Hiatea

Hiatea (hee-AH-tee-uh) is the giant goddess of Nature, Agriculture, Hunting, Females, and Children. Her symbol is a flaming spear.
Hiatea takes the form of a tanned, lithe giantess with long legs, wearing leather armor and carrying a spear that flames on her command, a bow, and a quiver of arrows. Her hair is red-golden, and her large eyes are hazel-brown. She is sometimes said to have used her spear to slay an enormous hydra, preventing its heads from regenerating by cauterizing them with fire. She is strong, confident, and an exceptional hunter. Hiatea has two aspects. From her firbolg upbringing, she has an affinity for community, agriculture, and family. Once she discovered her true patrimony (another myth said it was due to Stronmaus' teasing), she reinvented herself as a mighty hunter and protector.
Hiatea is a daughter of Annam. Her mother was an unnamed sky goddess or, according to some myths, a mortal giant. Annam originally preferred sons over daughters, and used magic to ensure the gender of his offspring was male. Hiatea's mother hid her pregnancy from Annam and had her daughter raised by firbolgs so that Annam would never learn of her existence. When she came of age, a messenger was sent from her mother's deathbed to tell Hiatea of her true parentage. Hiatea proved herself with a series of daring feats, cumulating in an epic battle with a great monster, sometimes named as a Lernaean hydra with fifty heads and sometimes as the Tarrasque. She brought a trophy of her kill to her father, who recognized her valor and worth, accepting her as one of his own offspring. Upon learning of her existence, her brother Stronmaus celebrated by creating mighty storms that flooded the worlds and washed away great evils. Hiatea's other siblings or half-siblings include Skoraeus Stonebones, Surtr, Thrym, Grolantor, Karontor, Iallanis, Diancastra, and possibly Vaprak and Memnor.
Because of her patronage of the wood giants, Hiatea she has begun to develop real friendships with some of the elven deities, notably Solonor Thelandira, whom she often engages with in archery contests.
Hiatea lives in Woodhaven on the wild, rugged layer of Eronia on the plane of Elysium. She often journeys to the Beastlands on hunting expeditions, impressing all who dwell there.
Hiatea teaches that Nature is both creator and destroyer, and that admitting defeat is the worst shame a giant can bear. Still, some prices are too high to pay even for victory, for Hiatea is a goddess with tendencies toward good.
Hiatea is worshipped by giants of all species, especially females. Firbolgs and voadkyn (wood giants) of both genders are particularly fond of Hiatea, and consider her to be their special patron.
Hiatea's priests typically have one of two roles, although the boundary between the two can occasionally be fuzzy. There are the community priests ("priests of the steadings") who tend to agriculture and the raising, protection, and education of children; there are also the protector (or sentinel) priests who patrol woodlands and forests and keeping an eye on other races. Her voadkyn protector priests go out of their way to maintain relations with the wood elves. Among the firbolg, female clerics may be somewhat more numerous than male ones, though males and females are considered of equal merit in all of Hiatea's sects. The highest priests of Hiatea belong to no community, visiting the giant steadings only to issue orders to the priests of the community. Hiatea communicates frequently with her priests and shamans, sending omens in the form of distinctive shapes in the fires, or in flaming spheres within dying embers. Her community priests may see omens in the dreams of children. She may also send omens in the form of a gigantic (2-foot wingspan) yellow-gold moth that will spiral around flame. Her priests perceive messages in its path of flight. Those who capture the moth alive will be invisible in woodlands for days.
All of Hiatea's clerics must be capable of surviving and hunting in the wilderness. Those who lose this ability due to age, injury, or other ailment must retire.
Hiatea's favored weapon is the spear.
Once a month or so, the community priests accompany the sentinel priests and the faithful on a ceremonial hunt. Once a year, usually in the spring, they select a particularly challenging creature to kill. Making family decisions without consulting a community priest of Hiatea is considered a minor sin by the faithful.

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Goddess of firbolgs, voadkyn, nature, agriculture, hunting, fire, female giants, childbirth, and children Greater goddess

Alignment: Neutral Good

Domains: Animal, Community, Fire, Good, Moon, Plant, Sun, Weather

Symbol: Flaming spear

Hiatea (pronounced Hee-AH-tee-uh) is a dual-aspect goddess, as her mythic history befits. Her father Annam originally always valued sons over daughters, and if he was able to divine that one of his consorts was bearing his child, he would use magic to ensure that its gender was male. Because of this, Hiatea's mother concealed her pregnancy from Annam and, fearing his wrath, had her child hidden and raised by firbolgs, ignorant of her divine parentage. Hiatea thus has a strong affinity with community, agriculture, and the upbringing of the young, especially with her firbolg priests. However, on learning of her father's identity, she vowed to present herself to him as worthy of his acknowledgement. She undertook a series of arduous trials and quests, mostly in the woodlands where she honed her hunting skills. Thus, she has a much wilder (and more neutral-aligned) aspect as a goddess of nature, wild places, and hunting. Joining the two is a powerful concern with the balance of agriculture and settled communities with nature, wild things, and hunter-gatherers. Firbolgs often have this concern as a basis for their ecology as befits her most important servants and worshipers.

After she and her siblings developed an interest in the Jotunbrud, she claimed dominion over its hearths and fields, developing a strong influence over both agriculture and family life in the Jotunbrud society. Hiatea also has a small but deeply loyal following among the small giant-kin voadkyn and is happy to take these smaller folk under her wing. She has a genuine fondness for this race and, as a result, has begun to develop friendships with some of the elven deities, notably Solonor Thelandira, with whom she enjoys archery contests by her home in Elysium.

Hiatea is also the mother of Grond Peaksmasher, the god worshiped by the firbolgs of the Moonshae Isles. It is believed Hiatea gave Grond dominion over the firbolgs of the Moonshae Isles to teach him some responsibility while she turned her eye to other worlds.

Just after the war with the dragons reached its bitter conclusion, Stronmaus taunted Hiatea about her uselessness during the affair, prompting her to undergo a stunning transformation. To establish the might of her domain, Hiatea reinvented herself as an avenging huntress, capable of employing nature as a powerful weapon of destruction as well as a peaceful source of bounty. Though Stronmaus has since apologized for the incident, Hiatea has never forgotten it. She is now fiercely committed to maintaining a dual nature: nurturer and destroyer, reaper and sower.

Hiatea does not often send avatars to the Prime Material Plane, but she will certainly do so to protect small communities of firbolgs or voadkyn groups under attack from evil enemies (especially if these are evil giants or giant-kin). She may also send an avatar to hunt some monster of exceptional size or great cunning or which in some other way presents her with an unusual challenge (it is hard to find, hard to get to, etc.). She does however, communicate unusually often with her priests and shamans in the form of highly distinctive omens, most of which are somehow linked with fire. Such omens are usually dispatched to warn the wicked.

Hiatea's realm is Woodhaven. It is located in Eronia, the second layer of Elysium, in the heart of a great forest where oak trees grow larger than terrestrial redwoods. There her petitioners hunt with their patron, returning in the evenings to great longhouses where her gift of community and family is celebrated every night.

Action Girl: In order to prove her worth to her father, Hiatea performed a series of daring and heroic feats, which culminated in an epic battle with a great monster, variously identified as either a fifty-headed lernaean hydra or a massive tarrasque of singular size and strength. She ultimately overcame and defeated the monster so that she could bring it as a trophy to her father, who then accepted her valor and worth. From time to time, she manifests herself in the Prime Material Plane to hunt some notoriously ferocious creature.

Amazonian Beauty: Hiatea appears as a tanned, lithe, long-legged giantess who wears leather armor and always carries a spear, bow, and quiver of arrows. Her golden-red hair is tied back from her face, clearly exposing her large brown-hazel eyes. Archer Archetype: She carries a longbow +5 with triple the normal range and a quiver of +3 arrows.

Classical Hunter: Hiatea is the giant goddess of hunting, and all of her priests must be capable of hunting. She's an exceptional huntswoman, as her sojourns in the Beastlands impress on all who dwell there. Approximately once per month, the priests of the steadings accompany the sentinel priests and the faithful on a ceremonial hunt. Once per year (usually in the spring), the party selects a particularly challenging creature to hunt in this fashion.

Ethnic Goddess: Hiatea is the patron goddess of the firbolgs and voadkyn, two giant-kin races, and will on rare occasions send an avatar to dispatch assistance to her devotees, such as protecting small communities of firbolgs or voadkyn groups under attack from evil enemies (especially if these are evil giants or giant-kin). Firbolgs are regarded as her most important servants and worshipers, as she was raised by them and was thus instilled with a strong affinity with community, agriculture, and the upbringing of the young. She is the only member of the Ordning still worshiped by the voadkyn after they fled the Ice Spires several centuries ago, and is happy to take these smaller folk under her wing. As such, she has a small but deeply loyal following among them. Her creed instructs that, although giant-kin are not of the blood and can never claim an equal status in Jotunbrud society, they are of the faith and should always be welcome in the steadings.

Forest Ranger: Followers of Hiatea who specialize in the role of "protector priests" spy around the edges of their communities, patrolling natural woodlands and forests and especially keeping an eye on other races (with voadkyn, this means in part going out of their way to maintain relations with wood elves). They live alone (or in small groups), and act as sentries and guardians for the various giant steadings. Though there is no disgrace in joining the "urban" faction (known as "community priests", who tend to agriculture and the raising, protection, and education of children), the wilderness priests are considered closer to the goddess. Hiatea is said to select these sentry priests herself, subtly steering them into her service.

Goddess of Fire: Hiatea is the giant goddess of fire and most of her omens are commonly in the form of pyromancy. Burning buildings, flaming spears, fiery auras encircling familiar objects, and flame beetles are all commonly employed. The sign of a flaming sphere within dying embers is a cardinal pointer to some important and imminent event. One special messenger of Hiatea is unique and worthy of note: to priests practicing pyromancy, she may send a unique yellow-gold moth (with a wingspan of some 2 feet) that will spiral around the flame, and from its path of flight the priest can decipher a message from Hiatea. If the priest is of at least 5th level, they can capture and swallow the moth alive, and if they do this they will be invisible in woodlands for 1d4 + 2 days.

Green Thumb: Hiatea can cast entangle, plant growth, plant door at will. She can also use the priest spells from the druidic spheres. Hunter of Monsters: Hiatea originally vowed to prove her prowess and worth to her father by performing heroic feats in battle, which culminated in her killing a great monster (either a fifty-headed lernaean hydra or a massive tarrasque) and presenting its head or heads to Annam. From time to time, she manifests herself in the Prime Material Plane to hunt some unusually challenging monster. Inescapable Net: Hiatea also carries a number of magical nets which she can throw up to 120'. Victims caught within a net must make a successful saving throw versus spell at -4 or be affected by the magic of the net (typically, she has nets of feeblemind, weakness (reverse of strength), and petrification).

Multiple-Choice Past: Hiatea's mother is usually identified as an unnamed sky goddess, who also gave birth to her younger sister Iallanis after Annam permitted the birth of daughters after Hiatea had proved her worth to him. However, at least one other tradition instead stated that her mother was a mortal giantess, and that Hiatea first learned of her divine parentage from a messenger sent from her mother's death bed.

Nature Hero: Hiatea's creed teaches that nature is both creator and destroyer, and all of her priests must be capable of hunting and surviving in the wilderness. Any priest who loses these capabilities due to age, injury, etc. must immediately stand down.

Playing with Fire: As the giant goddess of fire, Hiatea is proficient in pyromancy and most of her omens are somehow linked with fire. She can set her spear aflame on command, and her symbol is believed to be derived from the great battle in which she slew the vast hydra by cauterizing its severed stumps in order to prevent its heads from regenerating.

Psychic Dreams for Everyone: One of her omens involves sending messages into the dreams of children, which are then received by her "community priests".

Statuesque Stunner: Hiatea is an approximately 70' tall giantess, which makes her the third tallest member of the Ordning, behind only her brother Stronmaus (80' tall) and father Annam (100'+ tall).

Member

Giant Pantheon

100

Hiatea

100