Balder
Revered as a goddess with power over the natural world, Balder embodies the wilder side of nature, and the spirit of the hunt.
Divine Domains
Balder’s area of influence is nature and the natural world, but with a focus specifically on the more wild untamed side of nature. Sacrifices and offerings will often be made to Balder prior to a hunt, or at the conclusion of a successful hunt, or before the beginning of a long journey through an area of wilderness. Balder’s devotees will tend to be people who live in more remote communities, that have a stronger connection to the natural world around them, rather than those that live in towns or cities. Druids in the north of Turoza are particularly drawn into having a relationship with Balder, due to the nature of her area of influence.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
There are two symbols that are most commonly associated with Balder, a Stag’s head and an acorn on a stem with two oak leaves. These symbols are often worn as tattoos, rather than as jewellery or items of clothing, by Balder’s Lectors, and people who have a personal affinity with Balder will often have either one or both of her symbols tattooed on their person.
Holidays
The primary feast that is held in Balder’s honour takes place at Midsummer, when nature itself appears to be at its fullest strength. In many communities the Midsummer festival is preceded by large scale hunts to bring in meat for the festive feast, some of which is dedicated to Balder specifically, normally the heads of the animals slain in the hunt.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Unlike her sister goddess, Freyd, Balder is keen to preserve nature in its raw form, not just the encouragement of ordered forms of nature like farms and plantations which tend to be Freyd’s area of interest. This means that Balder will often intervene to protect areas of woodland or other natural habitat from being over exploited, or destroyed entirely by the sapient species of Ulskandar, and instead has much more of a focus on encouraging a reciprocal relationship with nature, where just as al species take from the natural environment they give an equivalent amount back. In addition, Balder is a strong proponent and defender of the natural order and allowing nature to take its course. As a result, she is strongly linked to cycles of life and death, relationships between predator and prey and the relationship between creatures and the physical world of the material plane they inhabit. It is thought that Balder has a strong relationship with Elementals, who embody the raw power of nature.
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