Thea
Growing and reaping are part of the eternal cycle and the most natural part of life. Destruction for is own sake and leveling without rebuilding are anathema. Let no day pass in which you have not helped a living thing flourish. Nurture, tend, and plant 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. Eschew fire. Plant a seed or small plant at least once a tenday.Thea, is revered as the Mother or the Crops' Protector, holds the essence of life and serves as the embodiment of all things agrarian and agricultural. Worshipped by farmers, gardeners, and those who toil with the soil, she is recognized as a goddess of agriculture and the bounties of summer. Some followers attribute the spark of life in the natural world to her divine presence, while others believe she is the creator and source of all mortal races. In a profound sense, Thea is considered the earthly manifestation, serving as the avatar of Hiatea. Ella'li, the lady of pestilence, stands as her sworn adversary, spreading suffering, disease, and decay in the natural realm. Thea seldom reveals herself to mortals, although her devout followers occasionally glimpse her smiling countenance in dreams. Her influence extends to every place where humans cultivate life. The goddess eschews grand displays, instead urging her followers toward simple acts of devotion. Adored by gardeners, farmers, and common folk across nations, her blessings bring fertility to much of Theras. While possessing wisdom and a calm demeanor, she is not passive and avoids hasty actions. Beyond her divine interactions, Thea engages in a friendly rivalry with Pheistus and maintains a cordial contest with Kord. Additionally, she shares a centuries-long, on-and-off romance with Helios, fostering a warm relationship between them.
Holy Books & Codes
One holy text in Thea's faith is called A Most worshipful guide to Benign Thea.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Clergy, Temples and Worshippers
Thea, revered as the Mother or The Nurturer of Nature, garners fervent worship from a diverse array of followers. Particularly adored by peasants, servants, druids, gardeners, and those toiling on farmland. Farmers, whether landowners or impoverished, turn to Thea's clerics for divine guidance during harvests, especially in times of plague or drought, trusting in her affinity for nature to safeguard their crops. The church is inclusive, welcoming all genders and races. While femininity is emphasized, both men and women worship Thea. Clergy, spanning various races, are revered for their wisdom and agricultural expertise. Thea's clergy, addressing her as "Our Mother" or "the Mother of All," embody her quiet yet potent demeanor. With a preference for diplomacy over conflict, Thea's followers extend their aid freely, assisting in agricultural tasks and ministering to rural communities.Day-to-Day Activities
Priests of Thea dedicate themselves to the study and dissemination of horticultural knowledge, emphasizing sustainable practices. They actively engage in reforestation, weed control, and soil enrichment, striving to nurture all living things. Officiating weddings, attending births, and safeguarding communities, Thea's clergy also partake in altruistic endeavors, providing aid to those in need. Thean clerics, encouraging reverence for nature, work against plant diseases, often hiring nonbelievers to assist in preventive measures. They promote generosity, urging worshipers to share the land's bounty and make offerings to temples. Thea's faithful are encouraged to cultivate seeds, tend to plants, and recycle their wastes to sustain the cycle of life.Priestly Vestments
High-ranking priests favor white or sun-colored robes with deep forest green accents, often carrying enchanted staves. The clergy, monks, and shamans adopt earth-toned attire, with druids preferring simple brown robes. Citified clerics opt for open-fronted brown cloaks, while mystics embrace vibrant hues of green, yellow, rust, and brown.Temples
The backbone of Thea's faith comprises small local temples, often situated near seed-storage caverns and pure wells. Larger temples in cities and towns boast impressive architecture, housing agricultural libraries and granaries. Thean services also extend to open fields and druid groves.Rituals
Daily worship involves expressions of gratitude to Thea for life and evening prayers to the setting sun. Planting activities prompt specific prayers, emphasizing the connection between worshipers and the Great Mother's power. Ceremonies occur organically, driven by the beauty of nature, with specific rituals, like wedding nights in freshly tilled fields, ensuring fertility in marriage.Tenets of Faith
The Church, has implemented those tenents, so everyone could recite them and know them by heart:
- Embrace schedules that weave purpose into your days, honoring time for work, rest, and tending to the needs of your spirit and community.
- Cultivate bonds rooted in mutual respect and care. Children, honor your parents. Spouses, cherish each other with balanced hearts. Parents, be loving guides, sharing wisdom and fostering growth.
- Prepare for the future with prudent planning, ensuring stability and the ability to aid those in need.
- Let your work be a reflection of your integrity, reaping both personal fulfillment and contributing to the prosperity of all.
- Recognize the bounty and fragility of nature. Tread gently upon its soil, tending to its needs and protecting its beauty for generations to come.
- Seek peaceful resolutions and understanding in all your interactions, fostering a community where cooperation thrives.
- Acknowledge the blessings that grace your life, offering thanks to Thea and sharing your bounty with those less fortunate.
- Embrace learning and self-reflection, cultivating wisdom that guides your choices and illuminates the path for others.
- Let compassion be your compass, extending generosity and understanding to all beings.
- Be a beacon of Thea's love in the world, inspiring others to live with purpose, responsibility, and a joyful heart.
Holidays
The First day of Spring is a fertility festival, also known as Festivalis Akittum, wherein uninhibited behavior and consumption of food and drink is encouraged.
The Bountiful Harvest is one of the globally celebrated rituals and holidays in Rakion and Epeoris.
The much more solemn High Prayers of the Harvest celebrate the bounty Thea has given a community and are held at different times in each community to coincide with the actual harvest of crops, rather than precisely on Higharvestide.
Physical Description
Identifying Characteristics
Thea is described as a quiet, gray-haired woman of faded beauty, carrying a basket of grain and holding a scroll, though many images depicts her as beautiful young woman - espacially in Narsilian culture.
Other Manifestations
Thea, when in her home realms, manifests with the appearance of a giant beautiful Human woman. The Earthmother have long shiny white hair, gathered in a long braid she wrapped around her head. The length of her braid suggests the woman's great age. She has pleasant features and brown skin. Thea's body is lean but toned, muscled similarly to a farmer's body, shaped by hard work. She carries herself with strength and femininity. If one is to forget that they observed a deity, they can assume the beautiful woman in front of them is in her middle-age. Some describes her appearance as "a rose in full bloom." Thea is dressed in an unbleached linen tunic and carried a green seed pouch, slung over one shoulder. Even though she is working her divine realm's fields barefoot, with face stained with dirt, her beauty is accentuated by wildflowers and ivy weaved into the goddess' long hair. She also wears a girdle embroidered with images of various fruits.Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Thea, Agrarian Matron, embodies stillness and wisdom, eschewing flamboyant displays for quiet power. Millennias have honed her patience, making her slow to anger and measured in her actions, though some might call her ponderous.
Yet, to mistake her stillness for passivity is a grave error. Thea, the Sower of Life, pulsates with a vibrant love for Theras and its inhabitants. Her greatest joy lies in revealing the bounty her world offers and enriching their lives through it. In recent centuries, this affection has bloomed particularly for humans and halflings, their connection to the land captivating her attention.
This bond is not unidirectional. Thea champions reverence for nature, urging the people of civilized lands to mend the wounds they inflict. She calls her followers to small acts of devotion, nurturing the land like a gardener tends their seedlings. While diplomacy remains her preferred path, defiling the natural world ignites the Earthmother's fury, swift and uncompromising.
Titles:
The Nurturer of Nature;Sower of Life;
The Mother;
The Great Mother;
Fertile Earthmother;
Agrarian Matron;
Crops' Protector;
Bountiful Matriarch:
Divine Classification
Alignment
Neutral Good
Children
Other Affiliations
Ruled Locations
| LG | NG | CG |
| LN | N | CN |
| LE | NE | CE |
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