Chauntea, The Great Mother

Deity, Core Pantheon

Chauntea was the deity of life, agriculture and fertility. Worship of her can often go alongside The Dawnfather as a deity who represents where nature meets civilisation to prosper.

Description

Chauntea is not given a humanoid depiction as she is believed to represent the earth itself. An embodiment of the land, fields of grain, apple orchards, grape vineyards, etc.
Her presence is described as warm and reassuring, like a motherly embrace. Her voice is described as elderly and kind, though very few have heard it.

Activities

Chauntea controls the land and to some extent, the weather. She ensures fields get enough sunlight and rainfall to grow, that the land is fertile for farming and harvest, and that food will last through winters. She is not alone in these powers however, and she is in constant conflict with deities like Talos who brings harsh storms, and Zehir who brings disease and famine.
Chauntea was good allies with Pelor, The Dawnfather and Selune, The Lunar Guide, deities of the Sun and Moon. She once had much more involvement in wild nature, though this became the domain of The Wildmother and the Primal Spirits

History

Chauntea was believed to be one of the oldest deities in the Everplanes along with Selune, Shar and Mystra.
See The Creation Myth.
Chauntea had a lot of responsibility in the early days of the Everplanes, being the sole deity of life for a short while. While Chauntea made the Everplanes habitable for human life, she also created an environment for deities to be created or born.
See Divine Sparks.
One such spark was found in the core of the Sun she brought from the Plane of Fire. This became Pelor, The Dawnfather.
During the Days of the Divines, Chauntea split a part of her divinity into an Aspect known as The Wildmother. This allowed Chauntea to nurture the developing mortal races while The Wildmother become the patron of wild nature.
Chauntea did not participate in many divine conflicts. As the goddess of the earth and its people, she remained hidden for the safety of her followers.
During The Divine War, The Cloaked Serpent and his followers assailed The Great Garden during a solar eclipse, leaving her defenseless. Zehir's attempt on the Great Mothers life was not successful, but instead left a disease ridden wound that it took Pelor a long time to heal.
In the time since The Cataclysm, she has recovered but her gardens hold a scar from this attack.

Worshippers

Chauntea is worshipped by civilians working in agriculture or manufacture of food. Those who worship nature have turned their attentions to The Earthmother and the Primal Spirits.
Private landowners and destitute farmers visited the clerics of Chauntea for any divine suggestions for aiding the harvest. If at any time plague or drought struck the crops, farmers looked to Chauntea, since they hoped she would save the harvest.
The church was kind and welcoming and Chaunteas clerics and druids wore very simple attire, resembling brown cloaks or robes and a cloth-white tunic.

Beliefs

Some farmers will question how effective worship of Chauntea actually is, often using a failed harvest as an example of gaps in her reach.
It is an incredibly bad omen even speak the name of The Cloaked Serpent near a farm or a holy site of Chauntea.

Tenets

Chauntea's faith is one of nurture and growth. Agricultural sayings and farming parables dot her teachings. Growing and reaping, the eternal cycle, is a common thread in Chauntea's faith. Destruction for its own sake, or leveling without rebuilding, is anathema to the church.
Chauntean priests are charged to nurture, tend, and plant whenever and wherever possible; protect trees and plants, and save their seeds so that what is destroyed can be replaced; see to the fertility of the earth, but let the human womb see to its own; and to eschew fire.
Encourage life to flourish and crops to be bountiful. Faith is not a substitute for agricultural technique. Advocate against destruction for its own sake as land without purpose is wasted potential. Rebuild. Continue the cycle of life in both people and plant alike, plant where possible and nurture the young.

Title(s)
The Great Mother
Entity Type
Deity
Pantheon


Perceived Gender
Feminine
Alignment
Neutral Good
Domains
Life, Nature
Relationships
Selune, The Lunar Guide (ally)
Pelor, The Dawnfather (ally)
Talos, the Storm Bringer (enemy)
Zehir, The Cloaked Serpent (enemy)
Aspect(s)
The Earthmother
Home Plane
Eronia, Elysium
Divine Realm
The Great Garden
Holy Day(s)
Harvest Close - Setril 18th