Hiatea (high-ah-TEE-ah or hee-AH-tee-ah)
Hiatea is the giant and sirilian goddess of nature, agriculture, hunting, females, and children.
Hiatea regularly interacts with her priests and shamans, conveying messages through unique patterns in fires or within the glowing embers' flaming orbs. Her community clergy may find signs in the dreams of children. She can also communicate via a large (two-foot wingspan) yellow-gold moth that circles flames, with her priests interpreting signals from its flight trajectory. Capturing this moth alive grants the captor invisibility in forested areas for as many as six days.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Clergy, Temples and Worshippers
Among the Giants
Hiatea is revered among all kinds of giants, with a notable following among females. Firbolgs and voadkyn, regardless of gender, hold her in special regard, seeing her as their patron deity. Sirilians have historically adopted her agricultural aspect as their own. Hiatea's teachings emphasize nature's role as both a creator and destroyer, considering the acceptance of defeat as the utmost disgrace for a giant. However, she advocates that victory should not come at any cost, aligning with her inclination towards goodness. Her clergy is divided into two main roles, though the lines between them can blur: community priests, responsible for agriculture, childcare, protection, and education within their communities, and protector priests, who safeguard woodlands and forests while monitoring other races. Sirilian and voadkyn protector priests make special efforts to foster good relations with wood elves. In firbolg societies, there tends to be a higher number of female clerics, though all genders are equally respected across her worship. The most senior priests are itinerant, providing guidance to community priests without belonging to any single community. Every one of Hiatea's clerics must be adept at living and hunting in the wild. Those who, due to age, injury, or illness, lose this capability, are required to step down from their clerical duties.Among the Sirilisch
Hiatea is often replacing the role of Thea, with whom the Arasilisch venerate so thoroughly. However, the Sirilians themselves, see Hiatea as more deity of the herd, livestock and hunting, than that of agriculture as other culture. That is not to say that they do not consider farming to be respectable. Clerics of Hiatea are able to enrich the meat from their kill in a Sasageyo. For both churches, the devout, making familial choices without the guidance of a community priest of Hiatea is seen as a minor transgression.Rituals
The Monthly Hunt
About once a month, the community priests join the sentinel priests and believers for a ritual hunt. Annually, typically in spring, they pursue a notably formidable beast for the hunt, often in Sasageyo.The Hunt of the Sun
At high-sun, usually before the Wild Hunt, the church of Hiatea, conducts hunt of her own for those of Menas' faith and often issuing a warning to all who partake in those hunts. The hunt begins as a family gathering, where the family and community take care of the defenses and prrepare a hunting party where they usually hunt enough food and supplies for a defense against the Wild-Hunt.Tenets of Faith
- Recognize Nature as both the giver and taker of life.
- Uphold the principle that acknowledging defeat is a giant's greatest dishonor.
- Balance the pursuit of victory with the moral compass of goodness, acknowledging that some costs for triumph are too great.
Physical Description
Identifying Characteristics
Hiatea manifests her avatar as a bronze-skinned giantess, whose form is slender and leggy, and her height varies significantly. She has been observed at impressive statures of 10 feet (3 meters), 30 feet (9.1 meters), and even towering at 70 feet (21 meters). Her golden-red hair is pulled back, framing her face and accentuating her large, hazel-brown eyes.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Origins
Hiatea is the progeny of Annam All-Father and an enigmatic sky goddess, or by some accounts, a mortal giantess. Preferring male heirs, Annam wielded magic to ensure his children were male. To shield her daughter, Hiatea's mother concealed her pregnancy and entrusted her upbringing to the firbolgs, keeping her existence a secret from Annam. Upon reaching maturity, a messenger from her dying mother unveiled Hiatea's true lineage. Hiatea then embarked on a journey of bold exploits, climaxing in a monumental duel against a formidable beast—sometimes described as a fifty-headed Lernaean hydra or alternatively, a tarrasque. In some tales, she vanquished a colossal hydra, thwarting its regenerative ability by searing the stumps with fire, and presented a trophy from her conquest to her father. Acknowledging her bravery and merit, Annam embraced her as his child. Her existence brought joy to her brother Stronmaus, who in celebration, unleashed powerful storms that cleansed the worlds by sweeping away formidable corruptions.Development of Several Aspects
The love of Hiatea didn't know bounds. After the giants had lost their world to the dragons, Hiatea was always looking for ways to cultivate the world. First, came the humans after Ixtaar intervention and there, she first showed her hand as a lesser goddess for the humans who prayed for good harvest. There Hiatea, found solace. A different account tells other story, that the humans first rebelled against the giants and it was Thea that allowed them to live in the wilds after their freedom from the clutches of giants. Afterward, she found the Halfling race most welcoming - even though they were tiny, compared to the literal giants - She had found their love for farming more than enough and so, she became their main goddess.Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Hiatea embodies strength, self-assurance, and remarkable hunting prowess. Her character is shaped by dual aspects; her upbringing among the firbolgs imbued her with a deep connection to community, agriculture, and familial bonds. Upon uncovering her true heritage (with another tale attributing this transformation to Stronmaus' jests), she embraced a new identity as a formidable hunter and guardian.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Among Hiatea's siblings or half-siblings are Grolantor, Iallanis, Memnor, Skoraeus Stonebones, and Stronmaus. Her support for the wood giants fostered genuine bonds with certain elven deities, particularly Solonor Thelandira, with whom she frequently competes in archery competitions.
Titles:
The Wildwood GuardianFlame-Bearer of the Hunt
Mythweaver of the Wilds
The Harvest Bringer
She Who Guides Life and Death
Divine Classification
Alignment
Neutral Good
Children
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
| LG | NG | CG |
| LN | N | CN |
| LE | NE | CE |
Comments