Ceana

The Lady of the Slain

Scrub Scrub Away, Lady of the Slain
Wipe Wipe Away, those tears brought from strife.
Wash Wash Away, all the blood and pain.
Carry the dead into the afterlife.

May we hear Banshees cry
To help us mourn the dead.
Let us listen to their lullaby
So that we may forget the bloodshed.

Ceana is one of the many powerful Crann That have gathered enough veneration and respect to be likened to a God. Ceana is a fairly enigmatic deity, and is said to have been sighted even by Humans, who are normally superstitious in regards to the Fae Ceana's placement is somewhat unclear; some believe her to be the one that ferries people to the afterlife. Others believe that she simply disposes of the bodies so that they may be recycled into the world to bring forth new life.

What is known is that Ceana tends to appear nearby particularly gruesome or harrowing events. Massacres, particularly bloody wars, or genocides almost inevitably lead to a sighting of an elderly and hunchbacked woman obsessively combing over every corpse she can find on the battlefield. She carries with her a heavy and sloshing wooden bucket, washing away the blood and grime left upon the bodies before placing them in neat, perfect lines. The least the dead may have is dignity, after all. Blood, ash, bile, or misplaced extremities, Ceana will always toil and scrub away until the body is in presentable conditions.

Banshees are known to serve as Ceana's handmaidens; these ghost like Fae copy her task, and often weep or mourn for those that have died in particularly tragic ways. When a Banshee mourns, the death is undeserved. When a Banshee wails, they demand justice for the life taken.

Depiction

Ceana is depicted as a very elderly woman dressed in tattered rags haphazardly cobbled and stitched together from whatever dregs she happened to find amidst the battlefield. This means she changes her apparel very frequently to reflect what caused all the death required to call her. She is often said to be a hunchbacked crone, to the point that her head and neck are perpetually left jutting between the shoulders. A pair of stumpy legs carry her while she carries her wash basin and basket.

Divine Domains

While Ceana is often associated with Death, her primary concern is the Afterlife and what happens after. The thousands of bodies, both needless and otherwise, would no doubt suffocate the world in a miasma of corpses were it not for her toiling endlessly to wash away and give them a decent burial.

Divine Symbols & Sigils

A Bloodied Rag: Used to represent the blood soaked cloth that Ceana and her handmaidens use to constantly scrub away the blood and grime left upon bodies. It is often depicted to be held in the grip of a bleached, white skeletal hand. Sometimes, it's depicted to be hanging from the side of a wooden wash basin.

A Wash Basin: Used to represent the basin of water that Ceana carries with her when squeezing or

Tenets of Faith

Common tenets that are held with worshipers of Ceana can be summed up with one phrase.

"The dead shall always carry dignity."

While there are other tenets and rules that are often practiced by her faithful, the single most important thing is that the dead be allowed to carry their dignity, no matter how abhorrent they acted or behaved in life. Every man deserves a decent burial. A Banshee cries only for those that have lived a life that is tragic when ended. To not hear a banshee cry is a sign that the death was well deserved.

Murder is frowned upon in her faith, as killing simply makes Ceana's job harder and further disturbs her handmaidens.

Holidays

Weeper's Rest: Due to the nature of Ceana's task, only one Holiday is celebrated in her name. Weeper's Rest is a day where no blood is to be spilled or shed, allowing her handmaidens to work minimally. On Weeper's Rest, all needless death is spared not for peace, but to ensure the Banshees may spend a day without mourning. Those that respect this vow will often visit enemies to spend a day working out a peaceable accord without bloodshed; entire political groups will do the same.

Though usually a peaceful Goddess, those that break the vow of peace on Weeper's Rest are beset by Banshees, who torment their victims with menacing wails and foresight of their own death. To witness your own death in great detail is a harrowing thing, when held amidst the backdrop of a shrieking Fae, it's often enough to drive a man mad -- or into an early grave.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

The only goal that Ceana has is to work. To toil, wash, and wring out whatever blood she can from the bodies she finds littering the world of Veska. Ceana and her handmaidens do not stop washing away the horrors of war. While Ceana encourages others not to kill and make her job more difficult, she also frowns upon the concept of immortality and understands the importance of the afterlife. Bodies should be put to rest; as death begets life.

Divine Classification

Crann

Related Myths

• Banshees