Sivanah
The Seventh Veil, the Endless One
Dazzling, inscrutable, alluring, and elusive, Sivanah represents the mystery at the heart of existence. Her church posits there is no such thing as absolute truth, only layers of illusion, and Sivanah herself is a paradox even to her most devout followers, who refer to her as the Endless One. Her holy symbol—a knotted ring of scarves—serves as a metaphor for a cycle of apparitions with neither beginning nor end. Mystics say that when one pulls back Sivanah’s seventh and final veil, one finds the first beneath it again. Her priests claim that she has yet to manifest her true form, believing it will be unveiled only during the destruction of reality itself.
No living being—mortal or immortal—remembers Sivanah’s birth, creation, or ascension to godhood, or can even identify when she first appeared, yet all mortal records of her are relatively recent. None predate Earthfall, suggesting that she was unknown to the Azlanti, though a number of outsiders, when questioned, claim they remember her presence at events before the disaster.
Sivanah is most often recognized by mortals as a goddess of magic—specifically illusion magic. She appears as a veiled figure who takes on a different form as each veil is removed. Under the first shimmering veil appears a human face; yet, when the veil is removed, a gauzy drapery appears to cover an elven woman. Under the third veil is a halfling, and under the fourth, a gnome. For many centuries, the fifth was believed to conceal a cyclops, but in recent centuries, as the power of the cyclopes waned, it has become popular to claim the fifth veil covers an aranea. The sixth veil drapes the form of a naga. No mortal knows what lies behind the seventh.
Visitors to the Maelstrom who have attempted to locate Sivanah’s ever-moving realm speculate the goddess is hiding from a number of protean choruses, either because she possesses something that belongs to them or because her true nature provokes their enmity. Others believe she was once a keketar, a risen demon, or a fallen azata. In recent years, because of the high number of fetchling worshippers in Sivanah’s church, theologians have begun to claim the Seventh Veil originally hailed from the Shadow Plane. The only truth people can agree on is that she appears to be female, though even that may be an illusion.
As for the more popular Inner Sea gods, Nethys finds her especially intriguing, and the two sometimes cautiously share magical knowledge, with each attempting to maintain the upper hand. Desna doesn’t entirely trust her, but admires the beauty of Sivanah’s illusions, seeing them as dreamlike, and Sivanah is intrigued by the mysteries surrounding the ancient goddess. Shelyn likewise is drawn to the Seventh Veil’s capacity to spin gorgeous figments, and sometimes goes to her for inspiration. Cayden Cailean has long pursued Sivanah, but thus far has had no luck in attracting her interest.
Sivanah also maintains a cordial relationship with Norgorber, and their attempts to manipulate one another often have an air of playfulness about them, as if the two deities were engaged in a game. They plot together as often as they plot against one another, though the fruition of their schemes often goes unnoticed or is unrecognizable. Rumors abound that Sivanah is helping Norgorber conceal a truth about his nature or history.
The Seventh Veil’s most adversarial relationship is with Zon-Kuthon. She views the Midnight Lord’s use of shadows as a corruption of their true purpose, and sometimes takes control of the shadows his clerics wield, causing them to act in unexpected ways. Zon-Kuthon has made her worship an offense punishable by torture and death within Nidal. Despite the danger, a few of Sivanah’s most daring clerics remain within Nidal’s borders, for her church views residence in Nidal as the greatest test of a cleric’s abilities at disguise. These Nidalese clerics attempt to subtly undermine Zon-Kuthon’s hold over the nation and lure other Nidalese away from his worship.
While most deities regard Razmir with contempt or disdainful amusement, the Seventh Veil seems to have an incomprehensible interest in the Living God. Whether this is simply because she admires the boldness and cleverness of his illusory godhood, or because she is playing a deeper game, Sivanah is silent on her reasons for supporting his false church. Veiled witches from Irrisen serve as her most frequent emissaries to Razmiran.
Ai: Like its mistress, this unique trumpet archon often appears as a veiled figure, but the shimmering fabric that swathes it moves in ways that obfuscate the individual beneath the veils. Ai never speaks, instructing the faithful through gestures or wordless empathy. It sometimes appears to observe high-level clergy performing great works of illusion, and it has been known to contribute a bit of its own enhancement when it seems especially impressed. It also occasionally manifests in response to what would otherwise be unsuccessful summoning spells by worshippers of Zon-Kuthon, showing up in a form they would expect and obeying their commands until a critical moment, when it disappears or aids their foes. How or why Ai has left its native plane of Heaven to serve Sivanah in the Maelstrom and beyond is yet another of the faith’s many mysteries.
The Flickering Man: A strange lightning elemental, the Flickering Man oddly takes the shape of a tall, thin humanoid man when he appears. He speaks in a highly formal, often flowery manner that can distract the unwary from the fact that his statements rarely contain any useful information. He prefers offerings of six identical valuable objects, which he absorbs before speaking.
The Severed Mask: Cloaked in shadow, the Severed Mask wears a white mask with a crack down the center from which darkness leaks. This shae speaks in an echoing, sibilant whisper, and answers direct questions only with other questions. These responses often encourage the questioner to look at problems from a revelatory new angle. She gladly accepts gifts of broken or damaged artwork.
No living being—mortal or immortal—remembers Sivanah’s birth, creation, or ascension to godhood, or can even identify when she first appeared, yet all mortal records of her are relatively recent. None predate Earthfall, suggesting that she was unknown to the Azlanti, though a number of outsiders, when questioned, claim they remember her presence at events before the disaster.
Sivanah is most often recognized by mortals as a goddess of magic—specifically illusion magic. She appears as a veiled figure who takes on a different form as each veil is removed. Under the first shimmering veil appears a human face; yet, when the veil is removed, a gauzy drapery appears to cover an elven woman. Under the third veil is a halfling, and under the fourth, a gnome. For many centuries, the fifth was believed to conceal a cyclops, but in recent centuries, as the power of the cyclopes waned, it has become popular to claim the fifth veil covers an aranea. The sixth veil drapes the form of a naga. No mortal knows what lies behind the seventh.
Visitors to the Maelstrom who have attempted to locate Sivanah’s ever-moving realm speculate the goddess is hiding from a number of protean choruses, either because she possesses something that belongs to them or because her true nature provokes their enmity. Others believe she was once a keketar, a risen demon, or a fallen azata. In recent years, because of the high number of fetchling worshippers in Sivanah’s church, theologians have begun to claim the Seventh Veil originally hailed from the Shadow Plane. The only truth people can agree on is that she appears to be female, though even that may be an illusion.
Relations to Other Religions
Despite her popularity with gnomes, Sivanah’s relationship with Nivi Rhombodazzle is distant, though mutually respectful. Neither goddess objects to gnomes paying homage to both of them. Sivanah is fascinated by the empyreal lord Arshea’s refusal to be categorized into a single gender, and Arshea’s followers have studied methods of ambiguous self-presentation with Sivanah’s clergy.As for the more popular Inner Sea gods, Nethys finds her especially intriguing, and the two sometimes cautiously share magical knowledge, with each attempting to maintain the upper hand. Desna doesn’t entirely trust her, but admires the beauty of Sivanah’s illusions, seeing them as dreamlike, and Sivanah is intrigued by the mysteries surrounding the ancient goddess. Shelyn likewise is drawn to the Seventh Veil’s capacity to spin gorgeous figments, and sometimes goes to her for inspiration. Cayden Cailean has long pursued Sivanah, but thus far has had no luck in attracting her interest.
Sivanah also maintains a cordial relationship with Norgorber, and their attempts to manipulate one another often have an air of playfulness about them, as if the two deities were engaged in a game. They plot together as often as they plot against one another, though the fruition of their schemes often goes unnoticed or is unrecognizable. Rumors abound that Sivanah is helping Norgorber conceal a truth about his nature or history.
The Seventh Veil’s most adversarial relationship is with Zon-Kuthon. She views the Midnight Lord’s use of shadows as a corruption of their true purpose, and sometimes takes control of the shadows his clerics wield, causing them to act in unexpected ways. Zon-Kuthon has made her worship an offense punishable by torture and death within Nidal. Despite the danger, a few of Sivanah’s most daring clerics remain within Nidal’s borders, for her church views residence in Nidal as the greatest test of a cleric’s abilities at disguise. These Nidalese clerics attempt to subtly undermine Zon-Kuthon’s hold over the nation and lure other Nidalese away from his worship.
While most deities regard Razmir with contempt or disdainful amusement, the Seventh Veil seems to have an incomprehensible interest in the Living God. Whether this is simply because she admires the boldness and cleverness of his illusory godhood, or because she is playing a deeper game, Sivanah is silent on her reasons for supporting his false church. Veiled witches from Irrisen serve as her most frequent emissaries to Razmiran.
Realm
As mutable and mysterious as the Maelstrom’s sea of creative and destructive potential upon which it floats, Sivanah’s realm never appears in the same place twice. Both visitors to the plane and its native proteans may pass through it without recognizing it; save for a preponderance of mirrors, the plane changes its appearance as often as it changes location. Her divine servitors and the souls of her worshipers appear to be able to find it without trouble, but whether the Seventh Veil gives them special guidance is unknown to her living followers.Planar Allies
Sivanah’s divine servitors are unique and of unidentifiable origins. The following beings respond to planar ally and similar spells cast by Sivanah’s faithful.Ai: Like its mistress, this unique trumpet archon often appears as a veiled figure, but the shimmering fabric that swathes it moves in ways that obfuscate the individual beneath the veils. Ai never speaks, instructing the faithful through gestures or wordless empathy. It sometimes appears to observe high-level clergy performing great works of illusion, and it has been known to contribute a bit of its own enhancement when it seems especially impressed. It also occasionally manifests in response to what would otherwise be unsuccessful summoning spells by worshippers of Zon-Kuthon, showing up in a form they would expect and obeying their commands until a critical moment, when it disappears or aids their foes. How or why Ai has left its native plane of Heaven to serve Sivanah in the Maelstrom and beyond is yet another of the faith’s many mysteries.
The Flickering Man: A strange lightning elemental, the Flickering Man oddly takes the shape of a tall, thin humanoid man when he appears. He speaks in a highly formal, often flowery manner that can distract the unwary from the fact that his statements rarely contain any useful information. He prefers offerings of six identical valuable objects, which he absorbs before speaking.
The Severed Mask: Cloaked in shadow, the Severed Mask wears a white mask with a crack down the center from which darkness leaks. This shae speaks in an echoing, sibilant whisper, and answers direct questions only with other questions. These responses often encourage the questioner to look at problems from a revelatory new angle. She gladly accepts gifts of broken or damaged artwork.
Holy Books & Codes
Sivanah’s holy texts are almost always hidden in other books, either in ink that appears only in sunlight, or more often as every seventh word in an otherwise unremarkable volume on an unrelated subject. Sivanah’s priests teach that each text has four levels of meaning: the literal or surface meaning, the symbolic meaning, the personal meaning an author brings to it, and the personal meaning a reader brings to it. Somewhere in the combination of these four layers lies truth.
Beyond the Seventh Veil: This meditation on the nature of truth is one of the best-known Sivanan holy texts, and it concludes that real truth does not exist. Some scholars even believe it clandestinely reveals Sivanah’s true identity, though this idea is blasphemous in some circles.
Beyond the Seventh Veil: This meditation on the nature of truth is one of the best-known Sivanan holy texts, and it concludes that real truth does not exist. Some scholars even believe it clandestinely reveals Sivanah’s true identity, though this idea is blasphemous in some circles.
Holidays
Sivanan holidays are typically kept secret among her faithful. Only the following holiday is known as a time of celebration to all of Sivanah’s church.
Seven Veils: In most parts of the Inner Sea region, this holiday takes place on 7 Neth. It is a day-long celebration of diversity filled with dancing, feasting, and courting. The evening traditionally closes out with the Seven Veil masquerade, a ball wherein the participants wear disguises. At the end of the ball, the participants remove their partners’ disguises, often with unpredictable or delightfully awkward results. Sivanan worshipers count this among their most sacred days and conduct secretive rituals, the details of which they conceal just as carefully as any of their activities.
Seven Veils: In most parts of the Inner Sea region, this holiday takes place on 7 Neth. It is a day-long celebration of diversity filled with dancing, feasting, and courting. The evening traditionally closes out with the Seven Veil masquerade, a ball wherein the participants wear disguises. At the end of the ball, the participants remove their partners’ disguises, often with unpredictable or delightfully awkward results. Sivanan worshipers count this among their most sacred days and conduct secretive rituals, the details of which they conceal just as carefully as any of their activities.
Symbol
Edicts
show the beauty in illusions, pursue the nature of truth, respect the need for secrets
Anathema
use illusions and shadows to harm another creature, reveal a secret you have sworn to keep
Areas of Concern
illusions, mysteries, reflections, secrets
Favored Weapon
bladed scarf
Domains
delirium, magic, secrecy, trickery
Alternate Domains
glyph
Divine Ability
Wisdom or Charisma
Divine Font
harm or heal
Divine Skill
Deception
Divine Classification
God
Church/Cult
Children
Aphorisms
The sayings of Sivanah’s faithful praise cleverness, extol the beauty of illusions, and meditate upon the nature of truth.Don’t try to blind a veiled one: The idea that one shouldn’t attempt to con a con artist has given rise to any number of variants of this saying, but worshipers of Sivanah make it their own with the suggestion that a lifetime spent misleading others gives one special insight into seeing through others’ attempts at deception.
Veils upon veils: Sivanah’s faith suggests that there may be no such thing as ultimate truth, and that the idea of such is an illusion. This aphorism reminds her worshipers that if they believe they have found absolute truth, they are most assuredly fooled by an illusion.
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