Sidduril
"And when He realized what his daughter had done, the God Milcon howled. His grief and horror darkened the heavens and shook the foundations of all the Realms." —The Heavenly Codex, "The Book of Milcon"
The Princess of Flowers (a.k.a. The Dying Goddess)
Sidduril is an ancient goddess long forgotten from most mortal rituals and cosmologies. She appears only briefing in the Heavenly Codex's "Book of Milcon", where she is said to be the wife of Milcon, the Heavenly Council's god of death. According to the myth, Sidduril and Milcon had a child, a daughter named Zaguna. Zaguna became corrupted and tried to kill her mother with a poisoned noose. Though Sidduril did not immediately perish, she is said to exist now in a state between life and death, forever locked inside her corporeal form. In this form, Sidduril acts as a powerful metaphor for mortality and an example of a divine being that suffers just as mortals do. Though few cultures actively worship her, she remains an important part of the mythic tapestry of the Heavenly Council and the eschatological prophecies regarding the coming Era of Twilight.
Divine Domains
Though few pray directly to Sidduril, she is considered by both followers of the Heavenly Council and the Prime Titans to be the goddess of death, rebirth, the seasonal cycles, flowers, grief, widows, and widowers. Her divine domains are Life and Grave.
Holy Books & Codes
Sidduril is briefly mentioned in the Heavenly Codex's "Book of Milcon", though most of the book is passing mentions that have more to do with proper treatments for mortally injured patients, the dying, and embalming rituals.
Sidduril is referred to within the Titan's Creed, particularly in the recounting of the War of the Titans and the aftermath. The Titan's Creed also gives us the account of Sidduril's creation/birth and some information about how the earliest mortal cults may have worshiped her.
A few cultures have more detailed and varied accounts of Sidduril. In Teroa, Sidduril is believed to be able to still perform miracles and guide her followers even in her injured state. Here, she is considered a truly reborn goddess, with divine powers over life and death that rival her husbands. Accounts of her divinity and instructions on how to properly worship her are recorded in the ancient Oracle of Chibalba.
Finally, in what few accepted works regarding Heavenly Council's teachings on the Twilight Era, Sidduril is considered a critical part of the Final Dooms's narrative. These prophecies claim that one day just before the Final Dooms, Milcon will be called away from Sidduril to participate in the War of the Twilight. Sidduril will suffer unimaginable torments along with the rest of mortality. Yet, after her husband and all the other Gods of the Council have fallen, Sidduril will rise once more in the depths of the Underworld and lead those chosen mortals that remain within the Unseen Realm to build a new place free of pain or want or fear.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Sidduril's divine symbol is a lotus flower. Her sacred colors are jade and honey-orange.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Sidduril is rarely described or depicted except in the oldest writings and art of Holos. When shown, it is usually after being killed by her daughter, Zaguna, and she is depicted as a corpse or woman wrapped in funerary shroud before burial. Occasionally, cults dedicated to the Prime Titans will depict Sidduril simply as a hummingbird, blessing the world's loveliest flowers with color, fertility, and rebirth.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Sidduril was born to the Prime Titans in the eons of the Early Dawn Era. With the seed of Takuroa, the Ocean Titan and the womb of Papatuá, the Earth Titan; Sidduril emerged a clay vessel filled with the Waters of Life. Maku'ika, the Fire Titan, warmed Sidduril's heart to beat; Ara'tio, the Air Titan filled her lungs with breath. Sidduril was raised in an uncommon moment of harmony amid an age of Chaos and destruction between the Primordial Elements. When the War of the Titans exploded between the Gods of the Heavenly Council and the Primordials, it was Sidduril that sowed peace between the two factions. She gave each side a flower, a reminder of their enduring commitment to unity in the face of differences and divisive energies.
Upon seeing this kindness, the God Milcon feel deeply in love with Sidduril, and the two were married. Soon, they had a child together they named Zaguna, and the hope that she would bring the Dawn Era into a new age of prosperity. Yet this was not to be. Zaguna was corrupted by the evil Goddess Rheseldar through some unknown means. Rheseldar gave Zaguna a poisoned noose which the young goddess wrapped around her mother's neck as Sidduril slept. Zaguna tightened the knot and Sidduril struggled and cried out for her husband. Milcon arrived at the commotion and was stricken with horror. Desperate that his eyes be deceived, he asked Zaguna what she was doing. When Zaguna hesitated, Milcon let out a terrible scream, one so great it gave all the Gods of the Heavenly Council a slight deafness. The scream's force was so great, his tongue was torn from his mouth and he was rendered eternally silent. At this, Zaguna ripped Sidduril's femur from her body and struck Milcon with it before fleeing the Celestial Mountains. After being finally captured, she was brought to the new dark realms of the Burning Labyrinths where she was transformed into the Demon Queen she is known as today.
Yet Zaguna did not succeed in killing Sidduril. The noose slackened, Sidduril was able to breath once more, but the poison that had coated the silk wormed its way deep into the Goddess's flesh. Milcon did everything he could to cure her of the poison, but it was no use. Sidduril remained legless, forever locked within her corporeal form and quietly writhing in agony. Since that day, Milcon must continually remain near his wife, attending to her injures with a potion of hemlock, honey, and milk of the poppy. This soothes the goddess's pain by giving her a small death and allows her some relief until her divine nature forces her back into the grip of utter woe.
According the those who believe the Tale of Twilight, one day, Milcon will be called away from Sidduril to participate in the War of the Twilight. Sidduril will suffer unimaginable torments along with the rest of mortality. Yet, after her husband and all the other Gods of the Council have fallen, Sidduril will rise once more in the depths of the Underworld and lead those chosen mortals that remain within the Unseen Realm to build a new place free of pain or want or fear. But until that time, Sidduril lies in wrapped torture far beneath the gilded halls of the Celestial Mountains only seen to by her doting husband, the Silent Attendant himself.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Though created by the union of all Four of the Prime Titans, Sidduril has had little connection between them following the Peace of the War of the Titans. Cults dedicated to the Titans usually worships her as a more expressly fertility-specific deity compared to Papatuá.
Family Ties
Sidduril is the wife of Milcon, the God of Death in the Heavenly Council's pantheon. She remains by his side as he Silently Attends to her wounded and dying corporeal form deep within the bowels of the Celestial Mountains at the place called "The Garden of the Dead."
Sidduril is the mother of Zaguna, the Demon Queen of the Unspoken Six. Sidduril's last interaction with Zaguna was when the young then-goddess murdered her. It is unclear if Sidduril seeks revenge or if Zaguna desires to finish her work.
Divine Classification
Deity
Religions
Alignment
Neutral Good
Current Location
Church/Cult
Honorary & Occupational Titles
The Dying Goddess; Daughter of Earth; The Betrayed;
Circumstances of Birth
Born in a single moment of harmony between the Primordial Elements of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air.
Circumstances of Death
Strangled to near-death by her daughter Zaguna with a poisoned, silken noose
Children
Current Residence
The Garden of the Dead (The Underworld)
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments