The Gentle,
the Compassionate,
the Wise,
the Merciful,
White Lady,
Queen of Heaven
Morwyn (MORE-win) is the lawful good goddess of
healing, wisdom, peace, forgiveness, mothers, childbirth,
and mercy. From her come charitable instincts and acts of
contrition, mercy, and redemption. She is the Queen of
Heaven, and her name is therefore usually invoked first in
lists of the gods.
She is associated with the lamb, for she would have all
people be as gentle as lambs. She is also sometimes associated
with dogs, for long ago she turned wicked men into dogs
rather than smite them, and it is said that all dogs are still
grateful to her for this.
So it is that dogs often make excellent
shepherds of lambs, as it is the only way they can manage
to repay Morwyn’s kindness. In the sky she is likened to
the white dove. As she is the peaceful lady in white among
the gods, the dove is the peaceful white bird of the heavens.
Finally, she is associated with the winged serpents—the
couatl—creatures of the greatest beauty, wisdom, and virtue.
Morwyn is shown as a tall woman with long black hair
and brown, olive, or deeply tanned skin. Attired in flowing
white robes, she shines like a star. There is often a silver
circlet on her brow, with a single gem in its center. She has a
motherly nobility in all representations, for she was the first
ever to bear a life in her womb.
Usually, she is shown with a
warm smile, though sometimes she has the regal bearing of a
queen. She nearly always bears a deep resemblance to Rontra,
and seems to be a younger version of the Grandmother.
Although she is often represented by a white lamb, two
simpler symbols are more commonly used to represent
the goddess. There is no division in the church surrounding
the use of them; it is merely a matter of personal
preference. One is a wreath of white blossoms. This can
be figurative or real, with some clerics wearing painted
symbols of white wreaths, while others adorn themselves
in actual garlands of cherry blossoms. Wreaths have been
worn of old by peacemakers, and those negotiating under
truce.
The other is a crystal tear, meant to remember the
tears shed by Morwyn over the corpses of her brothers
long ago. This is a very practical symbol, and the one most
clerics most often wear around their necks. Also, it is the
simplified form one uses when it must be made in haste,
or etched on small surfaces. The symbol is sometimes
extended to three teardrops formed into a triangle, with
one drop on top and two below.
All five mortal races revere Morwyn. The people who
hold her in the highest esteem are mothers, healers, and
those in desperate need of succor or forgiveness. However,
as the Queen of Heaven and goddess of wisdom, she is
also revered by those who lead, though they are not noble.
Mayors of towns, for instance, or town council members,
say prayers to Morwyn for guidance, for she was not the
strongest of the gods, nor the most powerful, yet she was
given the reins of leadership and held them well. Most
folk, though, see Morwyn as a reminder of how much
better they could or should be, and take her teachings to
be for saints, not common people.
Perfect Goodness
Morwyn’s motives are pure, and can only be described
as truly good. She loves all mortals, and desires to see
them thrive and do well, but she holds a special place in
her heart for the kind and gentle. She is a guardian of
the downcast, but even more, a guardian of those who
spend their lives caring for the downcast.
While her
husband Terak protects the weak and frail, Morwyn seeks to
create a world in which they do not need protection. Her
all-consuming purpose is to move the world toward
goodness, and see the hearts of mortals shift toward decency
over desire, peace over power.
Because of this, she doesn’t spend a great deal of time
concerning herself directly with those who are weak and
cannot care for themselves, or those who live in isolation
doing no harm. Rather, she spends her energy guiding
the powerful of all races toward caring for the injured
and indigent. Her chosen people are healers, municipal
leaders, mothers—people who have day-to-day power
over lives and who, if evil, might work the most longterm mischief.
Morwyn believes the Nameless One created the
universe so that it will constantly progress toward
perfection. It is inevitable, in her view, that goodness
will prevail. The question is how much pain, darkness,
and misery the gods and mortals must wade through
before this perfect state is achieved. She believes that
in every epoch, good and evil come into great conflict,
and eventually good will prevail so mightily it will
thrust the universe into perfection. Morwyn works to
move events toward that state; she fears there might
be several more disastrous conflicts before it will come
to pass.
The world might go through another decimation of its
races (as the div have been decimated and
banished), the gods might die, or the entire order of
the gods may fail, to be replaced by another. Morwyn
believes if good is weak in the world, these cycles will
be more devastating, as the Nameless One’s creation
shudders toward perfection.
Among the gods, Morwyn is called queen and elder,
but rarely wields this authority, particularly because she
has decreed that no one god rules over the others. She
seeks to move the gods’ hearts toward good, and agreed
to things like the Compact because she knows she cannot
command the chaotic gods.
Rather, she hopes the Compact
and other acts of the gods will draw them together
against evil. She does not suffer from pride in these matters,
and uses any honorable method to bring the gods and
the mortal races to the path of virtue.
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