Mara
Goddess of Love and Beauty
In both Human and Aldmeri Pantheons, Mara is a goddess representing marriage, art, natural beauty, music, fertility, agriculture, and compassion. Mother Mara is the most commonly worshipped deity in the known world, with aspects in nearly every pantheon.Mother Mild
Her most common aspect is Mara: Divine of Love and Beauty in the Imperial Cult. The most sacred rites of her clergy are to officiate marriages and to act as midwives. Her worshippers bring flowers to float in a font of holy water. Her holiday is Appreciation Day, where mothers are honored and doted on.Mother of Loss
Imperial tradition holds that when the Divines were at war with the Daedra at the Dawn of Time, the mortals for whom the Divines fought to protect were disappearing one by one. A great serpant was swallowing them while they were vulnerable, in hiding from the war in heaven, and they did not know how to make more of themselves. Shezarr, the spirit of human undertaking heard their pleas and came down from the fray to investigate. When He discovered what the serpent was doing, He begged the mortals' forgiveness, for the serpent was His hunger given flesh, and a part of Him. He could not kill it for them, but He know who could help! Shezarr called Mara down from the war to aid them. Mara war the skin of a wolf, and bore a mighty spear, for she was wilder in her youth. When She stabbed the serpent in the side, Shezarr fell over, bleeding from his side as well. When she hesitated to attack again, He begged the goddess to finish it off so that the mortals may live. Unwilling to sacrifice Her friend, She instead sliced open Shezarr's stomach to free the beast's soul from his body, killing the serpent in the process. From his open belly a trail of stars flew out and circled overhead, still starving. Mara grabbed the star-serpent by its tail and spun it around Her head eight times before flinging it into sky. There, the star-serpent slithered and fled to avoid being trampled underfoot in the raging battle. Shezarr bled and slumped over, so Mara fed the snake's skin tail-first into its own mouth and stuck it into Shezarr's wound. He was healed, and no longer hungered. But his stomach was replaced by rot, and He knew He would die soon, and that was good. He thanked Mara for allowing Him to live just a little longer. Mara looked at Her friend and upon the shivering mortals who were so few already. She realized She would have to show them how to make more of themselves and multiply. With Shezarr beneath Her, She demonstrated to the mortals the secrets, and mankind was soon born from the educated mortals. Mara had become pregnant and could not return to war. Shezarr, weakened from the battle with the servent, went back to protect the world from the darkness. When She later gave birth, she wept, for Her child was Arkay, and with the birth of Death, She knew that Shezarr had fallen in battle.Mara the Wolf
Artifacts
Mara's Skirt
- A crimson garment said to increase its wearer's vitality.
- A crimson garment said to protect its wearer from malevolent magics.
Divine Classification
Aedra, Divine
Religions
Church/Cult
Children
