Gaia

Divine Rank: Greater Deity
Alternate Names: Tiamat, The Primordial Mother, Mother Nature, Mother of Serpents

Primary Authority: Life

Secondary Authorities: Nature, Motherhood, Love, Monsters, Chaos

Description:

Gaia is the ancient mother of all life, chaos and nature incarnate.
She has been within The Crystal Sphere since its foundation and has been a thorn in the side of The Triumvirate. Gaia is the origin of all mortal life within the brass realms. Every lifeform can trace their ancestry back to Gaia. Even mortal races made by gods are formed from templates taken from one of Gaia's descendants.
Gaia's progeny is uniquely capable of producing souls, and this is the reason why some amount of chaos is needed for life to flourish; much to the annoyance of the forces of Law.

Gaia holds a hatred for order and civilization, ever since the eradication of the Firstborn. She opposes law and order and wishes to return all life to her bosom, to a primal way of being.

Followers:

Gaia welcomes all, even those that none other wants. She loves any and all living beings as her children, no matter how accursed and broken they are, and will shelter and tend to them if only they come to her. However her children have vastly differing opinions on civilisation, life and their place in the world.
Gaia herself does not take overly kindly to order of any kind. As such her church is disparate and much less unified than the church of other gods.
The Priests of Gaia, also known as "nature priests" are very closely related to druids.

Moderates
Most priest of Gaia live in cities and rural villages. They often serve as teachers and healers, striving to upkeep the good health and moral character of the community. They often have a particular conviction to take care of orphaned children which earns them a lot of respect.

Puritans
Puritans of Gaia see themselves as protectors of life and nature. Many of them seee life as so precious that they refuse to kill animals or eat meat. However when Puritans of Gaia perceive nature to be threatened, they can become very violent very quickly.

Radicals
The most extreme priests of Gaia reject civilization and see it as a crime against the natural order, a mental disease that has gripped humanity and needs to be stopped. They return to nature and leave behind constraining rules, and fight them whenever they are imposed upon them. They live in the wild like animals, becoming part of nature and returning to humanity's 'natural state', becoming part of the food chain and the cycle of life.

Needless to say the individual branches of the church clash regularly and sometimes violently.

Clerical mandates:

Vow of Poverty
No unnecessary riches. No houses, no jewelry, no gold or gems unless it is to venerate the gods. If money is necessary to achieve a greater purpose, so be it, but never is material wealth the goal.
Vow of Fecundity
Go Forth and Procreate.
Vow of Honor
Clerics are expected to behave themselves with honor. To keep their promises, to accept surrender from their enemies, to stand for the values of their god, until death if necessary.
Mandate of Life
Life is precious and must be treasured and honoured, never wasted.
Mandate of the Shepherd
You must nurture Life and help it grow and advance. At least one cumulative day a week shall be dedicated to this goal.

Appearance:

Gaia is the only greater deity to regularly meddle with the mortal worlds personally. She also often tries to manifest aspects of herself in the world.
As a result Gaia is always depicted in one of two ways; As a beautiful matronly figure, inviting and loving, or as a wild, chaotic monster of titanic size.
Neither is incorrect.