Sheela Peryroyl
Sheela Peryroyl is the halfling deity of Nature, Agriculture, and Weather. Her symbol is the daisy. Her sacred animal is the butterfly.
As with all halfling deities, Sheela Peryroyl has countless alternative local names.
Sheela is distant and somewhat aloof by the standards of halfling deities, being patron of the balance between work and play, both toil in the fields and celebration afterwards. She plays no favorites in the tension between pleasure and woe.
Sheela is generally depicted as a pretty halfling maiden with brightly colored wildflowers woven in her hair. She is quiet, though her face is smiling and her eyes are dancing. She may also be depicted as laughing. Her singing causes flowers to bloom, trees to bud, and seeds to sprout, and living plants grow and flower wherever her feet have touched the earth. She brings good weather when she is pleased, but may also summon droughts or floods if she is angry.
Sheela is allied with all of the halfling pantheon, which includes Yondalla, Arvoreen, Brandobaris, Cyrrollalee, and Charmalaine, but is closest to Urogalan, the grim Lord of the Earth. Other allies include Aerdrie Faenya, Baervan Wildwanderer, Hanali Celanil, Rillifane Rallithil, Segojan Earthcaller, and various Animal Lords. All nonevil nature deities value the cool, level-headed mind of Sheela Peryroyl, making her the perfect mediator when tensions rise up between them (presumedly including the rivalry between Ehlonna and Obad-Hai, or the enmity between Obad-Hai and Phyton). Among mortals, even some non-halflings honor Sheela Peryroyl before entering an important negotiation.
Sheela strongly opposes those gods she sees as corruptions of the natural order, including Urdlen and presumedly including Karaan.
In some communities, Yondalla, Sheela Peryroyl, and Cyrrollalee are seen as aspects of a single goddess.
Sheela's realm of Flowering Hill can be found in the Outlands. It consists of a single orchard and a wide farm, where the souls of those who worshiped her in life learn how to appease nature and their bellies at the same time.
Sheela teaches of the balance between the wild and the tame, the feral and the tended, and decrees that it is necessary to preserve the wilds to balance cultivated land. She is not opposed to changing natural landscapes, but believes this must happen through slow adaptation rather than crudely introducing upheaval to the land.
Of the halfling gods, Sheela is most loved after Yondalla herself. Sheela is worshiped by bards, druids, farmers, gardeners, halflings, and rangers.
Sheela's clerics and druids, who are known as the Green Children (Green Daughters and Green Sons), wear green robes. Novices to the priesthood are known as Seedlings. Green Children pray for spells at dawn. Their favored weapon is the sickle. They oversee disputes, sanctify marriages, heal blights, and protect their communities from beasts. They also ensure their communities treat the wilderness with respect.
Sheela's temples are open-roofed affairs constructed of stone and soil, with curtains of vines and arrangements of rocks and living plants. Animals roam freely among them, and there are patches of wildflowers, gardens, and weeds.
Sheela's holy festivals, known as Gatherings, are held when Luna is full. Gatherings are both religious festivals and communal feasts.
Other major festivals include the Seeding, which is celebrated during Planting, and the High Harvest, which is of course celebrated during Harvester.
During Gatherings, all members of the community are expected to bring seeds and produce from the most recent harvest. The site of the Gatherings changes every month, moving from community to community, in order to strengthen the bonds between neighbors. Halflings pray to Sheela during courtships, weddings, and galas.
During Seeding, a priest of Sheela Peryroyl dispenses seeds stored in the local temple to the farmers of the community while giving praise to the goddess. During High Harvest, offerings of seeds are made to the temple to be stored until the following year.
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