The Veldriss's Shadow (Vel-DRISS)

Pet of the Goddess

Written by J. L. Gryphon

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Ambient sounds courtesy of tosha73 and EminYILDIRIM

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Greetings to those below. I am Death, though Azrael is the name I prefer. Must it come to this? That snake is still dining on other snakes and lounging on pillows! Honestly. Of all the lazy, impossible—fine, then.

I will just discuss the title, and we will discuss the . . . individual . . . next time. So then, just as I did for the Veldriss, this will be about what the people believe the Veldriss’s Shadow to be. What is her role in this religion we have so far explored?

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Origins of a Shadow

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by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

As I explained last time, the idea of the Realm of Velherr is a bit nebulous in terms of design. However, the tale of how the Veldriss and her shadow met does offer some insight into a piece of it.
The first volume of the Velherr Tenants, Origins of the Goddess, touches briefly on the Veldriss’s time in the Realm of Velherr before her descent to Orosta. According to the text—which I have graciously read on your behalf despite my misgivings—the Veldriss temporarily fled her divine palace while she was still young. The text only briefly debates why she fled, but the general consensus is because she, even then, was conflicted over the divine tradition’s mandate to not interfere with the Orostian mortals. In any case, she found herself wandering in a dark forest. The darkness surrounded her, seeming to move of its own accord as if it were almost alive. The goddess was not afraid, but she did question the darkness, saying if it truly was alive, then it was duty bound to grant her one wish. Receiving no reply, she spoke her wish anyway.
“I am alone,” she said. “Grant me a companion who will show me the way home.”
So it was that a snake slithered into view. Her scales were as black as the surrounding darkness, but her belly gleamed a brilliant ruby red. The Veldriss admired the snake’s beauty, kneeling down to greet her. The snake then whispered in her mind:
I will be your companion. I will show you the way home.
So it was the Veldriss accepted the snake’s offer and named her Ssā. She granted Ssā a single drop of her divine power by mingling her essence with the snake’s blood, forever binding them together. From then on, Ssā lived as her constant, faithful shadow.
But it wouldn’t be until the Veldriss’s descent to Orosta that she understood the full extent of Ssā’s offer. I will show you the way home, the snake had said. Many believe, and the Velherr Tenants confirm, that it was Ssā who gave the Veldriss the courage—maybe even the idea itself—to defy divine tradition and become Orosta’s savior. So it was Ssā did show the goddess the way home—the way to her true home on Orosta among her adopted children.

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The Shadow Thief

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by J. L. Gryphon via Artbreeder

That does bring me to the Veldriss’s Shadow’s role in all this, though. When the Veldriss shared a drop of her divine power with the snake, what exactly did that do?
Well, it granted the snake the ability to transform.
I have discussed shadowstealing in the past, and essentially that is what the people of Orosta understand the Veldriss’s Shadow to be capable of. There are some differences, though. Being the Veldriss’s Shadow, she is believed to have command over all other shadows and thus may use them to transform into what she will at her pleasure. This is far different from the typical shadowstealer who is limited in their power; therefore, the snake is considered to be the ultimate shadowstealer. She is believed to be the embodiment of a shadowstealer’s talents in their purest form. Some even believe all other shadowstealers somehow stem from her, though of course in a lessened, impure form.
So then, while her true form and nature will always be that of a snake, she may appear to the Veldriss’s worshippers in many different forms. The most common form she tends to take is that of a naked human woman with wild black hair. You may only recognize the truth of her identity by her reptilian black eyes that never change no matter what form she takes.

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Shadows & Mirrors

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by creatifrankenstein from Pixabay

Here we come to her role in the Religion of Velherr. It’s in the name how connected the Veldriss’s Shadow is to the goddess; therefore, some believe the snake to be an extension of the goddess herself. Her black eyes reflect just like a mirror. So to do they see like a mirror, a belief which eventually gave birth to the common phrase:

“As the snake’s eye watches, so does the goddess.”

—Veldriss worshippers

This is why among the Veldriss’s worshippers, the sighting of a snake is believed to be a good omen, a sign of the goddess’s blessing. Sometimes the Veldriss’s Shadow will actually visit a person’s private dwelling in response to a particularly desperate prayer. After being fed an offering of food—usually another snake—the Veldriss’s Shadow will serve as a link between the worshipper and the goddess so the worshipper might beseech the goddess directly. With this in mind, you can see how the Veldriss’s Shadow is understood to be a representative for both the goddess and her followers. She serves the role of herald, ambassador, and even advocate for those who seek the goddess’s love.
Similarly, in public appearances, while the goddess herself never shows her face, the Veldriss’s Voice will wear the Veldriss’s Shadow draped over his shoulders as a symbol of the goddess’s eternal presence.

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Shadowy Connections

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by ayoub wardin from Pixabay

But, all this to say, all this talk of darkness and snakes no doubt has some of you on edge, those below. Indeed, as far as I understand it, where you come from, the snake is not often viewed in a positive light and is even used as a symbol for evil sometimes. It must be hard to wrap your head around the people’s understanding of the Veldriss’s Shadow with this in mind. Wouldn’t they find her creepy, you must be asking? Wouldn’t they be frightened of her? A snake with the same intelligence as a person? Whoever heard of such an unnatural thing?
Well, you would be right about the last part, at least. I adore animals of all kinds, but it is obvious that while animals do have thoughts and feelings and deserve our respect and care, an animal is not the same as a person, at least in terms of the mind’s complexity. So then, the fact Ssā has risen above thoughts of survival, the fact she exists outside the pull of instinct, is . . . odd. Dare I say disturbing on some level?
Let me put it this way. While it might seem wonderful at first glance to think of animals understanding us, the next time you are with your pet, imagine for just a moment that a light turns on in their eyes—a distinctly human light in a face that is not human. Doesn’t the hair stand up on your neck at the thought? At least a little bit? They call that the uncanny valley in your land, I believe. And that is what it is like to gaze into the eyes of Ssā. A snake that knows. A snake that absolutely understands. A snake that is not innocent.
You see, there is a reason I have been waiting for Ssā to slither off her pillow before I discuss her. Unlike the others who I know well or am content to leave a mystery, Ssā is different. After reading the Velherr Tenants for you all, there are a few . . . questions I have for her. Questions that need answering. So I will wait. One more week. If she is still on her pillow by then, well, I’ll just have to drag her off.

Signed your unamused narrator,
Azrael the Star of Death

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Book Information

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To learn more, hop on over to the books page OR hop on over to the teaser and get a sneak peek of Chapter 1! For more articles like this one, have a peek at my Worldbuilding Journal and explore Orosta.

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Related Articles

Image by J. L. Gryphon via Artbreeder

Religious Significance
Religious figure
Alternative Names

• Ssā the Snake
• The Goddess's Pet
• The Shadow Thief
• The Snake
• The Serpent
• The Cannibal

Related Species
Elves
Tressians
Jeenta
Undine
Hags
Hok
Rill
Gigantes
Related Ethnicities
Rhyonian
Zurrinaih
Official Languages
Zishlyn
Orostian

Species

Red-Bellied Black Snake

Ethnicity

Rhyonian

Realm

The Realm of Velherr

Church/Cult

The Religion of Velherr

Date of Birth

Unknown

Birthplace

The Realm of Velherr

Current Residence

The White Citadel

Gender

Female

Eyes

Black

Belief/Deity

The Religion of Velherr

Aligned Organization

The Religion of Velherr

Other Affiliations

• House Anastil
• Sicarius

Related Myths

• The Black Unicorn
• The Goddess's Banquet
• The Morsus Swamp
• The Tressian Myth

The Realm of Velherr
The Void