Sehanine Moonbow

Daughter of the Night Skies, Goddess of Moonlight, the Lunar Lady, Moonlit Mystery, the Mystic Seer, the Luminous Cloud, Lady of Dreams

Symbol: Full moon with moonbow (opaque milky crescent)
Home Plane: Arvandor
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Portfolio: Mysticism, dreams, death, journeys, transcendence, the moon, the stars, the heavens, moon elves
Worshipers: Diviners elves half-elves, illusionists, opponents of the undead
Cleric Alignments: CG, CN, NG
Domains: Grave, Knowledge, Light
Favored Weapon: Moonshaft (quarterstaff)

Sehanine Moonbow is the elven goddess of death, dreams, heavens, journeys, moon (full moon to be precise), moon elves, stars, and transcendence as well as the most powerful female member of the Seldarine. She actively opposes the drow and their gods.
She watches over the dreams of the elves, keeping them from harm while in reverie and sending omens to protect them from future dangers. Sehanine watches over the passage of elven spirits from the world, and she is protectress of the dead. The Daughter of the Night Skies is also a guardian and guide to those elves whose days in the mundane world of mortals are done and who seek to travel from the lands they know and love to distant refuges such as Ever-meet. She also watches over such refuges and ensures they are kept safe from intrusion.
Sehanine governs long journeys, both physical and spiritual, and in elven cultures that proclaim the reality of reincarnation, Sehanine and Corellon work together to guide the spirit to its best subsequent incarnation as it works its way toward perfection.
The Lunar Lady is a very protective deity towards elves. She sends omens to keep her people from danger, crafting illusions around elven hideouts, and organizes the journeys for elves to other elven lands.

Appearance, Manifestations

In her avatar form, Sehanine Moonbow looked like a 5ft. tall youthful, ageless, female elf clad in a diaphanous gown, that looked like it was made of moonbeam and dropped moonbeam drops every 10 minutes, that could be bottled as potions of invisibility.
Another depiction of Sehanine was as a male elf. This depiction portrayed the Protector and Sehanine as lovers. Characteristic about Sehanine's willowy male form were his eyes. They showed a sense of melancholy and tenderness when he was depicted with Corellon.

Relationships & History

Sehanine Moonbow is a member of the Seldarine and has good relationships with the other members. She is the wife of Corellon Larethian and has at least one son, Tethrin Veraldé with him.
Sehanine Moonbow is an enemy of the Dark Seldarine. She opposed Lolth and was specifically hated by Vhaeraun for escaping his prison. She hates undead and her followers make it their duty to destroy these beings. She is intolerant towards necromancy in general.

Dogma

Life is series of mysteries whose secrets are veiled by the Luminous Cloud. As the spirit transcends its mortal bounds and new mysteries are uncovered, a higher form is achieved and the cycle of life continues. Through contemplation and meditation, communion with the Lady of Dreams is achieved. Through dreams, visions, and omens revealed in sleep or the reverie, the Daughter of the Night Sky unveils the next step along the path and the next destination on the endless journey of mystic wonder that is life and death and life. Revere the mysterious moon, who draws forth tides or being from us all.

Worshipers, Clergy & Temples

Sehanine's faithful view life as a series of mysteries veiled by Sehanine herself. The spirits of elves discover new mysteries once they transcend their mortal existences. Sehanine unveils the next step through dreams and visions revealed during the elven reverie. Worshipers of Sehanine revere the moon, claiming to feel it's pull in their souls like tides in the ocean.

Clergy

Sehanine's priests are the seers and mystics of elven society. They serve as the spiritual counselors to elves and half-elves who seek to embark on journeys in search of enlightenment so as to transcend their current state of being. As shepherds and protectors of the dead, Sehanine's priests organize and administer funeral rites and guard the remains of the fallen.
They seek out and destroy undead creatures, for Sehanine holds such creatures-with the notable exceptions of baelnorn and other good-aligned undead beings who voluntarily prolong their existence in order to serve their kin-to be blasphemous. As defenders of elven homelands, Sehanine's clergy are responsible for weaving and maintaining the illusions that guard those sanctuaries that remain and for divining potential threats to their continued existence. The prime task of adventuring priests is the retrieval of lost arcane and magical knowledge, especially if it pertains to illusions and/or divinations. Other seek out isolated elven enclaves, bringing them news of the Retreat and practical assistance in preparing for such a journey if they so choose. (Sehanine's priests do not provide any guidance along the journey itself, as this is done through direct intuitive revelation by the Lady of Dreams herself.)
Sehanine's temples are soaring monuments open only to elves and a few pious half-elves. Most such temples are constructed of white stone (often marble) and shaped so as to suggest imminent flight. Symmetry and circles are highly prized by the faith, reflected in the architecture of Sehanine's houses of worship. The central chapel is always perfectly circular and is usually open to the night sky or covered by a retractable or transparent dome. Great gardens and hedgerow mazes often encircle the main structure, their formations imitating the paths of the heavenly bodies in the night sky above. Near long-standing temples, megaliths form great stone circles for use in tracking the position of the moon, fixed stars, and wandering stars by elven astrologers.

Vestments

Members of Sehanine's clergy favor silvery-white diaphanous gowns (for the priestesses) and togas (for the priests). A silver diadem is worn on the head, oftentimes with a moonstone pendant dangling above the brow. Simple sandals are worn on the feet, and a silver lace sash is worn around the waist. The holy symbol of the faith is a moonbar crystal carved in the shape of a small flat disk (approximately three inches in diameter), and such devices are often worn around the neck on a delicate looking silver or mithral chain.
When traveling or adventuring, priests favor mail over leather armor, and most carry round shields whose unadorned, reflective fronts are polished mirror bright. Such armor is typically fancifully adorned, emphasizing the grace and bearing of the wearer. Senior priests are well known for the elaborate suits of elven chain mail or elven plate mail they favor. Staffs of the moonlight and rings of shooting stars are particularly prized.

Hierarchy

Novices of Sehanine are known as the Mooncalled. Full priests of the Daughter of the Night Skies are known as the Heavenly. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Sehanite priests are Stargazer, Moondancer, Sky Seer, Vision Seeker, Omen Teller, Dream Walker, Transcendentalist and Reverent Dreamer.

Temples

Sehanine's temples are soaring monuments open only to elves and a few pious half-elves. Most such temples are constructed of white stone (often marble) and shaped so as to suggest imminent flight. Symmetry and circles are highly prized by the faith, reflected in the architecture of Sehanine's houses of worship.
The central chapel is always perfectly circular and is usually open to the night sky or covered by a retractable or transparent dome. Great gardens and hedgerow mazes often encircle the main structure, their formations imitating the paths of the heavenly bodies in the night sky above. Near long-standing temples, megaliths form great stone circles for use in tracking the position of the moon, fixed stars, and wandering stars by elven astrologers.

Rituals

Clerics of Sehanine pray for their spells whenever the moon is fullest during the day.
Sehanine's faithful celebrate a wide variety of holy days, all of which are tied to the position of various heavenly bodies, particularly the phase of the moon and various types of eclipses. Many of these celebrations occur once per decade, once per century, or even once per millennium.
The most frequent celebrations of Sehanine's faithful are held monthly beneath the light of the full moon. Lunar Hallowings, as such holy days are known, are marked with personal meditation and collective entrance into a communal trance. On occasion, Sehanine manifests through her assembled worshipers, knitting together their spirits in a true sharing of minds. Such holy days are concluded with a joyous freeform dance beneath the most visible manifestation of the Goddess of Moonlight (the moon) that lasts until the first rays of dawn.
Once per year, Sehanine's faithful gather on the night of the Feast of the Moon for the Mystic Rites of the Luminous Cloud. Similar in many ways to the monthly Lunar Hallowings, the Mystic Rites of the Luminous Cloud are notable for the visible manifestation of the Lady of Dreams whereby the assembled worshipers are enveloped in a mantle of shimmering, silvery light that then rises up and darts across the heavens. During such mystical flights across the sky, the sacred mysteries of Sehanine are revealed to the participants, with each participant learning secrets appropriate to his current level of spiritual development. The ceremony concludes when the nimbus of light returns to the earth and the forms of Sehanine's worshipers coalesce.

Death and Funeral Rites

Elven funeral rites vary widely from community to community and from individual to individual, reflecting the nature of the departed spirit. If the elf has simply answered Sehanine's call, as opposed to death by accident or violence, death rituals are more often a celebration that the elf has achieved the joys of Arvandor than a time of mourning. In either case, if the body remains, the method of disposal varies as well. In some communities, the assembled mourners gather with great pomp to watch the body be interred in the ground, with examples of the late elf's artistry and passions displayed and speakers expounding on the merits of the deceased. Other elven societies bury the body immediately, regarding it as a mere husk from which the life force has departed. After disposing of the shell, they celebrate the spirit of the elf who once resided there. Still other elves believe that burning is the only way to truly rid the spirit of its earthly ties. Not only does it free the spirit for Arvandor, it also prevents anyone from using the body for nefarious purposes.

Orders

The Knights of the Seven Sacred Mysteries are well known for their service in defense of elven homelands from invaders as well as their ongoing efforts to retrieve tomes of long-lost elvish lore and items of elven artistry from the ruins of fallen realms. The order is composed of elves and a few half-elves, most of whom are of moon elven or gold elven ancestry, and it includes many crusaders, as well as a handful of clerics, fighters, and rangers, in its ranks. The order's entrance requirements are kept secret from nonmembers, but it is generally known that there are seven tiers in the order's hierarchy and that it can take a century or more of faithful service to Sehanine before the next mystery is revealed. Knights of the First Mystery are the lowest ranking members of the order, while Knights of the Seventh Mystery are some of the most powerful agents of Sehanine in the world.
The Sentinels of the Moonbow are a small fellowship of rangers pledged to the service of the Goddess of Moonlight. Sentinels watch over animals that may hold the reincarnated spirits of elves of ages past and that may once again assume elven form. These rangers in the service of Sehanine are also pledged to the tracking and destruction of undead creatures whose existence is a blight upon the land.
The Veiled Choir is a mysterious sisterhood of elven mystics whose very existence is obscured by a veil of legend, mystery, and rumor. Sisters of the Veiled Choir are renowned for their prophetic ability, and their visions are revealed in an unending chorus of song. Only a handful of these ancient elven seers are believed to exist, residing in ancient temples of the Lady of Dreams whose very existence has long been forgotten by even the Fair Folk. Young elves in search of adventure often attempt to find the sisterhood's oracular redoubts. On rare occasions a lucky and persistent elf discovers a Veiled Cantoria, but those who seek to simply follow in their footsteps always fail in their quest. The reward for reaching a sanctuary of the Veiled Choir is always the blessing of the Luminous Cloud and a mysterious prophecy, the unraveling of which may consume the rest of the recipient s life.

Divine Classification

Elven Intermediate Power