, and find peace, healing, and renewed faith among its comforts. On rare occasions, Shelynites’ suggestions that this faith’s temple would be much improved by a bit of redecorating or that faith’s ceremonial robes could be adjusted to be more flattering irritate their neighbors, but most recognize the impulse as the genuine desire to share beauty, and a minor flaw compared with Shelynites’ bounty of attractive qualities.
Dancing Petal: This giddy creature is alight with affection for every living thing and excitement about every experience. It wraps itself around interesting people, plays music on available instruments, makes leaves and debris dance elaborate tarantellas, and helps children pretend to fly. It loves to juggle fruits, candies, and small pieces of jewelry in elaborate patterns, and carves clouds into laughing faces on joyous occasions. It likes to be paid in small items it can juggle or offer to others.
Phoenix Tail: This brilliantly plumed avoral bard is a master calligrapher and painter, whose periods of mania and romantic despair both fuel his art and devotion to the goddess. He uses his own feathers as quills for writing, and crafts magic items out of his plumes (particularly bird and swan boat feather tokens) to gift to mortals pursuing art, music, or love. He prefers payment in the form of original paintings and fine inks and paints.
Spirit of Adoration: This armored woman looks like a living statue and serves as Shelyn’s herald. She is generous, compassionate, and tolerant, and those who meet her under pleasant circumstances can’t help but agree that she is one of the nicest creatures they’ve ever met. When some great love or beautiful work of art is in danger, her eyes burn with the fire of true love threatened, and her face becomes the stern mask of an artist lost in the moment of finishing her masterpiece. Her hands wield glaive, spell, and ray in a beautiful and enthralling dance, as though they move to the very music of creation. Though she is not a gossip, she listens to her fellow celestials and is aware of whom they’ve helped in the mortal world; she keeps tabs on those who have benefited from the goddess’s favor in the past and, if necessary, might be willing to repay a past favor.
Shelyn represents all aspects of love, whether a parent’s devotion to his child, companionship with a beloved pet, the steady tenderness of an old couple, the chaste adoration of a paladin for a deity, or the passion of new lovers. She prefers relationships based on more than just carnal desire; while she does not oppose such relationships, she hopes that such physical trysts blossom into something deeper. Likewise, she does not consider greed or craving true love, whether directed toward riches or an uninterested person.
Shelyn is always shown as a young woman with eyes of blue or silver (or sometimes one eye of each color) and ankle-length hair adorned with colorful strands. She is usually depicted as a human, though other races often illustrate her as one of their own, from elves to half-orcs. Shelyn always wears tasteful clothing and jewelry that accentuate her beauty without revealing too much of it. Her physical proportions vary depending on the artist and regional standards for beauty: she is strong and sturdy in some depictions, voluptuous in others, and slender in still others. When she chooses to appear to mortals, it’s usually as a brown-haired Taldan woman of average proportions and exceptional beauty, dressed in attractive but comfortable clothing. Her avatar is the embodiment of passion, energy, and devotion, and nearby objects and even the air and light themselves bend toward her as if in ecstasy.
Shelyn is the daughter of an unknown mother and the spirit-wolf Thron, the Prince That Howls. In primordial times, Thron roamed the mountains, forests and skies, singing his feral ode to life, song, and love. From his many unions came two children greater than he: his daughter Shelyn and his son Dou-Bral, who as the only close relatives among the major deities of Golarion shared the divine portfolio of love, beauty, art, and music. Ages ago, the siblings quarreled, and Dou-Bral departed to regions past the edge of the Great Beyond, abandoning his divine interests and responsibilities. When he returned, he was transformed into the dark god Zon-Kuthon, twisted by the things he’d experienced beyond the borders of existence into a dark mirror of his former self. His devotion to beauty had become mastery of mutilation, love had become misery, music had become screams, and the art of creation had become the craft of torture. He mutilated and reshaped his own father into his herald, a thing of pain and horror. When Shelyn reached out to greet her lost brother, he pierced her hand with his black nails, and responded to her tears and pleading with violence. The siblings battled again, and eventually the goddess wrested his glaive from him (thinking it was the source of his corruption). The two declared a truce, a tenuous peace of silence and avoidance. Despite the hurts he has caused, Shelyn believes that her brother still exists within the twisted thing that he has become, and hopes to someday redeem him. Her story of love and devotion despite sorrow inspires mortal friends and lovers to persevere in adverse circumstances, bards to craft epic songs and tragedies, and artists to create works that touch the soul.
Shelyn sometimes contacts her faithful directly, but she prefers to work through reassuring thoughts, reminders of loved ones, or memories of favored music. Songbirds are sacred to her church, their presence being considered good luck. Most of her temples include feeders on the roof or in nearby trees to encourage birds to visit and nest nearby. Especially blessed artists may receive visions of Shelyn’s realm to inspire their works, and bereaved lovers may experience dreams of walks in the realm’s rose gardens with their deceased loves. Shelyn’s displeasure manifests in a number of ways, such as a brief glimpse of a repellent reflection in a mirror, a lover’s quarrel, a bird singing off-key, or wilted roses. She is greatly saddened by those who betray the ones they love, and haunts such folk within her congregation with guilt and the subtle sounds of those they betrayed until they either genuinely ask for forgiveness or abandon her faith entirely.
Relations with Other Religions
Shelyn’s nature is to be loved, and no deity is immune to her charm. However, the gods’ responses vary in accord with their natures: Asmodeus would use her to seduce the incorruptible, while Rovagug would place her within his eye to watch as he gloriously destroys all creation. The Eternal Rose has loved many minor and major deities, but refuses to bind herself to any of them and has borne no children. Calistria and Shelyn amuse each other and understand the need for both lust and love in a passionate relationship. Cayden Cailean, similarly, amuses her with his heartfelt and often inebriated attempts to woo her, but most believe her love for the god of freedom to be that of a patient older sister. Iomedae, Sarenrae, and other deities who actively crusade against evil often see her as naive or a bit frivolous, but such objections tend to melt away in her presence as she reminds them that the eradication of evil is meaningless if crusaders forget what they are fighting to preserve.Shelyn has a close friendship with Bolka, the dwarven goddess of love and beauty, although both recognize that their worshippers have different views of these qualities. She counts many empyreal lords among her friends and allies as well: she shares mutual admiration with Arshea, whose message of freedom as beauty she finds a refreshing contrast to many mortals’ rigid views of physical aesthetics, and she occasionally shares a moonlit dance with Ashava or an intense discussion of musical composition with Seramaydiel. Shelyn is the only deity who has any regular contact with her brother Zon-Kuthon, and it has been ages since he attacked her, though she remains wary that whatever evil force controls him might one day change its mind. She also recognizes the longing in his eyes when he sees her glaive, and suspects that somehow the alien thoughts that emanate from the weapon are the key to freeing her brother from the shadow that consumes him.
The goddess’s broken relationship with Naderi, her former divine servant, remains her second great sorrow. Naderi became a goddess after a pair of her mortal wards chose to kill themselves rather than live apart. In fear and confusion, the neophyte goddess fled from Shelyn and has since adopted a darker worldview. She also has a strained relationship with Urgathoa, not just because of Urgathoa’s spiritual ugliness, but also because of some offense she committed against the goddess of undeath in centuries past. Neither goddess is willing to speak of the friction between them.
In general, the faithful of Shelyn have excellent relations with all of the other good and neutral religions, and even the servants of evil gods find much to love about the goddess and her followers. Like their deities, followers of crusading gods may sometimes dismiss Shelynites as out of touch with reality or hampered by artistic temperament, until they stumble into a Shelynite temple, battle-weary and heartsore, and find peace, healing, and renewed faith among its comforts. On rare occasions, Shelynites’ suggestions that this faith’s temple would be much improved by a bit of redecorating or that faith’s ceremonial robes could be adjusted to be more flattering irritate their neighbors, but most recognize the impulse as the genuine desire to share beauty, and a minor flaw compared with Shelynites’ bounty of attractive qualities.
Planar Allies
Shelyn’s divine servants are mostly transformed petitioners or supernatural beings she has created. In addition to her servitor race, the beautiful dapsaras, the following are three of her most blessed minions, who answer planar ally and similar calling spells from the faithful.Dancing Petal: This giddy creature is alight with affection for every living thing and excitement about every experience. It wraps itself around interesting people, plays music on available instruments, makes leaves and debris dance elaborate tarantellas, and helps children pretend to fly. It loves to juggle fruits, candies, and small pieces of jewelry in elaborate patterns, and carves clouds into laughing faces on joyous occasions. It likes to be paid in small items it can juggle or offer to others.
Phoenix Tail: This brilliantly plumed avoral bard is a master calligrapher and painter, whose periods of mania and romantic despair both fuel his art and devotion to the goddess. He uses his own feathers as quills for writing, and crafts magic items out of his plumes (particularly bird and swan boat feather tokens) to gift to mortals pursuing art, music, or love. He prefers payment in the form of original paintings and fine inks and paints.
Spirit of Adoration: This armored woman looks like a living statue and serves as Shelyn’s herald. She is generous, compassionate, and tolerant, and those who meet her under pleasant circumstances can’t help but agree that she is one of the nicest creatures they’ve ever met. When some great love or beautiful work of art is in danger, her eyes burn with the fire of true love threatened, and her face becomes the stern mask of an artist lost in the moment of finishing her masterpiece. Her hands wield glaive, spell, and ray in a beautiful and enthralling dance, as though they move to the very music of creation. Though she is not a gossip, she listens to her fellow celestials and is aware of whom they’ve helped in the mortal world; she keeps tabs on those who have benefited from the goddess’s favor in the past and, if necessary, might be willing to repay a past favor.
Holy Books & Codes
Shelyn’s holy book is Melodies of Inner Beauty, and as its name suggests, it’s more a hymnal and collection of poetry than a prayer book. Stories about the goddess, her family, her history, and her doctrine are expressed through songs, epic verses, and dramas to be performed and enjoyed among the faithful. The book glosses over the ugly parts of the stories (particularly about Zon-Kuthon), though other divinely inspired documents of the church reveal more details of Shelyn’s deeds and relationships.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Shelyn’s holy symbol is a songbird with rainbow feathers, and her weapon is the glaive Whisperer of Souls, seized from her brother Zon-Kuthon and claimed as her own. She keeps the weapon as a reminder of her brother’s transformation and to show her worshippers that it is sometimes necessary to fight for the things you love.
Holidays
The church of the Eternal Rose has no universal holidays except Crystalhue. However, vow renewals between loving couples are often celebrated by an entire temple, as are any other anniversaries of loving relationships. For a temple associated with a specific patron agathion, that celestial’s birthday, wedding anniversary, or confirmation in the church may be a local holiday.
Crystalhue (Winter Solstice): This day of artistic creation is traditionally a time for courtship and romantic proposals. During the day, people hang crystal prisms and glass baubles in order to spread light and scatter rainbows in the streets. Celebrants exchange small gifts, typically handmade, as tokens of appreciation or as peace offerings to those they feel they wronged during the year. Worshippers often dye colored streaks in their hair or wear colorful patchwork coats called melaros to which they add new patches every year. In the evenings, celebrants place lanterns on porches and in windows to line the streets with communal light. Town squares or other community gathering spaces host feasts around bonfires, and these gatherings are a popular time to perform marriage ceremonies, especially for worshippers without the means to throw such elaborate celebrations for themselves.
The sole dark note of Crystalhue is the zonzon doll. In some Shelynite congregations, a child chosen to be the “sibling” passes this strange little doll, made from scraps of leather and cloth and sewn with red thread, among neighbors. The townsfolk give it symbolic gifts and tell the doll happy memories or whisper apologies for those they’ve wronged during the year. The “sibling” child then casts it into the wilderness or sets it afloat to drift down a river, in the hope that it will find its way to the Midnight Lord and relate his sister’s kindness, mercy, and goodwill in the face of the dark place he now resides.
Crystalhue (Winter Solstice): This day of artistic creation is traditionally a time for courtship and romantic proposals. During the day, people hang crystal prisms and glass baubles in order to spread light and scatter rainbows in the streets. Celebrants exchange small gifts, typically handmade, as tokens of appreciation or as peace offerings to those they feel they wronged during the year. Worshippers often dye colored streaks in their hair or wear colorful patchwork coats called melaros to which they add new patches every year. In the evenings, celebrants place lanterns on porches and in windows to line the streets with communal light. Town squares or other community gathering spaces host feasts around bonfires, and these gatherings are a popular time to perform marriage ceremonies, especially for worshippers without the means to throw such elaborate celebrations for themselves.
The sole dark note of Crystalhue is the zonzon doll. In some Shelynite congregations, a child chosen to be the “sibling” passes this strange little doll, made from scraps of leather and cloth and sewn with red thread, among neighbors. The townsfolk give it symbolic gifts and tell the doll happy memories or whisper apologies for those they’ve wronged during the year. The “sibling” child then casts it into the wilderness or sets it afloat to drift down a river, in the hope that it will find its way to the Midnight Lord and relate his sister’s kindness, mercy, and goodwill in the face of the dark place he now resides.
Relationships
Symbol
Edicts
be peaceful, choose and perfect an art, lead by example, see the beauty in all things
Anathema
destroy art or allow it to be destroyed, unless saving a life or pursuing greater art; refuse to accept surrender
Areas of Concern
art, beauty, love, and music
Enemies
Asmodeus, Rovagug, Urgathoa, Zon-Kuthon
Temples
art galleries, cathedrals, gardens, museums, theaters
Worshippers
artists, lovers, minstrels, musicians, seekers of redemption
Sacred Animal
songbird
Sacred Colors
all
Favored Weapon
glaive
Domains
creation, family, passion, protection
Alternate Domains
repose
Divine Ability
Wisdom or Charisma
Divine Font
heal
Divine Skill
Crafting or Performance
Divine Classification
God
Church/Cult
Siblings
Zon-Kuthon
(brother)
Children
Ruled Locations
Aphorisms
There are innumerable poems and songs inspired by love, yet most followers hold four sayings as Shelyn’s most important messages.The creation of beauty is the highest art: Anything done to make the world more beautiful is a blessing. Visual art, music, or even simple enhancements like clever makeup or a good haircut all create beauty, and even the smallest change can transform the mundane into the intriguing.
Love is never born of evil: Love is a positive, fulfilling energy. It protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. Possessiveness and jealousy stem from evil, and are not love. An enemy’s punishment may be deserved, but a loving heart does not rejoice in hatred and vengeance.
Love is the greatest of all things: Shelyn’s greatest teaching is that love is the most powerful of all forces. It drives the actions of mortals and gods alike, and it endures beyond knowledge, language, and ambitions. Painful emotions such as anger or fear are echoes of a love that is missing, and therefore can be soothed only by love. Knowledge, language, and ambitions all pass in time, but love and kindness toward others persist, their repercussions felt down through the generations, in this world and the next. Even when love is barely more than a flickering candle, it can ignite the heart and soul into a raging flame that defies time, death, war, fate, and nature.
Love and beauty belong to all: All beings are capable and worthy of love, even those who have been twisted or corrupted by such facets of love as jealousy or possessiveness. Love is a power that has the strength to redeem and unite, and it is as varied in meaning as all the creatures who feel it in their hearts.
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