Lady of Dreams
Star Dreamer Desna
One of the first deities, but while her peers burdened themselves with the task of creating Gradus, she spent her time building the heavens. She knew that there would be plenty of time for her and her followers to explore the many wonders of the world later. She's changed little since those earlier days, and she and her followers delight in exploring the world.
Divine Domains
- Chaos
- Good
- Liberation
- Freedom
- Revolution
- Luck
- Curse
- Imagination
- Fate
- Travel
- Exploration
Holy Books & Codes
Writings sacred to Desna tend to be easily portable, written in simple language and often containing references to exotic, beautiful places and roads containing a shrine.
- The Eight Scrolls- These writings detail Desna's early days and the basic edicts of her faith.
- Shrine Wall Writings- Almost all Desnan shrines are covered with the observations and prayers of travelers and priests of her faith, containing the wisdom of the road and hints for the start of new journeys.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Desna generally communicates with her followers through dreams, sending images, feelings, or even prophecies that stick in the recipient's mind after waking. If there is not enough time for dreams, or they are otherwise unsuitable, she can send swarms of Butterflies, Sparrows, Dragonfliy, or Geese that fly in a four-pointed star shape. When displeased, she can withhold a restful sleep, make sure the mortal gets sore feet, has a travel accident, or that a messenger animal loses its way.
Tenets of Faith
- Edicts- aid fellow travelers, explore new places, express yourself through art and song, find what life has to offer
- Anathema- cause fear or despair, cast nightmare or use similar magic to corrupt dreams, engage in bigoted behavior
Clergy
The informal clergy of Desna is primarily composed of clerics, though on occasion bards are called by some song or whisper in the night to follow her path. In addition, Spherewalkers are paragons of the Desnan ideal: they see new sights each day and discover unheard of locales. Her clergy usually garb themselves in white robes with black trim and silk caps, highlighted by varied decorative elements (especially among priests of high status), and usually accompanied by one or more Starknives.Temples and shrines
Temples of Desna are few and far between, with most locations no more than roadside shrines erected in her honor. Travelers often leave markings and dedications in newly discovered areas and secluded locales. Those few temples that do exist often serve as observatories and are open to the night sky, with plentiful texts, charts, and instruments to help track the stars and determine astronomical events. Dedicated to the faith of Desna, seven bell towers are believed to have existed at one point throughout the Inner Sea. The seven towers represented the Seven Towers of Desna's palace and each tower housed a sacred Bell of Mercy. Pilgrimages to all seven towers were often undertaken by Desna's faithful.Holidays
The spring month of Desnus is named in honor of the goddess, although it is not a holiday.
- Ritual of Stardust- This holiday takes place on both the winter and summer solstices. When the ceremonial fires burn low, the faithful throw sand mixed with gems into the embers and make wishes and pledges for the months to come.
- Swallowtail Festival- Every year on the first day of the month of Rova, the followers of Desna release cages full of swallowtail butterflies, an act that honors a story told by the faithful.
Physical Description
Identifying Characteristics
Desna is a Varisian goddess often described as a beautiful Elven woman, with butterfly wings containing all the beauty of a clear night sky. She is often depicted as having dark hair, silvery eyes, and a coy but distant smile, wearing diaphanous gowns and sometimes accompanied by swarms of butterflies.
Additional details vary among the races that worship her; the Bonuwat people of the Mwangi Expanse worship a variant form of Desna, a janiform amalgam with Gozreh that they call Shimye-Magalla. The nomadic Kellid of northern Avistan depict Desna not as the elegant elven woman, but a stately human woman riding an Elk. The ancient Azlanti sometimes depicted her as a single star.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Early history
Senad is an ancient goddess of freedom and luck, and is credited with the creation of the heavens. According to the Windsong Testaments, she was one of the first eight deities of this pocket of reality. In her earliest days, the god Curchanus, an enemy of the goddess Lamashtu, was her mentor. Lamashtu laid a trap for Curchanus and stripped him of his Animal Domain, ripping it from his godly essence. As he died, he gifted Senad with the domain of travel; she has traveled the planes and worlds since, opposing both oppression and Lamashtu wherever she encounters them and spreading her word while making an effort to experience new wonders when she can. Creating and freeing deities Perhaps by chance, Senad has been involved in the creation or freeing of a number of minor deities. She is said to accidentally have freed Ghlaunder, the mosquito god of infection and parasites, from his cocoon on the Ethereal Plane. She has a half-mortal son with Cayden Cailean named Kurgess, and together they raised him to godhood. She is said to have accidentally created Black Butterfly by a pattern she unwittingly placed in the stars. The empyreal lord is even known as "Desna's Shadow".Invasion of the Abyss
A vengeful Senad killed the demon lord Aolar, known as the Lady of the Hunt, and destroyed her Abyssal fortress in 516 ZR after the Lady of the Hunt took control of the body of a recently deceased Desnan priestess to wreak death on the priestess' loved ones. This possession of heroes just after their deaths was Aolar's penchant, especially when the dead person's soul could witness the suffering caused. Aolar made many enemies in this way, including Calaedara, Taura , and Litzull, who all helped Senad in her vengeance. Calaedara's aid especially was key, as Senad's flagrant act nearly started a planar war: Calistria's politicking turned the allied demonic host, the Coalition of Chaos, against itself and averted an interplanar battle.Personality Characteristics
Likes & Dislikes
Desna is strongly opposed to Lamashtu due to the murder of Desna's one-time mentor, and wishes to reclaim the domain of beasts. She also actively hunts the demigod Ghlaunder, the Gossamer King, whom legends claim she accidentally freed from his cocoon. Cayden Cailean is known to be a suitor of hers, but she keeps aloof of most godly affairs; past traumas and her desire for freedom lead her into fewer interactions with other deities than most. She is involved in a polyamorous relationship with Sarenrae and Shelyn, and opposes both Rovagug and Zon-Kuthon for control of the night, which she wishes to be a time of wonder and beauty. Night Hag are known to bear an undying hatred for Desna and go out of their way to torment her followers, if possible even trying to steal their souls.
Desna is friendly with Elion, but his worshippers often found hers too flighty and unfocused to make discoveries. Nevertheless, the relationship between the two faiths improved as Elion's followers became interested in space travel. Despite their differences, Desna was friendly with Acavna; their devotees shared a holiday when the full moon appeared near a particular constellation, which was said to represent Desna and Acavna meeting and sharing stories.
Relationships
Wealth & Financial state
Unlike most of the other deities, Desna has no true realm in the Great Beyond, although she does occasionally travel to a small castle that floats above the rugged beauty of Edenverse . Her true home Cynosure, a demi-plane manifested on the Material Plane as a bright silvery-blue star. Her palace, the Sevenfold Cynosure , rests at the plane's heart, and exists simultaneously in Edenverse and Cynosure when Desna wills it to manifest in Edenverse.
Divine Classification
Ascended Fairy
Religions
Current Location
Species
Conditions
Realm
Church/Cult
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Goddess of Dreams, Luck, Stars, and Travelers
Spouses
Siblings
Children
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